Danish Universities Research Articles

Negotiating Time and Space for Study: Student-parents and Familial Relationships

Historically, university cultures have been described as masculine in orientation, and the ‘ideal learner’ as male, white, middle class and unencumbered by domestic responsibility. Nevertheless, more recent work has highlighted certain spaces within the higher education sector which, it is argued, are more welcoming of female students and those with family commitments. While there may now be more institutional spaces open to student-parents and others with caring responsibilities, we know little about whether similar change has been wrought in the domestic sphere. Drawing on interviews with 68 student-parents, this article explores the various strategies UK students with dependent children used to find time and space, within the home, to pursue their studies. By comparing these to the strategies used by student-parents at Danish universities, the article considers the extent to which differences in gender norms and state policy with respect to both higher education and childcare affect day-to-day familial practices.

Good teachers and deviant learners? The meeting of practices in university level international education

The article focuses on the impact of internationalization on university lecturers’ practice. Based on interviews with 36 employees from Danish universities, we discuss what internationalization means for the classroom relationship between university teachers and international students. The article is inspired by an intercultural communication model that highlights how respondents’ reliance on a simplified image of self and other leads them to the construction of a perception of international students from a deficit perspective. Following an examination of perceived differences in learning approach, classroom practices and student/staff roles, we propose that an intercultural pedagogy be developed, underlining the need for a symmetrical learning and teaching platform in international education.

English — the new Latin of academia? Danish universities as a case

In recent discussions about the increased use of English at European universities, English is often referred to as the “the new Latin”. The current article puts this comparison to the test by presenting a critical historical overview of the use of Latin, Danish, English and other languages at Danish universities from 1479 to the present day. The article argues that the current use of English in Danish academia cannot, despite some apparent similarities, be compared to the use of Latin at earlier stages of Danish university history. Most importantly, the article argues that the motivation for using English today is radically different from the motivation behind the use of Latin at the early stages of Danish university history as well as the motivation for the use of Danish in more recent history.

Science, Technology, and the Niels Bohr Institute in Occupied Denmark

I argue that research in the basic sciences during the German occupation of Denmark, which began on April 9, 1940, suffered considerably, while research and development in technology enjoyed improved conditions as Danish industry moved toward the requirements of the German wartime economy. Several organizations were created to further Danish–German scientific and cultural collaboration or to manifest Danish cultural identity. The staff of the Danish Technical College and the number of their publications remained largely constant although no papers appeared in British or American journals after 1941. Danish universities massively resisted collaboration and maintained an illusion of “business as usual.” At the Niels Bohr Institute, laboratory equipment continued to be constructed and developed and scientists continued to publish in Danish and other Scandinavian journals, although they were increasingly isolated owing to their inability to obtain foreign scientific journals and to correspond with foreign scientists. The Niels Bohr Institute was occupied from December 6, 1943, to February 3, 1944, a surprisingly short period, owing, I argue, to strategic compromises in following incompatible orders from the German army, security police, and civilian administration. Finally, I offer an interpretation of Niels Bohr’s vehemently negative reaction to Werner Heisenberg in their meeting in Copenhagen in September 1941.

‘Doing the secular’

The academic study of religion at the public university often presents itself as a secular, non-religious, scientific endeavor. The identity of the study is thus firmly rooted within one of the central secular—religious divides, namely that between science and religion. Based on the assumption that such distinctions between religion and the secular (in this case science) are by no means naturally given, but continuously need to be produced and sanctioned in social practice in order to sustain themselves, the article shows how the distinction between religion and science is produced in daily academic practices at two departments for the Study of Religion at Danish universities.

Danish population-based registers for public health and health-related welfare research: Introduction to the supplement

Denmark and other Nordic countries have exceptional opportunities to perform register-based research, because of the unique personal identification number available to all persons with permanent residence [1]. This number makes it possible to link information at the individual level from several registers for investigation of various research questions. The unique personal identification number was introduced in Denmark in 1968, which enables follow-up of individuals for decades. This supplement of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health presents public health and health-related registers and health-related welfare research based on Danish nationwide registers. The topics range from presentations of important registers, to introduction to the Danish legal foundations for register-based research, to short reviews of selected applications of registers for public health research. Linkage of the Danish registers is based on three base registers including identification numbers for persons, businesses, and real estates (Figure 1). All three base registers have linking keys to related registers and also to the other base registers. The linking keys are: the personal identification number (CPR-number) [1], the business identification number (SE/CVR-number) [2], and the building and housing identification number (BBR-number) [3]. The Civil Registration System contains the CPRnumber and includes references to parents and spouses, making it possible to establish the family unit. The Business Register contains the SE/CVRnumber of all businesses. The Building and Housing Register (BBR) contains the BBR-number, which identifies all unique housing unities. By the base registers it is possible to link persons, businesses and housing units. The aim of the supplement is to present a wide range of Danish registers and register-based research. We invited Danish key researchers performing register-based research to contribute to this supplement. Thus, this publication also highlights that registerbased research in Denmark is widely distributed at various research institutions and that registers are fundamental data sources in health and healthrelated welfare research. Twenty two institutes and departments at four Danish universities and 21 Danish administrative and research institutions contributed to the papers in this supplement. The supplement has three sections. The first section gives an overview of Danish registers, briefly introduces how to get access to data at Statistics Denmark and the legal foundation for register-based research. The section also presents an online database, which gives further information and an overview of the content of various Danish registers. This database also includes a search engine to help researchers to get more details on register contents. The second section includes presentations of important Danish registers on health and social factors. All papers have the same format, including four sections – in the Introduction section the background and rationale for establishing the register, the current purpose and historical pioneers are presented. In the Content section information on central variables in the register is provided and changes in variables and content, in reporting to the

The Strategic Electrochemical Research Center in Denmark

A 6-year strategic electrochemistry research center (SERC) in fundamental and applied aspects of electrochemical cells with a main emphasis on solid oxide cells was started in Denmark on January 1st, 2007 in cooperation with other Danish and Swedish Universities. Furthermore, 8 Danish companies are taking part in the center. Now after 4 years both new equipment and methods have been developed and new scientific and technical results have been generated in relation to four technical applications, namely fuel cells, electrolysers, gas cleaners and oxygen sensors. Selected techniques and results are presented.

Danish universities in the financial crisis

Universities have always been important to national economies, but since the financial crisis of 2007-08 they have become key economic actors. Because they supply highly skilled labour and undertake basic research that enable nations to engage in global competition, they are capable of boosting production and innovation. This article explores the impact of the institutional reform of Danish universities since 2001, notably in relation to research, teaching and innovation. It also discusses how these reforms have affected universities’ capacity to stave off the financial crisis. By the time the financial crisis erupted these institutions were strong and independent, which is one reason why – so far – Denmark has fared relatively well compared to other European countries. If its universities are to maintain this position they will need to be continuously reformed, but change needs to go hand-in-hand with greater trust in the reform process by government and politicians.

Medical informatic research management in academia - the Danish setting.

The condition that the Danish universities have been subject to severe changes through the last decade has had huge consequences for management of research at the level of a discipline as Medical Informatics. The presentation pinpoints some of the instruments, which is on top of the management agenda in the new academic reality in Denmark. Performance contracts, organizational structure, general management, research constraints, ranking and performance issues, economy linked to production, ownership, and incitements are issues affecting the way research are done. The issue of effective research management is to navigate in this reality, ensure inspiration and influx from other environments dealing with medical informatics problems, in theory as well as in praxis - and shield the individual researcher from emerging bureaucracy, leaving room for creativity.

Symposium 6: Design for problem and project based learning in a networked society

The networked society is challenging the localisation-based organisation of learning and education, especially for professional masters. The professionals need and want to be able to participate in continuing education and life long learning throughout life, however they don’t have to or want to move to university cities in order to pursue a master as well as they want to integrate the study with work based experiences and challenges. Therefore, there is a need to explore and develop new ways of organising educational programmes at masters level, which respond to the needs of the learner, utilize the opportunities of new ways of organising research based teaching and learning at the highest level. The solution is to design for research based learning organised as networked learning. Doing so offers access to a dynamic and flexible learning environment for students as well as professors. MIL (Master in ICT and Learning) is a masters programme organised as a networked learning environment for professionals and professors. MIL is in 2010 celebrating 10 years of birthday. More than 300 masters have graduated, most of them playing an active role in the transformation of the Danish educational system integrating new learning approaches supported by ICT. MIL as an institution in itself is a network, based in collaboration among leading research centres within five Danish universities on different core aspects of ICT and learning. This Symposium gives us an opportunity to reflect on selected issues and practices within MIL. We have selected four issues to explore, reflect and discuss more deeply: • Overall design of a networked learning master environment for professionals• The role of the supervisor and the facilitator• Engaging for digital democratic dialogues• Engaging for productive and producing aspects The overall theoretical approach is based in socio-cultural learning and cognition, and the methodological approach is practice based research. Symposia participants and paper abstracts Design of a Networked Learning Master Environment for Professionals – using the approach of problem based learning to establish a community of practiceThe paper is presenting the overall learning design of MIL (Master in ICT and Learning). The learning design is integrating a number of principles: 1. Principles of problem and project based learning 2. Networked learning / learning in communities of practice. The paper will discuss how these principles interact productively in the design of a networked learning environment for professionals. Problem-oriented Project Studies – the role of the teacher as supervising / facilitating the study group in its learning processesThe paper focuses on the challenges related to the role of the supervisor and the facilitator within problem- and project based networked learning. The facilitator role is viewed in the span of the therapist, the teacher /the expert and the facilitator. The paper is based on reflections on the experiences gained from many years of problem – and project based teaching and learning practices. The paper focus on the practice within Master in ICT and Learning (MIL), which is a primarily collaborative networked learning environment for professionals , which calls for a supervisor /facilitator, which is flexible and able to reflect the complexity role of the supervisor. The theoretical inspirations for the different roles are found in Habermas’s concepts and discussions of communicative actions and strategic communication. Exploring the Digital Democratic Dialogue in Networked Learning Environments.The paper is exploring the digital democratic dialogue in networked learning environments. The paper is going to take point of view in the dialogical practice within MIL (Master in ICT and Learning), and the learning design developed through the last 10 years. Theoretically, the paper will among others draw on Wittgensteins perspective on ‘language games’. A Theoretical Design for Learning Model addressing the Networked SocietyThe paper address that the transition from the industrial to the networked society produces contradictions that challenges the educational system and force it to adapt to new conditions. In a Danish virtual Master inInformation and Communication Technologies and Learning (MIL) these contradictions appear asa field of tension between time resources and the demand for educational quality. The aim is to provide a scaffold that ensures students´ acquisition of the subject matter within a time limit and at a learning quality that support their deep learning process during a subsequent period of on-line study work.

“Tell me what you play and I will tell you who you are”: values and gambling habits in two Danish universities

This article describes different gambling patterns found among students at a business school and at a faculty of social sciences in Copenhagen, Denmark. On the one hand, it was found that students who play games of skill (such as poker or betting on football or horses, etc.) tended to be male, studying business, investing in stock options and voting on the right of the political spectrum. On the other hand, students who played games of chance (lotto, bingo, etc.) were more likely to be female, studying social sciences, preferring savings rather than risky investments and voting on the left of the political spectrum. We suggest that the competitive aspect of games of skill is attractive to those who believe in rewarding individual risk in a competitive market, while the more egalitarian and impersonal nature of games of chances is preferred by people who place a stronger emphasis on social equity.

Linking between Danish universities and society

In Denmark, third mission activities were for the first time explicitly formulated as mandatory in the University Act of May 2003, and the purpose of this paper is to analyze current third mission experiences from two younger Danish universities (University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University). The two case studies show that third mission activities are perceived and implemented in different ways, depending on factors both internal and external to the university. Third mission activities are becoming more strategic for the universities and their collaboration partners, and the paper concludes that there is a need for universities, policy-makers and society in general to find a balance between commercialization and open access to university-generated knowledge, a balance between third mission activities aiming at industry demand and broader societal considerations, and a balance between the allocation of financial and other resources among the three missions. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Autonomy and control: Danish university reform in the context of modern governance

In 2003 the Danish government reformed universities to 'set them free' from the state. Yet ministers are actively trying to shape universities and even set research agendas. How does the government's notion of 'freedom' reconcile independence with control? We identify three discourses of freedom: freedom to use academic judgement over what to research, teach, publish and say publicly; a free trade discourse where universities are free to pursue profit; and a modernising state discourse where government steers universities to contribute to the knowledge economy. Danish universities were reformed as part of the modernisation of the welfare state. We explore the assemblage of administrative and funding mechanisms through which the government now steers independent organisations: a chain of contracts for outsourced services, newly appointed managers, output payments and accrual accounting. While responsibility for achieving government policy is passed downwards through the independent organisation, formal lines of accountability run back up to the government. University leaders and academics are set free to manoeuvre within the system, but their economic survival is firmly dependent on responsiveness to centralised steering mechanisms

Effect of European Clinical Trials Directive on academic drug trials in Denmark: retrospective study of applications to the Danish Medicines Agency 1993-2006

Objective To determine the impact of the European Union’s Clinical Trials Directive on the number of academic drug trials carried out in Denmark.Design Retrospective review of applications for drug trials...

How we assure quality in teaching analytical chemistry

Recently I was asked how teaching quality can be assured in analytical chemistry, whose definition is still disputed. A new textbook [1] summarizes definitions of analytical chemistry on four full pages. The core sentence of a recent proposal by K. Danzer is: “analytical chemistry is the science of chemical measurement.” In terms of teaching this means that laboratory exercises are key elements to assure high level teaching. The Division Analytical Chemistry (DAC) of EuCheMS had perceived this situation a couple of years ago and initiated the preparation of a set of case studies to support high quality teaching. This development is embedded in the far-reaching transformation process within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The current situation was discussed during the Symposium on Education at Euroanalysis XIV in Antwerp [2]. This report summarizes some of the results of this symposium. Curricular developments are observed around the world. Europeans dispute pros and cons of the Bologna Process, in which 46 countries participate and which covers all scientific disciplines [3]. Representatives of some disciplines fear [4] that the recent London Communique from the Ministers of Higher Education [5] imposes a university reform from top to bottom and neglects the importance of faculties, disciplines and their respective cultures. Representatives from chemistry tried to avoid this potential danger by active participation in the process from the very beginning. They formed the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN) [6] and participate in the TUNING Project, which aims at tuning educational structures in Europe [7]. ECTN and TUNING are important voices for chemists to shape the Bologna Process. The strong position of ECTN was preceded by important discussions within chemistry about the required contributions from the different subdisciplines. The discussion surrounding the role of analytical chemistry in BSc curricula was particularly intense. Analytical chemistry owes its current position within the Chemistry Eurobachelor® framework [8] to a large extent to the encouraging contributions of DAC during the structuring phase of the framework. Subsequently, DAC approved Eurocurriculum II for Analytical Chemistry [9] and established in this way a reference for the required minimum in BSc curricula for the education of analytical chemistry. It has to be underscored that Eurocurriculum II for Analytical Chemistry describes the required minimum in BSc curricula, i.e., it is an important step towards harmonization of the basic quality level in education. Every university (or higher education institution in general) may exceed this level and train additional skills, but no accredited curriculum may offer less than the approved minimum level in analytical chemistry. Educational systems may vary greatly, even within a single country. The Danish Evaluation Institute and the British evaluation institute QAA reported a comparison of nine chemistry programmes in Denmark and the UK [10]. The five evaluated Danish universities show one identical programme structure, whereas as many as five programme structures are shown for the four UK universities. The report concludes: “The Danish system is far simpler... A simpler system is far easier to relate to those of others. ... A benefit of a more complex system is its flexibility...”. Obviously, the Bologna Process must not aim at unification of the rich diversity of European educational structures, it must aim at the harmonization of the outcome from the various structures and ensure comparable quality levels for Anal Bioanal Chem (2008) 390:85–88 DOI 10.1007/s00216-007-1706-0

Colophon, Contents, Introduction

The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has lived through a period of intense unrest during most of 2006. This was a consequence of the decision by the Danish Government in 2005 to carry out a major reorganisation of the Danish research world. The aim was to improve the quality and competitiveness of Danish universities and research organisations (such as GEUS), by means of a fusion of universities and the merging of independent research institutions with the universities. At the conclusion of this process all but three of the major government research institutions were merged with the universities in Århus and Copenhagen, and the Technical University in Lyngby. For many reasons, one being the special tasks that GEUS is responsible for in Greenland, the Government decided that GEUS should continue as one of these three independent national research institutions.

Universities in capacity building in sustainable development: focus on solid waste management and technology

This paper analyses some of the higher education and research capacity building experiences gained from 1998-2006 by Danish and Malaysian universities. The focus is on waste management, directly relating to both the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of sustainable development. Primary benefits, available as an educational legacy to universities, were obtained in terms of new and enhanced study curricula established on Problem-oriented Project-based Learning (POPBL) pedagogy, which strengthened academic environmental programmes at Malaysian and Danish universities. It involved more direct and mutually beneficial cooperation between academia and businesses in both countries. This kind of university reach-out is considered vital to development in all countries actively striving for global and sustainable development. Supplementary benefits were accrued for those involved directly in activities such as the 4 months of field studies, workshops, field courses and joint research projects. For students and academics, the gains have been new international dimensions in university curricula, enhanced career development and research collaboration based on realworld cases. It is suggested that the area of solid waste management offers opportunities for much needed capacity building in higher education and research, contributing to sustainable waste management on a global scale. Universities should be more actively involved in such educational, research and innovation programmes to make the necessary progress. ISWA can support capacity building activities by utilizing its resources--providing a lively platform for debate, securing dissemination of new knowledge, and furthering international networking beyond that which universities already do by themselves. A special challenge to ISWA may be to improve national and international professional networks between academia and business, thereby making education, research and innovation the key driving mechanisms in sustainable development in solid waste management.

NIELS M.G. HARBOE 1918?2006

NIELS M.G. HARBOE 1918?2006

Reform of Higher Education and the Return of ‘Heroic’ Leadership: The Case of Denmark

Denmark is experiencing a comprehensive package of educational reform aimed at enabling that country to recalibrate itself to the demands of the so-called 'global knowledge economy'. In relation to the higher education sector, a new system of university governance is being implemented where boards are appointed (ultimately) by the State and comprised of a majority of members external to the institution. To further shape (if not direct) the work of universities, the new University Law requires that institutions prepare a 'development contract' with the Ministry, and that this is used as a framework within which universities direct their activities. To facilitate this process a new conception of leadership is invoked. Whilst university leaders ('rektors' in the Danish context) were previously elected by the academic staff of the institution, the new arrangements require that they be appointed by the board which looks to the rector to 'run' the institution and fulfil the demands of the development contract on their behalf. The study reported here utilises ethnographic method to explore such issues at a time of unprecedented change in Denmark. Notions of the leader as 'hero' - common in contemporary universities despite the general shift in the business world to notions of transformational and distributed leadership - appear not only difficult to eradicate but positively emboldened by the current reform movement. The paper explores different understandings of leadership, both in the literature and 'in action' via the perspectives of university leaders and decision-makers in the Danish case, before considering whether the current reforms make necessary such models of control and if the scope of action of such leaders is seriously curtailed by contemporary education policy. Key words: Leadership, University Reform, Education Policy Introduction '...we appear to be programmed towards seeking out single causes or sources to order complexity.. .observing a flock of birds in flight makes us assume straight away that the bird out in front is the leader who sets the flight path.. .yet no such thing happens.' (Lakomski 2005:16) The Danish University Law of 2003 (MVTI 2003) represents both a continuation of a process of change in Danish higher education as well as a clear departure from existing practice and tradition. On the one hand, the reform continues a process of opening up universities to their constituencies, streamlining management and funding processes and improving the connections between education and employment. In other respects, though, the Law represents a violent departure from Danish custom; imposing from above new hierarchies and power relations and removing from universities themselves the obligation of self-governance from amongst the faculty (see Krejsler 2006 for an elaborated discussion of the changing discursive space of Danish universities). The overall policy script for these changes is the partially understood challenge of the so-called 'knowledge economy'. Universities are being identified, along with the formal schooling system, as key contributors to Denmark's future economic prospects. Educational programmes are being shaped to better meet the needs of the labour market and research provision is presently being rationalised to create 'economies of scale' that will enable fewer but larger Danish institutions to compete 'globally'. Research is also under pressure to become more commercially-oriented both in terms of formal agreements to share and transfer knowledge, and more generally in terms of disseminating findings to the public. This latter demand will play an increasingly significant role in researchers' own administration of what counts as 'relevant' and thus legitimate. The 2003 Law is a central element in this overall policy framework. Here, university governance and management have been subject to a radical overhaul. Decisionmaking processes have been reformed via the establishment of new boards comprising a majority of members from beyond the university itself. …

Qualifying online teachers—Communicative skills and their impact on e-learning quality

Worldwide there is an increasing demand for educational institutions to offer part of their educations online and mixed mode. For institutions to comply with these demands, it is necessary to prepare teachers (and other members of the staff), to fulfil their responsibilities within the virtual environment. Teachers must be able to organize their courses pedagogically according to different conditions, i.e., subject domains, group sizes, variations within communication and interaction. Teachers must acquire knowledge and skills in handling Information and Communication Techniques (ICT) as well as pedagogical possibilities and constraints inherited in the software available. Several studies demonstrate that technical obstacles are easier to overcome than lack of communication skills. Also the consequenses of communication breakdowns tend to create serious problems that technology cannot solve. These problems concern how teachers function satisfactory as mediators and coaches in collaborative, knowledge sharing virtual environments. For example, how teachers support their students in becoming online-students and how they facilitate complex discussions on difficult topics. This is a big challenge for everybody involved in e-learning, and the challenge is not met by offering introductory courses for university teachers. Based on basis of a recent examination of concrete actions and strategies for the future within 11 Danish universities, the auther argues that there exists a severe mismatch between the organisational expectations and strategies and the competence-evolving activities that the same organisations offer to their staff. A recent case study of a university pedagogy course on e-learning for university teachers demonstrates and identifies some of the consequences of the mismatch. Finally the author suggests strategies to meet the demands of the future online university.