10 Most Read Omnibus Opinion Pieces in 2025
The debate in Omnibus has been lively this year. Especially AU's new exam house has given rise to debate, the same goes for AU's decision not to participate in Aarhus Pride, the discontinuation of iNANO as a de-partment-like centre and the presence of a Christian organisation at a student fair.
10. AU'S GAI RECOMMENDATIONS ARE A YEAR OLD – BUT HAVE ALREADY BEEN OVERRIDDEN BY TECHNOLOGY
Since the end of 2022, associate professor of mathematics Niels Lauritzen has integrated GAI into his teaching and allowed the technology for exams. He has been involved in the development of AU's guidelines for the use of GAI. But now he has doubts about whether the use of GAI should be allowed in the first place, Lauritzen writes in the opinion piece from September. Because he has learned how the latest models can create perfect answers and solve tasks with flawless references to the syllabus.
AU's GAI recommendations are a year old – but have already been overridden by technology
9. A student organisation fair is not the right place for a church to recruit new members
AU student Habibe Holzkamp was shocked to see the international megachurch Hillsong represented at the International Student Organisation Fair at the Aarhus University campus in September. The church and the university should be kept seperate, she argues in this opinion piece.
A student organisation fair is not the right place for a church to recruit new members
8. REPLY: We are building on the experiences with the Exam Hall
As we will see, when we get closer to the top of this list, the establishment of the new exam hall has sparked a debate. Deputy Director of AU Student Services Anna Bak Maigaard and team leader in the student system administration Nikolaj Høncke Keldorff respond to criticism from the Student Council's chair, Daniel Hjort. If you want to read his post, you can scroll forward to number 1 on this list.
REPLY: We are building on the experiences with the Exam Hall
7. Board member of Aarhus Pride: Surprised and hurt by AU’s decision to stay out of Pride
It would have been nice if Aarhus University had used Aarhus Pride as its primary source, instead of basing its decision on something 'supposed', Sara Arvidsson Corneliussen wrote in May, critising AU's decision not to participate in this year's Aarhus Pride. She is a member of Aarhus Pride's board and an anthropology student at AU.
Board member of Aarhus Pride: Surprised and hurt by AU’s decision to stay out of Pride
6. COLUMN: BSS dean pleased with new exam hall - and students will be too
The physical environment for written on-site exams has not always been optimal. Aarhus University has tackled this with the new exam hall in Lisbjerg. Dean of Aarhus BSS, Thomas Pallesen, attended the open house event to experience the logistics and facilities firsthand. He is pleased, and he’s confident the students will be too, the dean writes in his column from May.
COLUMN: BSS dean pleased with new exam hall - and students will be too
5. Open letter: No real opportunity for staff to object to management's decision to phase out iNANO
The decision to phase-out iNANO as an independent administrative unit – without involving staff or students in the process – gives rise to serious concern, confusion, and uncertainty, wrote nine professors affiliated with iNANO in June in an open letter to the Faculty Management at Natural Sciences. In the open letter they called for an overall plan and, not least, a professional assessment of the value created by iNANO and encourage further development rather than phasing it out.
Open letter: No real opportunity for staff to object to management's decision to phase out iNANO
4. REPLY: It might make sense to postpone exams – however, it is plan B (in Danish)
This was the response from Pro-rector Berit Eika and University Director Kristian Thorn to an opinion piece in which a student suggested postponing exams by one hour so that students can better reach exams on time, even during rush hour. The student's opinion piece is number 3 on this list.
REPLY: It might make sense to postpone exams – however, it is plan B (reply in Danish)
3. Postpone exams by an hour (in Danish)
Most things have been thought of in AU's new exam halls in Lisbjerg. Except from the fact that it is difficult for most students to get there. In combination with rush hour and delayed light rail, there is a real risk of being late for exams. AU should therefore postpone the time of the exams by one hour, suggests Rose Lindskov Marquass, vice-chair of the Conservative Students Association in March.
Postpone exams by an hour (in Danish)
2. Medical students: At AU we learn too little about what WHO considers the greatest threat to global health
Despite the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) regards climate change as the greatest threat to global health in the future, medical students at Aarhus University learn too little about the link between climate and health. AU should take inspiration from the University of Copenhagen and from universities abroad, where the subject plays a larger role in medical education, write two medical students in August, one from Aarhus University, the other from University of Copenhagen.
1. AU's new exam hall is a concrete box that only accommodates the strongest students
With the new exam hall, AU is disregarding fundamental rights and prioritising logistics and finances over the students' legal security, wrote Daniel Hjort, chair of the Student Council, in June.
OPINION: AU's new exam hall is a concrete box that only accommodates the strongest students
Do you want your opinion piece published in Omnibus?
Omnibus is happy to publish debate articles written by students and staff at Aarhus University.
Send your post to omnibus@au.dk – you are also welcome to contact the editorial team before you start writing.
- The editorial team reserves the right to edit submitted opinion pieces, including changing the header. We may also shorten the post to ensure a suitable length. Unless otherwise agreed with the editorial team, opinion pieces must be under 4,000 characters including spaces.
- Opinion pieces must comply with the law; for example, they may not contain libellous claims, racist statements or threats.
- If a debate post criticises individuals or departments, Omnibus may offer the criticised party a response. Responses are published immediately after the criticism has been published.
- Debate posts cannot be anonymous.
This text is machine translated and post-edited by Marie Groth Andersen.