The research at Aarhus University is at a high international level – however …

When browsing through the summary of the new research evaluations for the 5 faculties and 31 departments at Aarhus University, you don’t have to look very far for highly commendable words about the research being conducted:

“Highest, international level.” 

“Excellent research of the highest quality.”

“Several environments are highlighted as international beacons and are considered world-leading.” 

The report summarises the points in the evaluation that the university's management initiated at the end of 2023. Rector Brian Bech Nielsen doesn’t hide the fact that it’s the university's backbone that has just been examined.

“We strive for research of the highest international quality. It's in our DNA. Everything we do, whether it's about education, innovation, government services, participation in the public debate or anything else, is based on research. Our research affects everything we do, and therefore, research quality is crucial,” Brian Bech Nielsen says.

Important local anchoring

The evaluation was conducted as a combination of self-evaluation and external assessment from international expert panels.

The element of self-evaluation means that the individual faculties and departments have had a great influence on how quality is defined and on which criteria the research is assessed.

“If we are to conduct research of international quality, it requires that we as an institution and not least as a research environment, know where we stand. By anchoring the evaluation locally at the individual departments, we also create a space for people to stop and ask themselves if there’s anything that can be done or adjusted to make the direction even better. Both for the individual researchers, but also for their joint research environments,” Brian Bech Nielsen explains.  

The university management has chosen this approach to get the different research environments to address their own strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, the evaluation confirms that a lot of very good research is being conducted at Aarhus University, and several departments are described as being "international beacons", "leading" and "excellent".

“Of course, I am pleased. I also hear that several of the international panels that have helped evaluate the individual institutes have been impressed. Both in terms of the quality of the research being conducted, but also in terms of the way we have conducted the evaluation,” Rector Brian Bech Nielsen says.

Though curious, the rector doesn't look

Although the evaluation has been quite comprehensive, it’s not possible to compare research quality at the department level.

Not even the rector knows which departments are performing best.

“Of course I'm curious. I'm really curious," Brian Bech Nielsen notes, but he’s keeping his cool and won't be reading the departments' individual evaluations closely.

“The management, and I as rector, aren’t supposed to sit and examine the results. That’s a task for the research environments and the departments. "If the university management interfered directly, we'd risk that many of the research environments would close in on themselves and only present the polished version," Brian Bech Nielsen explains.

“It'd also be perceived as if the management wants to control the departments. That’s not the case at all. The research takes place in groups far away from the management hallway and my office. The evaluation must be anchored where the research is being done. "There, the results can be used to create even better research in the future," Brian Bech Nielsen says.

Too few female professors

The mission to promote openness in research environments about the less flattering aspects seems to have succeeded. Because, alongside all the praise for top-level research and the significant societal impact of Aarhus University's research, there are also areas with room for improvement and a need for greater focus.

In general, there are still too few women at the professor level and in department management around the university. The evaluation doesn’t contain specific figures showing how widespread the gender imbalance is, but the figures for the gender imbalance are found in the university's own annual counting.

While there were 57 percent women at the PhD level and 41 percent women at the associate professor level in 2024, the numbers dropped dramatically at the professor level, 27 percent, and 28 percent at the management level.

“Clearly, there's still a long way to go. Especially at the professor level and in the management at the department level," Rector Brian Bech Nielsen acknowledges.

Room for improvement

The official part of the research evaluation doesn’t explain the reason for the gender imbalance at the professor level and in the management ranks.

“We’re working very seriously on the challenges surrounding gender balance in the diversity and equality committee. We have an action plan in this area, and it’s now part of our overall strategy,” Brian Bech Nielsen says.

Also, when it comes to younger researchers, there are challenges in several of the university's research environments. The evaluation shows that more focus needs to be placed on showing younger researchers what a career path at a university can look like. This requires, among other things, better support and more structured career clarification.

Danish research out into the world

The evaluation also makes it clear that an ever-increasing portion of research at AU is financed by funds from the EU as well as private and public foundations. The researchers' ability to attract funding and thus contribute to the development of increasingly strong research environments at universities in general is praised.

The focus of research is increasingly international, which raises the need to contribute to Danish research literature. Both when it comes to knowledge that strengthens Danish society, or can be translated into the development and communication of research results in Danish.

“It’s quite natural that the latest research is increasingly conducted in English,” Brian Bech Nielsen notes.

“But we must be very careful that we preserve Danish as a research language. It’s also important in terms of being able to contribute to the debate in Denmark and to be able to serve the authorities with knowledge, and finally, the university also has a responsibility to develop both the Danish language and culture," he explains.

The evaluation also addresses this development.

“The strong incentive to publish in English in international channels has led to a decrease in the number of Danish-language publications. This may, within some professional environments, weaken the accessibility and relevance of research for national actors such as politicians, practitioners, educators and the public," the evaluation states.

It’s absolutely necessary that Danish research language is preserved, the rector emphasises, citing law as an example, where the need for Danish-language literature is quite obvious.

That said, it’s also crucial that Danish researchers can perform internationally, states the rector.

“We must bring Danish research to the world and at the same time bring the best international research back to Denmark,” Brian Bech Nielsen says.

Overall, the rector is satisfied

Overall, the Research Evaluation 2025 gives the most cause for satisfaction in the rector's office. Brian Bech Nielsen is pleased that, in his opinion, the evaluation has been successful for the purpose of development and not management control. And he acknowledges the enormous work that has been done to complete the process.

“That's why we won't do it again for another six years. Until then, I have full confidence that the institutes will continue to work on the things that emerged during the evaluation and the advice they have received from the international panels, so that research continues to move forward. That's what it's all about," Brian Bech Nielsen says.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen.