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Share your views!

Omnibus is happy to publish opinion pieces written by students and staff at Aarhus University.

Send your contribution 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 libelous claims, racist statements or threats.
  • If a debate post criticizes individuals or departments, Omnibus may offer the criticized party a response. Responses are published immediately after the criticism has been published.
  • Debate posts cannot be anonymous.

Opinion

OPINION: Summoning Students Doesn't Solve the Problem – It Just Hides it Behind Fear

Opinion

The Danish Rights Alliance is stepping on someone who is lying down when they want more fines for already financially stressed students. Instead, one should address the real problem; that textbooks are a heavy item in a student budget, and that the opportunities for reselling textbooks are poor, writes Christian Hansen, who is the representative of the Student Council at Aarhus University.

COLUMN: New Agreement on Knowledge-Based Innovation is a Major Recognition of the Universities

Opinion

A political agreement that makes knowledge-based innovation and entrepreneurship a core task for universities reflects the fact that politicians see the outstanding research and excellent education provided by universities as part of the solution to the major challenges facing Denmark and Europe, writes Lone Ryg Olsen, director of enterprise and innovation.

OPINION: “It Hurts to See My University Prioritise in a Way That Makes Me Actively Explore the Possibility of Transferring to the University of Copenhagen”

Opinion

In smaller language programmes, you wouldn’t know that AU has had a large financial surplus over the past three years, writes Leah Buchwald, who studies Japanese Studies at the Faculty of Arts. According to her, the reality is fewer teaching hours, fewer permanent teachers, and ultimately lower academic quality. When discussing financial responsibility and the university of the future, we should also consider what knowledge we are willing to lose, she points out.

COLUMN: Here’s why AU is strategically focusing on developing its campus – it’s a major asset

Opinion

AU is a vibrant university that opens itself to the world around and provides space for a wealth of academic and social activities. AU's campuses should reflect this, which is why campus development is a central part of AU's 2030 strategy, writes University Director Kristian Thorn in his column.

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COMMENT: Engaging in interdisciplinarity should not be a luxury you can only ‘afford’ once you are at a senior level

Opinion

Everybody is in favour of interdisciplinary research. But I would like to see more hands-on and concrete action top-down to promote it, professor Jessica Aschemann-Witzel writes in a comment sharing her thoughts on this, sharpened through years of engaging in research across faculties.

COLUMN: As seen on TV – AU Viborg offers opportunities for large-scale interdisciplinary research and innovation

Opinion

AU Viborg is far from being only for agricultural and animal researchers. If we’re to solve the major problems of our time, we must work together across disciplines, says Tech Dean Eskild Holm Nielsen, who sees great opportunities in involving, among others, computer scientists, medical researchers, humanities scholars and business economists, among others, in the research conducted in Viborg. The engineers are already here.

OPINION: NEW GRADING SCALE CAN LEAD TO UNFAIR AND UNCLEAR GRADES

Opinion

If we replace 7 with the characters 6 and 8, we no longer have a middle character, but are forced to divide the middle field without anything substantial to base this division on. I understand that it may feel tame to get a grade of 7, and that there may be a need to elaborate on the grade. But the need for more detailed feedback is simply not met with several unexplained middle grades, writes Olav W. Bertelsen, associate professor of computer science.

COLUMN: NAT AIMS TO BRIDGE THE GAP FROM LABORATORY TO SOLUTION WITH A NEW UNIT

Opinion

When curiosity drives research, discoveries can radically change the world. But we must acknowledge that valuable knowledge far too often gets lost instead of reaching those who could benefit from it. That is why we are establishing a new unit at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, which will translate the potential of basic research into benefits for society.

OPINION: GAI IS FORCING US TO DEVELOP NEW TYPES OF EXAMINATION

Opinion

As students can now generate top-grade exam papers with artificial intelligence, universities are being forced to change their type of examination. The obvious solution is more oral examinations. However, there is a need to develop new formats that don’t put pressure on the individual examiner or on the departmental resources, writes Jens Bennedsen, Senior Professor of Engineering.

OPINION: AU'S GAI RECOMMENDATIONS ARE A YEAR OLD – BUT HAVE ALREADY BEEN OVERRIDDEN BY TECHNOLOGY

Opinion

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. Because he has learned how the latest models can create perfect answers and solve tasks with flawless references to the syllabus.