Kære alle sammen - Dear all!

Good afternoon and a warm welcome everyone to our New Years’ Reception. 
The New Year is, of course, both an opportunity to look back and to look ahead. And today, I would like to do both – with you.

Thank you for coming – and thank you for taking the time to mark the transition into a new year along with me and your colleagues. 

I will begin from a personal point of view.

As a medical doctor and cancer specialist, I have for many years met people at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. 

I have conducted research in ovarian cancer and as a second research area worked with how we can involve patients in decisions about their own treatment – because I believe the best solutions emerge when we listen to one another and share knowledge.

This is, in fact, the same idea I bring with me into my new role: 
We succeed best when we stand together. When we dare to be curious – and when we make room for dialogue. The New Year is a good opportunity to remind ourselves of exactly that – and to look ahead to all that we can create together.

This New Years’ Reception and the rest of my New Years speech will be in Danish. I realize this means that some of you will not fully understand it.

This speech will therefore be translated into English and will be available on our website as soon as possible.

A new job – and a warm welcome...

When I took over as dean here at the Faculty of Medicine in August 2025, I stepped into something that was already in motion. I stepped into the middle of a faculty with strong academic environments, high ambitions, and also a period that had required patience.

During the first six months, many people have asked me how it actually feels to step into a completely new and different job.

And several have also said: "It must be a challenge to constantly have to learn new things and to get to know new people everywhere you go."
Of course, I have thought about that.

In fact, I imagined that I would be completely exhausted by the end of the working day, ready to get to bed very early.

But that has not been the case at all. On the contrary. I really feel like I've landed in the right place.

You have welcomed me in a way that makes a difference. Professionally. Properly. With inclusiveness, and with room for both laughter and challenges. It makes me genuinely happy to be part of your – and now our – team.

I would compare it to life in a garden. It feels a bit like I've been transplanted into a good, nutrient-rich soil – a place where a lot of strong, talented and warm people are already blooming. And it gives me energy and makes me thrive and grow. 

What has made the biggest impression on me in my new job is therefore you! In the bed where I’ve now been planted, there is openness, professional pride, and an enormous will to make things work, even when the framework has not been completely in place or extra tasks have been imposed.

I have met researchers, teachers and administrative staff who take on great responsibility every day, often without making a big deal out of it. It is deeply impressive. And I am very grateful for that!

A framework that matches the ambitions

As the new dean, it was a decidedly wow experience to step over the threshold and into a modern, well-thought-out architecture here at Selma Lagerløfsvej 249. We simply have some fantastic research and teaching facilities at AAU SUND.  No doubt about it! 

It is clear to me that both staff and students thrive here. And this matters. A good framework does not in itself create good research and good education, but it makes it possible to nurture the potential that already exists. 

This building is designed for collaboration – across disciplines, departments and functions. The good collaboration has also been needed in a hectic time where we have suddenly had to find room for significantly more students. 

I know that it has been a bit of a mess with laboratory capacity, classrooms and everything else the task has entailed. I therefore very much appreciate your collaborative efforts to make it work. All things considered, I think we’ve landed in a good place.

Thank you for your patience

2025 has been a year where many of you have had to arm yourselves a little with patience.
We have had a change of leadership in the dean's post, and at the same time waited for two new department heads.

This is never easy. Uncertainty and temporary-ness wear us down. Nevertheless, you have stayed on task, maintained quality and the collaborative spirit. This deserves great praise.

And here at the beginning of 2026, we have welcomed Jette Kolding, who is the new head of department at the Department of Clinical Medicine. And we are in the process of finding the right person for the head of department position at HST. The goal is to ensure a strong foundation for what lies ahead.

The past year – some high points

When we look back at 2025, there is a lot to be proud of.

We celebrated the 10th anniversary of CNAP – the Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain. A centre that for a decade has set international standards for research on pain and neuroplasticity.

PREDICT has been very successful. Not least because the grant from the Danish National Research Foundation has been extended. This is a strong stamp of quality, and a result of persistent, ambitious research.

The Centre for General Practice also celebrated its 10th anniversary, and the centre is increasingly distinguishing itself as a key player in the development of the local healthcare system.

And Biomedical Engineering and Informatics at AAU celebrated its 25th anniversary. This is an area that in many ways is the very backbone of our faculty profile and our contribution to society.

Development and new initiatives

2025 was also a year where a lot of new things were launched and put into operation.

As the new dean, I’ve had to learn to navigate a steady stream of abbreviations. Sometimes I've thought: Is it some kind of committee or council here at AAU? A project? Or just a secret password?

This happened, for example, when TAAURUS came galloping into my office one day. When I heard the name for the first time, I thought: Taurus – isn't that Latin for a bull? A constellation? Are we now going to read horoscopes to understand IT? 

But no – TAAURUS is not a bull or astrology – it’s technology. And the new technology is now up and running.

TAAURUS is a unique platform that will enable AAU SUND to play a central role in the collaboration with international researchers on data access. 

And we believe that there is now so much control over sensitive data that we don’t get a boring 'welcome on the frontpage situation'.  At least that's what Ole and ITS have promised me.

The development of the new system has required a great deal of effort, adaptation and collaboration, and I know that many have contributed above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you very much!

During the year, we also launched the SUND AI initiative with three tenure-track assistant professors. This is an important investment in both future research and recruitment.

And then I am really happy that PARASYMPATIKUS is now a reality: The students at AAU SUND have their own room which will be a really good meeting point during their studies. 

I am really happy to see how our students here take responsibility for their own education and help create the best framework for a good study environment. They’ve done a very impressive job creating this space – a cozy place for fellowship, professional development and where well-being is paramount.

They deserve the new space, and PARASYMPATIKUS sends a strong signal that we take the study environment and well-being seriously at AAU SUND.

AAU Strategy

At the strategic level at AAU, ships have also set sail. This summer, the university board decided, on the recommendation of the rector, to end the current strategy period at the end of the year, i.e. one year ahead of schedule. 

Soon after, a process of developing the new AAU strategy began. 

Across all of AAU, a broad participatory process was carried out in the autumn of 2025. At SUND, we also took part in this, as it has involved faculties, departments, units, councils and committees. 

The joint work has resulted in many good, valuable inputs from the organization. All this input has been taken into account in the Executive Management's preparation of strategic themes and focus areas.

The new strategy is not quite ready yet. We expect the final approval by the University Board in April this year, and the strategy period will be 2026-2029.    

Extra basic research and innovation funding 2026-2029

The government and the parties in Parliament have entered into a multi-year political agreement. It will strengthen independent research and innovation. Over the next four years, DKK 500 million will be allocated annually to research. And DKK 500 million will also be allocated to innovation every year. 

Out of this pool, AAU will receive DKK 86 million each year for a four-year period for research and DKK 86 million for innovation. 

The extra funding for research is much needed! I can tell you that we have initiated processes for the distribution and implementation of the extra basic research and innovation funds both at AAU and at SUND. 

At SUND, we have started the process of gathering input from the departments. 

We expect that the new funds will be used for strategic initiatives in research and innovation, including a special pool for research infrastructure and the recruitment of top international researchers. 

SUND's external funding 2025

At SUND, we are ambitious with most things. The same is true for our goal in 2025 for the total amount in external research grants we acquire. We focused on DKK 150 million. In mid-January, we registered a total of DKK 166 million in external funding for 2025. This is a great achievement for the faculty!

Education, reforms and great cooperation

A particularly big thank you must once again go out for the work on the increased student intake to the medical programme.

I have touched on this before. Even though we are here today in the brand new, modern setting, it is no small task to create space here for many more students.

During the year, three working groups with both academic staff and technical and administrative staff put a huge amount of work into getting ready for 1 September. And the mission was a success; almost everything went smoothly at the study start. So that's an achievement!

At SUND in 2025, we also worked intensively on the Master's degree reform. At the workshop in August, around 80 committed staff members participated. The result was no less than 70 proposals for new degree programmes.

This testifies to a faculty that not only responds to reforms, but actively shapes the future.

2026 will thus be the year when we set the direction for the future of education at AAU SUND. 

As a result of the Master's degree reform, we have had to make difficult, but necessary, decisions. We have also taken bold steps to strengthen our profile at AAU SUND and create space for new opportunities.

We decided to put student intake on hold for three programmes. These are: Public Health, Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and Sports Science – with a view to closure. I know, and fully understand, that this decision has hurt some of you who have put their heart into these programmes. 

Doors are closing – while other doors are about to open: Two of our degree programmes – Biomedical Engineering and Informatics and Medicine with Industrial Specialization – will also be offered as Master's programmes for working professionals. Here, the students get one year of full-time study and a two-year company element. As I see it, the new initiatives will give us the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the business community, and this can provide a better understanding of the needs of the labour market.

We are also restructuring Clinical Science and Technology to 75 ECTS credits, and we are starting to develop two brand new 75-ECTS credit Master's programmes. 

One will focus on coherence and innovation in the healthcare system. The second Master's programme will be in Health AI and Data Science. 

The new initiatives give us a unique chance to think innovatively and create programmes that match the needs of the future. 

The goal is for the new degree programmes to have a clear and attractive profile, to be based on high academic quality and societal relevance, and to attract the most talented students who want to help create innovation and digital solutions in the healthcare system.

It goes without saying that education and teaching are also our most important core tasks. But a very high academic level in teaching does not necessarily go without saying. This is something you have worked very hard to maintain. I am simply so impressed by the teaching staff here at SUND. The great commitment you show to the students and to planning teaching. This can clearly be seen in the quality of the teaching – it’s high! This can also be seen in the many fine, commendable nominations for Teacher of the Year at SUND. I am therefore looking forward to soon being able to unveil who will win the award this year. 

Quality, responsibility and organisation

In 2025, we did an analysis of the HR and finance area throughout AAU. 

The analysis provided us with important insights into our organization and prioritization in the HR and finance areas. These are insights that the Executive Management will act on in 2026. 

There should be no doubt that we at SUND are happy with our local colleagues in HR and finance. But I also understand that there may be concerns about the scenarios recommended by Carve Consulting, who did the analysis, and that we can see potentials as well as challenges. There were some very good, constructive responses during the comment period, and I can report that the Executive Management listens to these. We want to ensure that the organization runs smoothly, and that we can still receive good service, retain management control, and keep a clear overview of the cases.

The government has also initiated extensive analyses of the administration broadly at the self-governing institutions which also includes the universities. With a view to administrative savings.

While we wait for the Boston Report and the results of the analyses, it is understandable that there may be concern and unrest among administrative staff. It is not a good feeling to be facing changes not of your own choosing. 

I promise that I, along with the rest of the management team, will do my best to make sure that you are as well informed as possible about the process and the changes that the analyses may lead to.  

What else has happened around organizing?

We have established a pilot scheme with the Named Person scheme that provides researchers with impartial feedback on good scientific practice, regardless of the management team. This is an important step for research integrity and security.

We have also launched a new PhD programme in Primary Healthcare that contributes directly to the implementation of the healthcare reform in Denmark. This is a clear example of how AAU SUND links research, education and societal needs.

Visibility and social responsibility

In addition, we have made a strong mark in both Danish and international media with our research results and the quality of our degree programmes. 

At SUND, we generally have a lot of talented researchers. I really appreciate it when I open the newspaper, turn on the radio or watch the news on TV and discover that researchers here from the Faculty of Medicine have prioritized time to communicate their latest findings. It is truly knowledge for the world! 

For example, the analysis by the Centre for Sexology Research on Danes' attitudes toward homosexuality landed in the top three of the most read news from Aalborg University in the past year. 

At the same time, the research group landed the ‘Årets Laks’ (Salmon of the Year) award for the mapping work. Really well done!

It definitely has a positive effect for all of us at SUND and AAU that we position ourselves and our research through the media. This way, the latest knowledge reaches the public, professionals and decision-makers.

In this context, I would like to highlight our talented PhDs. A handful of them found their way to the national media in 2025. Most recently, Rikke Bækgaard Nielsen's PhD project on a municipal pain platform appeared on dr.dk between Christmas and New Year. I know that in the new year, the press team has been contacted by several of the other national media and several specialist media. They all want to hear more about how Aalborg University develops the health solutions of the future and about how we link our research to reality early in the educational process.

The growing engagement on our own social media channels also testifies to the fact that we are doing well. When we do it well, we make sure to share the latest knowledge so that the wider world can benefit from it. We are now up to almost 4000 followers, but more importantly, we can see in the numbers that those who follow us also engage more in our work and messages.

It is important that we think about how we can continue to create awareness of our work. 

Regional anchoring and future

And we also received positive attention when the Minister of Health, Sophie Løhde, and the Chair of the Regional Council, Mads Duedahl, visited us in November. Here, a couple of first semester students had the opportunity to meet the minister. The students said that they had chosen Aalborg University's medical programme because we give our medical students the opportunity to experience clinical practice as early as the first semester at the Regional Hospital in Hjørring. In November, they had the opportunity to meet patients with breathing problems. The message earned great praise from the minister, who on several occasions in 2025 highlighted our degree programmes at AAU in the health area.

It is thus also an important milestone that AAU will receive DKK 11.4 million in 2026 for an education environment in Hjørring. This strengthens the regional anchoring of the medical programme and the collaboration with Regional Hospital North.

This is completely in line with the role of AAU and SUND: To take responsibility – also outside the big cities.

Closing – thank you and looking ahead

I began by saying that we succeed best when we stand together and listen to each other. When I look back at 2025, I see a faculty that has shown that it is not just words; it is something we do in practice. With a high level of professionalism, great commitment and a willingness to collaborate, even when it is difficult.

As I look ahead to 2026, I see opportunities.
We’ll have a new, sustainable and courageous strategic foundation to stand on; we develop our strong academic environments; and we have staff who want their work to matter. So I am full of anticipation for the exciting time we are looking at.

Thank you for your efforts.
Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for your commitment – every single day.

I’m really looking forward to the year we have now entered, and what we can create together.
Happy New Year to you all!