Name, title and department: 

Svend Birkelund, Professor, MD, PhD, DMSc, Department of Health Science and Technology (HST). Head of Study Board for Medicine.

Why are you running for the board?

I have a long background within the university system. I graduated as a MD from the University of Copenhagen. I started my research career at Aarhus University, after a short time of clinical work at Frederikshavn Hospital. I obtained my PhD and later DMSc form Aarhus University. I have been a Research Assistant at University of California, San Francisco (UCFS), and I was co-founder of a Biotech company. My research work is within microbial pathogenesis (h-index 38).

I was member of Study Board for Medicine at Aarhus University, which has a traditional MD education. I became interested in Aalborg University´s problem-based learning model for medical education, and I started therefor as professor at HST in 2011. I was elected to the Study Board for Medicine in 2016 and became head of the Study Board in 2017.

I obtained experience in structuring educations, both from teaching, my study board works and as supervisor for PhD students, but also from my research work. Teaching and research have become increasingly difficult to perform on a high level, due to teaching of a high number of students per researcher at AAU.

My ambition is to have the boundaries broken down in the project work on the master level, so that the students become an integrated and active part of the research groups in their project work. Since they have now completed the first part of their university education - the bachelor’s degree. This is the case for medicine master, of course, it also the case for several other master's educations at AAU. It is important that the students experience a transitional shift in responsibilities from bachelor to master.

In your eyes, what is AAU's biggest challenge?

There is a strong governmental pressure for the master’s to be more qualified for the labor market just after finishing their education. The graduated students must still have a high academic level, so that they can think creatively, to get new ideas for the benefit of society, industry and contribute to the international development in research. This must be done at the same time as creating good working conditions for employees and developing a good study environment.

• We got through the Corona pandemic and shutdowns with great social and psychological losses for both students and employees. There has been major drain of professional in research and teaching. There has subsequently been a long start-up period, where students have left or changed studies.
• The students react extremely negatively to online teaching, since the university has re-opened, because they now want physical teaching again, which the university is paid for.
• The concept for PhD theses must be changed, so that it is publications and an overview that counts. The extra material that is needed in a PhD thesis at AAU, only counts negatively in the final assessment of the PhD.
• Due to the many requirements for the Ph.D. program (stay abroad, teaching and courses within a very limited period of 3 years), students have difficulties in finishing the degree, in particularly for students with small children.

What is the solution to this?

These are many simultaneous challenges, but they can be solved by some common actions.

• The university is in the process of adapting the educations to decrease uptake of students and rental expenses. Teaching can be optimized more effectively, by looking at how the semesters are run. Eg. placement of projects and class teaching during the semesters.
• It is essential to avoid online teaching.
• More integration between the research environments and the students on the master.
• Researchers are individual researchers from assistant professor, who must be able to build up research groups across departments and universities as they wish.
• There must be a clear connection between high professional qualifications and the area of teaching.
• An arrangement should be established for the PhD students, so that they can fulfill the requirements for a PhD thesis within the planed time of the study (3 years). This will increase the university's efficiency, provide students with better teaching, and increase the number of publications and patents from the university. At the same time, it will be possible to fulfill the criteria for research-based teaching and PBL. This will result in less stress and better opportunities to qualify for both younger researchers and master students.