Newsletter 47 from the Head of Department

INTERNAL NEWS

Dean Anne-Mette Hvas visited IOOS

Our new dean, Anne-Mette Hvas, is in the process of an introductory round at Health's five departments, and on 20 January she came to visit us. At Anne-Mette's request, it was an informal meeting with the participation of our two deputy department heads, Caroline Hørsted and Lene Baad-Hansen, clinic manager Birgitte Lüttge, secretariat manager Jan Ulrik Rasmussen and me. The intention was to give Anne-Mette a general introduction to the department and to the many tasks we solve in research, education and the clinic - what is exactly characteristic of IOOS. Anne-Mette and the vice-deans of Faculty of Health will visit IOOS later this year, where we can introduce her even more broadly to IOOS.

Abusive behaviour among some of our students

At the beginning of October last year, I received some worrying inquiries from students in the 7th semester of the dental education, all of whom described inappropriate and in several cases abusive behaviour by other students at the clinic, in teaching sessions and at parties.

Of course, we cannot accept such a culture at the department, and therefore we are taking this very seriously. We have followed up with an anonymous questionnaire among the students to gain insight into what has happened, and have subsequently had serious conversations with involved students. As leaders, teachers, supervisors, and mentors, we have a special responsibility to prevent and deal with abusive behaviour if it occurs. In the new year, we will therefore continue the work of ensuring a good and inclusive study and work environment and ensure that everyone - students, patients and staff - can feel safe and comfortable at the department.

You can read about Aarhus University's guidelines for preventing, managing and following up on abusive behaviour and read the article 'Code of conduct for social events will increase focus on inclusive study environments' - an initiative that vice dean for education at Faculty of Health, Lise Wogensen Bach, has launched also on the basis of the events at IOOS.

And of course most importantly: If you or your students experience abusive behaviour at the department, contact the department management or Health's study counsellors so that it can be taken care of.

Update on the planning of the 5-day week for the clinical education in dentistry

During the transition to the 5-day week for the dental education's clinical teaching, 18 treatment groups are maintained at Fællesklinikken, which must now be distributed on all weekdays.

As previously informed, this means that we will need both clinical teachers and dental nurses at the clinic on Fridays.

In collaboration with the staff involved, clinic manager Birgitte Lüttge and head nurse Helle Leegård are now in the process of putting together the big puzzle with the specific distribution on weekdays, where the wishes from staff on the teaching schedule are taken into account.

In relation to the additional clinical and practical teaching at the other clinic sections, staffing and other changes of relevance is being discussed with the course coordinators in the specific subject areas based on the schedule requests that have been submitted for the autumn of 2022.

If you have points of attention in relation to the 5-day week, feel free to report to your nearest manager.

RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TEACHING

Political negotiations: A third dental education is still on the table

Politicians are currently negotiating the so-called institutional and sectoral plan, which involves closing and relocating education from the major university cities. One of the government's educational initiatives in the spring of 2021 was to suggest establishing a third dental education in Hjørring hosted by Aalborg University, and that proposal is, as expected, still on the table. It is now up to the politicians to decide whether Aalborg University's bid for a third dental education should be established, how it should be financed, and how it will possibly affect the dental educations here at Aarhus University and at University of Copenhagen. We have offered the decision-makers that we are of course available with our knowledge and experience, so that they can make meaningful long-term decisions on an informed basis, and so that we get the best framework for future dental education in Denmark. We hopefully know more after the winter holidays, when the negotiations are expected to end.

Funding for European co-operation projects - Circle U.

As you may know, Aarhus University is part of the European University Alliance Circle U. together with seven other universities in Oslo, London, Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Belgrade and Louvain. As part of the alliance, there are funding opportunities for various collaborative projects. These are not funds directly for research projects, but to exchange experience and build networks with the other universities in Circle U. Keep this in mind if it could be relevant with guest lecturers, study or site visits, teaching collaborations or joint applications with one or more of the seven university partners.

There is no formalized entrance for colleagues at the other Circle U. universities. You just make contact. If needed, you can go via the main entrance here: https://www.circle-u.eu/about/contact/.

Contact Lene Baad-Hansen if you want the list of financing options sent to you.

Join a symposium in the Human First collaboration

The Human First partnership, in which several of us are involved, invites to a symposium at VIA University College on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 from 13.30 - 15.30. Here you can hear more about the Human First partnership, and there is a good opportunity to discuss future projects under the auspices of Human First and meet colleagues across organizations and disciplines. Registration takes place on a first-come, first-served basis and via the link here: https://www.tilmeld.dk/shf060422/signup

For those who do not yet know about the collaboration: Human First is a partnership in the field of health between Aarhus University, Central Denmark Region, VIA University College and all 19 municipalities in the Central Denmark Region. The collaboration will strengthen the health service's research, development, education and clinic.

You can read more about the partnership, focus areas, vision and organization on the website www.human-first.org.

NEWS ABOUT NAMES

Fábio Leite is Health's member of Teaching@AU's reference group

Associate Professor Fábio Leite, Section for Periodontology, will, as the newly appointed faculty representative in the reference group for Teaching@AU, help with ‘good onboarding’ of new teachers. The Teaching@AU initiative will equip new - and especially international - teachers to handle teaching and exams at Aarhus University. Experience has shown that new employees can get off to an unnecessarily hard start in their teaching career if they are not properly acquainted with, for example, examination forms, grading, the function of the curriculum and the teaching culture and social tone.

The development work in Teaching@AU is anchored in the Centre For Educational Development (CED), and Fábio Leite and the reference group, which has representatives from each faculty at Aarhus University, must ensure quality and relevance from a departmental perspective.

You are welcome to contact Fábio for more information: fabio@dent.au.dk

New grants to the department

We have received new grants for the department. Congratulations - and good work - to:

• Assistant Professor Line Staun Larsen, Section for Oral Ecology and Caries Control, has received almost DKK 2 million in a NOVA grant from the Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF) for the project ‘Automated use of 3D data in forensic odontology identification’, to make the forensic dentistry identification of victims of major disasters more efficient. Line Staun Larsen is employed in a tenure track position, which is shared with the Department of Forensic Medicine.

• Postdoc Pernille Endrup Jacobsen, Section for Paedodontics, has received DKK 50,000 from the AP Møller Foundation to carry out a project that deals with the ‘Psychological influence and well-being of young people with non-syndromal oligodontics’. The project is carried out in collaboration with associate professor Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt from the Department of Psychology.

• Associate Professor Golnoush Bahrami Møller, Section for Prosthetic Dentistry, has received a mobility grant from the Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF) of DKK 45,000, which makes it possible to get Dr. Ensiyeh Maljaei here as a guest researcher. The researcher from Iran are here for 18 months and her research field is the mechanical characterization, biocompatibility and bacterial adhesion of 3D printable materials.

Have a great winter weekend or winter holiday,

Siri