Newsletter 54 from the Head of Department

6 February 2023 by Siri Beier Jensen

INTERNAL NEWS

VIDEO: Get a good insight into the work at the sterilisation center
We strive in an incredible number of different work areas and functions here at the department - probably many more than we individually think about on a daily basis. The dental nurses group, under the leadership of clinical nurse manager Helle Leegård, has taken turns presenting their work areas to each other to share knowledge and make their different, daily tasks visible. The dental nurses in the sterilisation center have therefore made a really informing and nice video that shows the work they do, and which forms the base for all our clinical work, teaching and research every single day.

Take a look at the video (approx. 6 min) here – it should be viewable until 20 February: Click here to download the film [In Danish].

We succeed, we save electricity and heat
In the autumn, a number of energy-saving measures were implemented not just at IOOS, but at the entire university in order to counter the large and unexpected energy costs that are currently challenging the university's finances.

If we compare 2021 with 2022, at IOOS, according to the faculty's building manager, Conor Leerhøy, we have saved 34% on district heating consumption and reduced electricity consumption by 6%. This is impressive, as our buildings are already quite energy-optimised, and as we have to have the same temperature as before in the clinics, so that the patients do not freeze when they lie still during treatment.

It's really well done and good news for both the climate and our economy - let's stick to the new good habits - but it's also nice to know that we are now moving towards naturally brighter and warmer times. See also the article 'Health makes huge savings on electricity and heating'.

The dean's office visits IOOS on 20 April – you are all invited to meet our dean and vice-deans for education and research
Every year, the senior management of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Health, visits all of Health's departments, and on Thursday 20 April at 2-4pm dean Anne-Mette Hvas, vice dean for education Lise Wogensen Bach, vice dean for research Hans Erik Bøtker and head of administration Lasse Munk Madsen will visit us. The visit will be conducted as a large meeting for all employees at IOOS, which will begin with a presentation from me, the dean and the vice-deans, and then there will be an open dialogue about IOOS, Health, Aarhus University, and all aspects of education and research that you wish to discuss.

You have received a meeting invitation in your inbox with all practical information and registration - note that participation is on a first-come, first-served basis, as the Apollonia room can accommodate a maximum of 80 people.

The new travel policy in use
Last year, Aarhus University adopted a new travel policy so that for work purposes we travel more climate-friendly and with consideration. Here are the main points that we must adhere to as employees at Aarhus University.

Business trips must of course be feasible both practically and in terms of time, but overall we as employees are encouraged to:

To the greatest extent possible, choose the most climate-friendly form of travel.
Take the train rather than the plane if the journey time by train is less than 5 hours per way.
Challenge the number and extent of physical meetings in existing, well-established networks.
Consider whether the journey can be replaced by virtual meetings – or planned closer to the employee's geographical location.

Regardless of the destination, it is important that we book flights through Aarhus University's travel agency, Carlson Wagonlit Travel Denmark (CWT). Among other things, they can extract data on CO₂ emissions related to the journey, so that you can choose climate-friendly, and so that Aarhus University as a workplace can monitor whether our climate efforts are having the desired effect.

See the university's travel policy on the staff page.

Mark your calendars for March 2: AU holds an equality conference
Workplace culture and how we promote diversity and inclusion is the focal point when the university invites to a diversity and equality conference on 2 March 2023 from 10am-2.30pm. The conference begins in the Aula with three presenters who contribute insight into and experiences from different sectors. After the joint part, the conference continues locally at the faculties.

An inclusive workplace with room for diversity is a subject we also work on a lot at IOOS, so register for the conference if you can find time for it. It is free to participate, and all employees, and leaders responsible for employees, are welcome. View the program on the university's website and register via the Conference Manager.

RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TEACHING

Status on closure of our vocational educations: The employees now know their working future at IOOS
As you know, our vocational educations for dental nurses and dental (laboratory-)technicians at IOOS will close from August this year. This is not only important for our students, but also for the employees associated with the educations.

We are now so far in the process that all notification dialogues with the affected employees have been held and the legal consultation period has ended. We therefore know the full and final picture on the employee side: Some employees are looking into reduced working hours, some are getting a new employment certificate with changed work areas, and others are unfortunately looking into a dismissal.

It is a difficult working situation for the affected employees, and I encourage you to show understanding and take care of the employees whose working future at the institute has now changed radically.

PLAN: Earlier planning of teaching and changed deadlines

The university's overall year wheel for teaching planning has now been implemented. This means that lecturers responsible for courses must report course data, such as number of teaching hours and room requirements, earlier than we have been used to. Specifically, this means that:

All lecturers responsible for the course will be sent an invitation form from Health Studies when it is time to plan future teaching courses.
The deadlines for reporting course data to Health Studies are now:
- For the autumn semester 2023, before 1 February 2023
- For the spring semester 2024, before 8 August 2023.

Since the teaching of the university's 38,000 students is distributed in rooms across the campus immediately after the deadline, it is important that you, who are responsible for the course, complete and send the forms to Health Studies within the specified deadline.

With the joint annual cycle, teaching hours, rooms and plans will be in place before registration for classes and the start of the semester. The goal is to achieve better utilization of the university's premises.

The faculty has a new GDPR coordinator

Lawyer Christine Brink Schmidt has been employed in the Health faculty secretariat, and she is now the primary contact for anyone who has questions about GDPR and data protection. In addition to cases about personal data, Christine Brink Schmidt can also help and advise on other legal matters; e.g. with requests for access to documents, entering into agreements or other issues that require a legal assessment.

Read more in the article 'New GDPR coordinator at Health' or see AU's GDPR website, where you can find answers to the vast majority of questions about personal data, especially in research projects.

NEWS ABOUT NAMES

IOOS has four new Skou professors affiliated
Back in 2018, the faculty appointed 47 specially adjunct international professors, all of whom received the title of Honorary Skou Professor. The aim of this group of adjunct professors is to bring new perspectives to teaching, strengthen relations with research units abroad and establish joint guest teaching, research projects and funding applications.

The effort has been a success, and therefore a further 18 top researchers have now been appointed – four of them are associated with IOOS via a professional contact person from the institute, a so-called champion. They are:

Carlalberta Verna, University of Basel. Champion: Associate Professor Peter Stoustrup
Egija Zaura, University of Amsterdam. Champion: Associate Professor Ellen Frandsen Lau
Falk Schwendicke, Charité University Medicine Berlin. Champion: Professor Jan Wolff
Hyun (Michel) Koo, University of Pennsylvania. Champion: Associate Professor Sebastian Schlafer

We still have our original four Honorary Skou Professors associated with the department, and it will be fantastically exciting to see what the new collaborations lead to.

Research year student from IOOS receive the Health Student Research Award 2023

At the Academic Council's meeting on 2 February, research year student Muhammad A. Gøkhan was presented with Health's Student Research Award, which honours students who have distinguished themselves through a particularly outstanding piece of written work. Muhammad A. Gøkhan is researching burning mouth syndrome under supervision from Professor Lene Baad-Hansen, Section for Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function. Congratulations and really well done.

Best wishes,

Siri