Newsletter 73 from the Head of Department

INTERNALLY AT THE DEPARTMENT

Process after the study and working environment assessment: The follow-up group has been established and is underway

We have established a follow-up group that is specifically to follow, qualify and ensure progress in the further work process after the external assessment of the clinical study and working environment. The group's members are:

• Lise Wogensen Bach, vice dean for education
• Caroline Bindslev Hørsted, deputy head for education
• Irene Dige, head of studies for dental education
• Ulla Bæk Lindtoft, director of the dental hygienist and clinical dental technician educations
• Lene Martinussen, head of studies for the dental hygienist and clinical dental technician educations
• Anders Grønbeck, senior clinical instructor and union representative for clinical teachers and senior clinical instructor
• Charlotte Bender, senior clinical instructor and study assistant professor, Study Board for Odontology
• Lars Stig Jensen, clinical teacher
• Sophie Storm Pedersen, clinical teacher
• Chris Ejlerskov, teacher, clinical dental technician education
• Anita Gregersen, teaching dental assistant
• Kate Larsen, teaching dental assistant
• Stephanie Vangsøe Wohlin, dental student, Study Board for Odontology
• Caroline Dorthea Nygaard Iversen, dental student, Study Board for Odontology
• Mette Serup Hansen, dental student, Semester Forum for Odontology
• Signe Klauber, dental student, Odontological Student Association
• Eva Kvistgaard Arent, head of educational services and guidance, Health Studies
• Lise Wendel Eriksen, communications partner, Health Communication

I am also part of the follow-up group. We have held the first meeting, where, among other things, the work of prioritizing and qualifying the recommendations and actions was discussed, as Falck Healthcare suggested in the external assessment 'Between people at the clinic - a study of the study and working environment at IOOS, AU'. When the follow-up group meets again at the end of November, working groups for the prioritized efforts and the composition of the working groups (functions, not names) will be on the agenda, among other things. You will hear more about that then.

The rector visited the department: Focus on SDU's new dental and dental hygiene educations
Every year, rector Brian Bech Nielsen visits all the university's departments to give an Aarhus University status and hear what is happening in the professional environments. On Monday, October 6, he stopped by us - the first stop on this year's tour.

The rector was in charge of the first part of the meeting. He:

• initially spoke about the work on the university's 2030 strategy and upcoming focus areas.
• thanked for the work with the IOOS and Faculty of Health research evaluation and emphasised that the intention was to investigate where we can improve.
• recognized the great work in developing new education programs and study programs, including as a result of the master's reform and emphasised that internationalisation - also in the field of education - will be a focus area.
• emphasized the importance of speaking properly and respectfully with and about each other with reference to the university's workplace assessment (APV).

Afterwards, the floor was open to the department's employees present, and a large part of the questions and comments were about the political decision to establish new dental and dental hygiene educations at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), which naturally has attention in our department. The rector was also made aware of the need for an "academic license" (academic authorisation within the university) for international scientific employees, and he promised to look into if he could contribute to the process.

Sparring from advisory board members: Reflect, make our value visible and support prevention and lifelong learning
The Faculty of Health's advisory board was visiting in September, and in this connection we also had a small delegation visiting the department: Professor Mike Curtis from King's College in London, who has known and followed us closely for many years, and Dorte Arnbjerg, who is Senior Vice President at Lundbeck pharmaceutical company.

It was a good and rewarding visit, I think. Overall, we got the following advice along the way:

• After many years of work developing research strategy and new curriculum, it is time to celebrate, reflect and look ahead: what does society need in the future?
• Create clear and distinct communication about the department's value to the outside world, stakeholders and partners – including about The Aarhus Model of Dental Education and the value of the education model for society.
• Support the graduates' lifelong learning, so that we ensure research-based and team-based dental care in the clinics.
• Be (continue to be) a strong advocate for the Nordic approach to dental care: prevention and non-operative caries control rather than treatment.

Ruben Pauwels is a new IOOS member of Faculty of Health's Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Faculty's Gender Equality Committee, now the Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, has existed for three years, and some of the members have therefore served on the committee for a full term. This means that there is a change in several positions – this also applies to us.

Our new representative on the committee is Associate Professor Ruben Pauwels. He replaces tenure-track Assistant Professor Anne Birkeholm Jensen. Thank you for your efforts, Anne, and great enthusiasm for the work, Ruben, with an important area of ​​focus for both the department, the Faculty of Health and Aarhus University.

RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TEACHING

New initiative gave brilliant evaluations from internships in the dental hygienist education
Our dental hygienist students in the 5th semester have had a three-week internship in municipal dentistry, and the evaluations from the internship hosts have been fabulously good this year. This may be due to a new initiative that internship coordinator Sisse Claudia Korsholm, and lecturers in pediatrics and child and adolescent dentistry in the dental hygienist education Sabine Zielke and Sara Nybo have introduced; the internship hosts received a competency card, which we also know from teaching here at the department, which sets a framework for what the students must achieve in the internship, and it has been a really good guideline for both internship hosts and students.

In addition, our dental hygienist students receive a lot of praise in the evaluations from the internship hosts, both for their professionalism and for their performance in the clinic. We can indeed be proud of that. Thank you to all parties involved for creating such rewarding courses for everyone - students, teachers and internship hosts.

Mark your calendar: PhD Day is approaching
On Friday, 16 January 2026, PhD and research year students from across the departments at Health will gather for the annual PhD Day in the Lakeside Lecture Theatres.

Professor Bente Klarlund Pedersen from Rigshospitalet will deliver this year’s keynote speech, and there will also be talks by Professor Michael Toft Overgaard and Professor Mette Nyegaard from Aalborg University.

You can find further information and the full programme on the PhD Day website.

NEWS ABOUT NAMES

Line Staun Larsen is new Associate Professor from November 1st
I am pleased to announce that Line Staun Larsen will be employed as an Associate Professor at the department as of November 1st, 2025. Line is affiliated with the Section for Oral Ecology - Cariology, where she has until now been a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Line conducts research in cariology, the use of fluoride for caries control and forensic dentistry. I look forward to the collaboration.

Correction: Julian Woolley received the fully funded PhD scholarship from Faculty of Health
I wrote some nonsense in my latest newsletter. It is of course Julian Woolley who has received one of the Faculty's fully funded PhD scholarships in the last award round. Julian Woolley is affiliated with the Section for Orthodontics, and he will investigate how 3D-printed braces can improve surgical orthodontics, both in terms of efficiency, accuracy and environmental impact. Clinical Professor Thomas Klit Pedersen is the main supervisor. Congratulations and sorry for the confusion.

Katarzyna Kresse-Walczak was awarded for research presentation
Tenure-track Assistant Professor Katarzyna Kresse-Walczak from the Section for Prosthodontics participated in the Conference of the Polish Chitin Society "New aspects on chemistry and application of chitin and its derivatives. Chitin, chitosan and other polysaccharides", and won second award in the best short talk competition with the research project: "In vitro simulation of mineralized biofilm using chitosan-based artificial calculus equivalents", demonstrating the promising potential of this model for laboratory testing and educational applications. Congratulations.

Have a good weekend,

Siri