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We cannot plan our work, says an associate professor and staff representative for 250 employees at the Niels Bohr Institute. He predicts that the delays on the University of Copenhagen's coming laboratories will cost research funding grants. Union calls for a clarification of the construction process.
Delays and a billion-kroner cost overrun on the Niels Bohr Building are leading to problems for scientists who have been looking forward to moving into new laboratories at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH).
Physicist Bjarne Andresen, an associate professor and union representative of the Association of Masters and PhDs (DM) representing 250 employees at the Niels Bohr Institute, says the construction issues are “frustrating,” according to a press release.
»The many postponements of the move mean that we cannot plan our work, not least our research,« says Bjarne Andresen.
He points out that it will take a half to a whole year to shut down the equipment at the Niels Bohr Institute and have it working again in the new building. Researchers need to know the timetable for the relocation so they can take this loss of time into account in their planning.
Chairman of DM Camilla Gregersen says that the problems with the construction are the cause of “an unfortunate uncertainty.”
»I hope there is quick clarification ahead, because now questions are being asked about whether the research communities can move into the new building at all. And this would be really unfortunate. Stable and good research environments are also important for international recruitment,« Camilla Gregersen says.
Camilla Gregersen suggests that it is not only the Niels Bohr Building’s completion and budget, which is uncertain. UCPH might never move into the building if the price ends up higher than the university can accept. This is according to Anders Boe Haauggard, Deputy Director for Campus Service and the head of the construction at the University of Copenhagen, quoted in the University Post and in the newspaper Politiken.
Construction problems can also ruin opportunities for research funding at the Niels Bohr Institute, says Bjarne Andresen:
»They place us at a disadvantage in the international competition for new research results and for foundations’ allocated grants for research.«