Politics

There was a nice cache of votes up for grabs when a cross-section of Danish politicians turned up at the UCPH Ceremonial Hall for the election debate. The non-committed voters dominated the audience.

The Danish election campaign has been packed with crisis rhetoric, and a debate over whether there should be a broad centrist coalition as an emergency response. Crisis researcher and assistant professor at the Department of Anthropology Kristoffer Albris believes that this has less to do with any real necessity, and more to do with an attempt to gain power.

Mette Frederiksen appeals directly to the general (white) population. And she is a skilled rhetorician. But she also re-hashes the use of myths. And this mythmaking will increase as the election campaign progresses. This is what professor of rhetoric Lisa Storm Villadsen reads out of the Danish Prime Minister's address at the opening of parliament.

One half of all places on master's degree programmes at Danish universities should be for shorter one-year programmes oriented towards the labour market, with more continuing education opportunities. This is the government’s new reform proposal.

Can you safeguard critical international research while collaborating with NATO? Some employees at the Niels Bohr Institute are critical of the new co-operation with the defence alliance. But their arguments are rejected by management.

Ever since the Liberal Alliance Party suggested introducing the Chicago principles into Danish university legislation last year, they have been eagerly discussed in Danish academic settings. But we should be cautious about introducing the principles via legislation, according to the professor who authored the principles.

The whole foundation of research in Denmark is being undermined. This was the message from dissatisfied researchers when they handed in 2,252 signatures to politicians at the Danish parliament.

The Niels Bohr Building has now been delayed for the 13th time. According to the owner of the project, the new opening date will be »on the other side of the summer recess«.

The news that the Niels Bohr Institute is to collaborate with NATO has set off mixed feelings among staff. Head of department Jan W. Thomsen explains that the new centre will mostly strengthen the technological edge over adversaries in the quantum area.