{"id":192678,"date":"2026-08-21T18:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T16:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=192678"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:13:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T14:13:27","slug":"rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rector&#8217;s welcome speech to the new students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Check against delivery<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dear students!<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the best day of the year at the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n<p>The day where the air around the University is vibrating with faith, hope and science.<\/p>\n<p>The day where the University&#8217;s old eagle up there drinks its annual energy drink of freshly squeezed study dreams and is just about to take off in sheer excitement.<\/p>\n<p>The day where the deans, prorectors and the University Director are smiling such big smiles they could supply five hungry data centres with electricity of joy.<\/p>\n<p>[The Rector introduce University Management]<\/p>\n<p>You may have noticed the gowns.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We don\u2019t follow fashion trends. We seek the truth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And no, we don\u2019t follow fashion trends. We seek the truth.<\/p>\n<p>But I can tell you that we do have relaxed our dress code since the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n<p>According to the University\u2019s old rules from 1479, the rector had to wear \u00bba fur collar in the winter\u00ab and \u00bba silk gown in the summer &#8230;\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>And a janitor always had to go in front of the rector &#8230; carrying a stick.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m pleased that I no longer have to wear a silk gown, or bring a janitor, to the gym.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, I was hit by a crisis at my local gym last autumn.<\/p>\n<p>It happened at the incline bench press. The exercise where you from an inclined position press up weights by extending your arms.<\/p>\n<p>I was a beginner and had been too ambitious.<\/p>\n<p>I couldn&#8217;t lift it.<\/p>\n<p>But then, something beautiful happened.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Help each other take some weight off the expectations and the burdensome doubts<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Out of nowhere, two guys came rushing and lifted the weights away while they laughed and said: \u00bbWe can\u2019t have that the Rector is squashed.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s such small acts of kindness that show you are attentive and understanding of other people.<\/p>\n<p>To see those who feel under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>To help those who feel under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>This very much applies to you.<\/p>\n<p>Especially during study start when you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>The pressure of big expectations.<\/p>\n<p>And the heavy doubts that may feel like a barbell pressuring against your chest:<br \/>\n<!-- end of module 1 --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have I chosen the \u00bbright\u00ab programme?<\/li>\n<li>Have I used my high school exam in the \u00bbright\u00ab way?<\/li>\n<li>Have I chosen the \u00bbright\u00ab outfit for today?<\/li>\n<li>Will I be invited to the \u00bbright\u00ab parties with the \u00bbright\u00ab people?<\/li>\n<li>Will I ever be able to afford an apartment in the \u00bbright\u00ab zip code?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- end of module 2 --><br \/>\nHelp each other take some weight off the expectations and the burdensome doubts.<\/p>\n<p>Turn off your Snap Map. It only shows where you are not.<\/p>\n<p>Turn on your physical presence.<\/p>\n<p>An attentive look means more than you know.<\/p>\n<p>A helping hand can save a rector.<\/p>\n<p>Do something. Do something together.<\/p>\n<p>Do something that gives you a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn&#8217;t have to be related to your studies.<\/p>\n<p>Go to the gym together.<\/p>\n<p>Do brain exercises like playing board games.<\/p>\n<p>Relax with morning yoga or a movie night.<\/p>\n<p>The aim doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p>But being together does.<\/p>\n<p>To those of you who grew up in the \u00bbright\u00ab zip codes.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Communities should not be exclusive clubs \u2013 but an open door<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To those of you who can go home to mom and dad for a real meal.<\/p>\n<p>To those of you who don\u2019t think you need new friends in addition to the ones you already have from efterskole, high school and h\u00f8jskole:<\/p>\n<p>Communities should not be exclusive clubs \u2013 but an open door.<\/p>\n<p>Open-mindedness yields more profit in life than real estate.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbSure, Rector. That\u2019s all good advice. But what about the serious, and almost unbearable, problems in the world?\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>War in Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Democracy and NATO on their way to retirement.<\/p>\n<p>Our little sisters on their way to military service.<\/p>\n<p>Europe transformed into a museum of a world from yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>Southern Europe transformed from summer holiday paradise to a fire zone.<\/p>\n<p>Climate curves on track for catastrophe.<\/p>\n<p>Animal and plant species becoming extinct.<\/p>\n<p>And what about AI? Are academics also an endangered species?<\/p>\n<p>No, we NEED you to solve the planet&#8217;s problems.<\/p>\n<p>And no, AI will not take your jobs.<\/p>\n<p>I know you may be tired of hearing the same old tune about artificial intelligence at the traditional rites of passage where you go from one life stage to the next. Confirmation, 18th birthday, high school graduation \u2013 and now today.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>AI can give you the answers, but not ask the questions<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Often with your parents or principal as the techno-phobic prophets of doom who long for times when telephones had a rotary dial<br \/>\nand you spent an entire week waiting in suspense for the next Donald Duck issue.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m neither a doomsday prophet \u2013 nor do I worship the tech God.<\/p>\n<p>But I do not believe in the ostrich effect \u2013 strudsepolitik \u2013 in burying your head in the sand and waiting for AI to go away.<\/p>\n<p>You must be able to master a world where AI is everywhere. But that doesn&#8217;t mean you should use AI for everything.<\/p>\n<p>AI can do many things.<\/p>\n<p>It can read an entire library in seconds.<\/p>\n<p>It can write a summary of world history in twenty lines.<\/p>\n<p>Or even crack the code of an impossible mathematical formula.<\/p>\n<p>But there are also things AI cannot do.<\/p>\n<p>AI can solve a specific task, but not the overall problem.<\/p>\n<p>It can fix bugs in coding, but not secure the system.<\/p>\n<p>It can give you the answers, but not ask the questions.<\/p>\n<p>Let me tell you a story.<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, one of our physics students, Albert Sneppen, was in corona isolation in his dorm with a good friend and a bottle of wine.<\/p>\n<p>They were looking at the stars, while Albert tried to explain black holes in the universe. He didn&#8217;t quite succeed.<\/p>\n<p>But then, Albert gazed at a rice-paper lamp from IKEA and imagined a black hole \u2013 and an idea formed in his head, as simple and beautiful as the truth often is.<\/p>\n<p>Right then and there, he came up with a theory about how black holes work just like mirrors.<\/p>\n<p>This story tells us what humans \u2013 and science \u2013 can do, and what machines cannot.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to pursue random impulses or odd experiments.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to think wild thoughts across disciplines.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to imagine a completely new understanding of the world.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to wonder.<\/p>\n<p>And, not least, the story tells us something about how a conversation between two friends under the stars can be quite unique.<\/p>\n<p>Taking a degree, learning and being able to use it is not a solo performance, it\u2019s a team sport.<\/p>\n<p>You need to exercise alone, yes, but the pieces will often fall into place in the company of others:<\/p>\n<p>During conversations in the dorm kitchen, where you are trying to explain what you are studying.<\/p>\n<p>In study groups, where you crack the code to a shared problem and benefit from different approaches and angles.<\/p>\n<p>In teaching, where you students will not just be learning from us researchers.\u00a0 We will all learn \u2013 together.<\/p>\n<p>As a teacher, I often experienced students who asked good questions in class.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, my best answer was \u00bbI don&#8217;t know. I need to think about that for next time.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>As with all teaching, that conversation requires trust between the teacher and the student.<\/p>\n<p>AI challenges that trust, especially if we believe in overly confident answers to complex questions.<\/p>\n<p>Now let\u2019s proceed with another thing that AI cannot do, a classic ritual here at the University of Copenhagen:<\/p>\n<p>The symbolic handshake<\/p>\n<p>With the handshake, you will become citizens of the academic republic.<\/p>\n<p>That means: your names will be registered at this address.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, for this exercise \u2013 with thousands of repetitions \u2013 I will get a helping hand from the Prorector for Education,<\/p>\n<p>Kristian Cedervall Lauta.<\/p>\n<p>With the handshake, you promise that you will follow the University\u2019s rules from the Middle Ages, written in Latin.<\/p>\n<p>It basically just says: Behave yourselves and take care of each other.<\/p>\n<p>But I think we should shake hands on something more:<\/p>\n<p>See those under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Help those under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Drop the easy solutions of AI and practice formulating the difficult questions instead.<\/p>\n<p>And the most important thing: Remember to sit under the starry sky with your fellow students &#8211;\u00a0and wonder.<\/p>\n<p>New students of 2026, welcome to the University of Copenhagen.<br \/>\n<!-- end of module 3 --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the symbolic handshake new students are welcomed to UCPH by The Rector as citizens of the academic republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":192689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2177],"tags":[1451,8874,8275,8875],"class_list":["post-192678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","tag-immatrikulation-en","tag-immatrikulation-2026","tag-studiestart-en","tag-studiestart-2026","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Rector&#039;s welcome speech to the new students<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Rector&#039;s welcome speech to the new students\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the symbolic handshake new students are welcomed to UCPH by The Rector as citizens of the academic republic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-21T16:00:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1249\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\"},\"headline\":\"The Rector&#8217;s welcome speech to the new students\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-21T16:00:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1414,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Immatrikulation\",\"immatrikulation 2026\",\"Studiestart\",\"studiestart 2026\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Academic life\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Rector's welcome speech to the new students\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-21T16:00:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg\",\"width\":2400,\"height\":1249},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Rector&#8217;s welcome speech to the new students\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\",\"name\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/gry\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Rector's welcome speech to the new students","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Rector's welcome speech to the new students","og_description":"With the symbolic handshake new students are welcomed to UCPH by The Rector as citizens of the academic republic.","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"2026-08-21T16:00:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2400,"height":1249,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/"},"author":{"name":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe"},"headline":"The Rector&#8217;s welcome speech to the new students","datePublished":"2026-08-21T16:00:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/"},"wordCount":1414,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg","keywords":["Immatrikulation","immatrikulation 2026","Studiestart","studiestart 2026"],"articleSection":["Academic life"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/","name":"The Rector's welcome speech to the new students","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-21T16:00:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_facebook.jpg","width":2400,"height":1249},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Rector&#8217;s welcome speech to the new students"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe","name":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/gry\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"default","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":192691,"id":192691,"title":"DSC_5767_web","filename":"dsc_5767_web.jpg","filesize":442913,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/rektors-velkomsttale-til-de-nye-studerende\/dsc_5767_web-2\/","alt":"","author":"8","description":"","caption":"","name":"dsc_5767_web-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":192678,"date":"2026-08-21 14:04:14","modified":"2026-08-21 14:13:02","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2400,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-1280x853.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":853,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-2048x1365.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_web-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"style":"extended","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":false,"alternative_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Matriculation 2026","text":"This is a story about what will follow","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"David Dreyer Lassen","contributor_title":"Rektor","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p><em>Check against delivery<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dear students!<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the best day of the year at the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n<p>The day where the air around the University is vibrating with faith, hope and science.<\/p>\n<p>The day where the University&#8217;s old eagle up there drinks its annual energy drink of freshly squeezed study dreams and is just about to take off in sheer excitement.<\/p>\n<p>The day where the deans, prorectors and the University Director are smiling such big smiles they could supply five hungry data centres with electricity of joy.<\/p>\n<p>[The Rector introduce University Management]<\/p>\n<p>You may have noticed the gowns.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We don\u2019t follow fashion trends. We seek the truth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And no, we don\u2019t follow fashion trends. We seek the truth.<\/p>\n<p>But I can tell you that we do have relaxed our dress code since the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n<p>According to the University\u2019s old rules from 1479, the rector had to wear \u00bba fur collar in the winter\u00ab and \u00bba silk gown in the summer &#8230;\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>And a janitor always had to go in front of the rector &#8230; carrying a stick.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m pleased that I no longer have to wear a silk gown, or bring a janitor, to the gym.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, I was hit by a crisis at my local gym last autumn.<\/p>\n<p>It happened at the incline bench press. The exercise where you from an inclined position press up weights by extending your arms.<\/p>\n<p>I was a beginner and had been too ambitious.<\/p>\n<p>I couldn&#8217;t lift it.<\/p>\n<p>But then, something beautiful happened.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Help each other take some weight off the expectations and the burdensome doubts<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Out of nowhere, two guys came rushing and lifted the weights away while they laughed and said: \u00bbWe can\u2019t have that the Rector is squashed.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s such small acts of kindness that show you are attentive and understanding of other people.<\/p>\n<p>To see those who feel under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>To help those who feel under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>This very much applies to you.<\/p>\n<p>Especially during study start when you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>The pressure of big expectations.<\/p>\n<p>And the heavy doubts that may feel like a barbell pressuring against your chest:<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<ul>\n<li>Have I chosen the \u00bbright\u00ab programme?<\/li>\n<li>Have I used my high school exam in the \u00bbright\u00ab way?<\/li>\n<li>Have I chosen the \u00bbright\u00ab outfit for today?<\/li>\n<li>Will I be invited to the \u00bbright\u00ab parties with the \u00bbright\u00ab people?<\/li>\n<li>Will I ever be able to afford an apartment in the \u00bbright\u00ab zip code?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>Help each other take some weight off the expectations and the burdensome doubts.<\/p>\n<p>Turn off your Snap Map. It only shows where you are not.<\/p>\n<p>Turn on your physical presence.<\/p>\n<p>An attentive look means more than you know.<\/p>\n<p>A helping hand can save a rector.<\/p>\n<p>Do something. Do something together.<\/p>\n<p>Do something that gives you a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn&#8217;t have to be related to your studies.<\/p>\n<p>Go to the gym together.<\/p>\n<p>Do brain exercises like playing board games.<\/p>\n<p>Relax with morning yoga or a movie night.<\/p>\n<p>The aim doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p>But being together does.<\/p>\n<p>To those of you who grew up in the \u00bbright\u00ab zip codes.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Communities should not be exclusive clubs \u2013 but an open door<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To those of you who can go home to mom and dad for a real meal.<\/p>\n<p>To those of you who don\u2019t think you need new friends in addition to the ones you already have from efterskole, high school and h\u00f8jskole:<\/p>\n<p>Communities should not be exclusive clubs \u2013 but an open door.<\/p>\n<p>Open-mindedness yields more profit in life than real estate.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbSure, Rector. That\u2019s all good advice. But what about the serious, and almost unbearable, problems in the world?\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>War in Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Democracy and NATO on their way to retirement.<\/p>\n<p>Our little sisters on their way to military service.<\/p>\n<p>Europe transformed into a museum of a world from yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>Southern Europe transformed from summer holiday paradise to a fire zone.<\/p>\n<p>Climate curves on track for catastrophe.<\/p>\n<p>Animal and plant species becoming extinct.<\/p>\n<p>And what about AI? Are academics also an endangered species?<\/p>\n<p>No, we NEED you to solve the planet&#8217;s problems.<\/p>\n<p>And no, AI will not take your jobs.<\/p>\n<p>I know you may be tired of hearing the same old tune about artificial intelligence at the traditional rites of passage where you go from one life stage to the next. Confirmation, 18th birthday, high school graduation \u2013 and now today.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>AI can give you the answers, but not ask the questions<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Often with your parents or principal as the techno-phobic prophets of doom who long for times when telephones had a rotary dial<br \/>\nand you spent an entire week waiting in suspense for the next Donald Duck issue.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m neither a doomsday prophet \u2013 nor do I worship the tech God.<\/p>\n<p>But I do not believe in the ostrich effect \u2013 strudsepolitik \u2013 in burying your head in the sand and waiting for AI to go away.<\/p>\n<p>You must be able to master a world where AI is everywhere. But that doesn&#8217;t mean you should use AI for everything.<\/p>\n<p>AI can do many things.<\/p>\n<p>It can read an entire library in seconds.<\/p>\n<p>It can write a summary of world history in twenty lines.<\/p>\n<p>Or even crack the code of an impossible mathematical formula.<\/p>\n<p>But there are also things AI cannot do.<\/p>\n<p>AI can solve a specific task, but not the overall problem.<\/p>\n<p>It can fix bugs in coding, but not secure the system.<\/p>\n<p>It can give you the answers, but not ask the questions.<\/p>\n<p>Let me tell you a story.<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, one of our physics students, Albert Sneppen, was in corona isolation in his dorm with a good friend and a bottle of wine.<\/p>\n<p>They were looking at the stars, while Albert tried to explain black holes in the universe. He didn&#8217;t quite succeed.<\/p>\n<p>But then, Albert gazed at a rice-paper lamp from IKEA and imagined a black hole \u2013 and an idea formed in his head, as simple and beautiful as the truth often is.<\/p>\n<p>Right then and there, he came up with a theory about how black holes work just like mirrors.<\/p>\n<p>This story tells us what humans \u2013 and science \u2013 can do, and what machines cannot.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to pursue random impulses or odd experiments.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to think wild thoughts across disciplines.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to imagine a completely new understanding of the world.<\/p>\n<p>The ability to wonder.<\/p>\n<p>And, not least, the story tells us something about how a conversation between two friends under the stars can be quite unique.<\/p>\n<p>Taking a degree, learning and being able to use it is not a solo performance, it\u2019s a team sport.<\/p>\n<p>You need to exercise alone, yes, but the pieces will often fall into place in the company of others:<\/p>\n<p>During conversations in the dorm kitchen, where you are trying to explain what you are studying.<\/p>\n<p>In study groups, where you crack the code to a shared problem and benefit from different approaches and angles.<\/p>\n<p>In teaching, where you students will not just be learning from us researchers.\u00a0 We will all learn \u2013 together.<\/p>\n<p>As a teacher, I often experienced students who asked good questions in class.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, my best answer was \u00bbI don&#8217;t know. I need to think about that for next time.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>As with all teaching, that conversation requires trust between the teacher and the student.<\/p>\n<p>AI challenges that trust, especially if we believe in overly confident answers to complex questions.<\/p>\n<p>Now let\u2019s proceed with another thing that AI cannot do, a classic ritual here at the University of Copenhagen:<\/p>\n<p>The symbolic handshake<\/p>\n<p>With the handshake, you will become citizens of the academic republic.<\/p>\n<p>That means: your names will be registered at this address.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, for this exercise \u2013 with thousands of repetitions \u2013 I will get a helping hand from the Prorector for Education,<\/p>\n<p>Kristian Cedervall Lauta.<\/p>\n<p>With the handshake, you promise that you will follow the University\u2019s rules from the Middle Ages, written in Latin.<\/p>\n<p>It basically just says: Behave yourselves and take care of each other.<\/p>\n<p>But I think we should shake hands on something more:<\/p>\n<p>See those under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Help those under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Drop the easy solutions of AI and practice formulating the difficult questions instead.<\/p>\n<p>And the most important thing: Remember to sit under the starry sky with your fellow students &#8211;\u00a0and wonder.<\/p>\n<p>New students of 2026, welcome to the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with upcoming events and top University of Copenhagen stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}],"expression":{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11522,"filter":"raw"},"enable_comments":true,"align_content":"alignleft","feature_color":"","article_updated":""},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":2177,"name":"Academic life","slug":"academic-life","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2177,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":70,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":1451,"name":"Immatrikulation","slug":"immatrikulation-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1451,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8874,"name":"immatrikulation 2026","slug":"immatrikulation-2026","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8874,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8275,"name":"Studiestart","slug":"studiestart-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8275,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8875,"name":"studiestart 2026","slug":"studiestart-2026","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8875,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11522,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":684,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_5767_facebook-1280x666.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192678"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192702,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192678\/revisions\/192702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}