The final two departments have now hosted their panel – the research evaluation is nearing its conclusion

Last week, ten internationally recognised researchers visited AU Viborg as part of the external panel visits, which signal the imminent conclusion of the research evaluation at the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and the Department of Agroecology at AU Viborg. With this, all departments at Tech have now nearly completed the research evaluation process, which has been a significant focus over the past two years.

“We were very pleased with the panel’s feedback – there are several valuable inputs we can use in our work on the ANIVET 2030 strategy. Our daily operations are heavily influenced by our focus on establishing educational programmes and preparing teaching activities, and the panel also noted this, emphasising that we must remember to make our research at least as visible as our educational efforts. The panel also highlighted our excellent facilities – and they got the impression that our staff are very happy, which, as Head of Department, I’m truly delighted to hear,” says Charlotte Lauridsen, Head of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences.

There was also satisfaction with the panel visit at the Department of Agroecology:

“Our panel visit went really well. It was a highly qualified panel that contributed constructively and were extremely engaged in their task. They had a very good and open dialogue with staff, but generally felt we were too modest and not sufficiently showcasing how world-leading we are. And we truly have reason to be proud – they were blown away by our research infrastructure and facilities, and by what we’re doing with them,” says Jørgen E. Olesen, Head of Department at the Department of Agroecology.

The challenge of increasing visibility externally is one of the recurring themes highlighted by several of the external panels that have visited Tech’s departments during the evaluation. ‘Strengthen societal impact and visibility through strategic communication, open science, and co-ownership with industry.’ is emphasised as one of four future development initiatives in the overall report compiled based on the departments’ work with the research evaluation. Other focus areas include inclusion and support for early-career researchers.

“The evaluation also shows that Tech’s talent pool consists predominantly of international researchers, while our professors are mostly Danish. We therefore have a task ahead of us to ensure that everyone in our talent pool understands they have a future at Tech – even if they don’t immediately see themselves reflected in the current professoriate,” says Brian Vinter, Vice-Dean for Research at Tech. He continues:

“It’s been a pleasure to witness the commitment from the external panels that have visited our departments – a big thank you to them for their input. And a huge thank you to the departments for the tremendous effort they’ve put into the research evaluation. I’m pleased that we now have a consolidated report and four concrete development initiatives at faculty level, but most of all I’m happy about the many valuable processes the departments themselves have undergone. It’s in contributing to the departments’ own development that the true value of the research evaluation lies.”

Development initiatives based on the research evaluation

Across departments, four development initiatives have been adopted at Tech as part of the research evaluation:

• Enhance international collaboration through strategic partnerships and leveraging Tech datasets for increased collaborations.
• Promote equity and inclusiveness by embedding DEI principles in recruitment, mentoring, and governance.
• Support early-career researchers with targeted funding, mentorship, and training in grant writing and project management.
• Strengthen societal impact and visibility through strategic communication, open science, and co-ownership with industry.

For practical reasons, the final report will later be updated with an appendix containing the final conclusions from the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and the Department of Agroecology.