Bo Jellesmark Thorsen to continue as head of department

“I’m very pleased that Bo Jellesmark Thorsen will continue as head of the department. Not only is he a respected researcher with an extensive network in Denmark and internationally, he’s also an experienced and strategically minded leader. This combination makes him highly suited for the job as the director of what is arguably the most socially engaged department in the Faculty of Science,” says Katrine Krogh Andersen.

“What’s more, as a leader he doesn’t just focus on his own department, but also on initiatives that can benefit the entire university.”

Potential to achieve even more

Over the past eight years, Bo Jellesmark Thorsen has worked to ensure stable finances at the department, heighten the quality of research, attract research grants and new international degree programmes, increase public outreach and involve the department’s top researchers in key committees, councils and boards in Denmark and the EU. But if you ask him, there’s potential for even more.

“We’re in a very strong position today, and that gives us opportunities, as our research evaluation pointed out last year. We need to use these opportunities to take the time to think, discuss and then focus our research performance. This will elevate several of our research environments to the international elite. We also need to work on our societal commitment. Our practice of engaging in societal development is excellent.  In the coming years, we need to refine and professionalise that practice so it becomes solid cultural capital for us and a model from which others can learn.”

Bor Jellesmark Thorsen will begin his renewed term on 1 August 2024.