AAU hosts three conferences during the Danish EU Presidency
: 15.07.2025
AAU hosts three conferences during the Danish EU Presidency
: 15.07.2025
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AAU hosts three conferences during the Danish EU Presidency
By Lea Laursen Pasgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs and Anne Drivsholm Sand, AAU EU Office
Translated by: LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Denmark has just taken over the EU Presidency where several of the Danish universities are hosting a number of major conferences that focus on highly topical EU agendas in areas such as research, innovation and space. AAU is hosting three of these conferences, all of which will take place in the autumn of 2025.
Rector Per Michael Johansen is pleased that the university is involved, with all its diversity of knowledge.
"The hosting is a special opportunity for AAU to make its mark on important European agendas, contribute to and influence these, and at the same time highlight our strengths – our mission-oriented approach, experience working closely with the wider world and our strong foundation in research-based innovation," says the rector.
The three conferences deal with the contribution of space research to a greener and safer world, the future of research evaluation and career development, and the contribution of social sciences and humanities research to solving society's grand challenges.
Space Conference 2025: Sustainability, Autonomy and Competitiveness in Space
20-21 October 2025, Aalborg
The conference will address opportunities and challenges for European space policy and European space programmes. There will also be discussions on how the space field plays a role in European resilience, competitiveness and sustainability, and what development in the space sector means for Europe and Denmark.
With Europe's autonomy and security as central themes, we look forward to bringing important topics such as satellite communication into focus at Space Conference 2025 that AAU is proud to host. With more than 30 years of experience, a strong cluster of companies like GomSpace, Space Inventor, Sternula and GateHouse Satcom as well as the tech hub Space Connect North, both AAU and Northern Jutland occupy a solid position in the space field – and the potential to make a real difference.
Conference on the value of human values
1-2 December 2025, Copenhagen
The conference focuses on the link between human values and society’s grand challenges. It helps to create more visibility on what is required to create research and innovation environments and programmes in Europe that promote 'Human-Centric Research and Innovation' as an essential parameter for how we can differentiate ourselves and create better competitiveness in Europe.
AAU is a mission-oriented university that brings together technical-natural science and humanities-social science knowledge to address society’s grand challenges. We have strong competencies in both STEM and the Social Sciences and Humanities, and therefore it is ideal that AAU – with the help of the University of Southern Denmark and Copenhagen Business School – is leading a conference that puts human-centric research and innovation on the agenda to help make European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's vision of a more sustainable and inclusive Europe a reality.
High-level conference on future research evaluation 2025
3-4 December 2025, Copenhagen
The need to reform research evaluation is urgent. The traditional systems of merit, which are based on publications and citations, fail to recognize the full spectrum of scientific contributions – including teaching, dissemination and participation in society. The conference provides an international forum for discussions on research quality, impact and next steps for reforming assessment and funding. It is an agenda that is in the spotlight. Among other things, as a result of the work done under the auspices of CoARA (Coalition on Reforming Research Assessment) where AAU is a signatory.
It is important to promote national and international evaluation methods that recognize open science, research culture and collaborative excellence. Europe's research funding and research institutions must come together to actively shape a new policy agenda for open science and responsible research evaluation – and its practical implementation.
Other activities
AAU is participating and is involved in planning several other activities linked to the Danish EU Presidency.
Co-organizer of mission conference
In addition to the three conferences, AAU is also co-organizer of the International Mission Conference on 24 November which is a pre-event for ASCEND: Fostering the European Culture of Innovation 25-26 November.
The conference is organized in collaboration with Innovation Fund Denmark and taking place at AAU in Copenhagen. The theme is: Reimagining Public Policy: Does Mission-Oriented Innovation Hold the Key for Europe?
EU career workshop for students
On 29 September, the Department of Politics and Society will host an EU career workshop for students interested in exploring career and internship opportunities within the EU institutions.
Current and former EU professionals, including AAU alumni, present the many different roles available in and around the EU. The event is relevant to students from diverse academic backgrounds, including public administration, law, economics, communication and science.
The workshop is designed to help students better understand the pathways to EU careers and prepare for future opportunities in international institutions.