SDU’s climate centre is in the pipeline
In 2022, SDU’s climate centre will open under the name of SDU Climate Cluster. Compared to previous announcements, there are a few changes to the structure of the centre, which will function more as an interdisciplinary research cluster.
The year 2022 has been proclaimed by the UN as the year of basic sciences with the desire to reach out to a wide audience and communicate about science with the overall purpose of having increased and targeted focus on the importance of science. As for SDU, the new year will be the kick-off for the University’s climate centre under the name of SDU Climate Cluster (SCC).
The intention is that the new centre will be an excellent and interdisciplinary mission-driven climate research cluster that supports the climate agenda and society’s need for sustainable transition.
The research cluster will consist of various interdisciplinary research consortia, centres and projects, research networks and a professionally diverse group of world-class national and international researchers.
Adjustments to the set-up
According to Pro-rector Sebastian Mernild, the reason for having turned more towards a research cluster model with inspiration SDU’s interdisciplinary elite science center DIAS is that this set-up will ensure an even stronger interdisciplinary involvement of researchers from SDU and external collaborators.
- The advantage is that we reach the academic environments directly in order to get a closer centre with a stronger integration at the entire SDU so that we can help solve the challenges we face together and ensure that the centre does not become a kind of bubble.
Plenty of activity in the following months
Sebastian Mernild is Pro-rector at SDU and Professor of Climate Change. He is leading the start-up of the climate centre up to and including the summer of 2022.
In addition to contributing new knowledge, SCC will also stimulate SDU’s faculties to carry out programme activities for students and research talents with academic weight and breadth in climatic core areas, he explains.
- We hope to be able to attract both established and experienced researchers but also PhD and postdoc students. It will be possible to apply for funding for climate-related research projects through five tracks, and SDU’s already existing climate-related projects can be connected to the climate centre, says Sebastian Mernild.
SDU Climate Cluster is expected to open officially in the first part of 2022.