Managing Director of the Danish Advanced Research Academy found
Philip Hallenborg was part of the team behind the grant application. Now he will head the national PhD academy funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation to bring universities together to develop Danish research talent.
The newly established Danish Advanced Research Academy (DARA) at the University of Southern Denmark has found its managing director. Philip Hallenborg comes from a position as team leader for research support at the Faculty of Science and has played a key role in the development of the academy he will now head.
DARA is a new national PhD academy established with a grant of DKK 500 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The academy aims to strengthen research training in Denmark through interdisciplinary collaboration, international outlook and talent development at the highest level.
With a background as a molecular biologist and solid experience with research funding and strategic partnerships, Philip Hallenborg was one of the main forces behind the application that led to the grant.
- I am very much looking forward to starting the work of developing DARA in close collaboration with the Board, internal and external stakeholders. The academy must be a dynamic and inclusive environment for future research talents - with high professionalism, strong networks and clear ambitions, says Philip Hallenborg.
In the future, DARA will award PhD grants across subject areas and create a national platform for the education programme of study for young researchers. The academy will strengthen Danish research capacity and contribute solutions to some of today's greatest societal challenges.
- Therefore, the main focus in the start-up phase will be to gather the stakeholders around DARA, which will be an academy for all Danish universities, says Philip Hallenborg.
This will be done through joint activities and PhD courses, among other things. A key ambition for DARA is to act as a unifying player across the country's universities.
The academy may be anchored at SDU, but DARA will work closely with all academy stakeholders to develop and offer joint PhD activities, courses and networks across institutions.
By involving all Universities in Denmark and creating a common framework for researcher training, the goal is to strengthen both the quality and coherence of national efforts to develop the next generation of researchers.
Therefore, the long-term goal is to find additional funding so that the academy can become financially sustainable and have a lifespan that extends beyond the initial five years of awards.
- The ambition is for DARA to be established as a sustainable research academy that educates sought-after PhDs for the benefit of society and the research world, says Philip Hallenborg.
About DARA
The Academy represents a strategic investment in Denmark's future scientific capacity. With an increasing annual intake of an average of 40 PhD students, the academy will train researchers who can contribute to both the private sector and public research with solutions that are crucial for future technological and scientific progress.
DARA is being established with DKK 500 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, corresponding to five years of almost 200 PhD fellowships/grants.
Philip Hallenborg is the director as of May 1st. The DARA secretariat will initially consist of five employees, but is expected to have eight employees when the Academy reaches its highest intake of PhD students in its fourth and fifth years.
The Board consists of representatives from DTU, Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the University of Southern Denmark and the private sector.