DIAS begins search for five Chairs-in-Residence

DIAS, a hub for advanced thinking and insight, has always been about people.

Across disciplines and faculties, its Chairs and Fellows form a community of researchers who meet in the same place, return to it, and carry ideas with them across fields and environments. It is a space defined not by one discipline, but by the conversations and collaborations that happen between big thinkers.

Now, DIAS is taking a new step in the direction of strengthening this space.

The institute has begun the search for five Chairs-in-Residence, internationally leading scholars who will be hired into DIAS to guide its work and activities. Current DIAS affiliates are part-time; the Chairs-in-Residence will be in DIAS full-time.

The ambition is to strengthen what is already there: to add a permanent research core that can support and grow the intellectual life of DIAS.

On this, DIAS Director Sten Rynning notes: 

“What we are building now is a stronger center of gravity for DIAS. Our Chairs and Fellows have already created a remarkable intellectual environment, and with the Chairs-in-Residence we are adding a permanent research core that can drive activity, attract funding, and help take DIAS to a new level of insight and intellectual creativity.”
-Sten Rynning, DIAS Director

Building on a strong foundation

DIAS is a well-established and international research environment, shaped by its community of Chairs, Fellows, and collaborators across SDU and beyond.

The new Chairs-in-Residence will enter the institution to enhance its direction of development.

Where the existing Chairs bring perspectives from across departments and disciplines, the Chairs-in-Residence will contribute with a continuous presence at DIAS, helping to initiate activities, bring researchers and research environments together, and carry ideas forward.

The Chairs-in-Residence will both join a community and help it grow.

A different kind of search

The recruitment process reflects the level of ambition.

Search committees have been established across all five faculties at SDU, bringing together DIAS Chairs and the Director. Their task is to identify and approach researchers at the highest international level, scholars whose work stands out, and who are motivated by research leadership and collaboration across disciplines.

Rather than open calls, the process is based on continuous dialogue and careful selection. We look forward to interacting with many exciting people and to seek out the best possible match between DIAS and its new Chairs-in-Residence.

Shaping what comes next

The five Chairs-in-Residence will be at the heart of DIAS. They will reinforce the existing DIAS, and they will help shape tomorrow’s DIAS. It is an enormously exciting process, and a rare opportunity for an institution to take such a leap forward.