Five AU students honoured with royal award
Five students from Aarhus University will soon be venturing out into the world to expand their academic horizons. They have each received the HM Queen Margrethe II travel grant, and their time abroad will allow them to pursue their academic interests in greater depth – from prehistoric arrowheads and game theory to the link between diet and cancer, flooding, and sustainable construction.
Five promising talents from Aarhus University will be able to study abroad and expand their knowledge thanks to the DKK 25,000 HM Queen Margrethe II travel grants they have been awarded. The grants will be presented at the university's annual celebration in the Main Hall on Friday 12 September.
The five recipients of the 2025 Queen Margrethe II Travel Grant are:
Jakob Bach Jensen, Master's student in archaeology, School of Culture and Society, Arts
In his Bachelor’s project, Jakob investigated the tanged arrowheads of the Pitted Ware culture, a distinctive type of arrowhead from the period 2800-2600 BCE. The HM Queen Margrethe II travel grant will enable him to explore his interest in this subject from an international perspective, by conducing fieldwork and archival studies at Swedish museums and institutions.
Alexander Bjerremann Petersen, Master's student in political science, Department of Political Science, Aarhus BSS
The HM Queen Margrethe II travel grant will enable Alexander to study at University College London, where he will have the opportunity to specialise in subjects within political economy, public policy and game theory.
Maria Lorentsen, Master's student in public health science, Department of Public Health, Health
Maria is interested in the connection between diet and cancer. With support from the HM Queen Margrethe II travel grant, she will now complete a work placement at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon in France – one of the world’s leading institutions for cancer research.
Frida Brøndgaard Nielsen, Master's student in biology, Department of Biology, Natural Sciences
Pollution, erosion and flooding are unfortunately part of everyday life in South Africa. This is something Frida is keen to change. With support from the HM Queen Margrethe II travel grant, she will travel to the capital Pretoria, where she will participate in an interdisciplinary research project to restore an urban nature area on the outskirts of the city.
Anton Niewald Mikkelsen, Master's student in civil engineering, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Technical Sciences
Anton is committed to making the construction industry more sustainable. Thanks to the HM Queen Margrethe II travel grant, he will now have the opportunity to study abroad at the University of British Columbia in Canada, which is a global hub for sustainable timber construction.
Read more about all five grant recipients
Read more about Queen Margrethe II’s time as a student at Aarhus University
Read more about the annual celebration
About the HM Queen Margrethe II Travel Grants
The travel grant was established in 2010 as a present to HM Queen Margrethe on the occasion of her 70th birthday and was extended in 2012 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne. A total of five grants are awarded. At Aarhus BSS and Arts, the grants go to students of political science and archaeology – the two subjects that Her Majesty studied during her time as a student at Aarhus University in 1961-62. No restrictions with regard to subject apply to candidates from Health, Natural Sciences and Technical Sciences. The 25,000 kroner travel grants are intended to make it possible for their recipients to study abroad in connection with their studies at Aarhus University.