Newsletter 43 from the Head of Department
Dear All, We are approaching the highlights of this midsummer for all of us – (physical!) graduation AND vaccination.
INTERNAL NEWS
No smoking on our indoor and outdoor premises - our smoking policy has been updated
From 31 July this year, smoking is no longer allowed on the outdoor premises of the institute. An amendment to the Smoking Act means that all educational institutions that house youth educations are covered by the requirement for a 'smoke-free cadastre'. It matches our desire to be a smoke-free workplace, and we have therefore updated the department's smoking policy.
In practice, this means:
• 'smoke-free premises': Employees, students, patients and guests must not smoke, steam or sniff at our indoor and outdoor premises at any time.
• ‘smoke-free school hours’: Pupils must not smoke, steam or sniff during school hours (8am-4pm) either on or off our premises.
If you are in doubt about where the boundaries are, there is a map in the updated smoking policy (in Danish), which has just been approved by our local liaison committee (LSU). On our website there is also help to get if you want to quit smoking (in Danish).
Questions not answered in the smoking policy? Contact our daily work environment manager David Kraft: dck@dent.au.dk and tel. 40 63 10 30.
Be cautious – cyber criminals are constantly trying to sneak in
Antivirus programs, firewalls and two-step verification slow down many of the cyber attacks that Aarhus University is constantly exposed to.
But it is our behavior that is absolutely decisive for whether the cybercriminals gain access to our systems, our money and not least our knowledge. We each form a loophole into the organization, and it is therefore important that we are vigilant and critical:
• Pay special attention to the so-called phishing emails, which are the biggest IT security threat. They can be threatening or look like harmless emails often sent from what look like known senders - delete them immediately or contact IT.
• Always and without exception use the @dent.au.dk e-mail when communicating as employees at the department.
• Never store research or patient information on private devices such as computers, tablets, phones, drives, or USB keys.
RESEARCH, EDUCATION & TEACHING
The graduation is held physically and all teachers are invited
Fortunately, it has become possible to send our graduates well out into the world with a total, physical graduation for all our graduate students and pupils.
It will be the 1st of July at 9-11am in the Aula.
Vice Dean for Education Lise Wogensen Bach is this year's honorary speaker.
Unfortunately, the graduates cannot invite their friends and family along, because then we will be too many in relation to the current covid-19 guidelines, but there is room for those of you who have the time and desire.
Registration is required so that we can comply with the corona guidelines. Deadline for registration is on Friday 25 June at 10am.
You will find the program, practical information and registration link here:
https://studier/fagportaler/dimissionsarrangementer-paa-health/
Status of a potential new dental education in Hjørring
It is now just over three weeks since the government presented their educational proposals, which entailed the proposal for a third dental education in Hjørring. Since then, there have been no official announcements from the minister, government or ministry, so in a way there is nothing new. However, we know that the politicians are negotiating the proposal this week, and that there will be no clarification until after the summer - at the earliest.
As mentioned, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Department of Dentistry at the University of Copenhagen and with the professional organizations, and in recent weeks we have worked together to qualify the debate and the decision basis.
Among other things, we have written the debate posts (in Danish):
• "Empty dental clinics in the province are due to too few graduates - not the location of educations" published in Altinget on 15 June 2021 - read it on the website
• "A dental education in North Jutland is neither a gain for the region nor for Denmark" published in Jyllands-Posten on 17 June 2021 - read it on the website
• "Maybe not a gift for northern Jutlanders" published in Nordjyske (paper edition) on 18 June 2021
On 11 June 2021, Politiken published a longer article under the headline: "Criticism of the government's plan: New dental education will lack teachers" just as the faculty published the article "Head of Department: New dental education in Hjørring seems headless" on 2 June 2021.
Two weeks ago, we sent a letter to all of the Folketing's education spokespersons with professional and factual arguments for the challenges that a third dental education will face and potential consequences for the two existing dental educations. Around the same time, the Danish Dental Association, the Organization of Employed Dentists and the Organization of Practicing Dentists sent a large number of questions to the Minister of Education and Research, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen. The Associations of Specialist Dentists in Orthodontics and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery also have debate posts on the way.
The political winds are blowing towards increased regionalization and not only in the field of education, but we continue to work towards and continue to believe that facts and insights from the professional environment will contribute to qualified political decisions and secure the two dental educations at Copenhagen and Aarhus University.
NAMES
Golnoush Bahrami - Section Head of the Section for Prosthetics
Associate Professor Golnoush Bahrami took over as Acting Head of the Section for Prosthetics when Professor Flemming Isidor died in December 2019. In the intervening period, Golnoush has fully conveyed all aspects of the substantial management task, and it is therefore a great pleasure for me that Golnoush from 1st June this year is no longer acting, but permanent Section Head for the Section for Prosthetics and permanent member of the cross-sectional management team at IOOS. I look forward to our continued collaboration.
Jan Wolff is the new Section Head and Professor of Computer-aided Dentistry and Surgery
From June 1st, we have a new professor at IOOS. Jan Wolff, with Finnish roots, has previously been employed at, among others, ACTA (Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam) and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. Most recently, Jan Wolff came from a position as adjunct professor at the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf. With us, Jan Wolff will become a Professor of Computer-aided Dentistry and Surgery at the Section for Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Pathology, where he will also be Section Head. Jan Wolff research is focused on how advanced digital technology can improve implantology and reconstruction in the head-neck region. A warm welcome to IOOS and Aarhus University.
Read more about Jan Wolff and his research on the website - here is also a picture of Jan, so you can get to know the new face in the hallways.
Teachers of the Year have been awarded
Three of our colleagues probably smile extra wide. They have been named Teachers of the Year at IOOS. This year, our students have awarded:
• Jan Hejle, teacher, dental hygienist education
• Britt Hansen Bomberg, teacher, clinical dental technician education
• Mads Juul, clinical teacher, dental education
All three teachers have been (virtually) celebrated - and surprised - with flowers and diplomas by the students. Congratulations to all three with the great and well-deserved title.
Best wishes,
Siri