“Aarhus University is up-to-date with scientific research”
“I am surrounded by nice people who try to help.”
The iNANOschool – being a PhD student at the iNANO center
The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, iNANO, was established in 2002 and has become a major research and education center at Aarhus University. The iNANO center combines research groups from the departments of Chemistry, Physics, Molecular Biology and Genetics and Biology and strong connections to the medical faculty. The interdisciplinary approach with a focus on high quality collaborations within both academia and the industry provides a dynamic and productive environment and a strong research tradition for excellence and high impact science.
The iNANO center is located in spacious new buildings on the main university campus in central Aarhus and houses a broad range of state-of-the-art equipment.
The iNANO center is highly international both in terms of academic staff and enrolled PhD students (with more than one third international PhD students). The daily language in the research groups is English, and the PhD programme is provided entirely in English. Danes generally speak English very well, and international students will easily manage in English only.
The PhD study at iNANO is characterized by its international environment where different cultures meet, and the general atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming. As a new PhD student, you will be welcomed by both your PhD partner from the Graduate School of Science and Technology and the in-house PhD administrator, who will help you with all aspects of your PhD which are not related to your research. When you arrive in Aarhus, you will also be invited to a PhD Introduction Day at a Faculty level, where you will meet other new PhD students and receive general information about your PhD study.
At iNANO we have around 100 PhD students enrolled. Together with a large number of postdocs, this is the basis for a strong sense of community between the young researchers at iNANO. To strengthen this even further, iNANO each year arranges an Autumn School as a weekend trip for its enrolled PhD students. The Autumn School focuses both on professional and social aspects of being a PhD students and it provides numerous occasions for socializing and networking.
In addition to this, renowned researchers are invited to give presentations at the Friday morning iNANO lecture. Also, once a year, iNANO hosts an Annual Meeting – a full day with international lectures, postdoc presentations and student posters throughout the day and a reception dinner in the evening.
“AU has a really good website with a lot of information about moving to Denmark. ”
“The laboratory equipment at iNANO is really good.”
Graduate studies at Aarhus University
The Aarhus University campus is situated in the city centre. Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark but by international comparison Aarhus is quite small with less than 350,000 inhabitants. Aarhus is a very young city due to the large number of students – 40,000 at the university alone. For more information about Aarhus in general, we refer to the official visitaarhus.dk website.
Although first established in 1928, Aarhus University is consistently ranked among the top 100 universities in the world.
At Aarhus University, all teachers are active researchers. The settings are informal, questions are welcomed, and you can speak freely with your teachers, who encourage interaction and dialogue.
PhD students at Aarhus University can be enrolled either based on a Master’s degree (the 5+3 model) or through a more flexible 3+5 model based on a Bachelor’s degree and with credits from a commenced Master’s programme, if any.
A PhD study at the iNANO center, under the Faculty of Natural Sciences, follows a general structure and you will be responsible for your own research project. As a PhD student, you must live up to certain requirements, such as following courses corresponding to 30 ECTS. A broad range of scientific courses and transferable skills courses are available at the university, and iNANO faculty also organize PhD courses. When you are enrolled at Aarhus University, it is also possible to follow courses at other Danish universities without paying any course fees. During your PhD study, the university offers career counselling and workshops through its Career Services.
The high number of international employees at the university level is reflected in the University culture. The International Centre is dedicated to help PhD students settle down in Denmark. You can sign up for the The University International Club newsletter, or join the International Community in Aarhus, where you will also find activities for your spouse and children.
The University has written a guide for international academic staff that may help newcomers settle down in Denmark and at Aarhus University.
“Aarhus University has many facilities for students”
“Really nice people that help you with your questions.”
