The flagships are getting ready
AGRO has a strong fleet of talented scientists. The four scientific flagships are now being made ready to increase the visibility and awareness of our strong research areas and to show that AGRO offers something quite special.
Our goal is to find new knowledge and map uncharted territories. The overarching goal, which we are all aiming for, is to contribute to sustainable production and growth through research, advice and education in agroecosystems. We are not the only ones in the world with this goal in mind, but our ambition is to be a department that you just cannot avoid.
We have four scientific flagships. Our flagships are research areas on which we are particularly strong and unique and deliver results to the benefit of society now and in the future.
The four scientific flagships have the following working titles:
- Climate Smart Agriculture
- Sustainable Nutrient Management
- Soil Functions
- Sustainable Pest Management
The flagships comprise research, talent development, policy advice and education. There is not necessarily convergence between our sections and flagships or the flagship captains and section heads. The flagships are composed from and work across sections. You can even sail on more than one flagship. This could, for example, be interesting for junior VIPs that have not yet chosen a career path.
Each of the flagships must have a reputable figurehead who can represent them externally and, within our own ranks, to stimulate our development in a direction that maintains or strengthens the value of the flagships to the benefit of all of AGRO. Each flagship in AGRO will thus have a captain and key persons to facilitate this. The captains of the flagships are leaders in their fields. They have very strong CVs and good leadership qualities. The captains are on the professor level.
Our distinguishing flags
An important task for the flagships is to be visible. In the maritime world a flagship is the ship in a fleet where the commanding officer is and where he has raised the admiral’s flag. In a metaphorical sense a flagship is the product or project that is most prominent or important.
The flagships in AGRO integrate information about results from their designated research areas and make it visible with the aim of strengthening the full fleet as much as possible. The flagship concept is intended to raise awareness of AGRO’s valuable products and ensure that they receive attention – both externally and internally. Our flagships are what we want to be known for and we must strive to protect them.
Our mutual task is to work hard to make our flagships visible and well known nationally and internationally and recognised as knowledge hubs that make us an attractive partner to work with regard to, among other things, attracting funding, PhD students and postdocs.
You can read the brief description of the scientific content of the four flagships by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page. You are welcome to send comments on the descriptions or working titles of the flagships to Birgit S. Langvad at langvad@agro.au.dk at the latest 22 October 2015.