Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS)

A new kind of presence is taking shape at DIAS. 🔴⚫   During the 2026/27 academic year, Professor Claes de Vreese will become our first Chair-in-Residence, laying the groundwork for initiatives that will go beyond.   The new role will bring his expertise, experience and international connections fully into the everyday life and development of DIAS - and beyond SDU.   Over the coming year, Claes will help set DIAS 4.0 in motion: connecting people and ideas, developing new research environments and turning promising opportunities into collaborations and initiatives that can continue to grow. On this, DIAS Director Sten Rynning says: "Our Chairs and Fellows are DIAS. Their ideas, expertise and international reach are the foundation of the institute. By bringing one of our externally based Chairs into the everyday life of DIAS, we can turn more of that reach into new activities, collaborations and lasting institutional strength."   With Claes as our first Chair-in-Residence, a new chapter for DIAS begins. And we can’t wait to see where that takes us. 🔗 Read the full story in the link below. Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark Digital Democracy Centre (SDU) SDU Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet

When a scholar says, “the literature says…”, who is actually speaking? In this clip from our second episode of DIAS in Dialogue, Professor of Communication François Cooren reflects on how authority is created in academic communication with DIAS Director Sten Rynning. Because experts do not only speak as individuals. They bring other voices with them: research, literature, institutions, traditions. François Cooren calls this “ventriloquizing the literature” - making the literature speak with us, and sometimes for us. It is a small phrase with a big implication, that communication is never just the transfer of information. It also shapes who gets to sound credible, authoritative, and heard. 📹 Watch the full episode in the link below.

Communication is not only what we say. It is also how we are understood. For universities, that has become increasingly urgent. In the second episode of DIAS in Dialogue, DIAS Director Sten Rynning speaks with François Cooren, Professor in the Department of Communication at Université de Montréal, about communication as something far broader than just intentional messages between people. Together, they discuss how communication creates meaning, shapes authority and power, and connects us to society - from everyday interactions, to the role universities play in public life. This episode grew out of François Cooren’s visit to DIAS, organized by DIAS Fellow Daniel Wolfgruber, and continues the conversation sparked by his lecture. 📹 Watch the full episode via the link in the comments. Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark Institut for Kultur- og Sprogvidenskaber Det Humanistiske Fakultet, Syddansk Universitet

Today, 4,279 applicants received an offer to study at the Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark. 🎓 And from all of us here at DIAS: a very warm welcome. A university is made not only of buildings, books and lecture halls, but of people arriving with questions, and the courage to follow them wherever they lead. This autumn, you will discover new subjects, new friendships and perhaps new ways of seeing the world. Along the way, we hope you will discover DIAS, too. The Danish Institute for Advanced Study is not only a place for researchers. It is for students, too. It is a place where disciplines meet, ideas are tested, and difficult questions are given the time and space they deserve. Our talks, conversations and events in the DIAS auditorium are open to you. Come by when a subject sparks your curiosity. Stay for the questions, and join the conversation. Or simply step inside the building and see what is happening. There is room for you here. Welcome to SDU - and welcome to DIAS. 🤝

What does studying English have to do with Westminster? More than you might think. Recently, in late June, DIAS Chair of Humanities Ben Davies was one of the organizers behind a parliamentary breakfast at the House of Commons. The meeting brought together members of the House of Lords, senior voices from publishing and broadcasting, school leaders and university researchers for the launch of a new Charter for Change for English. The aim is to make a stronger public case for English language, literature and creative writing, and to challenge the idea that studying English only leads in one direction. “English graduates go on and do all sorts of amazing things in different careers,” Ben says, “from the media to law, to teaching and to working in tech companies. That often does not get advertised much.” The discussion also touched on AI, and on why close reading, clear writing and an understanding of language remain vital skills. Perhaps now more than ever. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eriePiCH

“It’s time to break this barrier. Let’s talk to each other.” 🔴⚫ When DIAS Director Sten Rynning asked Professor T.V. Paul how academia can better understand a changing world, the conclusion was clear: more interdisciplinary work, more genuine exchange across fields, and a greater willingness to learn from perspectives we do not already share. Historians, economists, political scientists, and sociologists may approach the world from different starting points. But the questions of power, status, conflict, and coexistence do not belong neatly to any one discipline, as discussed in this first episode of our new video format, DIAS in Dialogue. And as to what book we ought to read? Watch the full conversation via the link in the comments to learn T.V.'s answer. 🔗 Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark

What does it take to build great research today? This was the starting point for yesterday’s DIAS Blue Sky conversation, the last event of the semester before the summer break. SDU Rector Jens Ringsmose opened by zooming out. He focused on the current conditions of academia: a system where external funding is growing, competition is intensifying, and many early-career researchers are working within short-term structures. A system that seems to nudge researchers toward safer bets. At the same time, the premise remains simple: high-quality research depends on original ideas. And on the people who develop them. The discussion that followed, shaped by questions from the audience, stayed with this tension. Between structure and freedom, between what can be measured, and what actually matters in the long run. Sten Rynning, DIAS Director, moderated the conversation, keeping it moving between these levels: the broader system, and the everyday realities of navigating it. Towards the end, DIAS Chair Ben Davies shifted the focus. He reflected on what a year of Blue Sky has looked like in practice, and what is taking shape going forward: 1:1 mentoring across disciplines Workshops on research leadership and funding landscapes Spaces where Fellows and Chairs meet outside their own fields to test ideas and challenge each other An attempt to create better conditions for research, and to invest not only in projects, but in people, so early-career researchers are not left to navigate the system alone We continue the work, and wish all of you a happy summer.

We are proud to be part of this new Nordic collaboration, opening five fully funded fellowships for curiosity-driven researchers working across health and sustainability. 👏 Supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the NNF-IAS Fellowship Programme brings together eight Institutes for Advanced Study across the Nordics around a shared ambition: giving excellent researchers the time, freedom and interdisciplinary community to pursue bold individual projects while building new perspectives across disciplines and borders. Applications are open until 1 October 2026 at 12:00 CEST. 💡

Great research is never built by ideas alone. It also depends on the environments around them, the people who challenge them, the freedom to pursue them, the funding that enables them, and the institutions that help researchers find their way in an increasingly complex world. For our final DIAS event of the semester, we welcome SDU Rector Jens Ringsmose for a conversation on what it takes to build great research today. Universities are being asked to do more than ever. They must foster excellent research, support innovation and societal impact, encourage interdisciplinarity, attract external funding, and defend academic freedom - all while operating in a political landscape that is rarely simple. Joining the conversation are DIAS Director Sten Rynning and DIAS Chair Ben Davies. A fitting way to close the semester, by looking ahead to the conditions that allow bold ideas - and the people behind them - to flourish. 📍 DIAS Auditorium 📅 June 24, 11:15 - 12:15

A musical score passed from hand to hand. 🎼 At DIAS this Wednesday, composer Signe Lykke invited the audience into the making of 'Unearthed' - her new work for string quartet, developed through conversations with scientists and shaped by ideas of memory, scale and Earth’s long history. Together with DIAS Chair Don Canfield , Signe spoke about the early conversations that helped set the work in motion: trying to understand how life on Earth has evolved, how its systems interact, and how those processes might find another kind of expression through music. For Signe, the connection is not just about illustrating science. “Science is more than data,” she said. “I find sound in science.” Tidal movements, blood cells, choral voices and symphonic structures all became part of the conversation as she unfolded the artistic process behind the piece. And when she passed around the handwritten score, the audience got a close look at the very physical work behind it: pen, paper, notation and years of thought slowly taking shape. “At the centre of all great research lies curiosity,” Signe reminded us. A fitting note to end on, and a beautiful example of what can happen when art and science stay with a question long enough to make something new. Thank you to Signe Lykke and Don Canfield for a generous and inspiring afternoon at DIAS. 🎻