Ready for »uncomfortable« work in Asia and Africa

40 degree celsius heat, torrential downpours, talking to villagers in a strange language, and interviews in a flooded longhouse in Sarawak, Malaysia, may sound like some kind of reality TV show.

But for the organisers of a field studies course this spring, Andreas de Neergaard and Torben Birch-Thomsen, it is just a chance for students to »widen their tool box«.

See pictures of plant fascination day at uni

The International Fascination of Plants Day gave visitors unprecedented access to the many collections and projects in the University's gardens and greenhouses in Frederiksberg.

Visitors were able to participate in guided tours of the outside gardens and themed talks by University staff.

Open hours in the greenhouses, information booths and a plant sale rounded out the experience. Check out our photos from the plant collection, and highlights of the day in our gallery.

Chloe.deanna.williams@adm.ku.dk

Tests reveal give-and-take behaviour

People start out being generous. But then they slowly turn into egoists as the game goes along.

This was certainly one of the outcomes of a series of economic experiments that have just been carried out at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In the experiments, student volunteers were paid small cash incentives in what are called ‘public good’ games, explains assistant professor Toke Fosgaard of the Institute of Food Resource and Economics (FOI).

»It tests, in controlled conditions, the social dilemma of being egoistic or social in cooperation situations«.

Myself, or the group, what will I choose?

The instructions are simple: Do not speak with your fellows, sit in front of your assigned computer, and follow the instructions shown on your screen.

I am with a bunch of randomly selected students from different backgrounds in the Laboratory of Experimental Economics at CSS. It seems we are mainly international students attracted by the economic reward.

Photo story: Out on the farm

Top scientist Haja Kadarmideen had taken the University Post and two PhD students from his own department along to the University of Copenhagen’s experimental farm in Tåstrup. The staff out there welcomed our spontaneous visit and gave us a tour of the animals and stables.

»These are the F1s and these are the F2s,« explained one of them, as he pointed to the pigs, before launching into a technical explanation that the University Post did not, quite, grasp.

Follow the photo story here.

Research farm, hospital

Australian scientist gets DKK 19m for obesity work

In the midst of economic gloom and hard times for science funding, one scientist has stood out and apparently found the winning formula.

India-born Australian Haja Kadarmideen of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences has only been in Copenhagen for one year, but he has already hauled in a solid lump of cash for three different genomics and systems biology projects.

Scientists hunt for elusive obesity genes

In Hermann Melville’s 19th century novel, the main character sails the world’s oceans to hunt down one particular, enigmatic, whale named Moby Dick.

In one way, India-born Australian scientist Haja Kadarmideen’s take on genetics is a bit like this.

»The genome is so long. Finding the right gene for a disease is like finding a fish in the ocean. Often you know a little bit about where in the ocean the fish are, but often not,« he explains to the University Post.

Gene variation is the clue

Staff reject merger plan in key committee

Staff representatives on a key university advisory committee, the HSU, now protest publicly against management plans to merge four faculties.

They do this in an open letter to the University Board.

»There is wide resistance to parts of the re-organisation. And this resistance is not shown adequately in the committee’s reporting to the Board. The University of Copenhagen management has almost completely overheard the objections from the many affected staff members and maintain their so-called rough sketch of the merger,« the staff write.

Staff, student reps clash with Rector over merger

Rector Ralf Hemmingsen and the staff/student members of the Board of Directors might as well have come from two different planets. Their perception at the last board meeting on 26 October of how the merger of four faculties has been carried out, was certainly very different, it has emerged.

»Things are proceeding as well as they possibly can,« Rector Ralf Hemmingsen declared at the meeting, adding that the process had been a level-headed, and fruitful academic dialogue.