"It has never been more exciting – and challenging – to work with education"

A quick look at Lise Wogensen’s calendar shows that things are certainly busy, and it’s no small feat to juggle all the tasks of a Vice-Dean for Education. The more weighty issues, such as government reforms and sector restructuring, have understandably dominated in recent years. However, for Lise Wogensen Bach, it’s the joy of creating the best possible educational programmes and conditions for both students and staff that motivated her to take on another term.

"For me, it’s a great pleasure to help educate the graduates of tomorrow. They are the university’s biggest impact on the outside world. And I derive immense job satisfaction and energy from working with all the dedicated and highly skilled colleagues across our educational programmes here at Health."

Lise Wogensen Bach has had a long career at Aarhus University. She has researched diabetes, where she developed transgenic mouse models focusing on vascular changes, and she also helped discover how geckos and lizards can drop their tails so quickly. She later became the Director of the PhD school, then Vice-Dean for Talent and External Relations, before stepping into the role of Vice-Dean for Education at Health in January 2020.

"It may sound basic – but it’s important to remember the students when we talk education"

Her many years at the university have given her valuable experience and insight into everyday life as a student, teacher, researcher, and leader. A foundation for her is striving to ensure a positive study and work environment.

"Fundamentally, it’s difficult to learn new things or work well if we don’t thrive in our daily lives. We are busy, juggling major tasks, and need to work across departments, faculties, and disciplines. We can only do this if we remain curious and listen to each other."

Since stepping into the role of Vice-Dean, she has invited students to take part in discussions on topics such as student induction and creating inclusive study environments.

"The students are the ones who must navigate a new daily routine, they need to feel motivated, challenged academically, and secure while studying at Health. If we want to see them graduate as successfullly as possible, we need to give them a strong start and listen to their ideas on where innovation and support are needed."

Collaboration with students has led to a code of conduct for both the first weeks introduction to stufy life and all the social events held by the faculty’s student associations. These codes serve as guidelines to ensure all students feel included in both the social events and the intense induction period.

But, it’s equally important not to forget the teachers and staff when discussing well-being, she says.

"This will change our educational landscape – there’s no getting around it"

Of course, it’s the major reforms and sector restructuring currently affecting the entire university world – including Health – that Lise Wogensen refers to. First, the Master’s programme in Nursing at the Emdrup campus was transferred to RUC. And now Health is once again facing a major overhaul of its educational landscape, with the Department of Public Health once again taking the brunt of the blow at the faculty.

"It’s a huge task. And it’s a mandatory one. We need to restructure the master's programmes into shorter, more employer-oriented courses, and we must reduce the intake by about 50 places. It’s not a secret, that is isn't an assignment I’m excited about. But it’s a task we are trying to approach with as much transparency as possible for the staff affected by it."

"I’d like more time for Clair de Lune"

There has been no shortage of reforms, new study regulations, restructuring, and relocation of study places during Lise Wogensen’s four years as Vice-Dean. On top of that, the Circle-U collaboration, COVID lockdowns, and the introduction of AI in education have all played a significant role. In other words, there are plenty of reasons why there’s always stacks of papers in Lise Wogensen’s office. But there is also time for more than just educational reforms, study regulations, and meetings.

"I like being busy, but it’s also important to have a life outside the university. We have a small summer house in Djursland with a large plot of land with many trees. I chop down a couple of them when I need to blow off steam after dealing with master’s programme reforms and the like. And we often use the house and land to gather the whole family around the fire to cook meals – we do this as often as possible."

In 2013 and 2014, she completed the Berlin Marathon. The reward for finishing the 42.195 kilometres was supposed to be a puppy, but it turned out that her husband Flemming was against getting a dog. Instead, the reward for completing the two races became a small grand piano, which she plays as much as possible.

"I played as a child and used it a lot when studying for exams. But once I had children of my own, it fell by the wayside. So, as a reward to myself, I bought a small grand piano, and I play it as much as I can. I used to play a lot of Beethoven and Mozart, but right now I’m trying to learn to play Clair de Lune by Debussy, and it’s actually not as easy as it might sound when you first hear the piece."

Vice-Dean for Education, Lise Wogensen Bach
Health, Aarhus University
Mail: lwb@au.dk
Phone: 25488522