Simon Dinitzen is the new head of the PhD administration
Simon Dinitzen will assume the role of Head of the PhD administration at Health, Nat and Tech in August. With a background in law and experience from several management positions, he is now looking forward to returning to Aarhus and AU.
"The job aligns directly with my core competencies, and the work seems immensely meaningful. I view the Ph.D. and education field as a main artery in the societal system, and I am eager to contribute to making the administrative machinery of Aarhus University as efficient as possible," says Simon Dinitzen.
He will start his new role as Head of Ph.D. administration at Aarhus University after the summer holidays, where he will be responsible for the Ph.D. area across Health, Natural Sciences, and Technical Sciences.
Returns to AU after a decade
Simon Dinitzen, born in 1985, is a native of Aarhus, who grew up in Risskov, and has spent most of his life in and around the city. The university is not foreign to him, as he graduated from the Institute of Law in 2012.
"I loved my student days and the environment at the university, and I am very much looking forward to returning," he says.
After his studies, Simon Dinitzen worked, among others, as a registrar in the Patient Complaints Board, before taking on management positions in both private and public sectors.
"When looking at the previous jobs I have held, it might be hard to find a common thread. One could certainly say that I never had a career plan or a meticulous approach to how my career should develop," he says, and elaborates:
"For many years, my dream was to follow the attorney path, but during my career, I switched over to the management track. I fit better in a role where there is the opportunity to work with people and to develop employees and thus also myself," says Simon Dinitzen.
Simon Dinitzen
• 37 years old
• Grew up in Risskov
• Educated cand.jur. from Aarhus University
• Comes from a position as secretary chief in the Mink Secretariat. Has previously worked as a team manager in Nævnenes Hus and as a registrar in the Patient Complaints Board.
• Lives in Skæring, outside Aarhus, with his girlfriend and two children aged 9 months and nearly 3 years. Additionally, he engages in various sports and is a bit of a self-proclaimed gear nerd.
Switching from mink to PhD students
The new Head comes from a position as Secretary Chief at the Mink Secretariat, which he has helped start from scratch. Here, Simon Dinitzen led two team leaders and about 15 employees, who, in early 2023, issued the first decisions on compensation to the mink industry.
"Working in the mink area at a time with so much political attention has been an intense and exciting experience. No one was familiar with the area when we started, so we had to build things from scratch and familiarize ourselves with extremely complicated legislation," he explains and continues:
"When I step into something new, I approach it very systematically, and I plan to do the same to get completely up to speed in the Ph.D. area," says Simon Dinitzen.
As the new Head of Ph.D. administration, Simon Dinitzen especially sees his work as a chance to contribute to and strengthen the collaboration that already exists across disciplines and faculties.
"For me, it's primarily about contributing to and strengthening collaboration. Both across the teams I will be leading, but also strengthening cooperation across the administrations at Aarhus University," says Simon Dinitzen.
A family man and a bit of a gear nerd
Privately, Simon Dinitzen lives in Skæring, outside of Aarhus, with his girlfriend and their two children, aged nine months and soon-to-be three years. Currently, he is on paternity leave with his youngest child, but when he's not working or with his children, he can often be found on a football field, on a mountain bike, or on a squash court.
"Before we started a family, I was very active, but I don't have much time for that at the moment," he admits.
"I am, however, a dedicated gear fanatic when it comes to all types of sports, so I can't blame my equipment," he says with a laugh.
Lasse Munk Madsen, the administrative centre manager at Health, looks forward to welcoming Simon Dinitzen to the new job.
"I am very much looking forward to seeing how Simon's experience and leadership style will influence the PhD administration. I believe that with Simon Dinitzen we have found a skilled and relationally strong leader who can foster and strengthen collaboration - both internally and across the university's administration. And I look forward to our collaboration," he says.
Contact
Administrative centre manager Lasse Munk Madsen
Aarhus Universitet, Administration Center Health
Phone: 21602846
E-mail: lamma@au.dk