By Morten Appel, AAU Communication. Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication. Foto: Lars Horn

The global climate crisis and the markedly increasing discontent among Danish children and young people. These are two of the critical societal challenges that Aalborg University is putting massive effort into in the next few years to help solve.

- We are facing major, urgent challenges that require action from all actors in society. At the same time, they are so complex that they require in-depth insight as well as an interdisciplinary approach and the ability to collaborate on solutions. It is thus obvious for Aalborg University to get involved and make it our mission to solve them in conjunction with the world around us, says Jakob Stoustrup, Professor in the Department of Electronic Systems and head of the mission for a sustainable energy system.

Maria Appel Nissen, Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Work and head of the mission for the well-being of children and young people continues:

- We believe that we can contribute to solving critical societal challenges if we work closely together and work across traditional organisations. Improving the physical, mental and social well-being of children and young people, and creating a sustainable energy system are ‘wicked problems’ that call for more than one type of knowledge, she says.

Solutions to the wicked problems require that there is a clear organizational framework internally at the university so that staff members can easily obtain guidance and find information about the work on the missions. They can obtain this from the newly established mission secretariat.

The work on establishing a mission secretariat was initiated on 1 March when the University Board also approved the "themes" for the first two missions: sustainable energy supply and well-being among children and young people. In recent months, intensive work has fleshed out the joint missions.

- We have been through a long but also a very productive process. The missions are inspired by societal challenges, but they are more detailed and specific. Among other things, they will have clearly defined goals and sub-goals that our researchers can engage with, says Jakob Stoustrup.

Organization of a mission

The Strategic Council for Research and Innovation has the overall responsibility for monitoring and ensuring progress in the missions. For each mission, a mission management has also been set up consisting of Jakob Stoustrup, Anders Horsbøl and Amjad Anvari-Moghaddam for the mission for a sustainable energy system, and Maria Appel Nissen, Sidse Grangaard, Stefania Serafin and Sine Agergaard for the mission on the well-being of children and young people. The management of the missions reflects an interdisciplinary focus, which is central.

Also for each mission, a mission officer has been appointed that is physically and organizationally located in the newly established mission secretariat. Niels Bech Lukassen, who in mid-August was employed to head the mission secretariat, is affiliated with the well-being mission and Senior Consultant Paw Mortensen is attached to the energy mission.

- The mission secretariat is tasked with creating coherence, providing feedback to researchers and decision makers, ensuring process management, portfolio management, and involving AAU's departments and external partners in both missions. We must contribute to creating connections between our researchers and the world around us. Between those who face the challenge and those who can solve it, says Niels Bech Lukassen.

Paw Mortensen adds:

- It is also important to point out that Aalborg University does not own the mission agendas alone. These are joint missions that we share with our surroundings. These are such important societal challenges that they are far too big for a single university or institution to handle alone.

He also emphasizes that anyone with an interest in the missions can contact the mission secretariat to be updated, get involved, get feedback or be introduced to relevant partners.

The mission secretariat in conjunction with the mission management will schedule a dialogue round at all relevant departments to talk about the missions and invite cooperation. This will start as early as October 2023.

What is a mission project?

A central task for the mission management is to prepare proposals for a project portfolio, i.e. a number of projects that will meet the objectives of the missions as the projects are completed.

- The project portfolio will be prepared in close collaboration with the departments, and the mission management will facilitate the establishment of the individual projects through an open process, including widely convened workshops, says Jakob Stoustrup. Maria Appel Nissen adds:

- It is also in AAU's DNA to collaborate and form partnerships with external actors to develop new knowledge and new solutions. So in the process of identifying mission projects, we will also involve people outside AAU. We want to engage with society and work together to solve common challenges.

The research in the mission projects can range widely from basic to applied research. What is crucial is that they contribute to meeting the goals and sub-goals of the mission and create innovation – both in research and in society.

If you have any questions, you are very welcome to contact the mission management or the Mission Secretariat.