PhD education in Animal Health, Welfare and Nutrition

PhD education in HeaWeN

(Animal Health, Welfare and Nutrition)

HeaWeN is part of DJF’s PhD school SAFE

The PhD education programme HeaWeN is an integral part of the PhD school SAFE (PhD School of Agriculture, Food and Environment) at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (DJF). DJF established the PhD school in 2007 with the overall objective of contributing to educating scientists and experts with in-depth knowledge within agriculture, food and environment. SAFE will contribute to providing PhD education at the highest international level.

As a rule the individual PhD studies in SAFE are carried out within the six PhD education programmes of the faculty (described in the figure below):

Further information about SAFE can be found here:

( http://www.agrsci.dk/ny_navigation/uddannelse/forskeruddannelse ).

SAFE develops and administers the professional protocol for the PhD education at DJF. The protocol is described here:

http://www.agrsci.dk/var/agrsci/storage/original/application/391b90d058b10cbe6b7e940fb33bc5c7 .

HeaWeN’s core disciplines and organisation

The PhD education programme HeaWeN was established in 2007 when DJF became a faculty of the Aarhus University. HeaWeN is anchored in the Department of Animal Health and Bioscience (HBS) at DJF, Aarhus University. HBS employs 72 scientists, of which 46 are at senior level or higher, and 125 technical/administrative staff. The department is organised in 6 research groups (Animal nutrition and environmental impact; Molecular nutrition and cell biology; Integrative physiology; Immunology and microbiology; Behaviour and stress biology; Epidemiology and management). Further, the department disposes of unique research facilities, including specialized laboratories, operation facilities, intensive barns, infection units and experimental facilities for cattle, pigs and poultry that provide ideal possibilities of completing the PhD education through HeaWeN.

Vision of HeaWeN

In connection with DJF's change-over from a public sector institution to a new faculty of the Aarhus University education, and especially PhD education, has become a strategic focus area - particularly at HBS. We expect that HeaWeN will have 60 PhD students at HBS enrolled in SAFE by the end of 2010.

Scientists at HBS already have a long tradition of acting as co-supervisors in PhD projects. In connection with the establishment of HeaWeN it is our ambition to become the leading PhD school in Denmark in production-related animal nutrition, animal welfare and health. HBS has a strong national position within our core disciplines. It is the vision of HBS to use this strength in a cooperation across faculties and research institutions with a view to creating important synergies in the solution of problems of relevance to society.

Scientists at HBS have a large international research network. It is our aim to actively strengthen our international educational profile by developing HeaWeN into an international PhD education programme.

Core disciplines

The core disciplines of the research carried out at HBS are nutrition, microbial intestinal ecology, various aspects of physiology, ethology, disease mechanisms and disease prevention as well as management and behavioural decision-making in livestock farming. The objective is to develop sustainable concepts for the animal production, maintaining a high efficiency while at the same time taking animal health and welfare, the nutritional value and safety of the products, and environmental load into consideration. Further, research is carried out in animal models in order to study nutrient metabolism and utilization, disease complexes and reproduction of importance to human nutrition and health.

The objectives of HeaWeN:

· To ensure high quality in the PhD projects.

· To carry through the projects within the fixed time limit.

· To make it attractive to carry out a PhD-study at HBS through efficient organisation/supervision and possibility of attending relevant and inspiring PhD courses.

· To strengthen the research at HBS, including strengthening of national and international cooperation.

Management and organisation

The fulfilment of the objectives of HeaWeN is supported by an HBS PhD committee which is lead by a PhD-coordinator.

Supervisor groups

To ensure an inspiring PhD study a supervisor group will be established for each PhD student consisting of the main supervisor and 1-2 co-supervisors. The head of research unit and the main supervisor in consultation with the PhD student will establish this supervisor group and be responsible for arranging supervisor meetings. The supervision will be carried out according to the professional protocol of SAFE.

Attached staff

HBS’s large staff of senior scientists is all attached to HeaWeN as supervisors / potential supervisors.

Quality assurance

The protocol of the PhD school SAFE includes procedures for quality assurance of the PhD study, the PhD students and the supervisors. For the purpose of quality assurance there will be biannual evaluation and a status seminar during the study.

The scientists at HBS have wide experience in planning and carrying through PhD projects that are often integrated in large research projects. To ensure the quality of the supervision all supervisors participate in supervisor education.

PhD courses etc. and national and international cooperation

At present HeaWeN offers three PhD courses:

1) Stress physiology

2) Metabolic Physiology of the Dairy Cow

3) Qualitative research methodologies in agricultural and veterinary research

Over the coming years a number of PhD courses within our core disciplines will be developed. It is the strategy of HeaWeN to continuously develop PhD courses within our core disciplines and ensure that the PhD students have access to PhD courses offered by other PhD education programmes according to the needs of the individual student.

Contact and further information

PhD coordinator Jan Tind Sørensen