SDU appoints two new board members

After a long search, the appointing body at SDU has appointed two new external members to the University of Southern Denmark’s Board of Directors. Ulla Tørnæs and Troels Petersen’s four-year term will commence on 1 October 2023. External board members can be appointed for a total of two terms.

According to the University’s Chairman of the Board, Søren Vilby, these are strong capacities that will help shape SDU’s strategic direction in the future.

- Our large and strong field of applicants featured many qualified candidates, and we are delighted with the interest shown in the University of Southern Denmark. I look forward to working with Troels and Ulla, and I am convinced that their vision and high level of ambition will contribute to SDU continuing to be a world-class university.

Strong skillsets that complement the Board well

More specifically, Søren Vilby emphasises that the new board members bring a wealth of experience from the business and political landscape to the table.

- As for Troels, he has very strong ties to the region of Southern Denmark and the local business community. He also has an international outlook through his extensive experience at Danfoss. He has also contributed to the development of the engineering programmes in Sønderborg.

- In Ulla, we gain a wealth of knowledge from the political field. Ulla has also been interested in SDU and the region for several years; an extremely important factor right now in the face of changing framework conditions for the entire university sector.

High expectations among new members

The new board members are excited about the prospect of shaping the University of Southern Denmark in the coming years. Ulla Tørnæs says:

- I’m really looking forward to becoming part of the Board, because SDU is an important institution for me in educating graduates suited to the labour market. I think it is more important than ever that we focus on an attractive and good study environment. That goes for the board, too. With my political background, I look forward to contributing to the implementation of the new political agreement on Master’s degree programmes. It places new demands on SDU, but I am also looking forward to being able to help shape the university sector of the future.

Troels Petersen is also looking forward to the collaboration.

- I think the University is facing an incredibly exciting journey, and I look forward to being a part of it. I bring some of my vast experience to the table in terms of how we bring the business community and the University and its ongoing research closer together. We also need to consider how we get young students in touch with companies so that we can develop society and generate jobs. We need to collaborate far and wide, and we can learn a lot from working with other stakeholders.

Troels Petersen and Ulla Tørnæs will attend their first board meeting on 2 October 2023.