AAU Annual Celebration 2026: Highlights from the ceremony
Nyhed
Lagt online: 17.04.2026
The traditional annual celebration was a tribute to AAU's teaching, research and innovation, and set the course with the strategy Knowledge for the World 2026–2029. Speeches highlighted knowledge as the compass that will strengthen AAU as the problem-solving university in a time of great change.
By Lea Laursen Pasgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photos: William Brændstrup
The red carpet was rolled out, flags were hoisted and attendees had donned their party clothes when Aalborg Congress and Culture Centre on Friday, 17 April was the setting for the AAU Annual Celebration 2026. Staff and students, along with partners and guests, gathered for a ceremony in the afternoon honouring achievements from the past year and noting expectations for AAU's role in a rapidly changing world.
"The Annual Celebration is an important tradition where we celebrate the exceptional teaching, excellent research and useful innovation that our university conducts every day," said André Rogaczewski, Chair of the University Board.
He also pointed to the need for a clear direction at a time when so much can change so quickly:
"For me, a long-term goal and a clear direction are not obstacles to adjusting course along the way," he said.
The board chair emphasized that AAU's new strategy, Knowledge for the World 2026–2029, will help strengthen AAU's position as a problem-solving university that attracts and develops talent, takes a cross-disciplinary approach, and translates knowledge into solutions in close interaction with the wider world.
In his speech, Rector Per Michael Johansen described how manipulation and misinformation challenge trust in today's society. He emphasized that AAU as a university has a particular responsibility to create knowledge that can help distinguish true from false and navigate the changes.
“At Aalborg University, we have a responsibility. Not only to understand technology, but also to understand people. Not only to develop new methods and models, but also to ask the difficult questions about dignity, ethics and consequences, said the rector.
He also stressed that the universities' task is twofold: to drive innovation forward and to help people navigate it with good judgement and a long-term view.
The ceremony continued with a tribute to AAU's excellent education, research and innovation.
The rector conferred four new higher doctoral degrees and awarded five honorary doctorates. In addition, a number of awards were presented: The Obel Family Foundation's Teaching Award, Nordjyllandsfonden’s Research Award and the NOVI Scholarship.
The ceremony was followed by a reception, and then Aalborg Congress and Culture Centre was the setting for a festive evening with dinner, live music and dancing for almost 1,700 employees, students and partners.
Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs