By Line Nyrup Odgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photos: Søren Weper, Final Film

AAU Play is now expanding its catalogue with 12 new research-based educational films, developed in close collaboration with 13 researchers from all four faculties. The films are targeted at upper secondary education, but they also provide vivid insight into how our researchers communicate complex issues in a way that engages young people.

The topics in the new educational films range widely and will inform upper secondary students about everything from illegal online markets and sensory processing to ChatGPT, precision medicine and the role of nuclear power in Denmark.

AAU Play is part of the university's portfolio of offerings for the country's upper secondary schools and aims to provide new research-based knowledge and teaching material to upper secondary teachers and students. The films are approximately 10 minutes long (by agreement with the upper secondary schools), pedagogically organized and accompanied by sets of assignments that make it easy for upper secondary teachers to continue working with the topics in the classroom. The project is constantly growing, and the new films are yet another example of how AAU's researchers manage to translate their knowledge into a format that meets young people where they are.

12 new AAU Play films

SSH

• Illegal online markets presented by Rasmus Munksgaard, Department of Society and Politics
• American politics and human rights presented by Ben Dorfman, Department of Culture and Communication
• Synaesthesia – about how we perceive the world presented by Thomas Alrik Sørensen, Department of Culture and Communication

HEALTH

• Sensory processing and sensory challenges especially in children with autism or ADHD presented by Sabata Gervasio, Department of Health Science and Technology
• Animal experiments and why they are necessary in some contexts presented by Benedict Kjærgaard, Department of Clinical Medicine
• Social referrals – a method for treating without pills presented by Sine Agergaard, Department of Health Science and Technology

TECH

• How we become smarter instead of dumber when we use ChatGPT with Andreas Møgelmose, Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology
• Method help for upper secondary school assignments with Nanna Finne Skovrup, Department of Sustainability and Planning, Copenhagen

ENGINEERING

• Precision medicine and how research on a worm can develop new treatment options, presented by Anders Olsen, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience
• Reduction of material consumption in construction presented by Anders Schmidt Kristensen, AAU Energy
• Three different perspectives on light presented by Turid Borgestrand Øien Department of the Built Environment, Copenhagen

INTERDISCIPLINARY TECH+SSH

• Nuclear power in Denmark – what does the research say from a societal and technology planning perspective? Presented by Troels Fage Hedegaard, Department of Society and Politics and Jakob Zinck Thellufsen, Department of Sustainability and Planning

Interested in contributing to the next round of films?

AAU Communication and Public Affairs produces new AAU Play films once a year, and is always interested in hearing from researchers who want to translate their knowledge into short, targeted educational films for upper secondary schools. So if you are up for research communication to a different target group than usual and would like to inspire young people with some of the exciting and important research being done at AAU, you are welcome to express your interest.

Contact Tina Vestergaard Lange to hear more about the process and the possibilities.