Senior Researcher Geir Helgesen, who was named acting director of NIAS (Nordic Institute of Asian Studies) from February 1 to September 1st, 2009, has now been appointed actual director of the esteemed Copenhagen-based institute.
He takes over after Mr. Jørgen Delman, who left NIAS in January 2009 (overgangen skyldes, at et jobopslag i december 08 om en ny direktør ikke resulterede i en egnet kandidat, red.)
Geir Helgesen skriver efter sin udnævnelse følgende på NIAS website (25.05.09):
I have been a member of the staff at NIAS, and part of the Nordic research environment, for decades. Born and raised in Norway, educated in Denmark, and with working experience from all the Nordic countries, I am strongly in favour of the unique phenomenon of Nordic cooperation.
Although NIAS has played a role in Nordic Asian studies for 40 years and thus may lay claim to a certain success, there is plenty of room for change and improvement.
The growing number of links between the Nordic countries and Asia in every possible field demands even closer Nordic cooperation and coordination. This is our foremost task.
NIAS is based at the University of Copenhagen and is involved in the university’s Asian Dynamics Initiative (ADI): a cross-faculty and interdisciplinary effort to meet the current challenges and demands for better knowledge of and deeper insights into Asian affairs.
The ADI secretariat is placed at NIAS, thus, creating a synergy, not only for NIAS and ADI, but for the entire Asian studies environment in the Nordic region.
Our common goal is to make as much as possible out of the already close Nordic cooperation on Asian studies. What everyone can do well, based on the available local resources, we can often do much better if we pool our efforts and resources.
The Nordic NIAS Council is an important body in this respect, and I believe that this partnership will continue to be useful for all of us and should be strengthened in the years to come.
Geir Helgesen
Director
Jørgen Delman moved to become a Professor of Modern China Studies at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at Copenhagen University after seven years as director of NIAS.
In 2006, NIAS was evaluated by three independent international peer evaluators and received high marks for its performance. The evaluation also emphasized that NIAS has succeeded in maintaining its position as an internationally recognized hub in Nordic Asian studies networks.
In 2008, NIAS celebrated its 40th anniversary with two international conferences and a special issue of NIASnytt Asia Insights.
