The Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS) is an elite research centre and a nucleus for exceptional minds from across disciplines. We bring outstanding researchers together at the University of Southern Denmark to inspire pathbreaking ideas and set the framework for interdisciplinary research.
DIAS encourages and supports curiosity-driven research and fosters the meeting of minds across disciplines and levels of seniority. We cultivate an ambitious, open-minded, and playful environment that nurtures both academic growth and a strong sense of community.
DIAS operates autonomously from the conventional faculty structure at the University of Southern Denmark and boasts a cohort of Fellows and Chairs from both SDU and universities across the world. We facilitate multiple modes of inclusion and collaboration for researchers at SDU and host weekly events that are open to everyone.
Vision
The Danish Institute for Advanced Study strives to be an ambitious and independent intellectual landscape that fosters unparalleled research excellence.
- We aim to enrich SDU with a vibrant, open environment that assembles and empowers creative thinkers, unlocks groundbreaking ideas, and facilitates multiple channels of inclusion for researchers and students at the university.
- We aim to attract young , international researchers with extraordinary talent and potential and give them the optimum conditions to excel.
- We aim to bring the DIAS community’s unique expertise to bear in SDU's local area, in research environments worldwide, and in societal debates on the significance and conditions of basic research.
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DIAS Milestones
DIAS was established more than a decade ago, and since 2020, our house at Fioniavej has been home for a creative and curiosity-driven community that continues to flourish.
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2024
DIAS 3.0 was launched with the establishment of the Society of fellows to strengthen community, the Wicked Problems Hub to explore complex societal challenges, and the talent development programme Blue Sky Mentoring.
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2023
Sten Rynning, Professor of War Studies, is appointed as Director of DIAS.
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2020
The new DIAS building is finished and opens the doors to all affiliates.
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2019
Marianne Holmer, Dean of the Faculty of Science, is appointed as Director of DIAS.
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2016
DIAS officially opens with Francesco Sannino and Thorbjørn Knudsen as Co-Directors and establishes its current structure with Chairs from all SDU faculties. The first DIAS Fellow also begins their fellowship.
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2009
Professors Francesco Sannino and Thorbjørn Knudsen break ground for a Danish IAS based at SDU. Both founders are currently affiliated with DIAS as Chairs.