UC Santa Cruz welcomed a delegation of faculty and staff from Aarhus University in Denmark in October 2025, marking a milestone in the two institutions’ deepening partnership and building on a September 2024 UC Santa Cruz faculty delegation to Aarhus University to develop faculty and research connections.
This collaborative exchange and the reciprocal visits between Aarhus University and UC Santa Cruz were supported through a jointly received grant from the Erasmus+ Program, the European Union’s flagship initiative for education, training, and youth mobility.
During their visit, the Aarhus delegation engaged in a full schedule of faculty and staff meetings, participated in an extensive tour of the UC Santa Cruz main campus and Coastal Science Campus, and took part in the Global Learning Opportunities Fair held by the UC Santa Cruz Division of Global Engagement.
Faculty engagement and discussions
Vivi Kathrine Pedersen, associate professor in the Department of Geoscience at Aarhus, met with UC Santa Cruz faculty in Earth & Planetary Sciences, while Thomas Lykke-Møller Sørensen, associate professor in the Department of Biological & Chemical Engineering, connected with faculty in the departments of Biomolecular Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering. The Aarhus faculty toured labs, met with graduate students and researchers, and gave talks on their research. Discussions focused on possibilities for joint research initiatives, opportunities for UC Santa Cruz students to pursue graduate study at Aarhus, and new frameworks for student mobility for study and research in these academic areas. These discussions are expected to strengthen faculty research networks.
“It was an inspiring visit to UC Santa Cruz – exceptional hospitality, sharp scientific conversations, and inspiring perspectives from students and faculty across Biomolecular Engineering. I return with a true sense of real momentum for shared research and student exchange. I look forward to coming back and to welcoming UC Santa Cruz students here in Aarhus,” said Sørensen.
Campus tours and orientation
The visit also included opportunities for the delegates to tour both the main UC Santa Cruz campus among the redwoods and the Coastal Science Campus research facilities. At the Coastal Science Campus, delegates were welcomed by Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Ingrid Parker, where they explored research labs, visited classrooms, walked among campus features such as the Younger Lagoon, and learned about UC Santa Cruz’s unique integration of academic study, fieldwork, and sustainability. These tours gave delegates first-hand exposure to the campus culture, infrastructure, and academic offerings. Observing the UC Santa Cruz environment illustrated to the delegates how incoming exchange students from Aarhus will integrate into the community.
Global Learning Opportunities Fair
A highlight of the visit was the delegation’s participation in the Global Learning Opportunities Fair. Aarhus University staffed a booth, spoke with students exploring study-abroad and exchange options, and presented information on the exchange student experience at Aarhus. This provided direct engagement with students considering an exchange program in Denmark, and helped raise awareness of Aarhus University as a partner institution. The fair also offered an ideal venue for departmental staff to meet Aarhus counterparts.
Student mobility and exchange opportunities
Building on last year’s UC Santa Cruz faculty visit to the Aarhus University campus in Denmark, this return visit to UC Santa Cruz from the Aarhus University delegation signals a continued commitment to building productive academic connections in partnership. In the September 2024 visit, UC Santa Cruz faculty and staff visited Aarhus University to lay this foundation. Now, both sides are working to further encourage student mobility and support between universities. The delegation’s conversations with the UC Santa Cruz Global Learning and International Student Services and Programming teams underscored a shared emphasis on high-impact learning, intercultural experiences, and enhanced exchange student support.
Broadening and deepening institutional partnerships with universities abroad is key to the UC Santa Cruz Strategic Plan for Internationalization.