New rector: The University of Copenhagen can deliver even more to the world

On Wednesday, 11 December, the University Board unanimously appointed David Dreyer Lassen as the future rector of the University of Copenhagen (UCPH).

The Chair of the Board of the University of Copenhagen and Chair of the Appointment Committee, Merete Eldrup, is pleased with the weight the new rector brings to the rectorship.

“David Dreyer Lassen comes with extensive national and international experience from academia. He is a widely recognised and well-respected researcher. UCPH will have a visionary and highly strategic-minded leader who has in-depth knowledge of the University's activities and, not least, interaction with the surrounding society. This insight will get him off to a flying start, and, together with the rest of the Board, I’m looking forward to working with David,” says Chair of the Board Merete Eldrup.

World-class university

UCPH is an internationally leading research university that offers research-based degree programmes at the highest level. The future rector is determined to maintain and further develop this position.

“UCPH must be a leading university. This requires us to constantly work to ensure the best possible conditions for new ideas to be tested and explored in all subject areas. Both proven ideas and emerging and unready ideas that are driven by curiosity. The dialogue about this framework must take place with our researchers and research funding providers," David Dreyer Lassen says.

Lassen also points to several other prerequisites for further advancing UCPH to be an excellent university also in the future.

“Many major changes are underway, both a large-scale reform of the University’s administration and a master's reform, and we’re working hard to ensure that we end up in the best possible way, with a better administration and an educational landscape that makes the most sense for UCPH. However, other things are also in progress: We will be working to ensure balance in our external funding, that the University is a good place to work and study, and – not least – we must continue our efforts to enhance dialogue and involvement. This applies to the academic work with our students, teachers and researchers. And it applies in relation to the University's administrative staff,” the incoming rector says.

Ambition for clearer impact

David Dreyer Lassen will be rector number 260 in the University’s history, and he takes on the role with the ambition that UCPH should have more impact in society.

“At the University of Copenhagen, we need to be better at bringing the things we’re good at out into the world. We have excellent basic research and strong master's degree and research programmes. We’re proud of that. But it doesn't stop there. We also want to be a university for those who want to refuel and update their knowledge throughout their lives. No matter how good it is, research sometimes needs to be helped along to become concrete solutions or innovations. Many of the universities we like to compare against have shown that world-class research, education, innovation and social impact go hand in hand," David Dreyer Lassen says.

David Dreyer Lassen will take office on 1 March 2025 and take over the Rector's chain. The chain will be handed over to him from the outgoing Rector Henrik C. Wegener, who has been in charge since 2017. The chain will change hands at a ceremony held on 4 March 2025.

David Dreyer Lassen has been appointed for a five-year term until 28 February 2030, which can be extended for three years.​