Niels Elers Koch new Dean at LIFE

As from 1 January we will have a new dean: Niels Elers Koch who has been temporarily appointed to the post as dean by Rector Ralf Hemmingsen in the transition period from 1 January to 31 December 2012. Niels Elers Koch is currently Director of Department for Forest and Landscape at LIFE

 

Niels Elers Koch fully realises the magnitude and complexity of the task and expresses his humility at taking up the position as dean at a time characterised by such great changes and challenges for the organisation and its members of staff:

 

“I fully realise that it will be a difficult task for all of us. I very much hope that together we will be able to build on the best values and elements from LIFE and SCIENCE, and that on that basis we can create an even better faculty for the benefit of all members of staff and students at the faculty, the rest of the University of Copenhagen and for society”.

 

Our new temporarily appointed dean has a lot of experience and personal qualifications under his belt that can help the current process. As part of different leader teams, he has taken part in no less than five mergers. Niels Elers Koch was the driving force behind the creation of the governmental research institution Research Centre for Forest and Landscape in 1991 (FSL) through a merger between six different institutions, and he was also the driving force behind the merger that led to the formation of Forest & Landscape under The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL ) in 2004.

 

Prior to this, Niels Elers Koch worked almost ten years in the Ministry for Environment as head of section, head of department and forest supervisor. Moreover, he has worked as a part-time lecturer at KVL for 12 years, as guest professor at two American universities and carried out research into and written a doctoral dissertation on the importance of forests for outdoor life (1985). Based on his research , LIFE today has the best research and education environment in Denmark within the area of outdoor life. For his research, he has also received several awards and two honorary doctorates from foreign universities.

 

Because of his infectious commitment and his attention to staff and colleagues in Denmark and abroad, Niels Elers Koch also has a large network that he takes great care to nurture. This network includes the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, IUFRO, that comprises 15,000 researchers in around 110 countries and of which he was elected President in 2010.

 

Staff close to Niels Elers Koch characterise him as a dynamo and a work-horse. He is deeply committed and works untiringly to create the best opportunities and the best framework for staff and organisation. He is said to have a memory like an elephant and is, when necessary, persistent, bordering on stubborn, some would say.

 

Niels Elers Koch is 60 years old. He and his wife have a son aged 8½ and Niels Elers Koch is devoted to being a good football coach for his son and his friends.