RUC – 50 years across disciplines
A lot has happened at Roskilde University since 1972. But interdisciplinarity and project work remain the important foundations of the university.
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Meet our graduates
At Roskilde University, we are proud of all our graduates. Many of them have excelled in extraordinary ways throughout their careers. You can meet some of them here. (The videos contain subtitles in English)
Research that has made a difference
50 years of research that makes a difference. Meet some of RUC's most talented researchers who are driven by curiosity and passion for their field of research.
Thomas Budde Christensen: "Basically, we think we're helping to save the planet"
Associate Professor of Environmental Innovation Thomas Budde Christensen works closely with the construction sector and industry to find ways to reduce resource consumption and increase recycling. He can think of no more important field of research than this, and he is delighted to meet former students who are now in key environmental policy positions, creating concrete change.
Lone Simonsen: "I think we've got something at Roskilde University that might be a good model for universities in the future"
Epidemiologist Lone Simonsen became well known in Denmark during the COVID pandemic, but her research on COVID-19 is only one of several highlights in a long international research career. She now heads the PandemiX Center at Roskilde University, because if you want to work with an interdisciplinary approach, you can't get a better research environment than here”, she says.
Kenneth Reinicke: "I have insisted on examining the difficult aspects of men's behaviour"
A PhD on the Italian feminist movement led Kenneth Reinicke into gender studies, where he has established himself as one of Denmark's foremost researchers on men and masculinity. It is both a privilege and a challenge to work in a field where many people have opinions but fewer have respect for knowledge and data, he says here.
Garbi Schmidt: “I find it striking how little, historical experience matters at present"
Islam and immigration researcher Garbi Schmidt uses history to shed light on contemporary immigration to Denmark, and she is happy to share her research by offering tours of Nørrebro and talking about what has shaped the neighbourhood. Her wish for Roskilde University is more time for in-depth study – including for the students, whose projects deserve greater dissemination.
Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi: “RUC has been a front-runner in interdisciplinary research right from the start"
Fatima AlZahra'a Alatraktchi is a civil engineer, business owner, author, TEDx speaker and, since 2019, Assistant Professor at Roskilde University. She was attracted by the interdisciplinary nature and facilities, which provide her with an optimal environment to continue her research into the use of nanotechnology for the diagnosis of infections.
Jacob Torfing: "The first time I had to supervise a group at RUC, I was completely stunned"
Political scientist Jacob Torfing has left a concrete tangible mark on the welfare society with his research on public sector innovation and public-private cooperation. He applied to Roskilde University as a young researcher because there was room for new ideas and entrepreneurship, and he has used that space to build one of the university's strong research environments, The Roskilde School of Governance. And he still considers it a joy to follow the students' project work.
