Working groups and committees
Working groups
The working groups must assist the board with strategy development and review and recommendations for decisions regarding applications and projects within the foundation’s grant areas and asset management.
They can either only be a subgroup of the board or they can be supplemented by external professionals. In the latter case, the working group also acts as a selection committee and can act as a scientific committee for the technical and natural sciences..
The working groups are established by the board, and the committees are established by the working groups.
Guidelines for Working Groups under the Villum Foundation Board
- Professor Anja Boisen, Department of Health Technology, DTU, board member, Villum Foundation.
- Professor Christian S. Jensen, Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, board member, Villum Foundation
- Professor Susana F. Huelga, Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Ulm, Germany
- Professor Bo Wahlberg, Division of Decision and Control Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
- Professor Bert Meijer, Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
- Eva Zeuthen Bentsen, partner i Zeuthen Storm, PhD, MSc in Economics and Business administration, board member, Villum Foundation
- Connie Hedegaard, former Danish Minister for the Environment, Minister for Climate and Energy, EU Commissioner, etc., board member, Villum Foundation
- Jens Kann-Rasmussen, MSc (Eng), former department head at VELUX A/S, chair of Villum Foundation
- Jørgen Tang-Jensen, former CEO of VELUX A/S, board member, Villum Foundation
Committees
The committees for the grant areas assist with advice and recommendations to the boards. Their work is central to ensuring the professional level of the foundation’s grants, and the groups therefore consist of professionals within the individual areas.
In addition, we have set up an investment committee to ensure that our funds are invested and managed in the best possible way. The investment committee reports to the board.
Villum Young Investigator Programme has a special committee for selecting nominating the most suitable candidates. The members are:
- Chair Helmut Bölcskei, Professor, Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering and Department of Mathematics, ETH
- Hans Ågren, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, X-ray Photon Science, Uppsala University
- Philip John Withers, Professor of Materials Science, The University of Manchester
- Søren Fournais, Professor, Department of Mathematics, Aarhus University
- Stine Helene Falsig Pedersen, Professor, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen
- Catherine Heppell, Professor of Physical Geography, Queen Mary University of London
- Owen Lewis, Professor of Ecology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
- Mikael Käll, Professor, Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology
- Klaus Mølmer, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University
The Synergy programme’s scientific committee consists of the members of the working group for technical and natural sciences and three external members who complement the working group with their professional expertise. The three complementary members are:
- Professor Michael Böhlen, Department of Informatics Database Technology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- Professor Mathias Drton, Department of Mathematical Statistics, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Professor Stine Lomborg, Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Internal committee members of the Synergy programme:
- Professor Anja Boisen, chair, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), board member, Villum Foundation
- Professor Christian S. Jensen, Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, board member, Villum Foundation
- Professor Susana F. Huelga, Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Ulm, Germany
- Professor Bo Wahlberg, Division of Decision and Control Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
- Professor Bert Meijer, Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
- Professor Michael Böhlen, Department of Informatics Database Technology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- Professor Mathias Drton, Department of Mathematical Statistics, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Professor Stine Lomborg, Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
The Villum Kann Rasmussen Annual Award in Science and Technology is awarded by the foundation’s board on the recommendation of an external expert committee. The members are:
- Professor Anja Boisen, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), board member, Villum Foundation.
- Professor Bo Wahlberg, Division of Decision and Control Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
- Professor Bert Meijer, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Applications for the Villum Experiment programme are assessed by a panel consisting of approximately 20 internationally renowned researchers with no connection to Denmark. In accordance with the programme’s use of double-blind assessment, members are anonymous to the applicants.
The task of the technical committee is to assess the professional quality of applications and, on this basis, recommend applications for grants. The members are appointed for two years and together cover the following areas of professional competence:
- Science didactic research
- Knowledge of IT didactics and understanding of technology
- Project management and project maker experience
- School development at primary school level
- Educational development at upper secondary school level
- Competency development and higher education levels in science education
- After-school and NGO sector
- Experience in natural sciences education
- Experience in school management
- Diversity in didactics
Members
- Per Bonvig Christensen (chair), board positions within the field of education, including chair of VIA University College, HF & VUC København Syd and the Danish SOSU schools
- Helle Houkjær, teacher and MA (Education) in science, mathematics, physics and chemistry, Krogårdsskolen in Greve
- Nynne Afzelius, MSc, rector, Københavns Åbne Gymnasium
- Thomas Kjærgaard, PhD and associate professor at the teacher education programme in Aalborg
- Thomas Færgeman, executive director of Fugleværnsfonden (the Danish Bird Protection Foundation) and chair of Haver til Maver
- Kasper Ottosson Kanstrup, Chair, founder of UNLEASH GLOBAL, works as a consultant with a focus on leadership, strategy, and partnerships.
- Isabelle Le Mouillour, Director of VET in international comparison, research, and monitoring at BIBB.
- Jan Reitz Jørgensen, private consultant, former senior advisor at the Ministry of Education with a focus on internationalisation in vocational education.
- Lidia Mikolajczyk-Gmur, former CEO and chairperson of board of VELUX Polska with 10 years of experience as an external consultant, focusing on project monitoring in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.
- Marloes DeVries, Director and Chair, Zadkine Vocational Education College, Rotterdam, former member of the board for the vocational education school Da Vinci, Dordrecht.
Daylight Prize – jury:
- Anne Lacaton, founder of Lacaton & Vassal Architectes, Paris, recipient of The Daylight Award in 2011, winner of the EU Mies Award 2019 and Pritzker Prize Laureate 2021, associate professor of architecture and design at ETH Zurich.
- Dorte Mandrup, founder of Dorte Mandrup A/S, Copenhagen, chair of the Mies van der Rohe Award 2019, adjunct professor at the Royal Danish Academy.
- Marilyne Andersen, professor of sustainable building technologies and dean of the Royal Danish Academy, the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and recipient of the Daylight Prize in 2016.
- Gerd Folkers, professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at ETH Zurich. Former employee of the Swiss National Science Foundation and since 2012 Director of Collegium Helveticum since 2012. Member of the Swiss Science Council (SSC) and president until 2019.
- Russell Foster, Director of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Head of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford. In 2020, Russell Foster was awarded the Daylight Prize for Research.
- Juhani Pallasmaa, Finnish architect, writer, educator and practicing architect. Member of the jury of the Pritzker Architecture Prize from 2009-2014.
- Koen Steemers, (chair), professor of sustainable design, Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge, UK.
Building Component Award – jury:
- Anna Mette Exner, owner of Anna Mette Exner Arkitektur
- Claus Juul Nielsen, CEO, Gamle Mursten
- Frank Jensen, CEO, Søren Jensen Rådgivende Ingeniørfirma (consulting engineers)
- Jacob Steen Møller, former Director of Facilities, DTU
- Mette Tony, partner, Praksis Arkitekter, chair for the jury
- Torben Sørensen, vice president, VKR Holding A/S
The committee monitors and evaluates ongoing asset management and ensures it follows the investment strategy and practices adopted by the boards. The committee also serves as a sounding board for the foundations’ investment teams when adjusting the strategy and making new investments in emerging areas.
The boards and the daily management are represented on the investment committee, which also includes external and independent experts.
Members:
- Jens Kann-Rasmussen, MSc (Eng), former department head at VELUX A/S, chairman of Villum Foundation
- Lykke Kann Ogstrup Lunde, journalist, chair of VELUX FOUNDATION
- Jørgen Tang-Jensen, former CEO of VELUX A/S, board member of Villum Foundation
- Pernille Jessen, CIO at AP Pension, external member
- Michael Nellemann Pedersen, MSc in Political Science, Chief Investment Officer at PKA, external member
Remunerations
Working group members generally receive a remuneration of DKK 80,000 per year. The remuneration is determined on the basis of the time consumption and responsibility associated with the task. In the research-based working group (scientific committee) under technical and natural sciences, the activities are more extensive than in the other working groups, which is why each member receives a remuneration of DKK 135,000 per year. Members of the investment committee are paid a fee of DKK 105,000 per year due to the responsibilities associated with asset management and the need to be able to attract the right external competencies to the committee.
External experts and jury members are paid a remuneration that reflects the specific task and the necessary competencies.
Committee members are paid an annual remuneration reflecting the specific tasks and the necessary competencies.