DTU appoints two deans of studies

While Martin Vigild continues in the position he has held since 2009, Philip Binning comes from a position as professor at DTU Environment.

Martin Vigild

In his eight years as Senior Vice President, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs at DTU, Martin Vigild’s responsibilities have included the establishment of a large number of new study programmes, the development of the University’s study environment, and the merger between DTU and Copenhagen University College of Engineering in 2013.

“We owe Martin Vigild much of the credit for the significant development of DTU’s BSc and BEng programmes in recent years. We have succeeded in creating a completely new study programme divided between two campuses by taking the best of both worlds and combining it to make a new and improved whole. He has already proven that he is the best to head the BSc and BEng study programmes going forward,” says DTU President Anders Bjarklev.

According to Anders Bjarklev, DTU sees great potential in the future development of BSc and BEng study programmes so that they can interact with society and the business community to an even greater extent.

“In the future, we must also be among the leaders in e-learning and next-generation teaching methods. I’m sure that Martin Vigild will be the right person to ensure that we are.”
Martin Vigild about the engineering programmes of the future:

“To become an engineer, you have to be one. This is what our study programme is all about. Future teaching in the best engineering programmes will be increasingly ‘challenge-based’, and there will be ever-growing competitive pressure from global trends. Therefore, engineering students need to learn how to fly before facing reality. We facilitate this by letting them to compete on ideas in innovation competitions such as Green Challenge and giving them the opportunity to make Roskilde Festival an even better experience.’

Martin Vigild is 49 years old and graduated as an engineer from DTU in 1993. In 1997 he gained a PhD at the University of Copenhagen. He takes up his position on 1 February 2017.

Philip Binning

The incoming Senior Vice President, Dean of Graduate Studies, Professor Philip Binning, comes from a position as Head of Education at DTU Environment. After 10 years as associate professor at a university in Australia, he came to DTU Environment in 2003, where he was appointed professor in 2011.

“In his many years here at DTU, Philip Binning has demonstrated that he is a highly competent researcher. Moreover, he has worked hard to develop the study programmes at his department, where he has been involved in all of the many educational and administrative aspects,” says Anders Bjarklev.

According to Anders Bjarklev, the new dean will ensure that DTU produces engineers of the highest quality, so they can add value to society—not just immediately after they graduate, but for several decades to come.

“This will require even greater collaboration across DTU’s departments. With his professional background, combined with a winning, pleasant personality, Philip Binning is the right person for this job,” says Anders Bjarklev.

Philip Binning says the following in connection with his appointment:

“DTU’s MSc programmes are world-class, and there is great demand for our graduates among both businesses and research institutions. It will be a pleasure to work with all our very skilled researchers, who make our study programmes so inspiring.”

Philip Binning was born in Copenhagen, grew up in Australia, and has a BSc in mathematics from the Australian National University, and a PhD in Civil Engineering and Operations Research from Princeton University in the USA. In 2005, he was named Lecturer of the Year at DTU, and in 2010 he was awarded DTU's Internationalization Award for his work on international MSc programmes with DTU’s strategic partners.

Philip Binning is 49 years old. He takes up his position on 1 January 2017.