ACADEMIA

New digital agenda for humanities research in Denmark

DIGHUMLAB is the name of the national laboratory that will set a new digital agenda for humanities research in Denmark. The lab, which is hosted by Aarhus University, will be officially opened by Minister for Higher Education Morten Østergaard on Monday 10 September at noon.

'Laboratories are normally associated with the natural sciences, but now we're opening the doors for Denmark's first digital laboratory for humanities researchers. The lab will make it easier for both researchers and students to use digital research data and other digital media resources,' explains Erik Champion, DIGHUMLAB project manager.

According to Dean Mette Thunø (Aarhus University), chair of the DIGIHUMLAB steering committee, the lab represents a new digital era for the humanities.

'This national collaboration will make it much easier for researchers and students to search in and analyse relevant research material across research fields, media and national boundaries. In addition to providing easy access to more digital resources and tools, we hope that DIGIHUMLAB will contribute to push humanities research in new directions through the integration of digital technologies into their research methods. Without a doubt, DIGHUMLAB will also contribute to increased international research collaboration for humanities schoalrs in Denmark, as the lab is already involved in European research and education partnerships, ' says Dean Thunø.

In addition, she expects that the digitalisation of the humanities will contribute to raising public awareness of and interest in humanities research:

'The digitalisation of humanities resources - for example, in the form of archaeological finds or the visual arts - and digital appraoches to working with these resources will involve the public in entirely new ways, for example through collaborations between museums, researchers and the general public.'

DIGIHUMLAB in brief

DIGHUMLAB is a national consortium of four Danish universities: Aalborg University, Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark. Together with the State and University Library and the Royal Library, the lab will work to promote access to digital research resources, the development of research tools and education as well as strengthening ties to international networks.

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education has contributed a grant of DKK 30 million to the development of the Danish Digital Humanities Laboratory (DIGHUMLAB). The establishment of DIGHUMLAB was named as a priority in the ministry's roadmap for research infrastructure in 2010, and is intended to promote research in the humanities and social sciences, education and knowledge exchange by providing access to digital resources and developing new research methods and practices.