University New Chair of Universität Heidelberg’s Academic Advisory Council Elected
29 April 2026
Prof. Dr Henrik C. Wegener to lead Heidelberg University’s strategic advisory body
Prof. Dr Henrik C. Wegener is the new Chair of Heidelberg University’s Academic Advisory Council (AAC). The distinguished higher education leader and former Rector of the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) was unanimously elected to the role at the AAC’s most recent meeting. The world-renowned researcher in the field of zoonotic epidemiology has been a member of the AAC since 2024. Comprising 15 members with international expertise, the council advises Heidelberg University’s Rectorate on strategic issues relating to the university’s development.
The Academic Advisory Council was founded in 2006 in the lead-up to the newly established Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments, with the aim of supporting the university with external expertise in the competition for the title of University of Excellence. Since then, the AAC has supported the implementation of the university’s institutional strategy and advised the Rectorate on all fundamental matters relating to Heidelberg University’s further development. As Chair, Prof. Wegener succeeds Prof. Dr Geoffrey Boulton, who was given a formal farewell from the AAC at the end of March after 20 years of service. The Academic Advisory Council includes internationally renowned scholars and researchers, as well as representatives from business and senior academics from Heidelberg University.
Henrik C. Wegener, who was Rector of the University of Copenhagen from 2017 to 2025, is Executive Director of the Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded Global Pathogen Analysis Platform. As Professor of Zoonosis Epidemiology, he teaches and conducts research at the Technical University of Denmark, where he served as Provost and Executive Vice President from 2011 onwards, responsible for integrating government research institutes into the university and reforming the university administration. As a research manager and expert on food safety, antibiotic resistance and bacterial zoonoses, he has advised governments, companies and non-governmental organizations on numerous occasions. In 2016, he became the first chair of a group of high-level scientific advisers to the European Commission.