MatchPoints 2026 focuses on resilience in a challenged Europe and through a number of parallel sessions we delve further into the multifaceted challenges and opportunities associated with securing a safe, sustainable future for humans. Discussions will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including health, energy, biodiversity and food, to explore how the challenges associated with these topics – and the solutions to them – are interconnected.
Time: Thursday 7 May 10:45–12:15
Auditorium: To be announced
Chair: Lars Ottosen, Head of Department, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering (BCE), Aarhus University and Chair of the Board, Danish Center for Energy Storage (DaCES)
A resilient energy system is the backbone of our society. In a changing world, Europe – and Denmark – must increase its resilience and move towards self-reliance in electricity and fuels. But ensuring a consistent energy supply and balancing the grid gives rise to major technical, economic and geopolitical challenges. So how do we work together across disciplines and across the ecosystem to develop a more resilient energy system? How do we secure the investments required to accelerate research and innovation and produce a transformative impact? And which synergies do we envision between increasing our resilience and advancing the green transition? Join this session to learn more about the dilemmas of securing a resilient energy system that relies increasingly on renewable energy.
Speakers:
Lars Ottosen, Head of Department, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering (BCE), Aarhus University:
Session welcome: Introduction to elements of a green, resilient energy system
Asker Voldsgaard, Founder and Director, Center for Makrofinans:
Denmark as the First Green Electro State: What does a resilient energy future look like for Denmark and how to get there?
Daniel Borup, CEO, InCommodities:
The invisible infrastructure of a resillient energy system: Moving energy where it’s needed, when it’s needed
Lasse Sørensen, Head of Strategy and Development, Kredsløb
Extracting hot water from underground: How geothermal district heating makes Aarhus’ energy system more self‑reliant and less dependent on imported biomass
Joint discussion moderated by Lars Ottosen:
Asker Voldsgaard, Founder & Director, Center for Makrofinans
Daniel Borup, CEO, InCommodities
Lasse Sørensen, Head of Strategy and Development, Kredsløb
Time: Thursday 7 May 10:45–12:15
Auditorium: To be announced
Chair: Jørgen E. Olesen, Head of Department, professor, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University
Agrifood systems are under pressure from environmental, social and economic challenges. These challenges highlight the need for more sustainable, resilient and competitive systems, but they also makes the transition harder to achieve. The viability and resilience of current agrifood systems are increasingly being tested by climate change, environmental degradation, resource constraints and geopolitics. This session explores these challenges from a production, supply chain and consumer perspective.
Speakers:
Frank Dentener, Senior Researcher, European Commission Joint Research Centre:
Challenges and solutions for resilience in food production
Jesper Burgaard, CEO, KMC:
How a food processing company deals with threats to the supply chain
Susanne Pedersen, associate professor, Department of Management, Aarhus University:
How social media influence consumer perspectives on food system resilience
Flash talks:
Bonnie Averbuch, postdoc, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University:
A resilience perspective on the transformation of food systems
Dan Kristian Kristensen, Sustainability Consultant, Aarhus Kommune:
Food system resilience in the context of city regions: Insights from the Aarhus Living Lab as part of the FoodCLIC project
Time: Thursday 7 May 10:45–12:15
Auditorium: To be announced
Danish society relies on high levels of trust between citizens, businesses and public authorities. It is also one of the most digitalised societies in the world, which is why it is important to understand how digitalisation affects trust. We explore how to build trust in the digital systems we use, how digital systems mediating interpersonal interactions affect our trust in each other, and how external actors may actively try to erode the trust underlying Denmark's digital infrastructure, e.g. through biased social media algorithms, AI, fake news, influence agents or armies of internet trolls.
Chair: Christian Damsgaard Jensen, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University
Speakers:
Christian Damsgaard Jensen, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University:
Trust in Technology
Gert Tinggaard Svendsen, Professor, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University
TBA
Time: Thursday 7 May 13:30–15:00
Auditorium: To be announced
Chairs: Professor Christina C. Dahm, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University and Associate Professor, MSc, PhD Daniel Borch Ibsen, Department of Public Health - Department of Epidemiology, Aarhus University
A resilient society is built on the health of its people. Resilience in public health is about adapting, anticipating and transforming in the face of adversity. As pandemics and climate stressors reshape modern food environments, the ability of individuals and communities to maintain well-being depends on strong systems, social cohesion and equitable access to resources. Promoting resilience means investing in health assets, not just addressing deficits.
Speakers:
Christian Morberg Wejse, Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University:
How do we ensure resilient (g)local health care systems - preparing for the next pandemic
Per Kallestrup, Professor, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University and Director, Research Unit for General Practice, Aarhus:
Stronger together: Resilient communities for mental health and equity
Helle Terkildsen Maindal, Professor, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University:
People are the Infrastructure: Health Literacy and Public Health Resilience
Flash talks
Anne Bak Mørch, PhD student, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University:
Sustainable dietary recommendations: a win-win for people and the planet
Sophie Esmann Andersen, Consultant, Aarhus Municipality:
Green cuisine as a catalyst for change: An integrated approach to climate, city planning and a healthy population
Time: Thursday 7 May 13:30–15:00
Auditorium: To be announced
Chairs: Barth F. Smets, Professor, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University // Nikolai Friberg, Professor, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University
Europe has recently launched a strategy for water resilience. Its ultimate goal is to achieve water security, and its immediate objectives are to (1) restore and protect the water cycle, (2) build a water-smart economy and (3) secure clean and affordable water and sanitation for all. But what do these objectives mean in practice for water providers and private and corporate water users? Which potentials can we leverage to help the public water supply as well as industrial and agricultural water users become water-smart and efficient? How far are we in reclaiming and reusing water? And how do we increase awareness of these issues among the general public? This session will seek to answer these questions.
Speakers:
Inês Breda, Senior Manager of Global Partnerships and Alliances, Water & Climate Partnerships, Grundfos:
Volatility in Slow Motion: A Human Pursuit for Resilience
Boris Brorman Jensen, Independent Architect and Consultant in Landscape- and Urban Planning:
Building Resilience by Considering Waterscapes – Planning and Managing Waterways in Resilient Landscapes
Karina Topp, CEO, Aarhus Vand:
Cross-cutting Water Challenges: What Does a Resilient Future Look Like for a Large Danish Water Utility?
Alison Cavey, EIT Water, Interim COO:
Role of Innovation in Building Water Resilience
Flash talks
Jóna Ólavsdóttir Name, Ph.D. Student, Department of Ecoscience, Centre for Nature-based Solutions, Aarhus University:
Overcoming Barriers to the Implementation of Nature-based Solutions
Time: Thursday 7 May 13:30–15:00
Auditorium: To be announced
This session investigates how biodiversity resilience can be reinforced through advances in ecological understanding, technological innovation and shifts in human–environment relationships. It examines the potential of digital twin technologies to integrate diverse data streams, anticipate ecological change, and support conservation planning in regions where biodiversity is high but information and resources are often limited. Reflections from national-scale biodiversity assessments illustrate how long-term evaluation, policy coordination and institutional learning shape prospects for a more resilient nature. Recent insights into human–wildfire interactions highlight how fire regimes interact with land use to alter ecosystem trajectories, revealing leverage points for managing resilience under increasing climatic extremes. How Nature-based solutions (NBS) provide tools to ensure a resilient nature; and how biodiversity is a key tool to fulfill our climate goals and have a resilient society to ongoing climate change. Finally, the session considers the broader societal transformations required to sustain a resilient planet, emphasising pathways that cultivate more desirable futures in the Anthropocene. Collectively, these perspectives illuminate the drivers that erode resilience, the interventions that can bolster it, and the systemic changes necessary to support ecological and social flourishing in an era of rapid global change.
Chairs: Alejandro Ordonez Gloria, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Aarhus University and Jens-Christian Svenning, Professor, Centre Director, Department of Biology, Aarhus University
Speakers:
Desalegn Chala, Researcher at Natural History Museum, University of Oslo:
Using digital twins to promote biodiversity conservation in the Global South's biodiversity-rich regions
Rob Buitenwerf, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Aarhus University:
Human wildfire interactions and their role in managing resilience
Signe Normand, Professor, Department of Biology, Aarhus University and Chair for The Danish Biodiversity Council:
Ensuring a resilient nature in Denmark
Garry Peterson, Professor, Stockholm Resilience Centre:
Fundamental shifts in human-environment relationships needed for a resilient planet
Nikolai Friberg, Professor, Institut for Ecoscience, Aarhus University:
Upscaling the use of nature-based solutions (NBS) to ensure future landscape resilience
Rolf Johnsen, Head of Climate & Energy, The City of Aarhus:
Climate-neutrality and municipal nature planning