Christine Parsons is replacing Andreas Roepstorff who was recently appointed head of the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University. 

Highlighting Christine's excellent professional and personal skills, Andreas is convinced that IMC will develop and thrive in the future:

"Research rarely happens in a vacuum. It's not just about individuals that strive to achieve their goals. It's also about environments where ideas and actions unfold, to the point that one happily loses track of exactly what one contributed with, because 'the gives' and 'the takes' from many individuals feed into something that allows everyone to imagine and do things that one could never do on one's own. Since 2012, IMC has strived to be such a place. And I have had the privilege to be involved in facilitating it.This has been deeply meaningful, on so many levels.

And it is with great pleasure and huge trust that I now pass on the baton to Christine Parsons as the new director, aka chief facilitator, of the IMC. Christine is a brilliant researcher with a fearsome intellect and a strong dedication, but she is also so much more than that. Her skills and interests cut across disciplines, theories and methods, and she has proven herself a fast and agile explorer who creates connections and open spaces in between intellectual traditions and institutional silos. She has a rare attention to people, to values, to processes, to all those things that make an environment a great good place to be; a place where people, practices and ideas grow and develop.

I look forward to follow the development of this wonderful centre over the years to come. My main place will be in the mothership at School of Culture and Society. But I look forward to indulge myself from time to time in whatever IMC will turn out to become, as a contributor to and participant in what is allegedly one of the best research environments in Denmark. Thanks for contributing to that environment, and for making my time with the IMC such a wonderful experience."

Carrying the baton forward while sustaining the qualities of IMC 

Christine is honoured and excited to take on her new role, building on the environment that has been fostered since 2012:

"This week, the Danish Young Academy (Det Unge Akademi) announced its inaugural award for Denmark's best research environment. The IMC was one of six centers shortlisted from 62 for the award. We thank Savhannah Schulz and Rebekah Baglini for writing the application, along with the testimonials from many IMC affiliates. It is a most timely recognition of the wonderful environment that has been created, developed and fostered by Andreas since 2012.

Andreas has guided and supported the careers of so many, locally at the IMC, and in the broader academic environment. The center has thrived because of Andreas's capacity to bring people together and to open a space that is equally playful and ambitious. There is much to be said about his inimitable ways of making space for new ideas, for finding solutions to seemingly intractable problems, and for seeing opportunities that are invisible to most.

I am deeply honoured to take on the role of "chief facilitator" at IMC. Our post summer break calendar will include many opportunities to come meet your colleagues, new and old, in person. I look forward to working with all of you to sustain the qualities of IMC, the innovation, the inclusiveness, and the academic ambition."