Helge Mølsted Sander is a Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 politician. He is the former Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 Minister of Science, Technology and Development (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Denmark

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Denmark

The Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education is the Danish ministry in charge of research, innovation and education above high school/upper secondary school....

) (from November 27, 2001, as member of the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I

Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen I

After the 2001 Danish parliamentary election, Anders Fogh Rasmussen was able form a government coalition of his own Liberal Party Venstreand the Conservative People's Party. It was a minority government with the parliamentary support of the Danish People's Party. The resulting cabinet is called the...

, II

Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen retained his parliamentary support in the 2005 Danish parliamentary election, and was able to continue as head of his government. On 18 February 2005, he presented his updated cabinet, the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II...

 and III

Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen III

The third Cabinet of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was announced on November 23, 2007.-Changes from the Cabinet of Anders Fogh Rasmussen II:...

). He is a member of the Liberal Party, and was a member of parliament (Folketinget) from January 10, 1984 to January 31, 1998; and again from 2005.

He received his Lower Secondary School Examination degree from Aulum Urban School. Then he trained as a journalist with the newspaper Herning Folkeblad from 1968 to 1971. He was a journalist with the newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten from 1972 to 1973, Head of Arrangements at A/S Exhibition Centre Herning from 1973 to 1977, and then Director of A/S Herning Fremad Football Club from 1978 to 1979. Sander was a member of the Town Council of Herning

Herning

Herning Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,336 km² and a total population of 84,208...

 from 1974 to 1979, and from 1994 to 2001; during the latter period, he was Deputy Mayor from 1994 to 1998, and Mayor from 1998 to 2001.

Reform controversy

During Sander's time as Minister of Science, he has been behind the implementation of a series of controversial reforms of Danish Universities: Under the heading of "from thought to invoice", Sander has removed faculty and scientific personnel from the decision process and placed institutional power with an external board, having a majority of members appointed by the ministry.

Subsequently, a survey of European universities placed Denmark 21 out of 23 European countries with regards to the protection of academic freedom

Academic freedom

Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.Academic freedom is a...

. DM (Dansk Magisterforening) has submitted a complaint to UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 that this fails to comply with the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel

Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel

The 1997 UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel is the international instrument that sets out the norms and standards for educators working in universities and institutions of higher education...

, which the Danish Government has signed.

The reforms have resulted in declining efficiency, where the yearly expenses of Danish Universities towards administration have increased by a sum of 700 million DKR, while most researchers report having less time to do research.

As of November 2008, close to 50% of Danish researchers have signed a petition asking for improvement in working conditions and the protection of academic freedom. Theoretical biologist and philosopher Claus Emmeche

Claus Emmeche

Claus Emmeche is a Danish theoretical biologist and philosopher. He is associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, and is head of the Center for the Philosophy of Nature and Science Studies at the Faculty of Science .His research interests are in philosophy of science, especially...

was one of the organizers of the petition and was surprised with the ease at which the petition gained a large amount of support.