<<Previous article: WIAS initiated Network Research Visits program with partner institute, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (vol. 2)
WIAS and AIAS (Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark), our partner institute, started a reciprocal exchange program to foster research collaboration. Assistant Professor LE Duc Dung is the second researcher to use the program to visit AIAS. In this update, he reports his research activities and daily experiences there so far and future plan at the Aarhus University.
AIAS and WIAS Network Research Visits program report vol.2 (Assistant Professor LE Duc Dung)
Annual Event at Sandbjerg
AIAS is similar to WIAS in that both institutes focus on interdisciplinary research. AIAS organizes an annual event for all its research fellows, and the theme for this year was “Science and Methods – Finding Common Ground in Interdisciplinary Collaboration.” This event was held at Sandbjerg, a historic estate and manor house located near Sønderborg in the southeast of Jutland, Denmark. I was fortunate to attend the two-day event in early October this year, and it was a valuable experience sharing barriers, gains, and aspirations for interdisciplinary collaboration with other fellows.
Yearly meeting at Sandbjerg
Presentation, Meetings and Seminars
After the trip, I gave a presentation introducing my project at AIAS and received useful comments and suggestions. I had two meetings with my host, Prof. Nabanita Datta Gupta, at the Department of Economics and Business Economics (DEBS). In the first meeting, we discussed and finalized the research methodologies for our collaborative research. Once the research design was settled, we spent most of the time discussing potential data sources that could be utilized for our research and key variables in the second meeting. I have also attended weekly seminars at both DEBS (on Tuesdays or Fridays) and AIAS (on Mondays).
Daily Life
Outside of my work, I enjoy strolling around the university campus. The university has a vast campus, which even includes a park. I usually take a walk around the park after lunch and on weekends to enjoy the fresh air and the sights of late autumn. The campus also has a beautiful library, called “The Danish Library,” which is a great place to work in addition to my office at AIAS. The location of the campus is convenient, as it takes about ten minutes on foot to reach downtown and some tourist attractions such as the old town or the botanical gardens.
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- The AIAS Office
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- The Danish Library
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- the Aarhus Park
Future Plan
I am currently searching for all countries that have implemented a child marriage ban worldwide from 1995 to 2019 (referred to as macro data). This is a challenging task as we must obtain this information from legal documents across various countries. Simultaneously, I need to closely examine the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) to determine which countries can be merged with the macro data. These search processes are currently underway, and I plan to complete these tasks by mid-November.
>>Next article: AIAS and WIAS Network Research Visits program report vol.3 (Assistant Professor LE Duc Dung)
