DTU honorary alumnus 2017: Ole Niss

Grounds for the appointment:
Ole Niss was named DTU Honorary Alumnus in 2017. The title of honorary alumnus was conferred on Ole Niss for his efforts in relation to DTU and DTU’s Alumni network. Ole has demonstrated a special commitment to DTU through many years of participation in DTU’s mentor schemes, particularly in connection with start-up and commercialization. He is greatly appreciated by students and lecturers as a mentor. With his unique business development skills, Ole plays a key role in the ongoing development of mentoring at DTU.

Statement from Ole Niss:
“I studied at DTU (back then DtH and DIA) in the 1970s, and have maintained a connection with the University ever since, both as a ‘visitor’ in various contexts and as an external examiner. In my positions in the business community, I have also been associated with various parts of DTU depending on the fields I was involved in. This mostly involved projects, including exam projects, carried out in collaboration with whatever company I was employed by. This is still ongoing, and I am also active as a mentor at Thomas Howard in DTU Skylab, where there are lots of inspiring projects.

Recognition by DTU as an honorary alumnus came completely out of the blue, but I’m delighted and proud to be recognized in this way. This also amounts to recognition of the fact that mentoring activities—in a broader sense—are important to students pursuing their study programme, and this is very rewarding for mentors and students alike.

Working with DTU has always been a source of inspiration to me, because the daily grind of working for a company restricts your professional perspective, and it’s important to keep up with life and progress on the technological front. My collaboration with and access to lectures, etc., has provided input which I, in turn, am able to pass on to the companies I work with. This makes me a kind of ambassador—both ways.”