About NICE

NICE is the National Instrument Center for CERN in Denmark. The purpose of NICE is to support and promote the utilization of CERN and its accelerator, technical and scientific infrastructures by Danish researchers, students and others and make possible their participation in experiments and R&D at CERN.

About 200 Danish researchers and graduate students use CERN, either directly as members of the experiments or work on theory related to CERN physics.

NICE is a ’følgeforskningscenter’ (research follow-up center) that presently operates on the basis of a grant from the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science (UFM, in Danish: Uddannelses- og Forskningsstyrelsen (UFS): ufm.dk

Since Denmark, as one of the founders of CERN, ratified the CERN convention (http://council.web.cern.ch/council/en/governance/convention.html) in 1953, targeted funding has been provided to ensure optimal usage and exploitation of the Danish CERN membership.

Initially the ’følgeforskning’ was an item on the national budget. From the late 1990’ties to 2013, NICE (and its precursor organizations) operated under DFF (the Danish Council for Independent Research).  Since 2014 NICE operates under the Agency for Higher Education and Science, Technology and Innovation with guidance from the NUFI committee (‘Nationalt Udvalg for Forskningsinfrastruktur’), (https://ufm.dk/forskning-og-innovation/indsatsomrader/forskningsinfrastruktur/nationalt-udvalg-for-forskningsinfrastruktur).

 

Mandate (in Danish):

Kommissorium for NICE bestyrelsen:

  • fordele og administrere  bevillingen til CERN eksperimentel følgeforskning
  • aktivt promovere den danske udnyttelse af det nationale medlemsskab og af CERN’s infrastruktur
  • samle alle potentielle brugere af CERN
  • udvikle strategier for danske forskeres og andres anvendelse af CERN
  • fungere som kontaktpunkt og rådgiver for ministeriet, universiteterne etc. I CERN relaterede anliggender
  • indstille danske medlemmer til relevante udvalg og komitéer (nationalt og internationalt)
  • formidle og udbrede kendskabet til CERN og CERN’s  virke (herunder grundforskning og teknik) samt styrke uddannelse indenfor de relevante områder.
  • afholde brugermøder alene eller i samarbejde med andre.