19 March 2025

After a highly competitive selection process, Jens Dalsgaard Nielsen, Israel Leyva Mayorga and Simon Bøgh have been awarded the Novo Nordisk Foundation Prize for Technical Science Teachers at Universities 2025. This esteemed award recognizes educators who make exceptional contributions to motivating and educating students in technical and scientific fields.

We are incredibly proud to see our mentors and supervisors, Jens Dalsgaard Nielsen and Israel Leyva Mayorga, recognized for their pivotal roles in fostering student activities at AAU Satlab. They stand together with Simon Bøgh, the dedicated supervisor of AAU Space Robotics, which makes this recognition even more remarkable—truly an extraordinary trio.

Jens Dalsgaard Nielsen has been an active part of AAU Satlab since its inception in the early 2000s. For nearly 25 years, he has remained a trusted advisor and mentor, continuously supporting our students in pioneering satellite technology.

His journey began with AAUSAT-II and ESA's SSETI EXPRESS, which proved that a student-driven program could design, test, and deploy a satellite, successfully achieving a mission duration of 2.5 months.

Since the start of the AAUSAT6 project, the team welcomed Israel Leyva Mayorga as an advisor, further strengthening the organization’s technical expertise. As we continue our journey, we look forward to the next 20 years of collaboration and innovation.