The objective of the Department of Informatics is to be the leading North European university-based research department in the research field of design, development, implementation, management and use of information and communication technology in private and public enterprises. The Department's research is characterised by an interdisciplinary research tradition, applying theories and methods from information systems, business economics, computer science, organisation, political science, sociology and psychology.

- On 26 and 27 February 2004, to celebrate professor Niels Bjørn-Andersen's 60th birthday, the Department held two one-day conferences, both with the participation of internationally respected informatics professors. The conference on 27 February included a presentation of the book: Past and Future of Information Systems with contributions from a large number of Niels Bjørn-Andersen's present and former partners. (Internationalisation + partnership with the business community)

- On 16 March 2004, associate professor Volker Mahnke received the Tietgen Prize 2004 for his research in Knowledge Management and IT Outsourcing. (Partnership with the business community)

- On 25 May 2004, professor Kim Viborg Andersen in cooperation with the Center for Digital Administration hosted the one-day conference: Digitalisering af Fremtidens Beskæftigelsesindsats (Digitalisation of the employment strategy of the future). (Partnership with the business community)

- On 3 June 2004, Louis-Francois Pau was attached to CBS and the Department as an adjunct professor within the field of Mobile Business. (Internationalisation + partnership with the business community)

- On 29 June - 1 July 2004, the Department's HCI research group and MalmöUniversity co-organised the CADE (Computers in Art and Design Education) conference during which a number of leading researchers and artists presented their most recent research results and works. (Internationalisation)

- In December 2004, the Mobiconomy group of researchers headed by Jan Damsgaard was allocated DKK 5,382,789 over a four-years period out of the NABIIT funds (Nanoscience, Biotechnology and IT) for the Development, Realisation and Exploitation of Advanced Mobile Services (DREAMS) research project. (Partnership with the business community).

The target field of the Department is research in information and communication technology (ICT). Research conducted by the Department is primarily application-oriented within the areas of design, development, implementation, management and application of ICT.

The Department wishes to strengthen its position as the leading Nordic research department in the field of business economics ICT research and to become a leading research department in the field of business economics ICT research in Northern Europe. The Department's research and presentation of results is aimed at national as well as international audiences. Its international research level is sustained through frequent contacts and working relationships with internationally recognised researchers at conferences and in research projects. Consequently, the Department's research results are mainly published in English in peer-reviewed international journals, anthologies and conference proceedings.

The number of Department publications increased from 101 in 2003 to 135 in 2004 – a highly positive rise of 33.7%. Notably, the Other publications category increased by 500%, which means that in 2004 the Department's research received much higher media coverage in Denmark than before. The Department's production of articles in international scientific journals increased from 9 (2003) to 11 (2004), of which three were published in definite top journals (Interacting with Computers, Journal of Strategic Information Systems and Information Systems Journal), while in 2003 the number was two (International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction and Information Society). In 2004, the Department was strongly represented with presentations of papers at international top conferences (International Conference on Information Systems, European Conference on Information Systems, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences and Academy of Management) within its target field. Nordic-language publications is the only category, in which the number fell (from 15 in 2003 to 11 in 2004), but this was mainly due to the fact that the Department's contributions to Børsen's Internet manual fell from 10 to 5.

In a national perspective, the presentation of research results to Danish private and public organisations is important. In relation to this the above increase of 500% in the Other publications category is seen as a strong indication of the growing community interest in the Department's research. In 2004, the Department had fewer external research funds at its disposal than in 2003. The main reason for this is that in 2004 the Department did not have any EU projects of the same size as in 2003. It is satisfactory that largely all members of the Department's scientific staff have acted as presenters at or co-organisers of seminars and conferences for professional practicians.