A programme returns home

It makes good sense to listen to the needs of the employers and the local business community - especially when planning degree programmes. At BTECH, a close dialogue with local partners has just resulted in the decision to move the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD) (Financial Counselling) back to the department from the next semester.

The decision shows that dialogue creates results. Photo: AU Foto

It was a specific suggestion from an employer panel of moving the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD) (Financial Counselling) from Aarhus to Herning that got the Director of Studies at BTECH Jan Laursen and Vice-dean with special responsibilities Peder Østergaard thinking back in the fall of 2016. The suggestion has now resulted in the decision to offer the programme in Herning as of the autumn of 2017 after many years of declining applications figures in Aarhus.

According to Jan Laursen and Peder Østergaard, whose specific area of responsibility is the development of the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD), the decision is a good example of how engaging in a close dialogue with key partners may yield specific results. Since last autumn, the two have visited a number of small and medium-sized financial institutions in Central and Western Jutland, and it is this dialogue which has now borne fruit:

“When we talked to the different financial institutions, we could clearly sense that this geographical area - for several reasons - has a specific need for a programme in financial counselling,” Jan Laursen explains.”By listening to a specific industry we were thus able to identity an employer need. We have now acted on this need and have taken a decision, which we believe is the right one for this specific programme.”

Insight through close dialogue

Peder Østergaard is also convinced that educational institutions should be in constant and close dialogue with the employers - not least in the area of further and continuing education. Dialogue is what forms the basis of academically and professionally well-founded decisions which take into account the reality in which the employers operate.

“Getting access to the engine rooms of companies and organisations gives us great knowledge and insight into their needs and what is going on,” he says.”Through dialogue, we can create the best framework for our degree programmes and ensure that they meet society’s needs. In this process, the involved employers have also demonstrated great openness and enthusiasm, and it is obvious that the dialogue benefits both parties.”

The application deadline for the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (HD) is 1 June. Here, it will become clear whether moving the programme will also result in more applications.