Aarhus University’s budget for the 2017-2020 period is balanced, but impacted by decreasing funding for research and education. However, thanks to a small profit in 2016, the university is able to maintain its strategic goals. According to the University Board, which has just approved the budget, the university is well prepared for the stagnation in Finance Act grants and for the cuts in government research funding, and thus has the necessary stability and balance for continued development.
Discernible improvement has been achieved in degree completion times this year. Unlike last year, in 2016 Aarhus University received its full share of the so-called completion pool, which totalled DKK 184.4 million. Last year, Aarhus University was fined DKK 22 million as a result of students spending too long on average completing their degrees.
The University Board has now given the go-ahead to a new project which, under the name Karriereklar (career-ready), aims to forge stronger links between students, teachers and prospective employers, among other things by promoting the incorporation of practical experience in university education, and by highlighting the career prospects of degree programmes. The project aims, for example, to increase the use of case competitions, project-based programmes and one-year Master’s theses in collaboration with businesses. The project is part of the university’s overall strategic efforts to ensure that, in future, more graduates will find a job in the private sector.
Karriereklar has been drawn up the pro-rector in cooperation with the Education Committee, and following approval by the University Board, the project will now be elaborated and implemented in collaboration with education fora and boards of studies.
From 2017, Aarhus University is bringing together all its language programmes in a single faculty, as the business communication programmes are moving from Aarhus BSS to Arts. In future, the degree programmes in English, German, French and Spanish will therefore be offered by a single department. Aarhus University is thus building up one of the biggest research and teaching environments in northern Europe within languages, and with a stronger focus on employment prospects.
The language initiative at Aarhus University is happening at a time when language courses are under pressure, and when politicians, the business community and the universities have joined forces to draw up a national language strategy which is to ensure an adequate supply of language teachers, and that enough students acquire solid language skills.
As from 1 January 2017, the Department of Business Communication is being combined with the Department of Management after a recent decision by the University Board. This means that, from 31 December 2016, the Department of Business Communication is no longer an independent department, and that in future corporate communication will be part of the Department of Management. Earlier in the year, the University Board decided to bring together the language programmes offered by the Department of Business Communication at Aarhus BSS with the other language programmes taught at the Faculty of Arts, with effect from 1 January 2017.
Aarhus University is considering a transfer of its libraries to the new national library, which will be called the Royal Library. The transfer will create a stronger library service for the benefit of the university. The contract will be prepared with the broad involvement of both academic and administrative staff and students.
Together with deans and managers from the University of Copenhagen, Aalborg University and the IT University of Copenhagen, Dean at Science and Technology Niels Christian Nielsen is warning the government against cutting the funding for technical and scientific research. In an article in the Danish business newspaper Børsen published on 2 December, they argue that such research is a prerequisite for Denmark being able to keep pace with future developments.
In an article in Politiken on 6 December, acting Dean at Health Ole Steen Nielsen and his peers at the health faculties at the University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University are urging politicians to protect researchers’ access to Danish health data. The step follows a new data protection reform from the EU, which will take effect in 2018.
The Senior Management Team publishes a newsletter every week. This newsletter includes a brief description of current activities and discussions. You can sign up for the Danish version of the newsletter at http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve, after which you will receive an e-mail whenever the newsletter is issued.
If you would like to subscribe to the English version of News from the Senior Management Team, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en. The English version of News from the Senior Management Team is available at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/.
You can read previous editions of News from the Senior Management Team at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/2015.