Research to be Strengthened with Fewer Danish Universities

– With the new map of Danish universities, we will have three large universities ranking among the largest in Europe in terms of resources. This will strengthen our ability to retain and attract talented students and researchers, says Helge Sander, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation.

The three large new universities are the University of Copenhagen, the University of Aarhus, and the Technical University of Denmark. In future, about two thirds of Denmark's public research and university education will take place here. 

Also the University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University will be strengthened, via mergers with Government research institutes.

– The new universities can reap professional synergies that will ensure better utilisation of Denmark's research facilities, new education and research potential, and also a larger Danish share of the European Union's increasing research grants.

To ensure the best possible coordination and utilise the international position of strength held by Danish food research, a national food forum will be established. 

– This means that business and consumer representatives will have a single contact point for the boards and managements of the three universities – Copenhagen, Aarhus and the Technical University – each of which has a particular professional profile within food research, says Helge Sander.

The Government's decision to draw up a new map of the Danish university and research sector marks the end of an intense process. In this connection, the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation would like to express his thanks to the boards, managements and staff of the institutions who have carried out the detailed analyses that serve as a solid foundation for Denmark's new university map.

– They have been strongly engaged in ensuring the best possible conditions for research, education and knowledge dissemination in the years to come, in extension to our political decision to increase public investments in the sector substantially.

– Now the potential enabled by the new institutions and collaborations is to be realised. The Government will make an evaluation of the research institutions in three years' time to ensure that the new map of Denmark's universities remains of a high quality and that the potential is realised, says Helge Sander.