By Per Michael Johansen, Rector of Aalborg University. Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs

The government's proposal for reform (in Danish) of university degree programmes may seem like a good idea from a desk in Copenhagen, but it will not work in practice in Northern Jutland. The conditions for the new Master's programmes for working professionals are so poor that both companies and students will reject them.

And when we cannot get 20 percent of students to apply to the new Master's programme for working professionals, the government and the parties to the reform agreement will force us to shorten even more of our current Master's degree programmes. The consequence will be that we will have fewer young people with a long-cycle higher education when we in Northern Jutland need more.

Fortunately, things need not be this bad. The politicians can manage to put the reform on hold and find a solution that does not distort Denmark.

At Aalborg University, we actually agree with the basic idea of the reform that the degree programmes should work in close interaction with organizations and companies. We were founded in 1974 to create growth and development in Northern Jutland through knowledge and close interaction with our surroundings. And it works.

Every day, we teach our students according to a problem-based learning model where students solve real problems in companies and organizations. We are also good at entrepreneurship. Over the past 15 years, our researchers, graduates or students have helped create more than 1,000 new companies (in Danish). 

In short, our knowledge and research are an engine for the whole of Northern Jutland. Unfortunately, the reform does not support this development. On the contrary. At AAU, we must reduce our student places by 12 percent, and all other things being equal, this means that fewer young people will get a university education in Northern Jutland – contrary to all recommendations from the EU Commission to raise the level of education. In addition, more than 20 percent will get a shorter education than they are getting today.

The model presented for Master’s programmes for working professionals will be a deterrent with students having to study and/or be in a compulsory student job for up to 50 hours a week because the government wants to increase the labour supply. The geography of Northern Jutland with its long distances must also be factored in. Allow me to provide some practical examples of why it will not work in practice:

Camilla is studying Data Science and gets a student job at Grundfos in Bjerringbro. It is 87 km. She does not have a car and has to take the bus and train from Aalborg three days a week. It takes 2 hours and 4 minutes each way. A total of 4 hours and 8 minutes per day or a total of 12 hours and 24 minutes per week.

Jonas is studying to become an engineer in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. He gets a student job at Tican in Thisted. It is 95 km. He does not have a car and has to take the bus three days a week. It takes 2 hours and 10 minutes each way. A total of 4 hours 20 minutes a day or 13 hours a week.

A positive correlation between a high level of education and high productivity (in Danish) has been documented ad nauseam. And only AAU educates graduates for Northern Jutland.

The forecast is (in Danish) that in Northern Jutland, 22 percent of young people in the ninth grade today will pursue a university education before they turn 35. In the Capital Region, the figure is as high as 32 percent. In practice, the reform will lead to a lower level of education in Northern Jutland where we need to raise it. In Northern Jutland, we need university graduates who can boost the growth of the business community.

We have a lot of small and medium-sized companies and a few of the large ones. And only 15 percent of small and medium-sized companies have a university graduate employed. In the Capital Region, it is 36 percent. North Jutland companies are below the national average when it comes to innovation. And they are less digitalized than the national average.

That is why I would like to see the Master's programme reform go back to the drawing board. Let's find a model together that benefits all of Denmark.

We need more young people who pursue a university education in Northern Jutland. Not fewer.

Note: This post was also published on nordjyske.dk on 6 December under the headline: "Rector criticizes proposal: Why it’s bad for Northern Jutland" (in Danish).