Spotlight on the AU Viborg Vision: A Shared direction for Denmark’s green campus
AU Viborg has its own dedicated vision that sets the overall direction for the development of the campus in the coming years. The vision is based on input from departments and academic environments and aims to position AU Viborg as an international beacon for sustainable research, education and innovation.
Internationally recognised research, practice-oriented and relevant degree programmes, unique testing facilities, societally critical public sector consultancy, and a wealth of committed people working together to advance the green transition. AU Viborg encompasses many things, and the ambitions for how the campus should evolve in the future are substantial. All of this is outlined in the new overarching vision for AU Viborg, which is currently being distributed to departments and centres.
“AU Viborg holds a truly unique potential, and that is precisely why it is crucial to have a shared vision that ties everything together and makes this potential clear – both to the staff and students who are here every day, to our partners, and to those who do not yet know AU Viborg,” says Louise Møller Haase, Pro-Dean for Education at Tech.
The vision, which builds on the departments’ existing strategies and ambitions, is intended to create a clear common direction that will make it easier to develop the campus and strengthen opportunities for cross-disciplinary projects, collaborations and external funding, both nationally and internationally.
“When we say that we are Denmark’s green campus and a centre for the green transition in Denmark – and when we want to mark and position ourselves as such – it is important that we join forces. At the same time, we also have significant potential beyond Denmark’s borders, where we have already established ourselves on the EU map through a number of major projects,” says Charlotte Lauridsen, Head of Department at the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences.
The vision outlines eight core areas that together form the framework for development in the coming years. Among these core areas are, of course, education, research and innovation, but business collaboration and Living Labs (user-driven test and learning environments) also feature prominently.
“One of the things that makes AU Viborg special is our closeness to real-world practice. This is possible because we have created a large integrated laboratory that brings together fields, animals, research and education. At the same time, we work closely with businesses, industry and public authorities, which gives us unique opportunities to contribute to societal change,” says Jørgen E. Olesen, Head of Department at the Department of Agroecology.
In addition, Louise Møller Haase highlights interdisciplinarity as a major strength of AU Viborg and a key foundation for contributing to solutions for the green transition:
“At our AU Viborg campus, we develop new knowledge that can be applied in practice and help implement innovative solutions. Our strength lies in our cross‑disciplinary collaboration across agricultural sciences, animal and veterinary sciences, and engineering, which also supports decision‑makers and public authorities. The establishment of AU Viborg as an educational platform therefore advances the broader mission: to contribute research‑based knowledge to the green transition.”
Read the AU Viborg vision here (in Danish)