Danish society – and North Jutland – has seen rapid change in recent years.
The impact of knowledge, learning and innovation to societal development is constantly on the increase, and regional, practice-related knowledge institutions like University College of Northern Denmark, UCN, must step up and take their important positions in the regional ecosystems of businesses, institutions and organisations that work closely together to develop North Jutland now and for the future.
We want UCN to stand out at the regional level to contribute to leading the way out of the dilemmas and challenges we faces as society, whether they be green energy, workforce shortages in the health sector or the well-being of children and young people.
To do this, we have decided on a 10-year strategy with a clear societal aim and strong focus on value-generation in collaboration with the North Jutland area.
In 2023, UCN's new board has confirmed and honed the strategy to maintain the same mission, vision and ambitions while to an even higher extent addressing current recruitment challenges as well as underlining UCN's focus on generating change for and with North Jutland partners.
We believe we can contribute to the development of the society in which we exist by setting ambitious goals for our study programmes, our students and the professions we collaborate with; ambitions that will equate the development of study programmes in Denmark with that in other European countries. This means a practice-related knowledge institution that generates regional value through education and applied research at the international level.
We want to enhance our study programmes, students and professions through a strong knowledge basis that translates into specific skills and competencies. It is our goal to create study programmes that are based on reflective practice and underpinned by new knowledge and innovation.
By 'we', we refer not only to UCN's board of governors, director, managers and staff who are duty-bound to pursue the strategy, but also to all of our students in full-degree higher education programmes and continuing professional education programmes as well as stakeholders and partners without whom UCN could never succeed. It is due to our active cooperation with workplaces, institutions, knowledge environments and especially with our students that UCN is able to create the practice-related, application-oriented knowledge that is the very trademark of UCN.
So, please read this strategy as an open invitation for us to create the desired changes together.
Kristina Østergaard Kristoffersen, rector
Mads Duedahl, chair of the Board of Governors