Aalborg University


Aalborg University is an international public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1974, the university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanities, social sciences, information technology, design, engineering, exact sciences, and medicine.

History

The movement for a university in the North Jutland Region started in 1961 when the North Jutland Committee for higher education institutions was established. On 19 August 1969 the Aalborg University Association was founded and a planning group was established with Eigil Hastrup as chairman. The same year in December, about 1,000 people from North Jutland demonstrated in front of the Folketinget for their cause.
In 1970, the law for the establishment of a university centre in Aalborg was passed in the Danish Parliament. In 1972, it was decided that the first rector of the new university center should be the Swedish historian and professor Jörgen Weibull. On 1 September 1974, Aalborg University Center was inaugurated by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Jørgen Weibull was replaced by Sven Caspersen as rector of Aalborg University Center in 1976. At the same time, a new management organization was established under a consistory. The first formal cooperation agreement was signed with the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay in 1980. The North Jutland knowledge park was established in 1989 as a neighbor to Aalborg University Center.
In 1993, external representatives joined the consistory. In 1994, Aalborg University Center changed its name to Aalborg University. Aalborg University - Esbjerg was established through a merger between the engineering college in Esbjerg and Aalborg University in 1995. In 1998, the NOVI science park was connected to Aalborg University. Aalborg University Copenhagen was formed in collaboration with the engineering college in Copenhagen in 2003. A new university board was formed and joined by its members on 1 February 2004, with Jørgen Østergaard appointed as rector. In 2005, Finn Kjærsdam was hired by the university board as rector. Aalborg University and the Danish Building Research Institute merged in 2007. In 2010, Aalborg University established a faculty of Medicine and created a medical education. Per Michael Johansen was hired as rector by the university board in 2014.

List of rectors

Since Aalborg University's foundation in 1974, the university has had a total of five rectors in office.
PeriodNameResearch area
1974–1976Jörgen WeibullHistory
1976–2004Sven CaspersenEconomics
2004–2005Jørgen ØstergaardEngineering
2005–2014Finn KjærsdamLand Surveying and Urban Planning
2014–presentPer Michael JohansenEngineering and Physics

Profile

Aalborg University differentiates itself from the older and more traditional Danish universities with its focus on interdisciplinary, inter-faculty studies; an experimental curriculum based on an interdisciplinary basic course with subsequent specialisation; a pedagogical structure based on problem-centred, real-life projects of educational and research relevance – which internationally has become known and recognised as The Aalborg Model. With the problem-based, project-organised model, semesters at AAU are centred around complex real-life problems which students attempt to find answers to in a scientific manner while working together in groups. In February 2007, the foundation of the UICEE Centre for Problem Based Learning paid recognition to Aalborg University, which subsequently led to the appointment of AAU as UNESCO Chair in problem-based learning.

University rankings

According to U.S. News & World Report's 2021 ranking, Aalborg University was ranked the eighth best university in the world and the best in Europe within mechanical engineering.
In a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study which analyzed the global state of art in the engineering education, Aalborg University was named as the leading university in Europe in engineering education by 50 thought leaders from all over the world.
In 2021, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings ranked Aalborg University number 6 in the world, out of 1,117 universities from 94 countries/regions, according to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. That is the number 1 university in the European Union. In 2022, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings ranked Aalborg University as the best university in the world in Sustainable Development Goal 4 for the third year in a row.
For the academic year 2023, in overall terms, Aalborg University has significantly dropped in worldwide university rankings, according to THE and QS. In addition, the Danish university dropped even more drastically in worldwide academic rankings during 2022 according to ARWU. In the 2024 QS top, Aalborg University dropped to the 336th position.

Administration and organisation

The university is governed by a board consisting of 11 members as follows:
  • Six members recruited outside the university form the majority of the board;
  • Two members are appointed by the scientific staff;
  • One member is appointed by the administrative staff;
  • Two members are appointed by the university students.
The rector is appointed by the university board. The rector in turn appoints deans, and deans appoint heads of departments. There is no faculty senate and faculty are not involved in the appointment of rector, deans, or department heads. Hence the university has no faculty governance.

Campuses

Aalborg University has campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen.

Esbjerg

Aalborg University Esbjerg is an organisational unit under Aalborg University, but is geographically located in Esbjerg. The institute's official name is "Esbjerg Technical Institute", formerly the "Department of Chemistry and Applied Engineering."
AAUE has approximately 500 students and educates mainly engineers, but also offers a number of niche programmes such as fishing technology and a graduate degree in computer science education.
Aalborg University Esbjerg was created through a merger of Engineering College Esbjerg and Aalborg University in 1995. Since the merger, the number of applicants for Aalborg University Esbjerg has risen steadily and therefore there have been a need for extensions of the physical environment in several stages.
The university offers programmes in information technology, with a Department of Software and Media Technology.
The student organisation at AAU-Esbjerg is called DSR-SE and the student bar is called "The Loophole".

Faculties and departments

Aalborg University has five faculties with a number of departments:
Aalborg University Library is a public research library for the North Jutland region. The library's primary mission is to support research and education at Aalborg University by providing appropriate information and documentation. The main branch of the University Library is located at Kroghstræde 3 in Aalborg, which is linked to smaller branches located on other campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen.
Aalborg University through Aalborg University Press is a publisher of wide range of journals, and among them four journals are listed in Scopus: International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Journal of Somaesthetics, Journal of China and International Relations and Academic quarter. Other journals are, for example, Journal of Business Models, Coaching Psychology - The Danish Journal of Coaching Psychology, Journal of Problem Based Learning in Higher Education, Globe: A Journal of Language, Culture and Communication, Music Therapy in Psychiatry Online.
Aalborg University Press was founded in 1978 and it focuses on political science, sociology, media and cultural studies. However, according to Scopus, the journal with highest score and number of citations is International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, with focus on Energy System analysis, Economics, Socio economics and Feasibility studies as well as specific feasibility studies and analyses of the transition to sustainable energy systems. All journals are Open Access and most of the journal content is peer-reviewed. Majority of authors are affiliated with Aalborg University, but few of the authors are international scholars, since AU is an international orientated University.

Research

AAU conducts research within all faculties. Aalborg University is among the leading universities in the world within health technology research, wireless communication, energy, computer science, innovation economics, and comparative welfare studies. AAU has established centres for telecommunications at the Birla Institute of Technology in India, the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia, and the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy. Furthermore, AAU has established a research centre for health technology at Xi'an Jiaotong University in China.
AAU has conducted several experiments in the field of CubeSat technology. The first AAU CubeSat was launched on 30 June 2003, the second on 28 April 2008 and the third will be launched in Q1, 2013. After launching AAUSAT3 the fourth will begin development.
AAU has always adopted a cross-disciplinary, problem-based approach to research which often requires contributions from a number of scientific disciplines. Aalborg University has five cross-disciplinary action areas:
  • Sustainable energy, the environment and construction;
  • Global production, innovation, knowledge development and coherence;
  • Information technology;
  • Nanotechnology and nanoproduction;
  • Experience technology and design.