SDU strengthens the Triangle Region

International orientation and regional anchoring are in SDU’s DNA. Over the past 25 years, SDU has purposefully built campuses with strong education and research activities in the Region of Southern Denmark.

The desire to strengthen SDU’s presence in the Triangle Region – which includes new campus activities in Vejle – has now been further strengthened with the announcement that DKK 19 million will be allocated to SDU.

The parties to the agreement have decided to allocate the money to the establishment of IT and STEM education programmes in the Triangle Region, which follows the political agreement from March 2022 on the regionalisation of education programmes.

- We have welcomed this message with deep gratitude. This brings us even closer to our ambition of ensuring the continued development of one of the country’s most important industrial regions with successful and innovative business environments, says Rector Jens Ringsmose.

He emphasises that building a campus in Vejle is not in opposition to a strong SDU Kolding. On the contrary. Both cities will be strengthened with education and research activities that are in demand from society. This was most recently made clear by the Minister for Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund’s approval of SDU’s application to establish a new master’s degree programme in Data Science at SDU Kolding, which will admit its first students in 2024.

IT and STEM programmes in the Triangle Region

- A new master’s degree programme in Data Science at SDU Kolding is part of an overall plan to ensure that SDU has a strong position in the Triangle Region. There should be no doubt about our commitment to the entire Triangle Region, nor our natural interest in meeting the demand for well-educated graduates in one of Denmark’s most important industrial regions, says Jens Ringsmose. In addition to strengthening SDU’s presence in Kolding, we have also focused on how new IT and STEM education and research activities can be realised on a campus in Vejle, says Rector Jens Ringsmose.

These ambitions for the Triangle Region have already been expressed in the institutional plan prepared by SDU in connection with the political agreement ‘More and better educational opportunities throughout the country’ from June 2021 (https://www.sdu.dk/en/regional) – as well as in the joint declaration of intent that SDU, Vejle Municipality and Dandy Business Park signed on 15 December 2021 (https://www.sdu.dk/en/nyheder/sdu-og-vejle-kommune-i-taet-samarbejde-om-campus) to establish a campus in Vejle, thereby supporting the Triangle Region’s need for well-educated graduates in IT and STEM subjects.

The condition is financial sustainability

The DKK 19 million establishment grant can only be released when potential programmes have been pre-qualified.

Furthermore, the establishment grant is by no means sufficient to cover the total costs of setting up a new campus in Vejle. A prerequisite for SDU to realise its ambitions is that the project is fully financially sustainable. Therefore, the University is currently working in partnership with Vejle Municipality and other stakeholders in the Region to prevent a new campus from draining SDU’s financial resources. A further condition for establishing the new campus is that the University can assure the recruitment of international students, says Jens Ringsmose. 

He also emphasizes that it is essential for SDU that a future strengthening of the education landscape in the Triangle area should not be at the expense of existing educations, which are already offered in, for example, Horsens and Viborg.