Educational Strategy 2015-2018 Content Preface 4 Status 6 Vision and goals Sub-goals 1. Broad cooperation among educational institutions 10 Status Goals 2. Innovative cooperation among study programmes and business 12 Status Goals 3. STAY – work after completion of studies 14 Status Goals 4. Development of study environment and housing offers – including CAMPUS 16 Status Goals 5. Cultural and leisure offers with focus on students 18 Status Goals 6. Globalisation and internationalisation 20 Status Goals Marketing the educational city 22 Appendices 24 Preface Aalborg has undergone rapid growth in recent Our goal is for Aalborg to be the town where it years. In 2014, the nearly 41,000 students in Aal- is easiest to get a student job and internship, to borg accounted for approximately 20% of resi- cooperate with the business community etc. – dents in the city. Aalborg can therefore rightly be In Aalborg, you can use what you learn. Aalborg referred to as an educational city. wants to be Denmark’s best educational city. During the period from 2012-2014, many stu- We have already come far… dents chose Aalborg as their educational city. It is our goal to continue to attract students from the Aalborg wants to go even further. We want to Northern Jutland region, but also from the rest commit ourselves. We must actively contribute of the country. A high number of students in Aal- to the creation of alliances between the educa- borg, however, is not a goal in itself. tion and business communities that ensure that students receive a good education, but also a We want students to choose Aalborg because connection to the job market during their studies Aalborg can offer them the education of their and thus far greater chances of getting a job upon dreams, but also because Aalborg Municipality is graduating. committed to working together with the educati- onal institutions to give students the best The strategy for education goes hand in hand with possible quality education in an inspiring and in- that of business regarding a link between know- clusive study environment and with real opportu- ledge and business, where close cooperation bet- nities for work on completion of ween practice and theory is one of the cornersto- their studies. nes in the strategic plan for education. 4 The educational strategy also aims to produ- Thanks to all of you who have contributed to ce visions that, together with Aalborg Muni- the educational strategy. We look forward to cipality’s Youth Strategy, support all youth, continued good cooperation, when the stra- even those who are least ready for an educa- tegy for the coming period is converted into tion, including people with mental and physi- concrete action. cal handicaps, beginning and completing an education. At the same time, the educatio- nal strategy should also build bridges to the youth strategy’s goal of giving the greatest possible number of young people an educa- Aalborg Municipality tion. defines students as: We have already established good cooperati- on – the creation of this strategy happened in close dialogue with the Municipality’s part- All students/pupils reg- ners: istered in a qualifying the business community, cultural, sporting and other associations, young students, youth, business or high- educational institutions and city administra- er education study pro- tions, which we hope have already taken ow- gramme. The concept nership of the strategy. of “student” in the ed- ucational strategy will, therefore, include pupils in youth studies, as well as students in short or long higher degree pro- grammes. Chairman of the Education Council Councilman for the Health and Culture Lasse Frimand Jensen Administration Mads Duedahl 5 Status During the time that Aalborg Municipality has The vision for the educational strategy, therefore, worked to develop as an educational city, there contains a regional perspective. Aalborg Munici- has been exemplary growth in the number of pality also expects closer cooperation with students in Aalborg (see Appendix 1). Many both the 10 other municipalities in the region and partnerships have been established between the with the North Denmark Region when the strate- Municipality and educational institutions, just as gy is converted to concrete action. cooperation with the business community has in- tensified and become more goal-oriented. The educational policy should also be seen in con- junction with other strategies in Aalborg Munic- The educational strategy plays a double role. It ipality with which it shares common borders or aims to attract students to the city, but also keep interfaces. This applies primarily to the business them here once they have completed their stud- plan, cultural policy, leisure policy and youth strat- ies. Both those students who come from North- egy, but also Aalborg Municipality’s strategic work ern Jutland and those who have come to Aalborg regarding internationalisation and SMART city. Ed- because of the unique study environment the ucational strategy measures will therefore be co- city has built up together with students in recent ordinated and adapted to the activities launched years. for young people and students in the other strate- gic areas in Aalborg Municipality. Therefore, this strategy focuses not only on how the students in Aalborg can acquire qualifications that can benefit Aalborg, but also how Aalborg can serve as a locomotive for educational policy in the North Denmark Region. 6 Youth strategy Cultural policy Educational Strategy Business plan Leisure policy Vision and goals Based on the experience gained from the Goal: implementation of the 2012-14 Educational For 20% of all Aalborg residents to be stu- Strategy, Aalborg Municipality’s vision and dents, corresponding to the 2014 level. goal for the educational strategy work are The Municipality, educational institutions the following: and the business community work together to create the best educational offer possi- ble, in terms of quality, to all students in the Vision: city. To make Aalborg Denmark’s best educa- tional city. To achieve the vision and goal of a striking The study environment should be attractive profile as an educational city with a high lev- for the students during their study period el of quality for those students, five sub-goals and motivate them to pursue a business ca- have been set, which are milestones in the reer in the region after finishing implementation of the educational strategy. their studies. 7 Sub-goal 1: Students should gain experience entering into work relationships on the job market during their study period. By 2018, all students should, as part of their studies, participate as much as possible in: internships, study jobs or project work with a company in the region (public or private), where relevant with complementary volunteer work. Sub-goal 2: Innovative entrepreneurship should promote development on the Northern Jutland job market. By 2018, at least 25% of companies estab- lished by new graduates should still exist in the Northern Jutland business community two years after establishment. Sub-goal 3: The study environment should be developed – inclusively. In 2018, 50% of the students should be users of or active participants in the development of the city’s clubs and cultural and leisure associ- ations while they are studying in Aalborg. Sub-goal 4: Those students who leave the city after completing their studies should be ambassadors for the city. In 2018, at least 75% of the graduates who leave Aalborg should acknowledge that they will recommend other young people to move to Aalborg and study there. Sub-goal 5: The greatest possible number of students should remain employed in Northern Jutland after completion of their studies. In 2018, 65% of all students should find employment in Northern Jutland no later than one year after finishing their studies in Aalborg. The subgoals are expected to be met in 2018 by the end of the period for the educational strategy. During the period 2015-18, assessments will be made of the status of goal fulfilment. At the start of the peri- od, the current status of the subgoals will be assessed. Focus areas of the educational strategy The sub-goals and objectives can only be accomplished through joint coordination among Aalborg Municipali- ty, the educational institutions, students and the busi- ness, culture and leisure communities in Aalborg. The six focus areas of the educational strategy have been identified in dialogue with the strategy partners. 8 The Educational City of Aal- borg concept is used through- out the entire educational strategy. The concept covers the phys- ical study environment in the city: CAMPUS, infrastructure, housing, cultural and leisure opportunities, but also the framework that the educa- tional institutions set for the students’ learning space and The six focus areas are: The six focus areas will form the basis for the opportunities the students the activities that will be launched under the auspices of the Education Council. have to get acquainted with 1. Cooperation across educational institu- the job market through their tions The catalogue of ideas for specific initiatives studies, e.g. in the form of an 2. Innovative cooperation between educa- in the different focus areas is provided in ap- internship, student job or proj- tional programmes and business pendix 2: Action Plan Educational Strategy ect collaboration. 2015-18. 3. STAY – work after completion of studies The Educational City is the In each six focus areas, an assessment will be