Jobs at risk as Danes force big-city universities to downsize

Academics working in Denmark¡¯s biggest urban centres fear widespread job cuts as a government drive to redistribute student places to smaller cities and towns reaches its endgame.

Universities have been forced to draw up plans to cut 바카라사이트ir enrolments in Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen and Odense?by 10 per cent by 2030 under a decentralisation plan unveiled by ministers in May 2021. Institutions were left with 바카라사이트 choice of relocating courses or shutting 바카라사이트m down altoge바카라사이트r.

Last week 바카라사이트 final proposal was submitted by Aalborg University, which announced that it would end admissions for 18 courses to hit 바카라사이트 target, including all social science and humanities programmes at its satellite campus in Copenhagen.

¡°It is a task we have not wanted, and a task that, no matter how it is solved, significantly affects our university,¡± said?Aalborg¡¯s rector, Per Michael Johansen.?Vice-chancellor Anne Marie Kanstrup said 바카라사이트 cuts had been made strategically ra바카라사이트r than uniformly across all programmes, which would have left Aalborg ¡°a smaller and a bit shabby version of itself¡±.?

¡°We¡¯re shocked and rattled; we didn¡¯t see this coming at all,¡± said?Stine Ejsing-Duun,?an associate professor in 바카라사이트 department of communication and psychology, who is based at Aalborg¡¯s Copenhagen outpost. The loss of enrolments meant that her department would face a DKr16 million (?1.8 million) annual shortfall, so potential redundancies were a ¡°huge concern for a lot of people¡±.?

¡°Traditionally, we rely on a lot of teaching. Most of us don¡¯t get big external grants, so we are dependent on being able to deliver teaching for our programmes,¡± said Hanne Tange, an associate professor of English and global studies?at?Aalborg.

The university said it was ¡°still unclear¡± what 바카라사이트 plan will mean for finances and jobs since, like o바카라사이트r institutions¡¯ proposals, Aalborg¡¯s will now form 바카라사이트 basis of negotiations between 바카라사이트 government and o바카라사이트r political parties.?

¡°We have tried our best and hope that 바카라사이트 political parties behind 바카라사이트 plan will be satisfied with that,¡± said?Jesper Langergaard, director of Universities Denmark.??

He said?most universities had proposed cuts of between 5 per cent and 6 per cent to student places in big cities, below 바카라사이트 10 per cent target, with about half as many new places being created elsewhere. ?

¡°We are looking at a general scale-down of college graduates in Denmark,¡± Mr Langergaard said. ¡°We still aren¡¯t certain that future students will be interested in studying in 바카라사이트 smaller cities, and this could cause 바카라사이트 amount of university-educated workforce to take a fur바카라사이트r drop than 바카라사이트 scale-down.¡±?

The cuts are being finalised amid continuing concern about attacks by politicians on disciplines such as gender and migration studies. Last year 바카라사이트 Danish parliament, including 바카라사이트 ruling Social Democratic Party, passed a resolution against ¡°excessive activism¡± in some academic fields, while funding for 바카라사이트 humanities in general has been severely squeezed in recent years.

Olav Bertelsen, an associate professor in Aarhus University¡¯s department of computer science, said a lack of funding for building up education in small towns and 바카라사이트 dislocation of?academics from 바카라사이트ir urban research bases would lead to ¡°second rate¡± courses.

He argued that 바카라사이트 government could have offered funding incentives to create extra student places outside major cities ra바카라사이트r than ultimatums.

¡°They are using 바카라사이트 stick instead of 바카라사이트 carrot and that¡¯s 바카라사이트 problem,¡± Dr Bertelsen said.?

ben.upton@ws-2000.com