New solutions by developing individuals, new insights and innovation.
Leading up to 2030, Aarhus University must continue to develop in an era marked by major global and national challenges. Geopolitical tensions, climate change, the biodiversity crisis, the energy crisis and threats to democratic societies are just some of the challenges the university must address and help solve. At the same time, the university must navigate the fundamental transformation of the landscape of Danish education that will challenge Danish educational institutions and demand considerable efforts to ensure its successful implementation.
Strategy 2030 sets the course for the university’s development in the coming years. Aarhus University will not settle for merely adapting to these changes: the university will pursue the opportunities that arise and will contribute to new solutions by developing individuals, new insights and innovation.
Aarhus University pushes the boundaries of human knowledge through groundbreaking research, and historically has enjoyed considerable success in attracting external funding. The university’s degree programmes are popular, and are characterised by excellent learning environments with inclusive, supportive communities and high-quality teaching that foster highly employable graduates. Finally, the university’s business initiative and research-based science advice ensure that more research is translated into innovative solutions at private companies and public institutions for the benefit of society as a whole.
Leading up to 2030, Aarhus University will work with six strategic focus areas that set the course for the university’s initiatives and priorities across faculties, departments, schools, research centres, degree programmes and administrative units. The strategy is also dynamic, enabling it to be adapted to changing circumstances. Every year, the university will draft action plans that ensure ongoing prioritisation and establish the initiatives that will implement the goals for each strategic focus area through specific activities.
Strategy 2030 is the result of a comprehensive process, with input from staff, students and external stakeholders. The strategy is our pledge that Aarhus University will continue to play a central role in shaping the future, locally, nationally and globally.
Aarhus University invites everyone to participate in the development of the university leading up to 2030: a development whereby employees, students and partners continue to build on the university’s proud traditions together, creating new insights and solutions for the society of tomorrow.
Aarhus University strives tirelessly to be an international research-intensive campus-based university that develops individuals, shares knowledge and fosters positive societal transformation, grounded in foundational research, education and collaboration. Aarhus University is determined to generate new insights and leverage its comprehensive disciplinary reach to develop research-based solutions to complex societal challenges.
To realise this vision, Aarhus University will be guided by the following principles, striving to:
Aarhus University’s vision will be realised through research, education and collaboration, which taken together define the university's mission.
Aarhus University’s mission is to contribute to society’s welfare and sustainable development. We achieve this through our research and research-based degree programmes of internationally distinguished excellence, and in close collaboration with the public and private sector and civil society.
Independent research of internationally distinguished excellence is the foundation for the university’s endeavours. Research leads us to new breakthroughs and unlocks the innovative solutions of the future; at the same time, research is the basis for the university’s degree programmes and consultancy activities.
Aarhus University’s research-based and vocationally and professionally-oriented degree programmes are academically challenging and are delivered in an engaging learning environment. Both aspects are crucial for the university’s ability to develop the individual and foster positive societal transformation.
The university has close ties to society which are based on mutual, value-creating collaboration, science-based policy advice and the exchange of knowledge. Through this collaboration, the university contributes to concrete, research-based solutions to complex challenges.
Together, the university’s researchers, educators, technical/administrative employees, managers and students make Aarhus University’s strategic development and day-to-day operations possible. Their knowledge, commitment and collaboration are essential to the university’s success and contribution to society.
The university’s mission is expressed in the illustration on the opposite page, which outlines the university’s central tasks. Each core task is essential in its own right, but the connections between them are no less important. The solutions to the challenges of tomorrow will be discovered through the interplay of research and collaboration. The combination of research and education ensures that students gain access to the latest knowledge and develop the abilities they need to contribute to the advance of knowledge themselves. Finally, students have an opportunity to put theory into practice at the intersection of education and collaboration.
Aarhus University’s core values, rooted in Magna Charta Universitatum, are the principles that frame the university’s research, education and collaboration activities.
Aarhus University is committed to safeguarding freedom of expression and the individual’s opportunity to realise their potential. Freedom of expression is closely linked to academic freedom, which is the cornerstone of the university’s approach to its core tasks. At Aarhus University, we believe strongly that the best incubator for new knowledge and breakthroughs is an academic environment characterised by the free exchange of ideas, critical thinking and open, respectful discussion.
Aarhus University has a responsibility to society and to the academic disciplines the university represents. The university has a duty to deliver the highest level of academic excellence with integrity, which is ensured by peer review processes as well as transparency and professionalism in all of the university’s undertakings.
At Aarhus University, we view community and collaboration as the key to solving complex issues. The university is dedicated to fostering a culture in which researchers, technical/administrative staff, students and society interact to the benefit of society’s development.
Aarhus University is an inclusive workplace where employees and students treat each other with respect and decency. The university is committed to providing a good, safe and supportive work and learning environment for employees and students that promotes engagement, academic and professional flourishing, and involvement.
Aarhus University values diversity because it contributes to creativity in research, engaging teaching and good technical and administrative support. The university is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion at every level, making room for different voices to be heard and actively combatting discrimination – both conscious and unconscious.
Aarhus contributes to a sustainable society and an informed democracy through the knowledge that staff, students and graduates bring into play every single day. At the same time, Aarhus university is committed to fostering an open and inclusive culture in which staff, students and managers say what they think and listen to each other, so that we make well-considered, responsible decisions.
Excellent research achieves new breakthroughs and opens the doors to the solutions of the future. Aarhus University is committed to conducting research of the highest international calibre, developing more research areas to be among the best in the world and actively taking advantage of its comprehensive disciplinary reach to promote interdisciplinary research and science-based policy advice.
Our ambition is to attract the most accomplished researchers and the most promising research talents to make their careers at Aarhus University by offering internationally competitive research ecosystems, accompanied by dedicated talent development resources, modern research infrastructure, attractive working conditions and efficient, accessible administrative support.
Danish university degree programmes are facing significant changes. This is particularly true of the Master’s degree programme landscape: going forward, Danish universities must offer new, shorter types of Master’s degree programmes and develop more work-integrated Master’s degree programmes. Aarhus University is determined to maintain the international standard of excellence of its research-based degree programmes – regardless of structure or length.
Aarhus University will resolutely maintain the high academic standards that characterise our prestigious degree programmes, while at the same time continuing to develop and consolidate its degree programme portfolio to ensure that all of the university’s offerings remain relevant and attractive to both applicants and employers. On all of their programmes, the university’s students must encounter an engaging academic environment that stimulates their curiosity and motivates them to collaborate, innovate and learn.
Aarhus University is an architectural icon with unique campuses that invite intellectual immersion. The university must continue to be renowned for the beauty and functionality of its campuses and facilities in future.
The university’s ambition is to develop its campuses so that they keep pace with the times, elevating the academic environment and academic interchange to the next level. Aarhus University is committed to creating coherent, vibrant campuses that engage students and employees and invite the outside world inside. The university must be an inspiring setting for work and study and for collaboration across disciplines, subject areas and functions.
At Aarhus University, the first steps towards ensuring that research-based knowledge creates more value for society have been taken. A highly professional infrastructure has been developed to support the university’s business initiative, with good facilities and innovative initiatives that have shown promising results.
The university will now exploit its comprehensive disciplinary reach to elevate and expand the business initiative, with an ambition of becoming one of the leading European comprehensive universities within research-based innovation and entrepreneurship. More researchers and students must engage in value-generating collaboration with national and international partners, and our innovation culture must be anchored across the university. Our goal is to develop and share more research-based solutions to the benefit of society’s development and welfare.
Digital technologies are transforming the labour market: new technologies are becoming more advanced and potentially disruptive, placing significantly higher demands on employees, products and services. Artificial intelligence in particular has the potential to transform society and academia, bringing both enormous opportunities and complex issues in its wake.
Aarhus University must be a digital frontrunner university that is recognised for the excellence of its IT and digitalisation programmes. The university will equip employees and graduates with the knowledge and skills to lead and implement digital transformation and contribute to the sustainable development and application of new digital technologies, in addition to being a frontrunner in the field of cybersecurity research education.
Climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss affect the entire world, and there is an acute need for a transition to sustainability and more efficient use of resources. Aarhus University is committed to taking responsibility and leading the way in the transition to sustainability – nationally and globally.
The university is committed to leveraging its academic depth and reach to create new breakthroughs and sustainable solutions, at the same time equipping the graduates of the future with the skills they need to drive and lead the sustainability transition. In addition, the university pledges to reduce its environmental footprint and resource consumption with the goal of becoming a sustainable organisation.
The strategy 2030 was adopted in April 2025 by the Aarhus University Board.
