The ambition for the faculty is continued growth

Dear staff

In the rector’s newsletter on 27 February, the rector wrote about the tectonic plates that are shifting beneath the university. About ”a very large and far-reaching transformation, where research occupies significantly more space and educational activities have become fewer and smaller in scope.” We 100 % share that analysis for our university.

In many ways, the Faculty of Science is the vanguard of precisely that development. Our external revenue has doubled since 2020 and now accounts for 58 % of the faculty’s total revenue. For the entire SDU, the share has increased to 28 % in 2024. It is obvious that we at our faculty must continue to receive external funds to cover research activities.

However, our educational activities are also developing positively. After a dip, our total student intake in the Bachelor’s degree programmes is back to the same level as ten years ago. In addition, we have grown in Master-level enrolment, partly with new programmes in Data Science in particular, and partly with greater international enrolment.

Therefore, our analysis for the faculty is that we must maintain the balance while the tectonic plates shift. We must clearly grow with external funds – the opportunities are great in the fund landscape, and we are experiencing great success. But we must also grow in the education area, so that ordinary operations follow suit.

There are two ways to strengthen our education programmes and increase education income.

1. We can try to maintain or even increase our intake of students despite the demographic challenges in our region, the stricter admission requirements and the political winds. We can do this with our outreach efforts. We can seek new markets, for example with the new IT campus in Vejle and by looking into a growing market for continuing and further education. It all makes sense, since scientific competencies are in demand in society.
   
   
2. In addition, we can try to reduce our dropout rate in the programmes where it is high. On average, only 55 % of Bachelor students at the Faculty of Science complete the programme they are enrolled in. We believe that this number can be increased. Not to 100 %, as many young people regret their choice and start something else, but if we can get just 7 0% to complete their studies, it will improve our finances considerably. Our new pedagogical framework sets a direction for teaching that keeps up with the times and creates better well-being and onboarding for the students.

We believe that the faculty must maintain a healthy balance between research and teaching. Therefore, we must continue to receive external funds and at the same time strengthen the educational area. New ideas for increased admissions, new programmes and the new pedagogical framework will support this effort.

Thank you for being at the forefront of SDU’s journey. Thank you for the great effort that you employees make to research, raise funds, teach, administer, support, lead and develop our programmes and our faculty.

Dean Marianne Holmer and Vice Dean Poul Nielsen