A focused approach to international collaboration (and yet another impressive ranking)

Like most other large universities, SDU is involved in a myriad of different forms of international collaboration. Bilateral agreements, multilateral forums, casual as well as binding collaboration agreements in the area of education, Memorandums of Understanding, networks and so on – SDU has it all. And with good reason. By its very nature, research is international and crosses borders, and as a rule degree programmes are improved by the incorporation of elements of student exchange and internationalisation.

That said, there may also be good reason to consider whether we can benefit more from our internationalisation efforts than we have done until now. At the risk of oversimplifying something that is quite complex and multifaceted, at the institutional level our approach has been somewhat unfocused for a number of years. We have had many international engagements, but only a few of these have been meaningful and prioritised by SDU’s management.

SDU’s Board is now trying to change that. The starting point is a more structured and focused approach, in which SDU will prioritise having a small number of relations – which are meaningful – within a three-pillar structure.

Pillar 1 comprises prioritised multilateral collaborations. We are part of many organisations, networks and alliances – and we intend to remain so – but at the institutional level, we are currently prioritising two: EPICUR and YERUN. In the future, we may add one or two other multilateral partnerships. However, the basic premise is that Pillar 1 collaborations will only include a very small number of select alliances or networks.

Pillar 2 comprises a limited number of meaningful and high-priority bilateral partnerships. These will be collaborations that have potential for all of SDU’s areas of academic expertise. The aim is that, once the three-pillar structure has been fully implemented, we will have two or (at most) three close university partners in this category. At present, the University of Freiburg is the only partner university in Pillar 2. A meaningful and high-priority partnership has been set out in the strategic partnership agreement that SDU signed with the University of Freiburg in early April.

Finally, in Pillar 3, we aim to cultivate meaningful and prioritised partnerships with a few universities within specific interdisciplinary focus areas, such as climate-related research and MedTech. This is the least mature part of the structure. Over the coming year, we will explore the possibilities in this area.

And importantly: the fact that we are now moving towards a more focused approach to our international engagements at SDU level does not mean that we will be ending or scaling back our participation in other forums and international relations. Nor does it by any means imply that well-functioning collaborations at research group or department level should be scaled back. The focused approach only reflects the fact that, at university level, we are allocating more resources and placing a particular emphasis on selected partnerships with a view to maximising the benefits of our international presence.

Another impressive ranking

All other things being equal, the number of interested and potential international partners is positively correlated with a university’s reputation. And a university’s reputation is – whether we like it or not – to a significant extent correlated with its position in the various international university rankings.

This is yet another reason to celebrate the position SDU has achieved in this year’s QS World University Rankings, which have just been published. For the second year in a row, SDU has improved its placement in the rankings more than any other Danish university. And this year’s ranking as number 283 in the world is SDU’s highest ranking ever. All sorts of caveats must be taken into account when it comes to this sort of measurement; on the other hand, there’s certainly no reason to be ashamed of this development.

… and thank you!

Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the impressive efforts made at SDU over the past academic year. There is no doubt whatsoever: the University is currently moving in a positive direction. And obviously, this does not happen of its own accord: it happens because SDU’s many employees help keep ‘the big ship’ moving every day. THANK YOU!

All that remains now is to wish you a lovely summer. See you ‘on the other side’.