The scale of the government’s planned reforms, which involve an unprecedented redesign of the Danish education system, worries Nikolaj Malchow-Møller, President of Copenhagen Business School. But he also sees opportunities in the investments in lifelong learning opportunities and thinks CBS is well positioned to be relevant in the new education landscape envisioned by the government.
The government’s idea of reducing half of all master’s programmes to 75 ECTS, mostly within the humanities and social sciences, has met scepticism and concern at CBS. “I don’t hear anyone applauding this idea,” says Nanna Mik-Meyer, chair of the Professor's Association at CBS.
An array of master’s and an invitation to foreign talent – Education Minister lays out first reform package
On Thursday, Christina Egelund, Minister for Higher Education and Science, from Moderaterne (The Moderates) presented the first batch of the government’s long awaited – and dreaded – education reform plans. They include vast changes to Denmark’s education system that, according to the government, will strengthen the Danish workforce.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but can a new name make a university department better? Mitchell Dean believes so. As his department changes name, he is aiming for new research collaborations and a stronger focus on the problems that businesses and society are facing. “We are giving students capacities to make a difference through their professional lives. And I think that’s what the current generation of students want: they want to contribute to positive social transformation.”
Monday evening, CBS Students elected David Johannes Treschow Ellebye, who formerly represented CBS Conservative & Liberal Students (CLS), as its new president. He promises to work to bring back Nexus Thursdays and fight the political reforms.
In the spring of 2020, political science associate professor Mads Dagnis Jensen, like many others, was celebrating the end of lockdown drinking a beer with some fellow political science researchers in Christianshavn. At a time when just about everyone was comparing different governments’ Covid-19 measures, you can bet that these comparative politics nerds also were. “Why don’t we write a book,” one of his colleagues suggested.
Shorter Master’s programmes, less student grants, improved teaching quality, and more life-long learning opportunities. As the new Danish government takes shape, some of the proposals in the Danish education reform, which have sparked widespread debate over the last couple of months, are now on their way to being realised. In early December, Nina Smith, the economist who leads the government’s Reform Commission, visited CBS to present the reform of which many professors are sceptical.
With major international crises and several political parties proposing to reduce the length of master’s programmes and turn grants into loans, there is plenty to consider when voting in the Danish parliamentary election. But which topics do CBS students give top priority?