We create the engineering programmes of the future
We will expand our position as a world leader in engineering programmes, where our engineering students are taught the technologies of tomorrow and where we integrate the latest teaching methods. We will ensure that our degree programme portfolio has a sharp profile and matches the technological, societal and business-related needs of the future.

We invest in positions of strength and research infrastructure
To create a range of internationally leading research environments with business relevance, we will invest in our positions of strength and research infrastructure. We are expanding our state-of-the-art laboratories and test environments that function as open platforms for collaboration and that are of great relevance to the business sector. The aim is to attract national and international partners and support cutting-edge research and transformational innovation. 

We promote technological development 
We will promote collaboration between the engineering field and AAU’s other research areas. We will organisationally and financially support innovative
and cross-faculty projects of great research and innovation potential.

We transform ideas into action
We will create a clear and structured method for generating projects in collaboration with external partners. Together, we will develop a project portfolio that will contribute to our joint missions at AAU. We will also ensure that there is funding for priority projects, and we will involve our students in the missions via their semester projects.

We value mission-driven research
We will create a culture in which we value mission-driven research and recognise it for the significant and important results that it creates or makes possible. This will include the creation of a new mission award for recognition of a research group that is showing the way to significant societal effects. In addition, we will disseminate awareness of the missions through targeted communication both internally at AAU and externally.

We create a clear structure and clarity
We will establish a clear joint framework for participation in the missions with broad organisational and managerial rooting. Mission concept and management are gathered and aligned to ensure that goals, time frames and deliverables are clear for all missions.

We strengthen our innovation activities
We will link AAU’s strong research environments and activities with national and regional needs so that we establish fruitful collaborations between AAU and external partners that transform this knowledge into solutions. Innovation must have a clear place in the research environments, and AAU’s innovation profile must be strengthened with compelling narratives about visible results. In addition, we will ensure that the next generation of innovation areas are identified and matured. 

We secure the funding chain for innovation
We will strengthen AAU’s capacity to mature, prioritise and scale researchbased innovation through coherent financial opportunities, including by supporting the early stages of the development of ideas and testing in research and study environments. In addition, we will develop partnership models to support projects with high innovation potential. And, finally, we will strengthen access to venture capital by engaging investors and funds in our innovation environments.

We exploit new potential
The universities have been given new expanded framework conditions. We will use these as a driving force to engage researchers and students in transforming knowledge into socially relevant development. We will simplify administrative processes, make the framework clearer and provide good examples, so that researchers and students across AAU find it attractive and easy to work with innovation. Finally, a new innovation academy will strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship competences of both students and researchers.

We attract talented researchers
We will attract more Danish and international research talents both by increasing their knowledge of our strong research environments and by highlighting the attractive facilities we offer. AAU’s excellent research
environments must receive international attention to increase the attractiveness of the research environments. In addition, the opportunities that AAU offers to new research talents must be presented in an appealing manner.

We develop excellent research talents
We will have clear managerial focus on the development of research talents and on creating a strong talent culture at AAU. Among other initiatives, this means that we prepare action plans for selected research areas with clear goals for how we find, support and develop particularly talented researchers. We will also strengthen mobility throughout the individual researcher’s career, including opportunities for studying abroad and participating in international research environments.

We retain and include the international research talents
We will ensure that our international research talents are included and thrive at AAU: We will support them so that they experience being part of the community both academically and socially. This entails that we will further develop our procedure for how we introduce them to AAU, that we will expand the range of assistance that we offer, such as networks and guidance, and that we will offer help to the accompanying family.

Knowledge for the world

At AAU, we bridge global and regional dimensions. We create knowledge for the world in close collaboration with private and public partners – and we translate international research into solutions.

Our strong foundation is researchbased knowledge. The most reliable knowledge there is.

AAU’s degree programmes stand on this solid foundation. And our internationally recognised learning method PBL (problem and project-based learning) is the guarantee that our highly qualified graduates have the skills and competences to make positive changes. They are used to working with real problems. They have learnt to think for themselves. And they have also learnt that you become smarter together.

For more than 50 years, AAU has been solving complex problems based on research and made an important difference to society. But our ambitions do not stop there.

We will be recognised as a problemsolving university and as a leading player in society that creates progress using cutting-edge knowledge in active collaboration with the outside world. We will play a key role in transforming the world into a better place to be.

With Knowledge for the World 2026– 2029, the Executive Management has prepared a strategy for the next three years at AAU. The strategy is not an expression of everything we do and plan, but it highlights four key areas that we need to prioritise. At the same time, we will continue to develop AAU on an ongoing basis so that the University constantly adapts to new demands, expectations and needs in society – including the rapid development in AI, which will be of crucial importance during this strategy period.

The next pages will provide you with insight into the strategic direction that will equip AAU optimally to face the challenges of the future. 

Per Michael Johansen
Rector