Residential College Bornholm is expanding its cooperation with two new universities. Aalborg University and Syddansk University will in the future bring students to the island, where they will, among other things, work on the green transition and concrete issues from Bornholm-based companies and organizations.
On Thursday the 29th of October, Business Center Bornholm, Baltic Energy Island, the Technical University of Denmark and Roskilde University welcomed the two new partners, Aalborg University and Syddansk University.
The day was used to introduce the universities to Bornholm and the many opportunities to connect their teaching and research with the developments taking place on the island.
With the two new universities, four Danish universities are now part of Residential College Bornholm, which aims to attract 600 students to Bornholm by the end of 2028.
Different disciplines with a common focus
Energy island Bornholm will become an important hub for both universities, but they come with different professional perspectives.
Aalborg University will, among other things, bring engineering students to Bornholm to work on sustainable energy planning, the development of energy projects, and environmental assessments.
– It is very closely linked to the energy island, which is the largest project we have seen so far. And our students are always looking for real-world case studies, and here they can work on developing energy projects, environmental assessments and much more, says Iva Ridjan Skov, associate professor at Aalborg University, to Bornholms Tidende.
Syddansk University brings students from the Center for Rural Research and the Center for Journalism, where the focus will be on, among other things, societal changes, local development and climate journalism.
– We are very interested in transformation processes both locally, nationally and globally, and this gives the students here the opportunity to experience them. This should increase their learning – but also ensure that some of the political science students, if they end up working in a central administration, also have an eye for the local level and can better understand the local processes, says Annette Aagaard Thuesen, associate professor at Syddansk Universitet, to Bornholms Tidende.
We are very pleased that more and more universities are becoming aware of Bornholm. Our companies face many exciting challenges and development opportunities, and here, collaboration with students and researchers can contribute new knowledge, other perspectives, and concrete solutions. At the same time, students have the opportunity to work on real-world problems and translate their academic knowledge into practice.
A collaboration that creates value for Bornholm
Business Center Bornholm welcomes the expanded collaboration with the universities, as it provides even more opportunities to bring new knowledge and new perspectives to the Bornholm-based companies.
– We are very pleased that more universities are becoming aware of Bornholm. Our companies face many exciting challenges and development opportunities, and here the collaboration with students and researchers can contribute with new knowledge, other perspectives and concrete solutions. At the same time, the students get the opportunity to work with real problems and translate their professional knowledge into practice, says Christa Lodahl, business manager at Business Center Bornholm.
Business Center Bornholm works, among other things, with identifying relevant challenges and development opportunities for local companies that can form the basis for collaborations with the university students and researchers.
– For us, it’s about creating value in both directions. We want to strengthen the development of the business life in Bornholm, but also to show the students what opportunities there are on Bornholm. Hopefully, some of them will be inspired to return and maybe even settle here at some point in the future, says Christa Lodahl.
Does your company have a challenge or development idea that could be relevant for students to work on?
So contact Business Centre Bornholm to hear more about the possibilities for collaboration.
Facts about the strategic effort
Residential College Bornholm is part of Fyrtårn III and is supported by the EU Social Fund Plus and the Danish Agency for Entrepreneurial Development. The project runs until the end of 2028. Read more about the initiative and the opportunities it offers you and your company here.
