Danish University Governance and Reforms Since the Millennium:

The Self-Governing University Between State and Institutions, the National and the Global

Authors

  • Katja Brøgger Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Lise Degn Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Søren Smedegaard Bengtsen Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v27i1.11335

Keywords:

higher education governance and administration, university reform, university autonomy, internationalisation, nationalisation, regionalisation, doctoral education

Abstract

Global and European political shifts are having an impact on the present and future of Nordic universities, including ideals of institutional autonomy. The aim of this paper is to explore the status of governance, and central policy ideas that have shaped reforms and institutional change at Danish universities since the millennium. On the one hand the article explores how powerful policy ideas have shaped the development of Danish higher education policy, and on the other hand, how such ideas are received in very different ways by the sector and the institutions. The article unravels the history of the reform of the Danish higher education system of the past two decades, as two parallel ideational streams in policy development. The first ideational stream revolves around the relation between state and institutions, and the second centres on the relation between the national and the global. Focusing on recent developments, the article demonstrates that the range of possible sector and university responses towards centrally initiated reforms and initiatives varies significantly. The article suggest that these variations must be seen in the light of the universities struggling to come to terms with their position as self- governing institutions, including defining and exploiting their space for agency.

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Author Biographies

Katja Brøgger, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark

Katja Brøgger is Associate Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark. She is the research program director of Policy Futures and host of the Policy Futures International Webinar Series. Brøgger is the PI of two comparative projects on how new nationalisms and geopolitical shifts affect European higher education and research. The projects are funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Journal of Education Policy and the Editorial Board of Globalisation, Societies and Education. Her primary field of expertise is higher education policy and governance and she has published several articles and book chapters on education governance, privatisation, the EU, the European Higher Education and Research Area, and the rise of new nationalisms.

Lise Degn, Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark

Lise Degn is Associate Professor at the Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy. She currently works as PI of a large research project on responsible research practice and the organisational translation of integrity policies funded by the Carlsberg Foundation, and has previously led projects on quality in higher education as well as responsible research and innovation. Her primary field of expertise is the governance and management of higher education institutions, and she has also published several articles on academic work and performance, as well as responsibility in research.

Søren Smedegaard Bengtsen, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark

Søren S.E. Bengtsen is Associate Professor at Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark. He is Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Futures, Aarhus University, and the co-founder and Chair of the Philosophy and Theory of Higher Education Society. Bengtsen is the Vice-Chair of networks such as the Danish Network for Educational Development in Higher Education. His main areas of expertise include the intersections between higher education policy and practice, the research into doctoral education and Graduate School leadership, and the philosophy of higher education. Bengtsen is PI on a research project on research and societal impact in the humanities PhD funded by Independent Research Fund Denmark.

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Published

2023-03-15

How to Cite

Brøgger, K., Degn, L., & Bengtsen, S. S. (2023). Danish University Governance and Reforms Since the Millennium:: The Self-Governing University Between State and Institutions, the National and the Global. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 27(1), 9–28. https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v27i1.11335

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