The final plan for AU’s physical development has now been adopted. This means that the university is now ready to take the next step: relocations and termination of leases in connection with the university’s development of the University City.

2019.03.01 | Signe Opstrup

[Translate to English:] Foto: Jørgen Weber luftfoto

The board adopted the final master plan for the university’s physical development, including financial calculations for construction economics, at its meeting on 21 February. The master plan was presented to the university’s staff and students on 2 May 2018 and has been available for consultation at the university since then.

Campus university to become reality

Aarhus university will be expanding its central campus in Aarhus to include the University City over the next decade. At the same time, the plan is to develop activities at Katrinebjerg and the University Park, as well as vacating premises at Fuglesangs Allé, Navitas, Silkeborg and Kalø. The overall vision is to bring the university’s diverse educational and research activities closer together, and to create a framework for a future-proof, city-integrated campus with vibrant student life and activities around the clock.

Connie Hedegaard, chair of the board, is pleased that the master plan for the physical development of the university has now been adopted, and is looking forward to students and researchers reaping the benefits of being a more coordinated campus university.

“We will collect together and condense the university’s activities at the forthcoming university campus. In this regard, we will be optimising the way in which we use our spaces, and new, exciting and flexible premises that take into account future teaching and study methods will be constructed. At the same time, the board hopes that this master plan will create even better conditions for interdisciplinary activities,” says Connie Hedegaard of the plans for the future of AU.

Read more about the plans for Campus 2.0 on the website.

Initiatives designed to keep rent down

As part of the master plan for Campus 2.0, the board also discussed and approved a budget scenario covering the next decade. According to the original scenario, rent for the extensive new buildings would mean that a fairly large proportion of AU’s revenue would be spent on rent in the future.

The growth in the rent percentage is primarily attributable to three factors:

• An increasing level of activity for the university as a result of the engineering and digitisation initiative.
• Previous decisions relating to significant structural improvements and extensive renovation work (for existing buildings such as the Bartholin building, for example).
• Higher rent at the refurbished premises, compared with the premises being vacated.

In order to offset the anticipated rent increase, the senior management team has worked in close cooperation with the faculties to devise proposals for a number of initiatives which will help to ensure that the percentage of revenue taken up by rent in ten years’ time will be maintained at almost the same level as in 2018. Specifically, the target is not to exceed 10.8% of the university’s budgeted revenue in 2028, compared with 10.5% at present.

“We are implementing a major initiative. We are very aware of this and take the challenge very seriously, but it also gives us a unique opportunity to create an even more effective and coherent campus university. We will have an Aarhus University that is well equipped to face the future as far as buildings are concerned,” says Brian Bech Nielsen.

Additional information

• Visit the website nycampus.au.dk to find out more about the plans for Campus 2.0.
• Read the article on Campus 2.0 dated 14 December 2018: Final decision on Campus 2.0 in February