Government sets aside 20 million for an innovative and entrepreneurial environment at architecture and design schools

A strong connection to business and industry should aid the green transition and help recent graduates find employment.

25.10.2019

In the proposal for next year’s budget, the Danish government has set aside DKK 48.5 million for a growth plan for the creative professions. The plan comprises 28 initiatives aimed at strengthening teaching and supplementary education, venture capital, entrepreneurs, innovative tenders, copyright enforcement and international visibility and exports.

Of the 48.5 million, 20 million have been earmarked for the period 2020 to 2022 for establishing an innovative and entrepreneurial environment at the architecture and design schools in Aarhus, Kolding and Copenhagen. The Government justifies the allocation of DKK 20 million with the desire to tie the artistic educational intuitions more closely to the business community, to ensure that more recent graduates find employment.

At Aarhus School of Architecture, the Rector, Torben Nielsen, welcomes the fact that the government has chosen to prioritise the arts programmes.

‘Of course, we are pleased that the government is looking our way. And we look forward to working even more closely with the profession and the other arts programmes on something that is very important to us: getting our new architects into the labour market. But I also see this proposal as a pat on the back for the design and architecture schools and the intensive efforts we are already making to ensure that as many of our new architects as possible find employment. This is something we take very seriously’, says Torben Nielsen.

The government emphasises that the new budget proposal has a marked ‘green element’, which is also evident from the allocation of the 20 million for the artistic educational institutions. In the government’s press release, Minister for Higher Education and Science, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, says the earmarked funds should make the students even better at thinking in sustainable solutions that can help solve the climate challenges we are facing.

‘At Aarhus School of Architecture, we are very conscious of the role played by architects and the building sector in global climate change. And we have a strong focus on sustainable construction. Of course, the climate challenge is not something you can fix in a jiffy. But I am sure that a close connection to business and industry made possible by a strong innovative and entrepreneurial environment at the fine arts programmes would be a step in the right direction’, says Torben Nielsen.

The government informs that, in 2019, 14 million have been set aside for the growth plan for the creative professions, of which DKK 10 million are intended to improve the access to venture capital. In the budget proposal, an additional 48.5 million have been earmarked for the period 2020 to 2022. A total of 62.5 million have been set aside for the initiative from 2019 to 2022. The implementation of the initiatives from 2020 to 2022 depends on the outcome of the parliamentary budget negotiations.

You can learn more about the growth plan for the creative professions on the website of the Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.