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Denmark
Partners situated in Denmark
None.
Denmark in a nutshell
The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark), commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe. Its capital is Copenhagen, it is 43,094 km² or 16,639² sq mi wide with a population of $198.5 billion people, who we call the Danish or the Danes. The official language is Danish, which is close to Swedish and Norwegian with which Denmark has strong cultural and historical ties.
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Denmark has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities. Denmark has been a member of the European Union (EU) (formerly European Economic Community) since 1973, although has not joined the Eurozone (the zone of countries which use the Euro). Denmark is a founding member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
According to official statistics from April 2008, 82.0% of the population of Denmark are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish National Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. According to article 6 of the Constitution, the Royal family must belong to this Church.
Adapted from: the Wikipedia page on Denmark
Note: also available is an interactive map of Denmark where you can hover over the cities and make the public transport routes visible
Regions and municipalities
Denmark consists of 443 islands and in 2007 the country created the division of five regions and a total of 98 municipalities, which mostly have a population of at least 20,000 people. This division was a part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform to replace the country's traditional thirteen counties (amter). At the same time, smaller municipalities (kommuner) were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 to 98. The most important area of responsibility for the new regions is the national health service.
The Five Regions of Denmark (descending order of population):
- Hovedstaden/ the Capital Region of Denmark
- Midtjylland/ Region Central Jutland
- Syddanmark / Region South Denmark
- Sjælland / Region Zealand
- Nordjylland / Region North Jutland
The Faroe Islands and Greenland/Grønland are autonomous provinces of Denmark with home rule, but are not members of the European Union (EU).
Adapted from:
Denmark education policy
Denmark education system
The Danish education system provides access to primary school, secondary school, and most kinds of higher education. Attendance at "Folkeskole" is compulsory for a minimum of 9 years, and a maximum of 10. About 99% of students attend compulsory elementary school, 86% attend secondary school, and 41% pursue further education. All college education in Denmark is free.
Primary school in Denmark is called "den Danske Folkeskole" ("Danish Public School"). It runs from 1st to 10th grade, though 10th grade is optional, as is the introductory "kindergarten class" ("børnehaveklasse"). Students can alternatively attend "free schools" ("Friskole"), or private schools ("Privatskole"), i.e. schools that are not under the administration of the municipalities, such as Christian schools or Waldorf Schools. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, ranked Denmark's education as the 24th best in the world in 2006, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.[6]
Following graduation from Folkeskolen, there are several other educational opportunities, including Gymnasium (academically oriented upper secondary education), Higher Preparatory Examination (HF) (similar to Gymnasium, but one year shorter), Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX) (with focus on Mathematics and engineering), and Higher Commercial Examination Programme (HHX) (with a focus on trade and business), as well as vocational education, training young people for work in specific trades by a combination of teaching and apprenticeship.
Gymnasium, HF, HTX and HHX aim at qualifying students for higher education in universities and colleges.
Denmark has several universities; the largest and oldest are the University of Copenhagen (founded 1479) and University of Aarhus(founded 1928).
Folkehøjskolerne, ("Folk high schools") introduced by politician, clergyman and poet N.F.S. Grundtvig in the 19th century, are social, informal education structures without tests or grades but emphasising communal learning, self-discovery, enlightenment, and learning how to think.[44]
Source of these excerpts: Wikipedia page on Denmark’s Education
Students receive points according to a 7-point grading scale:
12: For an excellent performance.
10: For a very good performance.
7: For a good performance.
4: For a fair performance.
02: For an adequate performance.
00: For an inadequate performance.
-3: For an unacceptable performance.
Higher education
Following a so-called binary structure, the higher education institutions can be grouped into two different sectors:
Higher education institutions in Denmark can be divided into 2 categories (university and non-university) or into three main categories:
- Universities or university level institutions offering research-based undergraduate and post-graduate programmes (Bachelor's, Master's and PhD)
- University Colleges ( Professionshøjskoler ) offering 3-4½ years undergraduate programmes (Professional Bachelor's programmes)
- Academies of Professional Higher Education ( Erhvervsakademier ) offering 2 - 2½ years Academy Profession programmes and joint Bachelor's programmes in co-operation with universities.
Source: Study in Denmark
Background
- Colleges offering medium-cycle programmes, mainly professional bachelor's degrees.
- Most colleges offering Professional Bachelor's degrees have merged into more comprehensive Centres for Higher Education (centre for videregående uddannelse - CVUs) following an act passed by Parliament in 2000. CVUs are a new type of institution developed with the aim of strengthening professionally oriented types of higher education and creating new possibilities for further education and training. The centres are also meant to be innovative bodies in the field of knowledge development. As from 2005, CVUs fulfilling certain quality criteria may be awarded the label of University College.
- Vocational colleges offering short-cycle programmes, mainly 2-year Academy Profession degrees .
- Most colleges offering Academy Profession degrees have formed Academies of Professional Higher Education (erhvervsakademier) as a framework for regional cooperation. This was made possible by the 1998 reform of short-cycle higher education. In order to obtain the status of Academies of Professional Higher Education the participating colleges must fulfil a number of quality requirements in terms of scope and level.
Professionally oriented higher education programmes are offered at colleges. Whereas in other countries, similar programmes may be offered by universities, in Denmark they have traditionally been offered by specialised colleges. Very often these institutions are engaged in theoretical and practical developmental work, and many of them participate in international cooperation, e.g. through the EC mobility programmes.
Source: CIRIUS Online - Higher Education – The College Sector and Source: CIRIUS Online - Higher Education – College Education
HEI in Denmark
The following table was adapted from the information found at the Study in Denmark web site.
1 Specialised college:
This division was made according to Study in Denmark – Institutions page
Unlisted HEIs:
- Aarhus Teater
- Aarhus tekniske Skole
- CEUS School of Business
- Danish Institute for Study Abroad
- Danish Meat Trade College DMTC / Uddannelsescentret i Roskilde - Slagteriskolen
- Danmarks Designskole
- Erhvervsakademi MidtVest
- Erhvervsakademi Vest
- ErhvervsUddannelsesCenter Lolland
- EUC Sjælland
- The Funen Academy of Fine Arts
- The Glass and Ceramic School on Bornholm
- The Graphic Arts Institute of Denmark
- Interactive Media & Marketing Academy
- The Jutland Art Academy
- Odense Teater
- The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Conservation
Higher education reform
Bachelor – Master – PhD degrees
- As a result of reforms in the late 1980s, Danish higher education has switched from a one-tier qualification structure to a two-tier structure with Bachelor's, Master's (candidatus) and PhD degrees. Before then, all university study programmes lasted between 4 and 6 ½ years, and led to the award of the candidatus (candidata) degree (Master's degree).
- From 1988, students completing 3 years of a candidatus programme were awarded the Bachelor's degree and could use the title B.A. (Humanities, Theology, Social Science) or B.S. (Natural Science, Health Science).
- The 1993 university reform introduced a general bachelor degree structure. As a result, almost all university programmes now consist of a bachelor programme (BA/BSc), a candidatus programme and a PhD programme. The bachelor programme constitutes a complete programme in itself, but most students still continue in a candidatus programme. As a result of this new degree structure, the 4-year cand.phil. degree within the Humanities was abandoned in 1995/96.
- 4. Act on the short-cycle higher educations, 2000
- In August 2000, a new act on the short-cycle higher educations (Act no. 1115 of 29 December 1997) was implemented, making the access routes broader and more transparent, with better possibilities for the students of being awarded credits in a medium- or long-cycle higher education programme.
- 13 study programmes were set up in the following fields: Agriculture, Textile, Clothing and Design, Food Industry, Hotel and Tourism, Finance, Construction, Technology and Energy, IT and Electronics, Media and Communication, Industrial Production, Laboratory Technician, Retail Trade, International Marketing. The programmes in Computer Science (datamatiker) and Transport Logistics were continued. These 15 programmes replaced the previously existing 70 short-cycle programmes of varying lengths between 1 and 3 years. In many cases, this meant extending the course from 1½ to 2 years.
- 5. Act on medium-cycle higher education, 2000
- In 2000, the Act on medium-cycle higher education created a common framework for all of these programmes. One of the main features of this reform was the creation of the title of professional bachelor (professionsbachelor) indicating, in relation to university bachelor's degrees, a similar level of education combined with a stronger focus on professional practice.
- Colleges may award the professional bachelor titles on completion of programmes that have been approved to meet a number of criteria. Among other things, the teaching must be rooted in the profession and its development and it must include links to national and international research.
The Bologna Process
Subsequent legislation has established the structure based on two main cycles in all university disciplines. The most recent arrangements in this context and linked to the Bologna process are specified in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation's Order No. 338 of 6 May 2004 on university Bachelor's and Master's programmes, which was issued under the Universities Act of May 2003, and the June 2004 Ministry of Culture Order on education in the academies of music and the Opera Academy.
Source: CIRIUS Online - Higher Education - Background
Administration and finance
A. Funding for HEI
B. Bursaries for students
Education grant and loan scheme
All Danes over the age of 18 are entitled to public support for his or her further education.
Tuition at public and at most private educational institutions is free. Support for student's living cost is awarded by the State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme (SU), which is a system managed by the State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme Agency.
There are two main support programmes:
- one for people over 18 following a youth education programme. Until pupils are 20, their grants depend upon their parents' income.
- one for students enrolled in higher education programmes. Students are entitled to a number of monthly grants corresponding to the prescribed duration of the chosen study programme, plus 12 months.
Notes:
- Inside a maximum of 70 monthly grants, students can change from one programme to another
- In combination with both types of grants, students are offered supplementary state loans and about half of all students make use of these state loans. For more information, visit www.su.dk.
Source: CIRIUS - State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme
Students must start paying back state loans no later than one year after the end of the year in which they graduate or give up their studies. The loan must be repaid within 15 years.
About half of all students make use of state loans.
Quality assurance
The Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA) assesses and develops education and childcare. EVA is the national knowledge center in the field of evaluation.
EVA is part of the educational quality assurance system in Danmark. You can read more about this in the factsheet The Danish Approach To Quality Assurance.
Denmark's HEIs in the information society
Towards the information society
"In Denmark two initiatives have been taken to encourage the use of ICT in education in general, and in open education in particular:
- 1. The Danish Electronic Research Library
- Denmark's Electronic Research Library (DEFF) is an organisational and technological partnership between research libraries co-financed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education. DEFF's purpose is to advance the development of a network of electronic research libraries that make available their electronic and other information resources to the patrons in a coherent and simple way.
- E-learning is on of the six DEFF Programme areas
- 2. The Danish Virtual University
- Denmark's Virtual University (DVUNI) was a co-ordinating body for Danish universities and higher further-going educational institutions which offer qualifying, academic programmes and post-graduate courses and additional training via flexible, net-based distance learning. (This is also mentioned in the Re.ViCa's wiki page on Virtual Initiatives in Denmark)
Source: FLUID – national report Denmark 2003, PDF - 36 pages, which also lists the main features and the obstacles of ODL in Denmark: Discussion of the main features, Blended Learning, Action Learning , Group/team work, The tutor/teacher in ODL – an obstacle of the mind, The Learners, Drop-out rates, The lack of support from the management, Learning materials.
Information society strategy
Virtual Initiatives in Higher Education
Virtual Initiatives in Denmark
References
- Denmark.dk, the official site of Denmark
- The Danish Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Education - Key Figures in Education 2007
- The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
- CIRIUS.dk, the Danish Centre for International Cooperation and Mobility in Education and Training
- Statens Uddannelsesstøtte / State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme
- The Danish Education System, PDF - 12 pages (823 kB).
- The Danish Evaluation Institute (EVA)
- The Danish Approach To Quality Assurance
- OECD reports and publications on Higher education and adult learning > Information by Country > Denmark
- FLUID – national report Denmark 2003, PDF - 36 pages