Virtual Initiatives in Denmark

Introduction

Currently in Denmark, the term 'Virtual Campus' has fallen somewhat out of use and does not exist as an easily recognisable or identifiable term referring to any institution or particular practice. Several initiatives have been launched in the past including the Danish Virtual University and the term 'open' is used now far more to imply the use of technology to support a greater access to higher education. Furthermore several different government ministeries have an interest in making university education more accessible and they each have different strategies and approaches, no centralised co-ordination amongst these programmes seems to exist. One significant player is the National IT and Telecom Agency which is run by The Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation This agency has a national programme for e-learning for universities and research institutions. They provide seed money for specific courses and try to also encourage institutional management to become involved. 50% funding to support the development of open courseware is available from this agency not only to universities, but also to SMEs and other types of organisation.Approximately half of those applying are funded and demand for this seed funding is increasing.

The Danish Virtual University and Continuing Education at Danish Universities - A Virtual Approach (in Danish)

The Danish Virtual University (DVUNI) was conceived in 2000 as Denmark's response to the e-education boom in the late 1990s. The project, however, was never completed and was quietly wound up following a series of strategic failures. Following a re-think, the new Danish portal for professional development called 'Continuing Education at Danish Universities - A Virtual Approach' was launched in November 2003. The portal was established by the 12 Danish universities and encompasses all the institutions' professional development courses. The initiative is part of wider attempts to establish a closer co-operation between industry and universities, and the idea has been well received by Danish companies. The portal includes traditional campus-based courses as well as online provision (with a mix of programmes in Danish and English). In July 2004 the portal had almost 1,600 courses and 130 programmes leading to a formal qualification.

Source: The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education - Key Issue, September 2004: National Virtual Universities

Update: this database about Danish universities, vocational training is not updated since 1.1.2007.

UddannelsesGuiden – The “Education Guide”

This is the Danish portal on learning opportunities and professions. UddannelsesGuiden has been developed in connection with the Danish guidance reform and was launched 1 August 2004. The Ministry of Education owns and finances the portal. Schultz Information is responsible for the development and running of the portal. Schultz Information delivers the contents and a sub-contractor, Krak, is responsible for portal infrastructure and technical support.

The main aim of the portal is to provide accurate and up-to-date information about learning opportunities, professions and labour market issues. UddannelsesGuiden applies a lifelong learning perspective and provides education and career information for anybody who needs it – be they children, young people, or adults; citizens in general or guidance practitioners.

Source: UddannelsesGuiden / the Education Guide

Virtual Programmes, Projects, ...

Technical University of Denmark	Type: universities	6,183 students (2006)	blended learning, LMS, part-time studies
Danish name: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet. About the part-time study: "You design your own curriculum in cooperation with a relevant scientific employee at one of the DTU Departments". This HEI also has a term "Open University" for several courses. It also has a [portalen.dtu.dk Portal] for its students. Of e-learning the site states: "eLearning is a diffuse subject that we aim at getting structured campus wide by establishing a IT infrastructure for DTU together with the mail IT-department. Our part is the open source system components." The Technical University of Denmark includes “VirtuelGalathea 3 e-learning”: The purpose of VirtuelGalathea3 e-learning is to offer a solid technical-based teaching materials to ensure Danish students web-based online access to the many exciting findings and results from Galathea 3 project for use in the teaching of subjects physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, nature-geographic history and level-divided for classes in primary school and secondary schools.
Copenhagen Business School	Type: universities	15,791 students	e-learning
Danish name: Handelshøjskolen. The project "Theory of science and methodology on the internet" managed by Copenhagen Business School has received a promise of financial support. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has allocated funds of DKK 7.5m – "the university funds" - as a part of a new strategy: "The national strategy for ICT-supported learning". The funds are distributed by the Danish IT and Telecom Agency on behalf of the Ministry. The purpose of the funds is to support e-learning at Danish universities. The intention is to create projects with a view to improving the quality of teaching and strengthen the overall business goals for the universities. The aim of "Theory of science and methodology on the internet" is to develop a web-based e-learning course in theory of science and methodology. The course is aimed at students doing project work in the first year of their bachelor's programmes. The course is offered at the study programmes BA in Information Management, BSc in Business, Language and Culture, and BSc in Business Administration and Philosophy. The idea is to expand and offer the course to even more study programmes in the long run. Versions in both Danish and English are therefore in preparation. The budgetary framework for this project is DKK 400,000. Source: News article 27/08/2008
University of Southern Denmark	Type: universities	1,500 (PDF) students	blended learning
Danish name: Syddansk Universitet. "The Southern Denmark University enables part time courses, but the course language is only in Danish. Example: “The Centre for Contemporary Middle East Studies offers and contributes to a series of studies in the graduate programme (daytime) as well as part time programmes at both open university and master's level.” This HEI uses the the Blackboard e-Education platform as this article on Blackboard’s own web site mentions: “Southern Denmark University Adopts the Blackboard Learning System and Blackboard Content System”. The SDU site also links to the Student portal"
Roskilde University Center	Type: universities	About Roskilde University 8,000 students	part-time studies, blended learning
Danish name: Roskilde Universitetscenter (RUC). This HEI also presented a paper at the CAL'07 Conference in Dublin, March 26-28, 2007 in which RUC analysed two cases of blended learning on campus in the light of diffusion theory and Causal Layered Analysis (PDF). This shows us 2 types of lessons, of which the blended learning lesson takes up 8 class sessions instead of a 3-week workshop. It is supported by SAKAI CLE, a free and open source Courseware Management System. The blended learning type lesson makes use of notice board, syllabus, roster and readings, presentations, lecture notes, assignments, calendar, chat, discussion forum, wiki, … A YouTube video about the use of SAKAI in the Roskilde University is also available In the public minutes of one of the board meetings, on 19th October 2007, we can read “Faculty and students must learn to use sophisticated blended learning. They must use web-based projects, implement net-based exams, enable digital teaching and disseminate research, teaching and student-produced materials for the students and the public by means of digital media.” Within the framework of the Open University Act, Roskilde University provides opportunities for part-time education in the Basic Studies Programme for the Humanities, Mathematics, Philosophy and Theory of Science, Psychology, Adult Education and Communication as well as a number of master's programmes. Source: [1] Interesting but on the subject of accessibility instead of e-learning, this RUC developed a tool which reads the web texts out loud Students of RUC can use STADS on-line student services to register for examinations and see what examinations they have passed or registered for.
University of Aarhus	Type: universities	? students	blended learning with LMS
Danish name: Aarhus Universitet. This HEI has a sub site dedicated to e-learning in which AULA is explained: ""AULA is Aarhus Universitets e-learning platform”. You can see a visual representation of a registration in this demo. Furthermore, manuals for teachers and students are accessible in English under the Support for AULA page Aarhus University is also building a media archive, where teachers and researchers can publish video, audio and multimedia materials for primary teaching. This includes podcasting. Source: E-learning units The University of Aarhus conducts flexible part-time Master’s degree programmes pursuant to the regulations contained in the Danish Act on further education for adults (“VFV-loven”) and the Executive Order on further education for adults (“VFV-bekendtgørelsen”).
University of Copenhagen	Type: universities	37,000 students	blended learning, SIS, part-time studies
Danish name: Københavns Universitet. This HEI offers blended learning, for instance in the “Forest & Landscape” course (Blended learning combining e-learning and class-room discussions) and the “Participatory Forest Management - 310017” course (internet-based teaching modules integrating literature studies and exercises and supported by on-line discussions in which students are expected to participate. In addition, a number of presentations, analyses and discussions of selected topics and cases as well as e-learning support will be offered as classroom sessions.) The University of Copenhagen also offers students a portal called punkt ku for personal e-mail, group discussions, course descriptions, course registration and Absalon, the portal that hosts the homepages of the different courses.Besides this, there’s also a Study Information System (SIS)
IT-University of Copenhagen	Type: universities	1,500 students	distance education, part-time studies, e-learning
Danish name: IT-Universitetet i København. This HEI offers net-based learning or “Netbaseret undervisning” as listed on its online course list such as IT Project Management, IT Strategy and Basic Graphic Design. There’s also the ITU's study portal called My.IT in which students can view their administrative data such as enrolments, ECTS credit points, examination marks and more.
Aalborg University (AAU)	Type: universities	? students	blended learning and distance studies
Danish name: Aalborg Universitet.Considered by many to be a forerunner in the area of open learning, this HEI offers several part-time Master's Programmes in English listed under "Continuing Education". The teaching on each semester consists of four to six times seminars of 2-3 days’ duration, distance education, self study and project work in groups.
University College of Northern Denmark	Type: university colleges	6,000 students	blended learning, intranet.
Danish name: Professionshøjskolen University College Nordjylland. E-learning is mentioned: Om e-læring page. The UCN was merged out of the University College of Health, which has an intranet for all, and three e-learning courses for staff and educators: “The LP model is a pedagogical analysis used as a practical tool for development and improvement of the school learning environment.” Its e-learning homepage links to About e-learning which directs to a Danish e-learning manual (PDF – 6 pages) in which the different elements of these three e-learning courses are explained. This site mentions e-learning in a Powerpoint called “E-learning ” in which blended learning is a possibility to obtain a degree in 3,5 years of 210 ECTS credits. Besides the face2face meetings the virtual teaching / learning is through the BlackBoard platform.
Copenhagen University College of Engineering	Type: university colleges	2,300 students	LMS (CampusNet)
Danish name: Ingeniørhøjskolen i København. Copenhagen University College of Engineering Part-time students (also referred to as Open University students) are students who pay to follow one or more of the courses at Copenhagen University College of Engineering. These students can only be admitted if there are vacant slots at the course. It is not possible to complete a full education as a part-time student, as large individual projects are not offered to part-time students. Source: Different types of students This HEI has CampusNet.
University College Copenhagen	Type: university colleges	? students	? studies
Danish name: Professionshøjskolen København.
Engineering College of Aarhus	Type: university colleges	1,500 students	support via LMS
Danish name: Ingeniørhøjskolen i Århus. "The terms E-learning, blended or distance learning are not discussed on the Teaching Methods page but e-learning is mentioned once on the site: “In the future we will focus on the institutions that provide us with the largest potential regarding development and exchange. Furthermore, we will develop a close, committed cooperation with a smaller group on international industry-related projects, study programmes, e-learning and longer periods of teacher exchange, including post-educational courses.” Source: Mission, Vision and Strategies below the title “Under Cooperation within Development”. IHA has its own LMS calledCampusNet: CampusNet is a web based interactive communication tool. It offers staff and students at the Engineering College of Aarhus easy and flexible access to extensive information relevant for the studies, and the possibility to exchange information and documents mutually, e.g. within the course or the department. Information contained in CampusNet originates from many different sources (students, teachers, administration) but are made accessible through one central website. Each user at the Engineering College is assigned specific rights assuring a personified user interface. Each student will find information on his or her study, on courses attended, material or messages from the teacher, lists of other students, possible cancellations and much more. The teacher can find information on students, submit messages and publish teaching material for the students, set up conferences for discussions, link to any other website and much more. Source: About CampusNet"
University College Lillebaelt	Type: university colleges	7,000 students	part-time studies, intranet
This HEI offers part-time education as it mentions that 500 part time students are enrolled in campus in Jelling. If offers employees an intranet
Jutland University College	Type: university colleges	3,000 students	e-learning
Danish name: Professionshøjskolen University College Vest. UCJ is part in VIA University College - a major regional university college of professional bachelor education in Mid-Jutland. VIA University College is a collaborative venture between the Mid-West Centre for Higher Education, the Vita Centre for Higher Education, University College Vitus Bering Denmark, the Alpha Centre for Higher Education and UCJ. UCJ forms a part of four national knowledge centres including the National Knowledge Centre for e-Learning. Source: Brochure in English The Knowledge Center of e-learning is rooted in @ Ventures, the founder of e-learning at Aarhus Købmandsskole. The center is a collaboration between several vocational academies, CDE vita, CDE Copenhagen and JCVU. JCVU has its own local coordinator for this Center: Lars Kjeldsen Peter Beck, head of Knowledge for IT, media and learning. This HEI uses an intranet from before the merger.
University College Sealand	Type: university colleges	6,000 students	blended learning, LMS support (Skolekom)
University College Sealand is a recent merger of CVU South and CVU Zealand. This HEI has an UCSJ Intranet for the administrators and educators but a system for the students isn’t clearly mentioned on the site. UCSJ provides e-learning throughout the bachelor programmes and several courses (Pedagogy, Teaching, Nurses, Nutrition and Health courses) with contact days limited to 2 to 4 per month. “Here you'll find opportunities to take your education in these disciplines partially over the Internet.” “So you will encounter words such as network-based education, remote study / distance learning, flexible education, virtual learning, e-learning, etc. For the e-learning communication /LMS students use Skolekom FirstClass, which was developed by UNI-C. You can see a Danish Skolekom manual (PDF) here.
University College South (UC South)	Type: university colleges	3,600 students	blended learning and distance studies
Danish name: University College Syd. This HEI states “All (Bachelor Study) programmes consist of theoretical studies and periods of practice. Most of the studies are equally offered as blended learning, e.g. a mix of distance learning and seminars. Language of instruction: Danish. This HEI offers net-based learning for three courses, in which students can “mainly” work from home: they’re expected to attend eight two-day seminars a year. This distance learning is supported by Blackboard.
Business Academy West	Type: Academies of Professional Higher Education	850 students	part-time studies
Danish name: Erhvervsakademi Vest. At the moment the academy has 550 full time students and 300 part time students.
Aarhus Business College	Type: Academies of Professional Higher Education	? students	part-time studies
Danish name: Erhvervsakademiet. University College Sealand is a recent merger of CVU South and CVU Zealand. This HEI has an UCSJ Intranet for the administrators and educators but a system for the students isn’t clearly mentioned on the site. UCSJ provides e-learning throughout the bachelor programmes and several courses (Pedagogy, Teaching, Nurses, Nutrition and Health courses) with contact days limited to 2 to 4 per month. “Here you'll find opportunities to take your education in these disciplines partially over the Internet.” “So you will encounter words such as network-based education, remote study / distance learning, flexible education, virtual learning, e-learning, etc.” For the e-learning communication /LMS students use Skolekom FirstClass, which was developed by UNI-C. You can see a Danish Skolekom manual (PDF) here.
Odense Technical College and the Academy of Professional Higher Education	Type: Academies of Professional Higher Education	? students	?
Danish name: Odense Tekniske Skole. This HEI is a partner in a Leonardo da Vinci project "Building e-learning": The aim of the project is to assist the implementation of ICT as a basic tool for the modernization and the adaption of the knowledge-based training systems for lower qualified workers in the construction sector. Development and implementation of a technological simulation program for initial vocational training on the occupation "bricklayer", based on e-learning, are envisaged.
Erhvervsakademi Storstrøm	Type: Academies of Professional Higher Education	? students
This HEI is divided into CEUS, EUC Lolland and IMMA. CEUS School of Business is a University College and part of Handelshøjskolecentret. The EUC Lolland site mentions e-learning in the rector's welcome but not further.
Academy of Professional Higher Education, Midjutland	Type: Academies of Professional Higher Education	? students	part-time studies
Danish name: Erhvervsakademi Midtjylland (EAM). EAM also offers a part-time academy programme for adults pursuing careers while having jobs. Lessons are held after ordinary business hours. This programme is governmentally and internationally approved and awards ECTS points.
[http://www.ell.auc.dk Virtual Learning Environments and Learning Methods (the ViLL project)	inactive? Site isn't working
The goal of the ViLL project is to create a centre in North Denmark for research, development and knowledge within e-learning, which is open to users from the entire region. The project is based on the active research in learning processes and IKT that is carried out at the University of Aalborg and is thriving on a good collaboration with enterprises and institutions, local, national and international. Source
Journalisthøjskolen	Type: specialised college	? students	DJH Medianet
This HEI is the result of a merger between Den Grafiske Højskole og Danmarks Journalisthøjskole. The Danish School of Journalism developed Medianet, an open source CMS-system developed at The Danish School of Journalism. The system is used for e-learning, webpublishing and knowledge sharing. Derfor er systemet, der hedder DJH Medianet, baseret på en række gennemprøvede open source-komponenter, som har gjort det muligt at håndtere brugere på tværs af Windows, Mac og Unix. Therefore, the system, called DJH Medianet, based on a number of proven open-source components that have made it possible to manage users across Windows, Mac and Unix. With the merger and new web site Medianet's status is now unknown.
Greenland Business College	Type: ?	? students	type studies
Danish name: Grønlands Handelsskole "Greenland Business College wants to be the natural centre for the formation of competences and knowledge sharing within the commercial area, information technologies, management, supervision, innovation and e-learning." part of "Greenland Business College's mission Homepage states: "Handelsskolen is a partner in E-Forum, a project for the development of E-learning offer to business in Greenland. Handelsskolen using preliminary E-forum for entrepreneurs and students at the basic 'Supervisor training'."

References

1. The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education - Key Issue, September 2004: National Virtual Universities
2. UddannelsesGuiden / the Education Guide
3. Hezel Associates: Global E-learning Opportunities for U.S. Higher Education: "View a free country study - Denmark" (PDF uploaded on this wiki)