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Celebrating a golden wedding anniversary
Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, distinguished guests, students and faculty of CBS.
It is an honour to join you again for the Annual Celebration of Copenhagen Business School.
As a representative of the government, I am particularly pleased to take part in the celebration this year.
Because this year marks the fiftieth anniversary since the Danish state took over the responsibility of Copenhagen Business School.
You could say that we are actually celebrating our golden wedding anniversary today.
As most of you probably know, the business school was started early in the twentieth century by a group of Danish businessmen.
The goal was to develop young merchants into successful business leaders.
Copenhagen Business School was created by the business community, for the business community.
However, in 1965 responsibility for the school was transferred to the state.
At the time, higher education was transforming into a model of free access for all and it became a centrepiece of the Danish welfare society.
The number of business students in Danish higher education increased from around 500 in 1930 to almost 5000 in 1965.
Today there are more than 25,000 on university level programmes alone. So the scope of the business school broadened.
By educating an increasing number of Danish youth, it also assumed an increasing role in the development of Danish society.
While maintaining a close and strong relationship with the business community, CBS was no longer just a school for, and by, the business community It became a business school for and by Danish society as a whole.
That transformation is worth celebrating.
A great advantage
The close bond between CBS and wider Danish society offers great advantages.
CBS is an outstanding university renowned at home and abroad:
- Every year, CBS study programmes are some of the most popular among applicants. From both Denmark and other countries around the world.
- CBS graduates are some of the most popular among private employers. They enjoy higher employment rates and salaries than most other Danish graduates.
- And CBS has a strong foundation of research:
Last month I was present when CBS professor Lasse Heje Pedersen was handed one of the prestigious EliteForsk-awards. He has previously been named one of the best European economists under forty.
CBS has a very strong brand. It is characterised by strong ties to the business community, a global perspective and entrepreneurial opportunities.
CBS should be proud of these achievements. I know that I am.
Greater expectations and new demands
However, maintaining success requires more.
When you play an important part in society, you will always face new demands and higher expectations.
Two month ago, the Expert Committee on Quality in Higher Education delivered its final report.
The report points to a number of challenges:
- Few students spend as much time with their studies, as they are expected to.
- Few students receive detailed feedback on their assignments or participation in classes.
- Few teachers and faculty feel that good educational practices are rewarded by management.
My goal – and the goal of this government – is that this generation will be the best educated in Danish history.
To reach that goal we need to have the best higher education ever seen in Denmark.
I am proud of our educational system, of our students and of our teachers.
But the expert report shows that higher education in Denmark faces some serious challenges.
Doing nothing is not an option
So I am very serious, when I say that we need to do something about these challenges:
- We need to increase the amount of time students spend on their education – both students and institutions should have this at the forefront of their mind.
- We need to increase feedback, faculty interaction, blended learning and other initiatives that improve student engagement and learning.
- We need to reward good teaching. And we must improve teaching that does not meet our expectations.
Today there are around fifty thousand people with a master’s degree in business in the Danish workforce.
According to the expert committee, that number will double in just fifteen years:
By 2030, more than a hundred thousand people will have spent at least five years in a business school.
We need to be certain that it will be worth their time and effort – and worth your time and effort.
They must have the right qualifications to find a job and create value. For themselves, for the companies that employ them and for society as a whole. That is a challenge facing all Danish universities and other institutions of higher education.
I am currently having discussions about the recommendations of the expert committee with institutions, students and other stakeholders.
As a result of these talks, I will present a range of initiatives to improve quality and outcomes of our educational system.
Because ignoring the challenges or doing nothing to improve quality is not an option.
At many institutions the call for higher quality has been linked with a need for extra resources. This is also the case for CBS.
And even though we are celebrating a golden anniversary, I have not turned completely deaf yet.
I have heard your message. I am aware of the level of resources available to your research and educational programmes.
This government has already invested massively in education.
And I would like us to continue to do so and even increase resources where they are most needed. But we live in a time of limited growth and few opportunities for increased public spending. We all know that.
So we must make sure that resources are spent efficiently on efforts that increase quality in education the most.
Let me reiterate: doing nothing is not an option.
CBS has the muscle to innovate and improve
As I wrap up I would like to remind everyone of the success of CBS as part of the public education system.
But let me also stress the importance of your close relationship with the private sector.
From the beginning CBS was created by and for the business community.
Those roots still give CBS a special capacity to deliver high quality research and education.
And your relationship with businesses is also a valuable asset as a means to improving higher education.
I hope you will continue to build on it and use it as much as possible in the coming years.
CBS is an outstanding university with a lot of achievements.
But we must remember that research and education are becoming the main solution to many of society’s great challenges.
That increases the legitimate demands and expectations society has to the outcomes.
So together with other universities and institutions of higher education you will have to raise the standards of quality.
You will have to make sure that research and higher education at CBS is returning even more value to society and businesses than ever before. I know that you are already aware of this.
And I am sure CBS has the “muscle” to innovate and improve quality further in the coming years.
That is why I look forward to the next fifty years of our happy marriage.
With that, I would like to raise my glass for a toast.
I wish you all a very pleasant evening.