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Identity politics and activist research threaten the soul of the university. And it needs to be stopped – now. This was the message from a number of determined researchers at a hearing organised by Danish politicians Morten Messerschmidt and Henrik Dahl at the Danish parliament.
Following a Danish government request, all Danish universities have stopped their collaboration with state-linked institutions in Russia and Belarus. This will mean that researchers and students at Danish universities will no longer be able to go on exchange or study abroad there.
The government is to offer the University of Copenhagen a rent discount of up to DKK 100 million a year, pending a number of unsettled arbitration cases. At the same time, the minister promises to help the university if the final rent level is »unsustainable«.
A majority in the Danish parliament has cut unemployment benefits for new graduates by more than DKK 4,000 a month. But difficult bargaining is still to come.
If politicians want to avoid major negative consequences for education and research, they should give the University of Copenhagen permission to keep one third of the places earmarked for cuts. This is according to Prorector at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) Bente Stallknecht, after the university has drawn up a provisional plan to fulfil the terms of the relocation agreement.
Minister for Higher Education and Science Jesper Petersen praises the University of Copenhagen for its plan to set up a medical degree programme in Køge and for using graduate unemployment numbers to cut student places. He would have been happier, however, if the university had presented plans to relocate more student places.
On the day of the Danish universities' deadline to report cuts and relocations of study programmes to the ministry, students demonstrated in front of parliament.
It has not yet been announced exactly which studies will be affected by the relocation agreement. We do know a few things, however, and so we offer you an overview here.
The relocation agreement will destroy the future prospects of young people. This was the message from angry students who demonstrated in front of the Danish parliament buildings at Christiansborg. According to the organisers, there are more protests on the way.
A group of students wants to rally their fellow students for battle: A battle to stop the cutbacks resulting from the Danish government's plans to relocate student places outside Danish cities.
