“We want a learning environment where we we are not under constant assessment”

“Education with closer ties to research and practice.” This is one of the four focus areas in the UCPH 2023 strategy. A strategy where a new prorector is put directly into the implementation phase – so let’s start there!

The link between education and research is essential for a university that is unified. The new prorector should, of course, also work for this. It is important that a new prorector has a high ambition for a research-based education. We students are the partners and co-creators of our university, and not just a product that comes out of university at the end, as graduates.

I do not want to sit at lectures for a monologue from the instructor. I want to be a part of it! To help set up a dialogue; I want to sit at the table and help to create this interaction. An interaction that arouses students’ curiosity and that is the basis of a critical education. This way of thinking of us students as co-creators is crucial if UCPH is to reach new heights in its research-based programmes.

It is important that a new prorector has a vision on how to develop a good and inspiring study and learning environment. That is precisely why we want a closer link between research and education. It is crucial that a new prorector is aware of the importance of the instructor’s didactic skills and the development of new teaching methods. This is important for a study environment with a focus on learning. A study environment where there is room for us as students to make mistakes and learn from them. We want a study and learning environment where we don’t feel that we are under constant assessment. It needs to be the development of students that is the most important. That is why we want a new prorector to understand that grades do not contribute to this development. The continuous dialogue with instructors and their guidance does. In this way, we want UCPH with the new prorector to become an even better place to study.

We started with the strategy, and we finish with the strategy. “A good study and working environment with an emphasis on diversity”. UCPH is a diverse university on many levels. We have academic diversity, and this is important to cherish. We also have a vision of being a university where you can achieve a lot, no matter what your background is. This must of course be reflected in university management, and it is therefore also important to focus on this when a new prorector is to be hired.

I hope that a potential prorector is reading this. So dear future prorector, we look forward to meeting you and getting to know you! But, even more, we look forward to showing you what it means to be a student at the University of Copenhagen.

Finally, but not least, I would like to thank Lykke Friis for a good cooperation with us students, as a partner and as an opponent. We look forward to having you as the ‘patron’ of our university.