Bridging the gap between deep knowledge and competency needs

2024 saw the emergence of a new AUFF subsidiary, AU Cetera, tasked with developing and offering research-based continuing education. And so far, there is reason to believe that the company taps into unmet needs.

By Filip Graugaard Esmarch

Since 2003, Danish universities have been obliged under law to communicate and disseminate knowledge as part of their core activities – on par with research and education. The book series “Tænkepauser” published by Aarhus University Press is one example of how the University meets this obligation. Another potential communication channel is continuing education courses. Many education and research institutions have tried their hand at offering continuing and further education, but at university, conditions are rarely ideal for such activities. Now Aarhus University and AUFF may have a solution. ‘The University asked us whether we would be able to offer continuing education, and after conducting a market survey we agreed to give it a try. We recognised the need and business potential and saw it as another way to support scientific research at Aarhus University’, says Jørgen Lang, who is Managing Director of AUFF and member of the board at AU Cetera, which was established in March 2024 as a partnership company owned by the Foundation. Even though it has a rather extensive organisation chart, AUFF is in fact unaccustomed with building businesses from scratch, as most of its recent subsidiaries were well-established companies it took under its wings. ‘We have taken over the Alexandra Institute, Aarhus University Press, the University Park Colleges and Sandbjerg Estate, all of which were already affiliated with the University. We believe this new addition, AU Cetera, matches the existing portfolio. A lot of researchers at Aarhus University are eager to disseminate their knowledge to a broader audience. AU Cetera can help them do that – through open as well as customised courses’, Jørgen Lang explains.

Need for continuing education
He believes the new subsidiary has come off to a good start – supported by a strategic board. The chair of the board is former Aarhus councillor for Venstre Laura Hay Uggla, who has extensive experience from other boards. The board also consists of two external members: Jasper Kyndi, Executive Business Development Director, Buildings, Industry and Architecture, COWI, and an external member to be appointed this spring. Prorector Berit Eika and Professor of Economics Philipp Schröder from Aarhus University also sit on the board, as do two representatives from AUFF. Work on AU Cetera started to gather speed after CEO Peter Juhl joined the company on 1 May. He has hired a staff of eight and plans to bring in more people.‘Both the university and private sector are represented at AU Cetera. And it makes sense, as we have been tasked to bridge the gap between the University’s extensive knowledge pool and current competency needs in the labour market’, says Peter Juhl. He has built a career in the private sector and is seconded by Programme Manager Birgitte Højland, who on the other hand has many years’ experience with continuing and further education at Aarhus University. She was the one who conducted the market survey prior to the formation of the company. ‘The survey revealed a need for our services. Employees expect their employer to facilitate continuing or further education just four or five years after graduation. And a lot of the people we have talked to are interested in participating in competency development at the university’, Peter Juhl concludes.

Large knowledge base
The survey also showed a demand for on-site courses. AU Cetera seeks to meet this demand and so far has not scheduled any webinars. ‘In the future, we may be able to offer a combination, where an online course module is initiated and concluded with on-site modules. The participants want the chance to network and to receive and give feedback. If e.g. you are working as a specialist for a private company or municipality, then it is nice to be able to talk to someone who is dealing with some of the same issues’, says Peter Juhl.

CEO at AU Cetera Peter Juhl is responsible for bringing AU Cetera to the attention of the local business community and the public sector in general. AU Cetera disseminates detailed, research-based knowledge via the University.

One of the company’s strength is its ability to draw on the University’s large knowledge base. ‘We offer a versatile service. Take cyber security for instance. It is not just about computer science, but also a matter of organisational behaviour and psychology. We have access to experts within all the relevant areas, and based on companies and organisations’ needs, we can boil it down to one course’, says Peter Juhl, who also focusses on how the knowledge is communicated and its applicability. ‘We have access to detailed knowledge via the University; our job is make sure it is translated into something the participants can use in their job. So we need to find researchers who not only have relevant knowledge, but who also know how to communicate it in a relevant way. While it cannot be too theoretical, it must still be based on research and applicable to the participants. Our job is to find the right combination’. Therefore, AU Cetera will also make use of external instructors – people who have practical experience with a given topic from a job outside the university.

A lot of facets and nuances
Planning courses, AU Cetera will focus on super trends such as artificial intelligence, sustainability and cyber security, but management, well-being and health also remain important topics. Its first open course was conducted in March and is a good example of a highly topical topic; it focussed on implementation of the Green Tripartite agreement. ‘The instructors came from several different departments at Aarhus University as well as from GEUS, a government agency and a municipality. We thus covered all the facets. Most of the participants were local government workers and a few came from consultancy firms. The fact that our open courses attract such versatile groups of participants is an advantage, as it helps to cover a lot of different perspectives’, Peter Juhl concludes. The course had 25 participants, even though more had shown an interest in the course. AU Cetera wanted to offer case-based instruction and to facilitate discussion among the participants, so instead of allowing more participants into the course, they decided to run the course twice. Though the Green Tripartite course was a three-day residential course held in a hotel, most AU Cetera courses are held on campus. In addition, AU Cetera has organised a couple of customised courses by request from different companies. Peter wants to bring AU Cetera to the attention of the local business community as well as the public sector in general. When he calls people up and invites himself for coffee, they are interested in what he has to say, but he also hopes more people will get in touch to tell him about their competency development needs.

Examples of courses

Sustainability: The atmospheric dispersion model, OML-Multi (one day), Implementation of the Green Tripartite (three days)

Law: VAT law (one day)

Digitisation: Generative AI and hybrid intelligence (two days), Data visualisation (one day)

Management: Organisational design (two days), Manager identity (four days + five-month individual feedback programme)

Strategy: Price strategy (one day)

AU Cetera will be housed on the top floor of the FEAS building in the centre of the University City on Nørrebrogade. Facilities will include offices and teaching rooms.