The city of Vejle in Southern Denmark is set to become a University city with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art campus in 2026.
The University of Southern Denmark has chosen Vejle, the country’s ninth largest city, as its latest expansion site. This follows the establishment of satellite campuses in Esbjerg, Sønderborg and Kolding in recent years. SDU Vejle, as the new campus will be known, will specialise in IT and STEM programmes, offering a range of in-demand undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The University also plans that approximately half of the places at SDU Vejle will be filled by English-speaking international students.
The Vejle campus is being co-funded by Vejle Municipality and the LEGO group, with plans to collaborate closely with other businesses in the future. Initially, four Bachelors and Masters programmes will be offered in AI, Computer Science, Software Engineering and Gaming and Interaction Technology, all taught in English.
Jens Ringsmose, Rector of the University, told Last Week in Denmark: “Three years ago we realised there is a huge demand for IT specialists in and around Vejle and the Trekant (Triangle) area in general. We started having conversations with the Municipality in Vejle and the Mayor about how the University could address this. At the time there was also a lot of political debate about moving study programmes outside of the four major cities, so our conversations were starting to align.”
Vejle’s Mayor, Jens Ejner Christensen, told Last Week in Denmark: “We are very proud that Vejle has been chosen to be the home of the new university campus. There is so much energy and commitment from everyone involved that it’s been quite overwhelming.”
SDU Vejle will open its doors in 2026, with the first Masters students matriculating in 2028. Whilst the University already has significant numbers of international students and staff at its other campuses, Jens Ringsmose told Last Week in Denmark that SDU Vejle will see this commitment expanded further: “The new campus will be a very international environment. The working language will be English, the teaching will be in English and we expect most of the faculty staff we recruit will also be internationals. We are looking forward to welcoming around 700-800 international students by the time the campus is fully established”.
The University anticipates the new programmes will be very attractive to EU citizens due to the significant grants available from the Danish government to cover fees and living expenses. However, Jens Ringsmose expects students from a wide range of nationalities to apply: “Increasingly we are seeing students from outside the EU applying to us, which we welcome. At the moment we have a lot of applicants from India, Bangladesh, South America, Africa, all over the world.”
SDU Vejle will also bring many new jobs for internationals in Vejle. The University is currently recruiting for English-speaking academic staff and researchers, including two Heads of Centre who will be known as “LEGO chairs”. In addition, Mayor Jens Ejner Christensen anticipates a wide range of other job opportunities at the University and from businesses who will be attracted to the Vejle area by the presence of the new University.
The partnership between the University and businesses in the Vejle area is “extremely important”, according to Jens Ringsmose: “We invest a lot in building up partnerships. Experience with our other campuses outside Odense has shown us that they are crucial to our success. With the Vejle campus, this has started very strongly. We have had very good conversations and dialogues with companies in the region. We are looking forward to addressing the demands and having conversations about collaboration when it comes to research.”
The new SDU campus is also another major step forward in the evolution of Vejle, and one which Mayor Jens Ejner Christenen believes will make it even more attractive as a place to live: “Vejle was a city focused on industry. Now it is also an educational city and an international city. The University is a very big part of that transformation into something new. Vejle is a much smaller city than Copenhagen or Aarhus but what we can offer is a University campus in the heart of the city, with a vibrant cultural life, surrounded by beautiful nature, with a train station a short walk away opening up the rest of Denmark and Europe.”
Louise Nielsen, Newcomer Services for Vejle Kommune, told Last Week in Denmark: “SDU coming to Vejle also has Vejle Newcomer Service’s focus. We already provide local support to people moving to the Municipality and are of course also ready to help both staff and students moving here to be part of SDU. Our service includes support with settling into Denmark as well as various events that prepare newcomers to understand their new home better. We also offer job search support to accompanying partners, including the partners of SDU employees.”
Read more about the plans for SDU Vejle here: Vejle
