SDU establishes a new Business School

In December 2025, SDU's Board of Governors decided to establish the SDU Business School as an independent faculty. At the same time, a new Faculty of Business and Social Sciences will be created, with law, political science and economics as its core areas.

The business and economics departments from the Department of Business & Management and the Department of Business and Sustainability will be brought together under SDU Business School (SBS), which will have its own management responsibility and financial autonomy at dean level.

Jacob Kjær Eskildsen took up his post as head of SBS on 1 April and has since been tasked with building up the new organisational unit. The work is based on four guiding principles set out by SDU's Board of Trustees.

- We must increase our external visibility and raise the profile of SBS, strengthen collaboration with external partners, continue our work on international accreditations and enhance the quality of our education and research. At the same time, we must increase external research funding, says Jacob Kjær Eskildsen.

Five academic sections

SBS will not have departments but will be organised into five academic sections. The sections provide the framework for both research and education, and within each section, smaller research groups will be established in which research activities are to be developed and embedded.

Among other things, the section model is intended to make it possible to set priorities across the entire programme portfolio.

- One challenge with a department model can be that programmes span departments, each with their own budget. This can lead to sub-optimisation. When we can consider the budget across the entire programme, we can make better decisions, says Jacob Kjær Eskildsen.

The five sections represent academic disciplines that are widely recognised internationally. The heads of sections will be involved in the strategic management of SBS but will be responsible for smaller academic units and smaller budgets than traditional heads of department.

The sections span the four campuses in Odense, Kolding, Esbjerg and Sønderborg. All sections will be represented on more than one campus, and the heads of section will be based in both Odense and Kolding.

- Academic excellence must bind the campuses together, whilst we maintain strong local roots, emphasises Jacob Kjær Eskildsen.

Clear responsibility for research and education

Under the new management model, responsibility for research and education will be embedded directly within the senior management of SBS. This comprises the Head of SBS, the Director of Studies, the Vice Dean for Research and the head of secretariat.

The Director of Studies will be responsible for the overall education portfolio, quality assurance and coherence across the campuses. The Vice Dean for Research will, amongst other things, contribute to strengthening the quality of research and increasing external research funding.

This clear allocation of responsibility will also have an impact on work relating to international accreditations.

- Accreditations place high demands on quality assurance. We must operate a quality assurance system in accordance with established principles, and it is easier to institutionalise this when responsibility lies in one place, says Jacob Kjær Eskildsen.

Preparations for this initiative have involved staff through working groups, meetings and discussions within the university's collegiate bodies. From 1 September, independent academic councils and liaison committees will be established for SBS and the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences.

Seat on the executive board

As dean, Jacob Kjær Eskildsen will take a seat on SDU's executive board. He has participated as an observer since taking up his post in April.

This representation is intended to facilitate the development of collaborations with the other faculties. Jacob Kjær Eskildsen highlights, amongst other things, the opportunities for closer collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering.

- It is easier to have that dialogue when you are part of the same forum. We gain greater independent clout as a unit at faculty level, he says.

This strategic scope also has implications for SBS's international standing. In July 2025, the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences achieved international AACSB accreditation. SBS must build on this accreditation and work towards also achieving EQUIS and AMBA, thereby attaining so-called 'triple crown' status.

The next target is EQUIS, which accredits SBS as a whole and, amongst other things, requires a high degree of strategic autonomy. This will be followed by AMBA, which is aimed at MBA programmes.

- It would have been more difficult to achieve EQUIS accreditation if SDU had not undertaken this strategic initiative. Our independent organisation strengthens our prospects, explains Jacob Kjær Eskildsen.

Strategy towards 2030

From January, a new strategy will set the direction for SBS towards 2030. The aim is, amongst other things, to increase both external research funding and the number of publications in leading international journals by 40 per cent. SBS will also expand its PhD programme and develop its educational profile.

At the same time, visibility is to be increased through closer contact with the business community. The board training programme is one example. In addition, SBS will host breakfast meetings featuring academic presentations and networking opportunities twice per semester. A business conference will be held in June 2027, and work is underway to establish an alumni network and ensure a more prominent presence at the he annual political festival, Folkemødet.

In the longer term, the ambition is to host an international conference under the auspices of the European Academy of Management, with around 2,000 participants.

- We want to raise the profile of SBS through a range of different initiatives. I am convinced that people will take notice of our presence, emphasises Jacob Kjær Eskildsen.

Learn more about SDU Business School.