Pioneers

The early years were marked by pioneering work: establishing professional environments, education programmes and university infrastructure from scratch. Among the early professorial appointments were Bengt Algot Sørensen (German), Kristine Heltberg (Slavic), Paul Erik Plesner (Biochemistry) and Mogens Brøndsted (Nordic). The latter was the University’s first Rector and professor of Danish literature – a central figure in the foundation of the University’s professional and institutional identity. 

Express-train Professors

In 1969, the term ‘express-train professor’ was coined: lecturers who lived in Copenhagen or Aarhus and commuted to Odense to teach, whereas they did their preparation and research at home.

This trend sparked a debate about presence and academic environments. In 1969, Tage Kaarsted, professor of history, proposed the moral obligation to live on Funen and participate in local life. One of the first professors describes his first encounter with the University: ‘I ended up in the middle of some barracks and I asked some random man if he knew where the university was. “Well, you're in the middle of it”, he said. At that point, I was ready to go right back to Aarhus.’ The culture of participation took shape as the students were organising during the 1970s, which increased the students’ influence in the bodies of the University.

A university in the province

On 31 August 1966, Odense University welcomed its first students after many years of preparations and became the third university in the country. The establishment of Odense University can be seen as an expression of the welfare state’s vision of increased academic education and strengthened regional development in a part of the country that was rich in traditions but lacking in academic culture.
The temporary barracks on Niels Bohrs Allé housed the modest beginnings of the University’s research and of its education programmes, on which 180 students were enrolled. Not until 1974 did the University move into the buildings on Campusvej, a brutalist construction of steel and concrete designed by Knud Holscher, which could be seen as a monument to the welfare state. In 1970, the break with the professorial rule led to greater student influence through new forms of governance.

University city or city with a university?

At the same time, the University changed Odense as a city. Students, communes and political activism had an impact on the city and its cultural life despite the University’s remote location in the fields of Hollufgaard. In the mid-1970s, as the economic crisis set in, its visions were superseded by a sobering struggle for resources and survival in the university landscape. In the period from 1966 to 1976, Odense University thus served as an expression of the wider societal changes in Denmark – from optimism to realism.

A university founded on new ideas

The opening of Odense University was in many ways an educational experiment. In the temporary barracks, new forms of teaching were created: ongoing assessments, small classes and close dialogue between students and lecturers. The so-called basic year marked a significant break with traditional university culture, during which students of Medicine and Natural Sciences were introduced to a set of common introductory courses. Thus, a new way of learning was formed, based on proximity, democracy and the courage to try new things. In the years 1967-68, 100 male students and 34 female students were enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine.

Students as co-creators

One third of the first 180 students studied Medicine – a very small and manageable study environment compared to today. In 2025, the total admission to Medicine at SDU was approximately 345 students.
At the start of the 1970s, the students gained exceptionally great influence. Before this became a legal requirement, the students participated in study boards and in the development of new models of teaching and learning. Project work, group work and critical academic discussion gained ground. The curriculum was gradually reformed with a greater emphasis on interdisciplinarity, often with open courses of study and flexible reading lists.

The early beginnings

In the early years, the research at Odense University bore witness to the fact that the University was still under construction. There were limited resources, the academic environments were small and the research grew in parallel with the degree programmes. Moreover, in its first decade, Odense University had only two faculties: in the humanities and medical science. Measured in terms of the number of dissertations and publications, the activity was still modest but the foundations of the subsequent growth were laid during this period.

Should research be political?

The political context played a distinct role. University Marxism and the student revolt challenged the notion of the neutrality of research, and at Odense University it was also debated whether research should be politically or academically oriented.
David Favrholdt, the University’s first professor of philosophy, illustrated this trend. In Filosofi og Samfund (Philosophy and Society) (1971), he argued that philosophy should take a critical approach to the contemporary ideological currents – including Marxism. The early years was thus a period in which the academic environments of the University took shape, and in which the question of the societal role of research became a topic of debate.

A strong culture 

This decade was characterised by new roles. Students and staff became political actors when the University’s future was at stake. The clearest example of this was the struggle to preserve the degree programme in Medical Science in Odense. In the summer of 1989, Bertel Haarder, the Minister of Education, was finally convinced following prolonged protests by students, researchers and the University’s management, specifically the newly elected dean Mogens Hørder. ‘You are too good to be discontinued!’ Bertel Haarder said at the time.

Strong diversity

At the same time, the student culture and population changed once again. The students’ commitment did not disappear, but it became broader and more individualised and at the same time more diverse. The adoption of the Erasmus cooperation programme in the EC in the summer of 1987 triggered an increase in the internationalisation of universities. Students were given optimal opportunities to study abroad and lecturers could visit other universities.

From threat to momentum

The effort to prevent the discontinuation of the degree programme in Medical Science in 1988 mobilised staff, students and the local Funen community and demonstrated the regional importance of the University. The University began to position itself more as a modern knowledge institution with wider appeal to prospective students. In addition, 1989 brought about the creation of the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, which was the fourth faculty of the University.

Individualism

The University was developing into an organisation with clearer structures and requirements for teaching as well as outcomes. As a result of the desire for increasing internationalisation, the PhD degree was introduced in 1989 as a replacement for the licentiate degree, and in 1993 the bachelor’s degree was introduced for similar reasons. The period was thus a time of transition, during which the University consolidated its role nationally and internationally in the individualistic spirit of the time.

Degree programmes under pressure to improve efficiency

From the mid-1980s, there was an increased political focus on regulations, quality and efficiency in the education sector. National reforms introduced new requirements for documentation, measurability and the tighter control of resources. This also affected the universities, whose teaching had to comply with implementation and standardisation requirements.

Individualisation as a new study model

In the 1990s, individualisation emerged as a pedagogical principle. The students were encouraged to develop their own learning style, take individual responsibility and organise their own courses of study. This trend characterised everything from tutoring to study planning and was a reflection of broader societal developments. The curricula were further structured with requirements for progression, often including clearer academic specialisations and structure.

Research with societal relevance

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the trend towards research with distinct societal relevance continued. One striking example is the Danish Twin Registry, which dates back to the 1950s but gained a new significance in 1995 when its various data sources were brought together into one research resource at the University. With Kirsten Ohm Kyvik at the helm, the Registry was developed into a central tool for the study of health, disease and the link between genetic inheritance and environmental conditions.

World-class research

The Twin Registry contains information on thousands of Danish twins and makes it possible for researchers to follow this group over extended periods of time. The link between extensive data and long-term research makes the Register a unique resource in Denmark as well as internationally. The Twin Registry is one example of how Odense University made its mark internationally during this period: through research collaborations, the University became an active participant in the global development of health and population research. 

Technicians, elite athletes and internationalisation

During this decade, SDU became more diverse in terms of its academic environments, its geographical locations and the people working and studying there. With the establishment of the Faculty of Engineering, the University gained new technical research environments and a broader staff and student profile. Per Michael Johansen was the first dean of the Faculty.

Students and colleagues from all over the world

At the same time, internationalisation became a part of everyday life. By 2016, just under 15 percent of the students and about 20 percent of the researchers were international, so people from many nations were brought together on the campuses. In addition, special conditions were established for elite athletes: with Syddansk Elite, they were given optimal conditions for completing a university degree while pursuing their sports career. For almost the entire period (2001–2013), Rector Jens Oddershede was at the helm of a university in rapid development, including getting its first common Management and Strategy Basis.

Consolidation and new ambitions

In the 2000s, the University of Southern Denmark developed into a modern multi-campus university with strong regional roots and students from all over the country. Research was strengthened through targeted efforts in areas such as robotics, health data and welfare technology. These areas reflected the growing societal focus on innovation and collaboration between research and business. Internationalisation, professionalisation and strategic development became key drivers, and SDU stood out more and more clearly as a competitive player nationally and internationally. In 2006, the Faculty of Engineering was established, and the following year Slagelse became a part of the University's campus structure.

Campus as part of the city

At the same time, the University took on a new role in the development of Odense and the Region. New student housing, the plans for the tram and the upcoming University Hospital tied the campus more closely to the growth and identity of the city. The University’s development also reflected broader societal trends: increased governance, competition and documentation in research and education. Overall, SDU strengthened its position as a key driver of knowledge, innovation and regional development.

Quality management is key

From the mid-2000s, SDU intensified its work on quality in education. 
A comprehensive audit in 2005 pointed to the need for a more integrated quality assurance system. Various initiatives were developed with the goal of achieving coherence, transparency and high academic quality. Student life became increasingly structured and time-regulated. There was a strong focus on rapid implementation and relevance for the business community. SDU also introduced tighter regulations on exams and the study environment (such as the smoking ban in 2007 and the alcohol policy in 2009), which were met with student protests.

Campus Odense as a growing knowledge district

During the period 2006–2016, the area around Campus Odense underwent significant development. 
The 2015 master plan included new buildings, expanded common areas, improved infrastructure and close integration with the tram and Nyt OUH. Campus Odense was expanded to accommodate more students and new academic environments. The goal was a cohesive district in which research, education and urban development would merge. The ideal was the so-called triple helix model, in which the University, the business community and public authorities collaborate on development. This model was explicitly used in the campus planning process around 2015–2016.

TEK is established

As an extension of the focus on economic relevance in the 2000s, research at SDU gained a new and more technologically oriented profile in the years after 2006. One reason for this was the establishment of the Faculty of Engineering in 2006, when Ingeniørhøjskolen Odense Teknikum (Odense University College of Engineering) became a part of the University. This development was a continuation of the merger in 1998, through which SDU had also gained a strong presence in Southern Jutland. In the first merger, the engineering programmes in Sønderborg had become a part of the University, and in the years after 2006 this environment was strengthened as an important hub for technical research.

Collaboration with the business community

In Sønderborg in particular, SDU developed a close collaboration with large companies such as Danfoss. Research in energy and electronics was linked directly to industrial needs, and the University became a key player in the technological development of the region. With the Faculty of Engineering, SDU took a decisive step from a traditional university to a broad research university, where technological innovation and collaboration with business became a central part of the purpose of research.