Aalborg University - AAU Innovation

Bevica Foundation and AAU Innovation at Aalborg University will strengthen knowledge about Universal Design in education

Inclusion and accessibility should be a matter of course in Danish society. That is why the Bevica Foundation and Aalborg University have entered into a partnership and are launching a three-year pilot project to integrate universal design into innovation and entrepreneurship education at AAU Innovation.

‍The pilot project is based on AAU's pedagogical learning model, Problem- and Project-Based Learning (PBL), and focuses on the implementation of universal design in AAU Innovation's entrepreneurship-PBL model. The aim is to provide students with the skills to create solutions that embrace diversity and accessibility for all — regardless of their prerequisites and functional abilities. The pilot project, which runs until 2027, involves eight degree programmes spread across AAU's four faculties. Here, educators and researchers must develop new teaching models that integrate Universal Design with the PBL approach. The teaching will provide students with a holistic mindset that enables them to incorporate the principles of Universal Design into their professional solutions — both during their studies and later in their professional work.

The collaboration builds on the existing knowledge and research within Universal Design already present at AAU, including in areas such as labour market, architecture and construction. Through a series of workshops and development courses, teachers at AAU will be trained to test/test the new teaching models in their courses, while students work with concrete cases where they develop solutions that can make urban spaces, buildings and products more accessible to everyone. Here will Bevica Foundation Research Network and experiences from, among other things, the partnership with DTU be involved to ensure a solid knowledge base from which AAU can work.

The project is structured in four phases: prima The project organisation is built up and knowledge is gathered to form the knowledge base for the teachers who wish to participate. IN second stage the models and teaching courses that integrate Universal Design and Entrepreneurship into the AAU Learning Model (PBL) are developed, as in third stage are tested and evaluated on an ongoing basis. In the project fourth and final stage all experiences and results are gathered, which are then included in a final evaluation with a focus on further implementation in future teaching.

The collaboration between the Bevica Foundation and Aalborg University is a strategic partnership that aims to integrate universal design into education.“Universal design is key to creating inclusive solutions that take into account the diversity of our society. Therefore, a collaboration with AAU Innovation is an important part of the Bevica Foundation's strategy to promote research and education in universal design at the country's educational institutions. By integrating Universal Design and the LNOB agenda as the core premise of AAU's teaching, we ensure that the graduates of the future are better equipped to create solutions that promote inclusion and accessibility for all in society.” says Marianne Kofoed, Director at Bevica Fonden

The aim of the pilot project is to ensure that students not only acquire deep professional knowledge, but also learn to think in solutions that are inclusive for more people. The subsequent evaluation will provide a basis for how the experience can be implemented and universal design can be integrated into AAU's other learning models.

Mads Bang, Innovation Director at AAU talks about the pilot project,”Universal design is an important thing to teach our students who stand on the threshold of developing the products and solutions of the future. There are so many places where we can do things a lot better, and be a lot more inclusive, if we just think it in from the start. I am especially pleased that with this project we will also have the opportunity to mark some of our new entrepreneurs who are currently facing the challenge of developing the products of the future.”

‍The Bevica Foundation supports the cooperation with Aalborg University with a grant of 5,140,000. during the project period.