RUC receives DKK 20 million for virtual learning technologies

PRESS RELEASE: Technological development is moving rapidly, including in the field of education. And now RUC is turning up the pace. With DKK 20 million as backing from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, RUC will head up a new project to develop virtual learning technologies and map the best way to use the new technologies for teaching in the future.

"Denmark can become a front-runner in the field of teaching technologies, because we have a particular opportunity to combine technology with educational, social and cultural knowledge. The strength of anchoring such an effort at RUC is that we are strong in the area of interdisciplinary approaches. This is about preparing students for a world where virtual reality is already an integral part of everyday life, across academic disciplines¡± says Hanne Leth Andersen, who is the rector at Roskilde University and a professor of higher education.

By using modern technology, virtual learning can support training and teaching in a digitally created space, just as we know it from virtual reality. The technology can use advanced simulation methods etc. to give students the possibility to perform chemical experiments in virtual reality, or to participate in international negotiations with global partners in a virtual space.

"Virtual learning technologies provide special opportunities within the areas of natural and health sciences, but we will also prioritize having other types of learning forums. The project is a unique opportunity, which also goes hand in glove with the expansion of our digital technology development here at RUC¡± says Hanne Leth Andersen.

The project is intended to act as a platform for establishing a broader collaboration within virtual learning. RUC will invite other educational institutions, development environments and companies to participate in a broad collaboration, explains RUC¡¯s rector.

The grant is being awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science as a so-called 'extraordinary grant'.

Overview of the extraordinary grants:

- DKK 30.4 million for big data. The funds are distributed as a fixed amount per university (DKK 3.8 million per university)
- DKK 10 million to the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University (DKK 5 million each) to support the institutions¡¯ strategy for strengthening foreign languages in the education system
- DKK 20 million to Roskilde University for virtual teaching technologies
- DKK 10 million to the Technical University of Denmark to establish a pilot-hub for digital technologies