Rector:” We want to bolster Denmark for the age of AI”

What if artificial intelligence were not only a profitable tool for tech giants, but a catalyst for strengthening democracy, improving the climate, and fighting disease?

Not since the advent of the internet has a technology entered our daily lives so rapidly. At an extraordinary pace, it is reshaping our societies and ways of living, driven by powerful corporations from the United States and China.

That is why the University of Copenhagen is today launching a new AI Package, whose main ambition is to make the University’s knowledge and expertise in artificial intelligence more accessible to society — so that it benefits more people.

The University of Copenhagen already hosts world-class research in artificial intelligence through, among others, the Pioneer Centre for AI, the National Centre for AI in Society (CAISA), and several other initiatives involving leading researchers from across Denmark’s universities.

With the new AI Package, these efforts will be brought together under the cross-university initiative UCPH AI, strengthening the university’s overall contribution to the development of AI on a foundation of freedom of research, ethics, and democratic values.

“We want to bolster Denmark for an age with AI. As the country’s largest university, we have a special responsibility to bring our knowledge into play so that Denmark and Europe can help shape the development of AI and use its potential in ways that are responsible, sustainable, and in the public interest,” says David Dreyer Lassen, Rector of the University of Copenhagen.

As part of the AI Package, the university will also take an active role in the development and implementation of the EU’s two new AI strategies — ApplyAI and AI in Science - which aim to strengthen Europe’s capacity for the responsible and advanced use of AI in research and industry.

Strengthening collaboration with authorities and industry

The AI Package will also build stronger connections between researchers working with artificial intelligence across Danish universities and reinforce collaboration with companies, public authorities, foundations, and other relevant actors — ensuring that the knowledge generated at the university benefits all parts of society.

“With the AI Package, UCPH aims to be a partner that helps Denmark navigate the profound societal transformation that AI represents. Our greatest strength lies in our comprehensive academic breadth — spanning quantum technology and computer science to philosophy, ethics, social sciences, cultural heritage, and law,” says Eva Hoffmann, Prorector for Research and Innovation at the University of Copenhagen.

As part of the package, UCPH will also launch a continuing and professional education initiative to strengthen Denmark’s competencies in AI and meet the growing need for AI literacy in both the public and private sectors.

A steering group of 14 prominent researchers and professionals in AI at the University of Copenhagen will be appointed to set the overall direction for this work — which will focus strongly on collaboration with partners in Denmark and abroad.

“We are committed to making our best research and academic breadth available. The AI Package is both an invitation to greater collaboration and a pledge that we will use our knowledge to advance a technology that makes society wiser, more resilient, and more humane,” concludes David Dreyer Lassen.

On Monday, 3 November, the AI in Science 2025 Conference begins at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, hosted by the University of Copenhagen.