English is a natural part of everyday life at AAU and is used in research, teaching, administration and collaboration. All employees should therefore have the English language skills necessary to perform their work and participate actively in the university’s academic and social communities.

The aim is to ensure that employees can collaborate, communicate and contribute across AAU’s international working and learning environment.

Expectations regarding English language skills should be clear from the outset of employment, and employees should be aware of relevant language support tools available in their everyday work. Read more about these tools under Language Principle 4.

Requirements for English language skills vary depending on the position and work tasks and may include teaching, supervision, research dissemination, participation in meetings, or communication with colleagues and students. It is therefore important that expectations regarding English language skills are stated in job advertisements and addressed during recruitment, onboarding and ongoing employee discussions.

AAU offers an English language certification programme for assistant professors and postdocs. The certification supports the development of employees’ linguistic and pedagogical skills for teaching in English and also serves as a prerequisite for participation in the pedagogical training programme (pædagogikum).

Two certification programmes are offered each year, with a total of 80 places. If places are available, associate professors and professors may also participate if the certification is considered relevant to their teaching responsibilities.

Read more and register for the certification here. 

International full-time assistant professors, associate professors and professors are expected to gradually develop the Danish language skills needed to contribute to parts of teaching in Danish 2–5 years after employment. This may include supervision, assessment or teaching activities with support from a Danish-speaking colleague.

To support this development, AAU offers two internal Danish language courses, which take place during working hours and help employees develop the necessary linguistic and communicative skills. Participation in the Danish language courses is mandatory for non-Danish-speaking assistant professors, associate professors and professors.

The language journey is based on a gradual development of Danish language skills, supported by AAU through internal courses, support from managers and the opportunity to supplement the courses with municipal Danish language education.

Expectations regarding Danish language skills and AAU’s internal Danish language courses are communicated clearly from the outset of employment, including in job advertisements, during interviews and as part of ongoing employee development discussions.

AAU offers both a beginner’s course in Danish and a subsequent course in Danish in an academic context, targeted at international researchers and teaching staff.

Beginner’s Course in Danish
The course is the first step in AAU’s language journey for international staff. It provides a solid linguistic foundation and builds confidence in using Danish in both social and work-related contexts.

Danish in an Academic Context
The course is the next step in AAU’s language journey and strengthens the Danish language skills needed to gradually use Danish for supervision, assessment, teaching and other academic tasks. The aim is to support employees in gradually becoming able to contribute to teaching in Danish within 2–5 years of employment.

The Beginner’s Course in Danish starts on 3 November, while Danish in an Academic Context will be offered from 2027.

Read more about the courses and register here.

All employees at AAU should have the opportunity to participate actively in meetings, councils, committees and boards, regardless of their linguistic background. The choice of meeting language should therefore be planned consciously and flexibly to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to participate and contribute.

Language Procedure for Committees, Councils and Boards

As part of AAU’s work with parallel language use, permanent councils, committees and boards must develop a procedure for language choice, which is incorporated into their rules of procedure or terms of reference. The procedure should provide clear guidelines for the use of Danish and English, ensuring that the choice of language is a deliberate decision rather than an ad hoc practice. The procedure should be reviewed and activated when new members join, so that language does not become a barrier to participation. Implementation will begin in the second quarter of 2026.

A language procedure may, for example, describe:

• Which working language the meeting is conducted in
• Whether the agenda, meeting materials and minutes are prepared in Danish, English or both languages.
• How international participants are supported in participating actively in the meeting
• How key points, decisions and follow-up actions are communicated so that all participants can follow along
• When it is appropriate to use both Danish and English during the same meeting

The aim is not for all meetings to be conducted in English or Danish, but to create an inclusive meeting practice where all participants have the best possible conditions for contributing to dialogue and decision-making. 

Examples of Flexible Language Solutions

Depending on the group of participants, different solutions can support an inclusive meeting culture, for example:

• Danish and English are used side by side during the meeting
• Presentations are given in one language with slides in the other language, where relevant
• Key points and decisions are summarised in both languages as needed
• Agendas, meeting materials and minutes are prepared in both Danish and English, where relevant
• Participants are encouraged to use the language they feel most comfortable with when asking questions or contributing to the discussion 

Example of a language procedure. 

Language Choice for Larger Meetings, Seminars and Themed Days

For meetings, seminars, team days and other events with a broad group of participants, the meeting language should be determined based on the participants and communicated clearly in advance.

There is no single language solution that is suitable for all events. In some cases, Danish will be the most appropriate working language; in others, English, while a combination of Danish and English will often be the best solution. The key is that the choice of language supports dialogue, shared understanding and equal opportunities for participation.

Participants should have the opportunity to find out which language will be used before the event and understand the framework for their participation.

The meeting chair is responsible for planning and communicating the choice of language and for creating conditions that support active participation and shared understanding during the meeting.

Example of language use in meetings.

AAU works to ensure that important information is available in both English and Danish across the university. Administrative texts are translated in a coordinated manner, and key IT systems, standard messages and guidelines should, where possible, be available in both languages.

The aim is to ensure that all employees have equal access to relevant information and can navigate administrative processes and systems regardless of their linguistic background.

AAU provides a range of digital tools to support you in your everyday use of Danish and English. Use the tools as needed:

For meetings – Microsoft Teams
Use Microsoft Teams to support multilingual meetings. You can use features such as live captions, translation and interpreting functions to help more participants follow the meeting and participate actively.

For texts, presentations and minutes – Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot can be used for translation and language adaptation of texts, as well as for working with PowerPoint presentations, minutes and other written materials.
Read AAU’s guidelines for using Copilot here.

For academic and administrative terminology – AAU Dictionary
The AAU Dictionary provides access to shared terminology and recommended translations of academic and administrative terms. Use the dictionary when you want to ensure consistent language and terminology across AAU.

You can access the dictionary here.

AAU is committed to creating an inclusive international working environment where employees with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds have good opportunities to participate, collaborate and thrive. Managers have a particular responsibility to support an inclusive working environment and create good conditions for collaboration across cultures.

To support the integration of international staff at AAU, an introductory programme is offered to new international employees. The programme builds on AAU’s existing English-language welcome meeting and has been expanded into a full-day programme that introduces participants to Danish academic working and collaboration culture.

The programme gives participants insight into what it means to work at a Danish academic institution. Topics include collaboration, leadership and self-leadership, meeting culture, and the relationship between teaching staff and students. Participants are also introduced to the unwritten norms and expectations that shape collaboration and working life in a Danish context.

The aim is to help international staff feel more confident in their new working environment and strengthen their understanding of Danish academic working culture. The programme also aims to prevent uncertainty, misunderstandings and cultural barriers by providing greater clarity about norms, expectations and ways of working, such as flat hierarchies, a high degree of self-management and a dialogue-based meeting culture.

Read more about the Welcome Meeting and register here. 

Leadership at AAU plays a central role in implementing the university’s language principles and developing an inclusive and parallel-language working and collaboration culture. Managers are responsible for creating clear frameworks for the use of Danish and English so that language supports collaboration, participation and professional development.

This includes taking an active approach to language choice in meetings, working communities and other collaborative settings, communicating clear expectations regarding language skills in connection with recruitment and employment, and ensuring that international staff have the best possible conditions for developing their Danish language skills.

Managers are also responsible for supporting employees’ language development by prioritising time for relevant language courses as an integrated part of their work. This may include temporarily adjusting work tasks to ensure that employees have realistic conditions for participating regularly in language courses and applying their new language skills in practice.

Language development is an ongoing process. Managers should therefore regularly follow up on international employees’ language progression and discuss development, well-being and expectations regarding language use as part of employee development conversations, career conversations and day-to-day management.

Leadership Webinar
To support the implementation of the six language principles, AAU offers a leadership webinar focusing on leadership in an international and parallel-language context.

The webinar provides managers with practical tools and inspiration for incorporating the language principles into their day-to-day leadership practice. Topics include supporting employees’ language development, onboarding international staff and leading international teams.

The webinar also provides an opportunity for managers to share experiences and exchange knowledge about good practices, challenges and solutions in creating an inclusive international working environment at AAU.

Read more and register here.