By Torben Haugaard Jensen, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.
Foto: Nielda Fauerskov Jørgensen and personal photos

They couldn't make it on time.

Several MSc students at Aarhus Business School found it difficult to complete their final paper – even though they had six months. 

100 pages. It had to be manageable, said Folke Bjerg, who held a BSc in Economics and Business Administration from Aalborg and had come to Aarhus for his Master's degree. 

He decided to give it a go and write his main paper during the summer holiday between the second and third semesters.

Five days a week, he was holed up in the library – writing. In 40 days, he was at the finish line.   

Folke’s commitment and discipline are characteristic of the mindset in the BSc programme in Economics and Business Administration in Aalborg: Time is precious, so be efficient and start writing from day 1. 

Time was especially important during the project work. 

"You showed up every day at 8.00 – not at 8.15. Otherwise, you’d end up in bad standing with your fellow students. Because if you didn't do your best, you would have a hard time getting into the next group," says Folke Bjerg.

Responsibility for the community

Folke Bjerg benefited greatly from the disciplined working method he learned during the Bachelor’s programme in Economics and Business Administration, both personally and professionally.

He is a former accountant and co-owner of an accounting firm. In 1972, he started in the first class of the Economics and Business Administration programme in Aalborg along with 65 other students. 

At the time, the BSc in Economics and Business Administration was at the Copenhagen Business School, but two years later it was integrated into the newly established Aalborg University Centre. 

Finn Mogensen was also in the first graduating class of the BSc programme in Economics and Business Administration. He agrees that time played a significant role in the programme. The students became very dependent on each other, both in terms of time and academically when they wrote projects together. 

At the time, group work was a new and exciting way of working for Finn. By the time he graduated, he had learned something important.

"It was not only about responsibility for your own learning, but also for the community. The group work required that you were committed and disciplined. The experience of working together meant a lot to me when I entered the labour market," says Finn Mogensen who later founded a textile company with his brother.

Reunion after 50 years

Finn Mogensen and Folke Bjerg recently had the opportunity to refresh old memories from their student days. 

AAU hosted a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the class of 1975 from the BSc programme in Economics and Business Administration. 

One of the organizers of the event was Olav Jull Sørensen, Professor Emeritus of International Business Economics and one of the initiators of the BSc in Economics and Business Administration in the 1970s.

He taught the first class of students, not least how to write projects based on real problems.  

The teaching helped lay the foundation for the close link between theory and practice which is a distinctive feature of Aalborg University.

"This group of students got the first dose of problem-based learning. It was a pleasure to see them again and hear what they’ve been doing all these years. They clearly benefited greatly from what they learned in the programme. It’s important to pass on these experiences to both current and future economics and business administration students," says Olav Jull Sørensen.

Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs