Aarhus University wants all students to have the chance of a good academic life, and therefore established AU Elitesport in 2011.

In June 2011, there were 65 associated students, 14 of whom were associated with Team Danmark. In December 2018, this number had grown to 290 associated students, of whom 56 were associated with Team Denmark.

AU Elitesport is continuously working to generate even greater general awareness of, and provision for, elite athletes’ educational opportunities by entering into the relevant collaborative relationships, development projects and research with relevant local, national and international partners within Dual Career. 

In 2019, AU Elitesport was part of a European research project and highlighted as a successful Dual Career Development Environment. You can read the article published in Psychology of Sport & Exercise here. 

The main priority area for AU Elitesport is to optimise and highlight elite athletes’ educational situation at Aarhus University, so they can pursue their athletic ambitions without missing out on their education and a career alongside sport. Elite athletes affiliated with AU Elitesport on average win more than one medal at DM level or higher per year.

The fact that the combination between elite sports and education is not an obstacle to sporting results is also highlighted in the analysis created by AU Elitesport in collaboration with Team Denmark and the Sports Confederation of Denmark. Two-thirds of Danish Olympic and World Championship medals in 2016 were won by elite athletes who were also studying for a degree. In fact, Aarhus University students alone accounted for 22 per cent of all the medals awarded to Denmark. 

The ambition is that more elite athletes carry out an education alongside the sporting career. At AU Elitesport there are associated athletes from 42 different sports, who study 51 different educational programs at Aarhus University.

Having an elite sports career and university studies at the same time is not a limitation for achieving satisfying results in both areas. The analysis conducted during the Olympics 2016 shows that students perform better than they should in terms of the proportion of the athletes at the Olympics. In addition, AU Elitesport's studies among the athletes associated with AU Elitesport show that it is possible at the same time to graduate in a university study despite a dual career.