Bevica Scholarship Programme

How can we create an inclusive society for all?

Bevica Fonden invites students and lecturers at Danish universities, university colleges and design schools to take part in the Bevica Scholarship Programme.

The programme supports innovative and bold thinkers to investigate how their profession can contribute to the development of universal design as a lever for the pledge in the Sustainable Development Goals to Leave No One Behind in the journey towards a more inclusive and sustainable society for all – regardless of ability.

Our society needs to be more inclusive in many areas and arenas. Products, environments, programmes, and services are designed for idealised average persons and use – supporting some and leaving others behind.

This scholarship programme calls for multidisciplinary action, in the quest to acknowledge that living with different and changing abilities, permanent or temporary, is a human condition we all share, and that all aspects of our society should accommodate for this.

Why a Scholarship?

The primary aim of the Bevica Scholarship Programme is to inspire and encourage students and lecturers across all disciplines to acquire and create new research-based knowledge about Universal design as a lever for the pledge to Leave No One Behind in a Danish context. This new innovative knowledge can shed light on the current challenges facing society to secure full and equal inclusion for everyone, regardless of ability, in all aspects of daily life. Moreover, it will point to new ways and solutions to secure the pledge to Leave No One Behind in the sustainable journey towards Agenda 2030 and beyond.

Furthermore, the ambition of the scholarship is to stimulate an increase in teaching and curricula development within Universal design at Danish universities, design schools and university colleges.

The Bevica Scholarship Programme thus encourages passionate and talented students and lecturers from a wide range of disciplines – from social service professions and humanities to political sciences, law, IT, design and beyond – to engage in a joint quest to create a sustainable and inclusive society by embracing differences and leaving no one behind.

Under the Bevica Scholarship Programme, Bevica Fonden will send up to 15 students and up to five lecturers on an international journey of investigation to create new knowledge and innovative ideas.

Who can participate?

The Bevica Scholarship Programme offers two categories of participation:

Students

Participating students must be enrolled as students at a Danish research-based university, university college or design school. To qualify for participation, students must have completed at least the 3rd semester of their education before February 2023.

Students from all disciplines can participate.

Lecturers

Participating lecturers must be employed at a Danish research-based university, university college, or design school.

To qualify for participation, one must be able to document active teaching activities within the past two years before February 2023.

Lecturers from all disciplines can participate.

When is it?

The Bevica Scholarship Programme runs every second year, with the first programme from autumn 2022 to autumn 2024.

Scholarship Programme of to a great start

Spirits were high and ideas were filling the air, as students and lecturers from institutions across Denmark joined the first Bevica Scholarship Programme Ideation Workshop.

The group assembled in Korsør to meet each other for the first time, and get an introduction to the Scholarship Programmes goals and core concepts.

The participants had input from experts from a range of disciplines and attended hands on workshops to get a better understanding of different tools as well as their own roles, bias, knowledge production and representation.

Thank you to all that attended, we look forward to see you again in March.

Join us on the journey to equality

Words from the Chairman

Thomas Sinkjær – Chairman of Bevica Fonden and the Bevica Scholarship Programme Jury:

“Access and inclusion are pre-requisites for full participation in every aspect of our daily lives.

The concept of Universal design is based on a human view that recognises that living with different abilities is the common human condition and not a minority issue. There is an urgent need for more knowledge, research, and teaching, across all professions and sectors, if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal’s obligation to Leave No One Behind – and all professions are needed in the process.

The Bevica Scholarship Programme will contribute to a long-term strengthening of focus on, and knowledge of, Universal design and the Leave No One Behind agenda across multiple academic fields and professions.”

100 Participants joins Bevica Scholarship Programme 2023-24

100 students and lecturers from academic institutions across Denmark, has signed up for the Bevica Scholarship Programme 2023-24.

The participants come from a wide range of academic fields and disciplines.

The Scholarsship Programme asks the question: How do we create a more inclusive society embracing everyone, regardless of ability?

A kick off workshop in early february will start the process for the participating students and lecturers to ideate and define a relevant problem statement to answer these questions.

In May 20 participants will be shortlisted for the final by the international jury.

Bevica Fonden celebrates 150 years at the Royal Danish Academy

Bevica Fonden marked its 150th anniversary on November 3, 2022. A total of 350 people came to share in the celebration with us. The day was filled with engaging debates with experts and key debaters. The main topic of debate was: How can we create an inclusive society for all?

The event was completed with the announcement of the Bevica Scholarship Programme, which will carry on the discussion. The hosts for the launch were Thomas Sinkjær, Chairman of Bevica Fonden, and Anders Bjarklev, Principal of the Technical University of Denmark.

International jury

International experts join the jury

An international jury has been set up consisting of recognised experts from research or practice within the core themes of the Bevica Scholarship Programme: Universal design, Leave No One Behind, inclusion, disability, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The chairman of the jury is Thomas Sinkjær, Dr.med. and PhD, Chairman of the Bevica Fonden Board, Professor at the Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, and Secretary General of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.