On 19 August 1969 the Aalborg University Association was founded and a planning group was established with Eigil Hastrup as chairman.

The same year in December, about 1,000 people from North Jutland demonstrated in front of the Folketinget (the Danish Parliament) for their cause.

On 1 September 1974, Aalborg University Center (AUC) was inaugurated by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Jørgen Weibull was replaced by Sven Caspersen as rector of Aalborg University Center (AUC) in 1976.

The North Jutland knowledge park was established in 1989 as a neighbor to Aalborg University Center (AUC).

[citation needed] Aalborg University differentiates itself from the older and more traditional Danish universities with its focus on interdisciplinary, inter-faculty studies; an experimental curriculum based on an interdisciplinary basic course with subsequent specialisation; a pedagogical structure based on problem-centred, real-life projects of educational and research relevance – which internationally has become known and recognised as The Aalborg Model.

With the problem-based, project-organised model, semesters at AAU are centred around complex real-life problems which students attempt to find answers to in a scientific manner while working together in groups.

Since the merger, the number of applicants for Aalborg University Esbjerg has risen steadily and therefore there have been a need for extensions of the physical environment in several stages.

The library's primary mission is to support research and education at Aalborg University by providing appropriate information and documentation.

[21] Aalborg University Press was founded in 1978 and it focuses on political science, sociology, media and cultural studies.

Furthermore, AAU has established a research centre for health technology at Xi'an Jiaotong University in China.

[24] AAU has always adopted a cross-disciplinary, problem-based approach to research which often requires contributions from a number of scientific disciplines.

[citation needed] The aim of the ECIU is to create a European network where participating universities can exchange experiences and practices in projects in education, research, and regional development.