On Tuesday, DTU submitted its plan to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science to meet the requirements set out in the political agreement “More and better educational opportunities throughout Denmark”.
The consequences for DTU are that six percent of the study places at DTU’s main campuses in Lyngby and Ballerup will relocate to other parts of the country by 2030. At the same time, the latest forecast by the engineering association IDA predicts that Denmark will experience a shortage of 6,500 engineers by 2025.
DTU will continually create the desired study places in other parts of the country. At the same time, DTU wants to meet the needs of society and businesses for engineers and will therefore continue to admit approximately 5,000 students annually on the main campus until 2030.
”We face an enormous task relating to the green transition and we need skilled, qualified engineers here and now. By carrying on admitting the full number of students at DTU’s main campuses, while also creating new study programmes in other parts of the country, we ensure that DTU educates the engineers, which society needs,” says President Anders Bjarklev.
Maintaining a high level of quality
According to the plan, every year until 2029 DTU will admit approximately 5,000 students annually at its main campuses.After this date, admissions will be reduced according to the relocation plan.
The study places that will be relocated to the rest of the country by 2030, will be placed in Kalundborg, Hirtshals and Risø, where DTU already has established research and study environments.
This will ensure that the high quality of the study programmes is maintained. It will also ensure that the programmes stay anchored in DTU’s research activities and ensure they stay close connected to the business community.
”It has been vitally important to find solutions where we do not compromise on the quality of our study programmes. The placement of the study places will enable us to continually attract and educate the best students for the benefit of society,” says Anders Bjarklev.
DTU will continue to work towards creating digital study programmes, where it is possible to take most of the course no matter where in the country or the world you live.
Furthermore, DTU is in the process of establishing residential colleges in Skive, on Bornholm and in Rødby. In these locations, a close connection to large construction projects such as Energy Island Bornholm and the Fehmarnbelt tunnel bring students and local companies closer together.
The number of study places that will relocate to other parts of the country equates to 6% of the student admissions on DTU’s main campuses in 2019. The political agreement has set aside 30 million to complete the project.
