In what has become a joyful annual tradition, DTU President Anders Bjarklev and Martin Vigild, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs, this week visited all freshers' trips to personally welcome all the 2,045 new BEng and BSc students.
All over Denmark, a total of 26 DTU freshers' trips brought more than 2,000 future engineers together for five days across study programmes. The freshers' programme included speeches by the President and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs.
Against the backdrop of a beautiful sea view and a relaxed atmosphere, they talked about the benefits of exchange stays, extracurricular activities such as DTU's Blue Dot projects and the freedom of choice enjoyed by all DTU students to put together 25 per cent of their study programme.
They also stressed the importance of supporting and helping fellow students and emphasized that engineering students must remain hungry and curious, be creative and able to identify solutions. But the visit was mostly about saying hello and welcome.
"It means a lot to us that we can meet the new students in person," says President Anders Bjarklev, while Martin Vigild entertained the crowd on the lawn which minutes before had served as a frisbee field.
"We want to make them feel really welcome," he says. By meeting the new students, management will also gain valuable knowledge about why they have singled out our university. We thus get direct feedback on how the new students see us," he says.
Big rewards
The investment of spending five days crisscrossing Denmark is worth every single minute, says Martin Vigild.
"It's only fair that we spend a week meeting the people who have chosen to spend 3.5 or 5 years of their life at DTU. It is important to get off to a good start with your studies, and we are happy to invest in that. A good start is half of the success," he says, adding that it is also a fun-packed week.
At a personal level, it is a fun and positive experience to meet all the nice and enthusiastic students. Since spring, they have both been looking forward to meeting the new students personally, because it serves to emphasize that at DTU we respect each other, says President Anders Bjarklev:
"I am convinced that we will greet each other if we meet on campus. Which is just great. I believe it gives us the feeling that we are together and help each other. From top to bottom."