Column by Anders Bjarklev, President of DTU. Published in Altinget on 27.02.2025.
The geopolitical crisis we are currently experiencing clearly shows why highly specialized labour is one of the most important human resources available to us as a country:
- Russia could be ready for a large-scale war on the European continent in five years. This is according to a new analysis from the Danish Defence Intelligence Service.
- According to the government, this means that Denmark needs to be equipped to defend itself as quickly as possible. This requires billions of investments in high-tech equipment that Danish companies will have to supply.
- In order to develop and scale up production, you need top-drawer technical skills. Highly specialised labour is needed.
- And that's where the chain breaks for me...
While the government has woken up when it comes to upgrading the Danish Defence, its education policy is blind to the fact that Denmark needs a well-educated workforce that can handle a massive upscaling of production. This is reflected in the government's plans for the Bachelor of Engineering programmes.
Instead of educating more engineers, which Denmark needs when it comes to everything from defence to climate protection, the government plans to shorten the Bachelor of Engineering programmes by 15 ECTS credits, equivalent to two months of full time studies. In the long run, this will result in a less competent labour force and, consequently, poorer conditions for Denmark to solve the current and future crises.
An unsustainable situation
At a recent press conference at the Prime Minister's Office, Mette Frederiksen (S) said that "Russia produces more defence equipment in three months than NATO does in a year."
The situation is unsustainable, and to speed things up, Denmark must spend more than three percent of its GDP on defence by 2025. This will mean massive investments, a rapid scale-up of defence equipment production, and an urgent need to be at the forefront of technology.
There is a need for technical labour with skills in areas such as mathematics and IT that contribute to the development of new defence technology.
Graduate engineers bring these skills to the table and are being hired at a record pace these days - in companies that produce defence technology, for example. During the first two years, the unemployment rate for newly qualified engineers is as low as 3.1 per cent.
This week, Christiansborg is negotiating a reform of the country's professional education programmes, and the plan is to shorten their length.The goal is to improve the major welfare programmes with shorter courses and more teaching, but the 3.5-year Bachelor of Engineering programme is included in the pool, even though it is one of the country's most successful.
The programme contains everything the government is calling for in its reform initiative: practice-oriented, tightly packed courses, specialisation in areas such as mathematics, IT and construction, a labour market approach with an integrated internship in a company, and a final project that 87 percent of DTU's students do in close collaboration with a company.
If the political plans to shorten the Bachelor of Engineering programmes go through, it means that there will be less time for the final project course. Even though we know that this programme is crucial for later job creation.
Defence policy and education policy are interlinked
If the government's top priority is to best equip the country for the crises we face now and in the future, there is a need for a more holistic approach to each policy area.
In recent years, the government has shown great awareness that defence policy is no longer a limited area. The world situation requires that the direction of defence policy is also reflected in other policy areas, such as energy policy and climate policy. For example, we need to consider the risk of an attack when building new green infrastructure.
Similarly, the government should prioritize the quality and capacity of the education programmes that provide the workforce necessary for Denmark to defend itself here and now and in the future.
In the ongoing negotiations, my hope is that the politicians will listen to the university sector and look at the overall political picture. The current plans to shorten the Bachelor of Engineering programmes are a political misfire. It's out of touch with the international crisis we find ourselves in.
The good news is that there is still time to re-evaluate the decision.
