For example, some can specialize in precision fermentation. This is a technology that uses microorganisms to produce food ingredients and medicine, among other things. Graduates with this specialization are in high demand in the job market, and often have job contracts in hand before they finish their final master’s theses.
In future, it will be difficult for our students to specialize if the Danish government reduces our two-year Master’s programmes to one year.
For the first time in two centuries, Danish universities are being asked to educate less. This is probably the worst possible way to face the future.
Our job market reflects society’s technological development. More and more companies need employees with knowledge of digitalization, big data, programming, automated solutions such as robots, and now increasingly also quantum technology.
It’s a good thing that technology enables us to solve more problems, but it also increases the complexity of many jobs, which in turn increases demands on employee skills.
Instead of shortening the five-year education of civil engineers and inventing a new four-year programme, we could look at the BEng programme.
Today, BEng students spend three and a half years getting ready for the labour market. They are in demand, just like our graduates from DTU’s Master of Science in Engineering programmes.
Let's stick with what we know works.
At a time when employers demand highly qualified employees, we should not be producing less educated graduates.
