Denmark needs to attract even more international students as both DTU and the industry need them, writes DTU President Anders Bjarklev in a column.
DTU has students from more than 100 countries and almost half of the master's students are international. Photo: Vibeke Hempler
Wednesday 19 April 2023
Anders Overgaard Bjarklev
Column by Anders Bjarklev, President at DTU. Published in Frederiksborg Amts Avis and on sn.dk on 19.04.2023.
Denmark needs to attract more international students. The government’s latest proposal on future university education involves allocating DKK 100 million to establish 1,100 English-taught study places a year until 2028 and then 2,500 study places a year from 2029. This is an excellent ambition which I can only support.
Because we need international students, both at DTU and in the labour market where, as the Danish Society of Engineers’ forecasts show, we will lack 13,000 IT and engineering graduates by 2030.
At DTU we are proud to be an international university. We have students from 114 countries and almost half of our master’s students and 60 per cent of our PhD students come from other countries. For a small country like Denmark, it is important to have a global outlook. Indeed, many of our companies are global and we have foreign workers in virtually all our industries. Talent knows no borders, and neither do the challenges we have to surmount—whether it is the climate crisis, the energy crisis, or the green transition.
Great investment
Danish businesses need a highly specialized labour force, which can be difficult to find in sufficient numbers among Danish graduates. The movement of international students allows businesses to recruit from a broad group of potential candidates, and large companies such as Novozymes and Topsøe have long since realized this. Novozymes visits trade fairs in Spain and other countries to recruit talented young people, and Topsoe invites international PhD students to visit. And whereas young Danish people are often drawn to the big cities, for many foreigners Denmark is such a small country that it does not make much difference whether you work in Hillerød or Kalundborg, because the capital is only a short train ride away.
In the debate about foreign students, we sometimes forget all the benefits that come from having an international outlook. Instead, we often focus on the fact that it is expensive to pay state grants to students if they leave Denmark after they graduate. But the latest figures show that we do not have to be so afraid of foreign students packing their bags and taking their knowledge abroad. Four out of ten of DTU’s international graduates still live in Denmark after 13 years, which is good for Denmark’s economy. On average, each student makes a profit for Danish society of DKK 2.9 million over 13 years, even after expenses for student grants and the healthcare system have been deducted—and this average covers both those who stay and work and those who leave Denmark. In other words, attracting international students is good business for Denmark. It is also worth noting that not a single Danish student at DTU has been rejected for the sake of an international student.
Master's programmes shouldn't be shortened
Despite the government’s positive ambitions on the international front in the new proposal, it also plans to reduce the length of the master’s programme to one year. This, I fear, will reduce the skill level of future engineers. Recently, I received a message from a Dane living in Switzerland, where he is responsible for research and development in a major medical company. He explained that the Swiss education system operates with shorter master’s programmes, like the ones Denmark plans to introduce. For that reason, he excludes many Swiss candidates and instead hires foreign specialists because they are better qualified. The company would not be able to function if he only employed Swiss candidates.
At the same time, it is very likely that a one-year master’s programme will deter international students from coming to Denmark because they will end up with an MSc that is one year shorter than in other European countries, where for years efforts have been made to create comparable degrees across borders.
Important competitive advantage
The proposal may also affect our Danish students’ global outlook. Around a fourth of DTU’s postgraduate alumni have been studying abroad, and from what I hear, seeing how people in other parts of the world do things gives them valuable experience and a different perspective. It can help create solutions across borders. At the same time, international experience is an important competitive advantage when they go out to find their first job, and there will hardly be time for a period of study abroad if the master’s programmes are shortened.
If we want to meet the aims of attracting more international students while also having Danish students with a global perspective, it is essential that we do not make cuts to the master’s programmes—especially not in engineering, where the industry demands highly specialized skills.
Our knowledge here in Denmark extends far out into the world. Let us continue to invite the world in as well.
