According to recently published enrolment figures for Danish universities, interest in DTU's engineering programs is on the rise among Denmark's young people across a number of metrics.
DTU can offer places to 2,202 new students, which is 4 percent more than last year. At the same time, more than 3,300 applicants listed DTU as their first choice, the highest number ever.
"It is very encouraging that so many young people want to pursue an engineering degree. Engineers play a crucial role in the green transition, technological development, and strengthening of Denmark's competitiveness. Therefore, it is encouraging that interest in DTU's education programmes continues to grow, and that 81% of our programmes are already full following the main admissions round," says Lars D. Christoffersen, Senior Vice President and Dean of Studies and Student Affairs at DTU.
The increase is primarily due to growing interest in the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) programs. DTU received 7% more applications for these programs than last year, meaning that 899 students have been offered a spot, compared to 812 last year.
Denmark is missing out on talent
Unfortunately, it is not possible to increase the number of study places in the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSc Eng) programs due to political agreements regarding the redistribution of study places and sector-specific capacity limits.
Consequently, DTU has only been able to offer places to 1,303 students in the BSc Eng programs, compared to 1,297 last year, and is therefore, as in previous years, experiencing far greater demand than it is able to meet, says Lars D. Christoffersen:
"We find ourselves in a situation where society is requesting more engineers, and where companies lack candidates with technical expertise. At the same time, we see that young people are eager to tackle the challenges society faces and are, in fact, pursuing precisely the degree programs that the business community and society are requesting candidates from. I must admit that it is becoming increasingly difficult to explain why we have to turn away so many qualified applicants to DTU's bachelor of science programs."