Minister: All Danish students should go abroad

23/01-12 kl. 09:15 Politics

Immatriculation Lars Juul Hauschildt 2010

Photo: Lars Juul Hauschildt Danish student at the immatriculation ceremony in 2010. A requirement for them to study abroad may meet resistance

A term of study at a foreign university should be obligatory for all Danish students. This is according to the Minister of Education, who repeats an idea from the former government that was resisted by students and universities

by Mike Young

All Danish students should be required to study abroad. This is according to Minister for Education Morten Østergaard (Social Liberal Party) on news sites Seven59.dk and B.dk.

If Denmark wants to become a ‘major player’ in global competition, students need to acquire new knowledge and experience.

»My vision is for all Danish students in higher education to study abroad for at least part of the time,« he says.

Danes don't want to go

A so-called ‘taxameter’ subsidy introduced in 2008 means that Danish students in effect have DKK 100,000 at their disposal for tuition fees, should they choose to travel abroad to study. They can also apply for a number of grants.

Yet Danes are reticent in taking a semester or year abroad.

In 2011, for example more than 6,100 foreign exchange students came to Danish universities while only 4,500 Danish students went on exchange the other way. This was recently the root of discord between the University of Copenhagen and the Minsitry then responsible for education, with the University being forced to balance its own incoming and outgoing numbers in coming years.

New minister, same proposal

A 2009 study showed that three quarters of all Danish students who opt out of an overseas adventure do so because they want to stay close to family, friends or their partner.

62 percent gave up because of lack of information and support from the Danish students’ home university, and point to bureaucracy and red tape.

The minister's proposal is not new. It was also presented by the previous minister Charlotte Sahl-Madsen, who also suggested making study abroad obligatory for Danish university students, but then met resistance from universities. Universities are not travel agents, the Head of the International Office then said in response to the proposal.

To hold talks with unis

The Minister Morten Østergaard said he would be holding talks with universities and colleges in an effort to make learning outside Denmark’s borders less complicated.

The new initiative is welcomed by educators. Jens Oddershede, spokesman for Denmark’s Universities, said it was in everybody’s interests to encourage students to seek more all-round, useful skills, according to Seven59.dk.

miy@adm.ku.dk

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2 comments

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25/01-12 kl. 20:00 KU lektor:

Danish students abroad

I don't realistically see how the minister, the government or the university can force Danish students to study abroad. Students should be encouraged to at least consider going abroad (e.g. the Erasmus programme) for 6 months to take courses or perform a research project. Having said that, it has always been a bit of a mystery to me as to why so few Danish students take advantage of this possibility. I have had many Erasmus students come from other EU countries to conduct a research project with me at KU and also to take courses here. It is really a pity that the one-way flow of students (more coming in than Danes going out) is jeopardizing the Erasmus programmes at Danish universities. The influx of foreign students, who have all been very hard working and engaging students, is a definite plus to the research, education and social environment here at KU. Maybe Danish students are satisfied with the education possibilities in Denmark or are afraid of studying in a foreign country, with language concerns being an issue for them.
In spite of this unbalanced flow of students, I think that the government should still fund incoming EU students. In the overall scheme of the government budget, it does not cost very much (e.g. compared to Danish military expenses!) but the benefits are big.

24/01-12 kl. 11:20 Batzul Gerelsaikhan:

Great idea

Every decision is met with some amount of complaints, but people will understand that it is good in long term

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