Independent University Newspaper
Copenhagen Business School

Popular searches:

Independent University Newspaper

Copenhagen Business School

Universities and industry in Denmark kick-start international brain gain

(Photo: Mette Koors)

Denmark’s students, universities and industry unite in a new national partnership with the aim of making it easier for international graduates to start their career in Denmark. Tom Dahl-Østergaard, the Dean’s Representative of International Talent Retention at CBS, has been appointed as one of two university representatives in the partnership.

News |   16. Jan 2019

Anne Thora Lykkegaard

Journalist

Encouraging more international graduates to start their career in Denmark is not only a concern for CBS and the other Danish universities. It’s also a concern for Danish industry.

The Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv), the Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk Industry), and the National Union of Students (Danske Studerendes Fællesråd) have come together in a new national partnership, in which Tom Dahl-Østergaard, the Dean’s Representative of International Talent Retention at CBS, together with Rikke Jønson, Career Consultant from Aalborg University, will be representing the eight Danish universities.

“This position is well in line with the job I’m doing at CBS already, and it’s an opportunity to do even more,” says Tom Dahl-Østergaard.

The new partnership aims to come up with recommendations for politicians, universities and industry in Denmark to make it easier and more interesting for international graduates to take up work here.

“We should not only decide that this is what we want to do, we also have to succeed with it,” he says and continues:

“And what I know now is that a lot of international students want to make Denmark their home, but have to leave because they can’t find a job. And that’s quite a paradox, given that the industry is crying out for more employees.”

We should not only decide that this is what we want to do, we also have to succeed with it

Tom Dahl-Østergaard, CBS

The partnership meet for the first time on February 1. In total, the partnership will have four meetings in the next four to five months, and will present their results at Folkemødet on Bornholm in summer.

Changing Denmark’s image

Tom Dahl-Østergaard explains that the partnership will look at the issue in a broader perspective, as the problem not only stems from the universities where the students get their degrees. But it’s a part of the problem.

“I know that students who are here on a visa run into trouble when their visa expires. I heard about a student from South Korea who wasn’t allowed to come to Denmark for the final exam. If we see a lot of these kinds of examples from the universities, we have a case for politicians to take a look at it,” he says and continues:

“But we also have to look at the graduates’ employability, and whether prejudice and misconceptions stand in the way of graduates getting employed.”

Tom Dahl-Østergaard argues that it will be a win-win situation if more international graduates decide to stay in Denmark, as more talented students from outside Denmark will view it as a place where you can start a career.

“If we can change the image of Denmark from a place where you just come and go, to a place where you actually have great possibilities of making a career, and you really do, then it will become even more attractive to do a degree here. That is, in my opinion, in Denmark’s interest,” says Tom Dahl-Østergaard.

According to Tom Dahl-Østergaard, the partnership will start by looking at the available data to see if more data is needed about the international graduates and their experiences of finding a job in Denmark.

“It’s likely that we will carry out some surveys together with the Confederation of Danish Industry, if our knowledge is patchy,” he says.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Universities and industry in Denmark kick-start international brain gainby

  • News

    Layoffs break the crucial trust between organisation and employee

    CBS is laying off a number of employees soon, which will affect our university in different ways. When employees are fired without having done anything wrong, it shatters the trust between the organisation and employees, while also taking a toll on productivity, according to a CBS expert. Layoffs also affect the ‘survivors’, who are forced to adapt to a changed workload and the loss of cherished colleagues.

  • News

    Here to help – at the touch of a button and at Campus Desk

    Exam anxiety? Lost student card? I’ve wedged my car between a Fiat 500 and a lamp post, can you help? You never know what you’ll be asked next. But that’s just how the Campus Desk team like it. And if they can’t fix your problem, they’ll know someone who can. CBS WIRE asked the team about the whole range of topics they advice on every day.

  • News

    Why so sudden? The CBS financial crisis explained

    Employees and union representatives have posed many questions in the wake of the 17 August announcement of a firing round. In this interview, University Director Arnold Boon explains how Senior Management has been working with the budget and a change of financial strategy since the fall of 2022, and why layoffs are now necessary.

  • Illustration: Ida Eriksen

    News

    Here’s what you need to know about the master’s reform

    The political parties behind the master’s reform have adjusted their original proposal to shorten or reorganize up to 50 percent of master’s programmes after pressure from CBS and the other Danish universities. Fewer shortened master’s and longer to implement changes are some important revisions to the reform. CBS’ president is pleased that the government and other parties behind the reform have listened to some of the critique given by the universities but raises concern about cutting more study places in bachelor’s programmes.

  • News

    CBS Quiz Time: Unraveling the success story

    A successful university environment such as CBS is often associated with academic pursuits, but campus life extends far beyond the classroom. At CBS Quiz Time, a student society motivated by creative thinking and social engagement, students join in a refreshing range of creativity, excitement, and social interaction. CBS WIRE talked to Celine Møller-Andersen to find out about the society’s vision, strategies and the factors that are driving its rapid expansion.

  • Gif of the week
  • Blog

    Uncertain times: Essential for business schools to understand their market

    The alliance of European business schools met at CBS in June to enhance recruitment strategies, stay informed on industry trends, and analyse where the global economy is heading. The CBS MBA Programmes shares some key take-aways from Associate Dean and Professor Jesper Rangvid’s presentation.

  • News

    Working hard all summer: Bachelor Admissions

    The employees in charge of bachelor admissions at CBS are a small exclusive team. They ensure the validity of diplomas and the fulfilment of entry requirements for bachelor’s degrees at CBS – and, not least, that the applicants get the necessary help to upload the right documentation and find their way around the application procedures.

Follow CBS students studying abroad

CBS WIRE collaborates with Videnskab.dk

Stay connected

Close