More international students are a priority for Denmark, with the government seeking to add 400 new spots on degrees taught in English, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science said on Monday.
The proposal is part of a broader range of changes to the higher education system which are scheduled to be presented next week.
Specifically, the coalition government wants 400 new places on business and vocational degrees.
“It’s absolutely crucial for us as a society to be able to attract qualified labour from abroad. It helps to protect a red-hot labour market and contributes very well to our economy,” higher education minister Christina Egelund said in a press statement.
Specific subjects which could be given additional spots under the scheme include all STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
That will encompass degree programmes in particular demand at Danish businesses which have low unemployment rates and where existing employment of new graduates is high, the ministry said.
The ministry said that its hope is that the vast majority of international students who take places on the English-taught courses will stay in Denmark to continue their careers after graduation.
The Social Democratic minority government, in office in 2021, decided that year to cut the number of degrees taught in English in Denmark. The party has now reversed that policy as part of the coalition.
Egelund said that one of the reasons previously given for reducing international programmes – the cost to the Danish state of paying the state student grant, SU, to eligible foreign students such as EU nationals – would be offset by placing the 400 new spots in areas with high demand in the Danish business sector.
“Overall, this is very good business for our country,” she said.
“For example, I know that in Sønderborg [border city in South Jutland, ed.] some local businesses are so prepared to put themselves on the line that they are guaranteeing international students jobs when they finish their STEM studies,” she said.
The cost to the government of the 400 new places in the form of SU payments is estimated to be around 20 million kroner per year, the minister stated.
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