A positive encounter with university life makes a difference

Dear colleagues,

Last week, there was even more life than usual in the corridors as SDU hosted this year’s study placement programme. At the Faculty of Science, the two days included lectures, laboratory exercises and presentations by our own students. We welcomed a total of 248 high school students and graduates on their gap year from across Denmark, with 24 taking part in Vejle and 224 in Odense. This means that we continue to see the same strong interest in the programme as in previous years.

In addition to the activities on campus, SDU hosted a range of social activities in the city on Wednesday evening, including a Walk & Talk, a presentation by BoligØen, and a quiz and informal get-together at Storms Pakhus.

This year, my own daughter took part in the study placement programme too, unfortunately not at the Faculty of Science, but at the Faculty of Humanities. It was fun to observe her preparations for the two days and to hear her talk about her experiences afterwards. There is no doubt that wearing the right clothes, in her case from second-hand shops, and bringing the right bag are important.

She was very keen to experience the different forms of teaching. What does it mean, for example, to be taught source criticism at university? She had hoped to see some of the historical sources in person. She had imagined they were stored somewhere in the basement at SDU, but no. Space at SDU is too limited, so she had to make do with the texts. That was absolutely fine, though, because the lecturer was fantastic, took the young people very seriously and gave them feedback on their assignments.

She also joined the social activities and, best of all, she made two new friends who share her interests. They have agreed to stay in touch. That is quite an achievement, and she now feels far more motivated to apply to university, although not to study the same subject as I did.

A great deal of work goes into ensuring that prospective students have access to accurate information, and not just during the study placement programme. It is therefore particularly pleasing that SDU’s new study programme webpages were launched in the very same week. This is probably the biggest overhaul of our study programme webpages in the past 10 years, and it has taken more than a year and a half to get this far. Many people have been involved, both at the departments and in the faculty administration

It is also very clear from the new pages that the master’s degree reform is on its way. Although not all new degree programmes have yet been approved, students need information about the new master’s programmes so they know what to expect. Take a look at the pages yourself. I think they form an impressive new online environment that is easy to navigate and provides relevant information.

Yesterday, I was asked whether we should continue putting so much effort into attracting students. The answer is yes. It remains extremely important. We want to attract talented students who are motivated to study. With smaller cohorts of young people in the years ahead and a lack of political support for admitting international students, we need to provide interesting and relevant outreach activities.

Competition for students is fierce, and there are many stories circulating about university degree programmes. For example, much of the decline in applications to Computer Science is attributed to claims that computer scientists will not be needed in the future. This is despite the rapid advance of AI and the challenges facing national IT security.

I am very pleased that my daughter came home with a positive impression of SDU and an even stronger desire to go to university. And if she does end up choosing the humanities, I am actually quite certain that we will need graduates from every discipline in the future.

Marianne Holmer, Dean