
Study Experience at Science
High school students have a strong focus on their careers when they are choosing a study programme. This is according to feedback from the country's study choice centres. Therefore, during this year's Study Experience in week 43, a whole morning has been allocated to focus on careers.
Once again this year, Science will open its doors to third-year high school students so that they can get an impression of the study programmes at the Faculty of Science. The young people will experience lectures, work in laboratories, talk to teachers and students and, as mentioned, get an insight into job opportunities and job security when they are choosing which direction to take.
At the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB), study experience is given high priority, and they know that direct contact with the study programmes is crucial for the students:
"During study experience, the future students have the chance to find out what it's like to be a student at BMB. We'll show them our laboratory facilities and present them with SDU as a place of study and life as a student, for instance by telling them about the academic world, student organisations and so on," explains the Head of Department at BMB, Peder Thusgaard Ruhoff.
The study environment plays a major role. Therefore, as something new this year, SDU is offering a joint after-study event with presentations, communal eating and offers from the different student organisations. The event will be held on Wednesday evening, which means it will be late when our guests finish the day's programme. Therefore, overnight accommodation in the SDU sports hall will be offered to those who have a long way to travel.
Peder Thusgaard Ruhoff knows that study experience is very important for the students in terms of matching of expectations:
"We are experiencing a tremendous amount of interest in study experience at BMB, but unfortunately we can't offer everybody a place because there are limits to the laboratory facilities at the department. If we could, we would like to accept more students, but then we wouldn't be able to give them as realistic a picture of the study programmes as we do now. It is important for us that the future students get to see as much of study life as possible during the three days of experience, and that they get a positive picture of SDU so that they can make the right decision about their future studies,"concludes Peder Thusgaard Ruhoff.
Friday morning will be designated for career presentations from both SDU Business and alumni from the different departments. Fortunately, Science has good news for the young people: Demand for graduates with a scientific background is expected to rise in the job market. And Science graduates have higher levels of employment, and it is easier for them to find a job than other academic groups.
Study experience is without doubt one of the meetings between Science and young people which has the greatest effect. We see up to 30% of the participants at study start the following year. However, it is just one of many initiatives provided by Science every year as part of matching expectations with the future students. In February, there is Open House, where everyone is invited to SDU to hear more about the study programmes. During the periods when studies are underway, the future students can become Student for a Day, when they have the opportunity to follow a Science student's daily life at SDU. From 2017, Quota 2 admission will also be introduced. Quota 2 applicants must sit a UNItest before being accepted into SDU. All of this happens so that the individual student is best matched to the right study programme.