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Danish universities among the best at producing employable graduates

Christian Wenande
November 22nd, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

KU and DTU among top four Nordic universities on the 2016 Global University Employability Ranking

KU and DTU on the rise (photo: DTU)

The University of Copenhagen (KU) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have both been ranked among the top 100 universities in the world for delivering work-ready graduates by THE (Times Higher Education).

KU moved up one spot to 51st on the THE’s 2016 Global University Employability Ranking compared to the previous year, while DTU took a massive leap from 112th to 76th this year.

KU was ranked the top Nordic university on the index (see here in English), followed by Stockholm University (ranked 62 overall), University of Helsinki (73), DTU and Lund University (78).

Complex eligibility requirements
The Global University Employability Ranking is based on survey results from 3,450 CEOs in international companies, who agreed that a candidate’s job eligibility consists of a mix of job-related competencies such as relevant experience, high degrees of specialisation, and at least two foreign languages.

The CEOs also focused on ‘softer’ values such as attitude and behaviour, which impact an individual’s conduciveness to adapting, communication and teamwork.

The top 10 of the ranking was dominated by US universities. California Institute of Technology topped the ranking, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Cambridge and Stanford University completed the top five.

Yale University, University of Oxford, Technical University of Munich, Princeton University and University of Tokyo rounded out the top 10.

READ MORE: DTU remains the most innovative Nordic university

Not so jagged alliance
In related news, KU revealed that it has been invited to join the prestigious strategic university research alliance League of European Research Universities (LERU). The membership will give KU more influence over EU decision makers and better opportunities to in terms of attracting funding from the EU. KU will become the first Danish university to join the exclusive alliance on January 1.

“The University has a strong tradition of international cooperation. The LERU network is an important step towards having more influence at EU level and being heard by decision-makers in Brussels,” said Ralf Hemmingsen, KU’s rector.

“Our researchers are already quite skilled at obtaining research funds from the EU, however, we think that this alliance can make us even stronger. By working together, learning from and sharing knowledge with the other European universities we can heighten the impact of our research and educational activities in Denmark and globally.”


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”