IT SPECIALISTS: DENMARKBUT NOT QUANTITY PRODUCES QUALITY

EDUCATION: Denmark produces only 550 IT graduates annually. Although the courses are of high quality, they turn out far too few graduates

Denmark is aiming to be among the worldleading IT nations, and to excel at creating value with IT. That is why the IT University of Copenhagen was established, and in its six years of existence it has turned out around 800 graduates.

“In Denmark we produce around 550 MSc graduates in IT each year from universities and institutions of higher education,” says head of research Jørgen Staunstrup at the IT University of Copenhagen. “Our share of the total is 250. But it is still far too few to cover the needs which we know will develop in a few years. It is one of Denmark’s great challenges. If we do not produce more IT graduates, we risk lagging behind and weakening our global competitiveness.”

Capable Indians

The shortage of qualified IT experts has led increasing numbers of Danish companies to swing their attention onto India, whose conscious focus on training software experts has resulted in Danish companies bringing more than 300 IT experts to Denmark.

“I am very impressed with India’s IT people who are amazingly knowledgeable, and are known here in Denmark for delivering faultless results, on time and at the agreed price. Everything goes so smoothly and they are amazingly good at structuring their work. Their sheer number makes them able to handle even the largest projects – and they implement them with high quality,” says Jørgen Staunstrup.

Informal environment

Despite the differences in IT environments, Jørgen Staunstrup thinks that Denmark can still teach India something.

“In Denmark we are good at small projects which do not necessarily require large, formal organisations,” he says. “Our very informal way of doing things, which seen from the outside can be perceived as slightly chaotic, requires considerable independence and innovation. It might be that we are not so structured, but amazingly good results come from our way of working.”

Currently 35 Indians are among the 1,200 students at the IT University of Copenhagen. To gain admission, students must have a bachelor degree from another university. Since the IT University of Copenhagen was established, it has accepted students with more than 100 different bachelor degrees.

Professional networks

The IT University of Copenhagen has six MSc programmes: Design, Communication and Media, E-business, Internet and Software Technology, Multimedia Technology, Software Development, and Cross Disciplinary IT Development. The university also conducts research in computer games, context dependent mobile communication and software production.

“When Indian students complete their studies and return home or move on to another country, they help to spread the experience they have gained in Denmark. It is personal relations which create professional networks, which we also benefit from,” says Staunstrup.