Blog: MIT students seek Danish companies
More than 100 active applications from MIT students looking to intern at Danish companies testifies to strong interest. There is room for even more companies in Denmark’s country programme with one of the world’s best universities, writes General Manager Louis Funder, DI USA.
Again and again, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) takes first place in rankings of the world’s best universities. If you add together the value of all start-up companies owned by currently living MIT graduates, it would be equivalent to the world’s eleventh-greatest economy.
These are among the reasons why the flying start to the new MIT-Denmark country programme is cause for celebration.
Over 60 MIT students came along to the first information meeting on campus about career opportunities at Danish companies. It’s possible that the Danish smørrebrød served at the event was a selling point for hungry students, but they were clearly even hungrier for job opportunities, given that more than 100 active applications have since been collected from MIT students seeking to intern at Danish companies.
See also: Off they go: Young Danes attracted to careers in other countries
At the other end, around 25 Danish companies have expressed interest in receiving students for a partially-financed internship. Internships take place in Denmark, and their duration is agreed upon individually by the company and student. The first internships will take place in the summer of 2019.
In the short term, it will hopefully inspire both students and companies so even more Danish companies take on talented interns. In the long term, it will hopefully allow participating companies to generate closer ties to the Boston area when it comes to talent recruitment and business development.
The country programme has already helped bring Denmark and career opportunities at Danish companies into focus. As part of the programme, various events and activities will be organised at MIT throughout the year to promote that development.
It is a platform that DI will continue to build upon in coming years with the overarching goal of increasing recruitment of the highly qualified employees that many Danish companies are seeking.
MIT is responsible for the daily administration of the country programme. Companies interested in learning more about the programme or joining can start by contacting Linda Duncan Wendelboe (lidw@di.dk) or Louis Funder (lfk@di.dk).
FACTS
The country programme is a cooperation between the Confederation of Danish Industry and MIT, with support from the Danish Industry Foundation, that aims to strengthen ties between the Danish business community and the university within the specialty fields of engineering, life science and architecture.
