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Congratulations to 150 new engineering graduates

On Friday 21 August, five and a half years of study came to an end for a group of graduate engineers.

[Translate to English:] 150 nye civilingeniører er i sommeren 2015 dimitteret fra Aarhus Univeristet. Her ses en del af dem til dimission på Navitas (foto: Henrik Olsen)

Festive speeches and musical presentations marked the end of studies for the latest group of graduate engineers from Aarhus University, when they gathered with their families on Friday for their graduation at the Navitas Building.

Head of Department Thomas Toftegaard, Department of Engineering, officially farewelled the new Master of Science in Engineering (MSc.Eng) graduates, who are now ready for the job market.

“New graduates are our most important contribution to society. In the coming years, we’ll experience drastic changes, and technology will have an impact on virtually all areas of our personal life, business life and social life. You now have considerable responsibility because you’ll be playing a key role in that development. The world is at your feet if you want it. You have ideal conditions to build a career,” he said.

Many opportunities for new graduate engineers

Unemployment among recent engineering graduates is historically low in virtually all branches. The latest statistical forecast shows that Denmark will face a serious shortage of engineers in the next five years, in spite of increasing intakes of students for engineering degrees throughout Denmark.

This provides the new graduate engineers with particularly good opportunities on the job market, which was also highlighted by Jacob Høy Berthelsen, founder of Enversion A/S, who previously studied engineering at Aarhus University.

In his speech to the new graduates, he encouraged them to show great care and thoughtfulness when choosing a career.

“You’ve got numerous opportunities and loads of choices to make. You can easily follow the career paths planned for you by industry, but remember to think carefully about it. Find a job that you love, and one that matches your skills. That’s most important. And if you do so, you’ll come to change the world for the better as a group. You don’t have to be a CEO to have great influence,” he said.

Job market in constant change

A number of the new graduates already have jobs, and many of them expect to be part of a job market that is in a constant state of change.

Kun Zhu from China completed his MSc in Mechanical Engineering and will be working with fluid dynamics in the wind turbine branch.

“Technology is having an impact on our working areas all the time, which is why we must never stop learning,” he said.

Philip Weng studied Biomedical Technology and his field is also undergoing rapid development.

“I’m interested in capacity measurements of mechanical heart valves, and I’d like to work with research at a university or hospital, where you constantly keep up with the latest technological development. But I could also be interested in more traditional electronic engineering jobs that match my academic background from the MSc degree programme,” he said.

Stine Pedersen completed her MSc in Civil and Architectural Engineering with a thesis on Indoor Climate. She is also still making up her mind between a career in research or an industrial job.

“Our study model here at Aarhus University that involves taking a BSc and then working further on an MSc provides us with lots of options. I think it’s important that we make every effort to think through our choice of career,” she said.

Welcome to 140 new students

Friday 21 August was not only a day for saying farewell. The same morning, the university also welcomed 140 new students who have been admitted to one of AU Engineering’s seven MSc in Engineering degree programmes.

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