Thursday 26 January marked the end of an era for a record number of new engineers from Aarhus University.

There was an august atmosphere at Navitas and Katrinebjerg when parents, friends, researchers, teaching staff and department heads gathered to celebrate the young engineers and send them on their way with fresh diplomas.

See more photos on Instagram (AU Engineering)

A proud dean

For Dean Eskild Holm Nielsen from the Faculty of Technical Sciences at Aarhus University, this winter graduation marks a milestone.

He congratulates the new graduates and praises them for their efforts.

"You've come through your studies despite many bumps on the road under the restrictions during the coronavirus when you had to work from home. We have seen with our own eyes how you have worked hard and helped each other. Your sense of community has demonstrated its value. Now you are ready to continue your studies or to go out into the labour market, but the world has changed dramatically. There is a gravity to the situation that we knew nothing about when you started at the university. We’re facing huge challenges regarding the climate, the green transition, health and digitalisation. Everyone’s talking about them! And everyone knows that, as engineers, you have to help forge better future. Society needs you! You’re in high demand, and therefore you’re leaving us with both a wealth of opportunity and an enormous responsibility. I wish you the very best of good fortune."

"We have a mission"

One of the engineers society needs is Laura Hviid, a newly graduated Bachelor of Chemical Engineering. She has just submitted her Bachelor's project about carbon capture and she will be continuing her studies on an MSc in Engineering.

"I don't think I feel quite as powerless against climate change as many of my peers on other programmes. I meet researchers and students in the laboratories where solutions already exist, and where we’re working to make the technologies ready for the real world. We have a joint engineering mission, and it's mega cool to be a part of it. We want to create a society with no need for fossil fuels," she says.

Read the article (in Danish): Cow dung, carbon dioxide and a chemical reaction

Young people in high demand

The young engineering graduates can look forward to a favourable job market where they are more than welcome.

Mikael Bargholz Knudsen, department head at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, talks about a daily life where the hunt for talent has moved into the university.

Many of our students already have several job offers when they approach the final exams. It’s something we can’t fail to notice. Of course it’s linked to the general shortage of engineers in society, but it’s also because we have enormously talented students here at AU. They’re both proficient in the theory, and they can think holistically about technology and convert their knowledge into value for companies almost immediately. This is clear wherever we look," he says.

Read the article (in Danish): Young engineers in high demand

Stay in contact with AU Engineering

AU Engineering would like to maintain contact with all of our amazing graduates, and we therefore encourage everyone to register as an alum and follow us on LinkedIn.

Register as alum here