Technical University of Denmark

The Technical University of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, DTU) was founded in 1829 as the 'College of Advanced Technology' (Danish: Den Polytekniske Læreanstalt). The initiative was taken by the renowned physicist Hans Christian Ørsted (then a professor at the University of Copenhagen) who also served as its principal until his death in 1851.

From 1933 the institution was officially known as Danmarks Tekniske Højskole (DTH), which usually was translated as the 'Technical University of Denmark'. Finally on 1 April 1994, in connection with the joining of Danmarks Ingeniørakademi (DIA) and DTH, the Danish name was changed to Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, in order to include the word 'University', thus giving rise to the acronym DTU by which the university is commonly known today.

On January 1, 2007 the university was merged with the following Danish research centers: Forskningscenter Risø, Danmarks Fødevareforskning, Danmarks Fiskeriundersøgelser (from January 1, 2008: National Institute for Aquatic Resources; DTU Aqua), Danmarks Rumcenter, and Danmarks Transport-Forskning. In November 2007 the Times Higher Education Supplement put the university as number 130 in their ranking of the universities of the world.

The student union at DTU is Polyteknisk Forening (www.pf.dk), a 161-year old organisation that represents most of the DTU students.

History of DTU in brief

When the College of Advanced Technology was founded in 1829, Denmark had its first MSc programme in Engineering at a high academic level. The College changed its name to Danish Technical College in 1933 and finally became the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 1994.


DTU has always had a strong theoretical grounding. H.C. Ørsted, the man who discovered electromagnetism, founded the College in the image of École Polytechnique in France. The objective was to educate young men to work in industry, but in the beginning DTU was not able to teach practice, so the college mainly educated technical teachers.

Not until industrialisation really took off in the beginning of the 1870s did engineers from DTU begin to fill public-sector posts and they began to have play a major role in industry. Still, most major engineering projects were still carried out by foreign companies. But in the 1880s, foreign companies lost their influence and Danish engineers gradually began working abroad.


Just after the turn of the last century, under the headship of the great industrialist, G.E. Hagemann, DTU finally achieved an international level of excellence. In the first two decades of the 1900s, Danish engineers captured the international scene in structural engineering, shipbuilding and electrical engineering. DTU was now ready to educate the engineers needed to create the modern industrial society.

Buildings

The College was founded in a professor’s manor in the heart of Copenhagen, Studiestræde/Skt. Pedersstræde. The new buildings at Sølvtorvet from 1889 did not have the laboratory facilities a modern institution needed. A boom in the number of students also meant that the buildings were too small. Immediate expansion was necessary. On its 100th anniversary in 1929, DTU lay the foundation stone for a new building complex at Østervoldgade. From 1962 to 1974, DTU moved to its current premises in Lundtofte near Lyngby, north of Copenhagen. Finally, the University had all the space it needed: approximately 375,000 square metres.

Departments

Risø National Laboratory - Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy
DTU Biosys - Department of Systems Biology
BYG•DTU
Center for Biological Sequence Analysis — chair Søren Brunak
Center for Electron Nanoscopy (DTU Cen)
Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CICT)
Center for Traffic and Transport (CTT)
DTU Fotonik, Department of Photonics Engineering
DANCHIP
Department of Chemical Engineering (KT)
Department of Chemistry (KEMI)
Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Management (IPL)
Department of Mathematics (MAT)
Department of Mechanical Engineering (MEK)
Department of Physics (FYSIK)
National Institute for Aquatic Resources (DTU Aqua)
Environment & Resources DTU (ER)
Department of Informatics and Mathematical Modelling (DTU Informatics)
Micro and Nanotechnology (MIC)
The Technical Knowledge Center of Denmark (DTV)
Department of Electrical Engineering (DTU Elektro)

It Offers wide array of MSc Programme which includes:
Advanced and Applied Chemistry
Aquatic Science and Technology
Architectural Engineering
Biotechnology
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Design and Innovation
Electrical Engineering
Engineering Design and Applied Mechanics
Environmental Engineering
Food Technology
Manufacturing Engineering and Management
Materials Engineering
Mathematical Modeling and Computation
Physics and Nanotechnology
Telecommunication
Transportation and Logistics
Applied ICT
Engineering Acoustics
Petroleum Engineering
Sustainable Energy
Systems Biology
Wind Energy

DTU now offers MSc programs tutored in English for almost all research areas, thus offering students the widest possible choice. The content of the various programs reflects DTU’s status as one of the prime European engineering academies.

Through Recommended Study Lines, Specializations, Special MSc programs and Elite MSc programs, our MSc programs now offer a broad range of curricula from the highly specialized to a broader and more versatile educational profile.

The MSc programs include a number of General Competence courses. These are designed to offer students the range of skills necessary to meet the complex challenges of an engineering career, including project management, teamwork, communication, problem-solving and resource planning. All these skills are taught within the student’s field of research.

The Technological Specialization courses provide in-depth academic and technological training leading to a state-of-the-art qualification. By combining them with appropriate elective courses, students create their own inspiring and highly individual study programs.

Technical University of Denmark ranked 130th in the THES QS 2007 World University Ranking

Technical University of Denmark ranked 133rd in the THES QS 2008 World University Ranking

Technical University of Denmark ranked 159th in the THES QS 2009 World University Ranking

Technical University of Denmark ranked 141th in the QS 2010 World University Ranking

Technical University of Denmark ranked 150th in the QS 2011 World University Ranking

Aarhus University

Aarhus Universitet or the University of Aarhus is the second largest university in Denmark (after the University of Copenhagen), based in Århus.

The University of Aarhus is the second oldest and second largest university in Denmark. It was founded in 1928 with 78 students and is still an institution with close ties to the founding local community. Most of the university's yellow-brick buildings are located on our picturesque campus which is situated in a hilly area, with a moraine valley full of large oak trees and a stream that flows into two small lakes.

We believe that attractive, friendly surroundings promote inspiration, industry, and efficiency, helping students and teachers to have a sense of well-being here. We know that the many researchers and students who have spent time at the University of Aarhus over the years have taken warm, living memories home with them and that the bonds they have developed here are strong and durable.

The University of Aarhus is a centre of tradition and innovation, discussion and debate, co-operation and concentration, and we are pleased to be able to share these with others. We value the contributions which international students and researchers make to this tradition and to the cultural and social diversity which enhances the academic experience.

The university has connections with all corners of the world and it is our policy to welcome guests from abroad with open arms.

The University's History

The first chapter of the University of Aarhus' history began with the inauguration of "University studies in Jutland" in Aarhus Technical College's ceremonial hall on the 11th of September 1928.

The municipality of Aarhus allocated a budget of 33,000 Dkr for the first year, classrooms were rented from the Technical College and a teaching corps consisting of one professor of philosophy and four Readers of Danish, English, German and French was assembled.

On inauguration day, 64 students registered. During the first semester the total rose to 78.

A wide circle of citizens from the city's business community, organisations and institutions formed the University Association Aarhus (Universitets-Samvirket), in 1921, which, together with the municipality of Aarhus, formed the impetus in the fight to have Denmark's second university located in Aarhus.

From the beginning, in 1928, it was the University Association's job to participate on the University's board together with representatives from the City Council and a representative for the University's teachers. Another important function was the raising of funds for the construction of university buildings on the site allotted by the municipality in 1929 for the coming University Park.

Up until the 1940's the University's buildings were erected exclusively by means of donations. The national government financed the majority of administrative costs from and including 1932. Use of the name "The University of Aarhus" began in 1933.

Faculties

The Faculty of Arts, recently renamed the Faculty of Humanities (in accordance with the Danish equivalent Det Humanistiske Fakultet), has offered courses right from the beginning in 1928.

In 1933 the Faculty of Medicine began its courses in basic medical subjects. When the dental school was included in 1992 the name was changed to the Faculty of Health Sciences. In 1997 professor Jens Christian Skou received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the sodium-potassium pump.

The Faculty of Economics and Law was established in 1936. The name was changed to the Faculty of Social Sciences when Political Science and Psychology were added. From 1938–1940 Theodor Geiger was professor of sociology at the university — Denmark's first.

The Faculty of Theology was established in 1942. Courses in theology had been offered from 1932, being previously taught at the Faculty of Arts.

The Faculty of Science was established in 1954 by moving Physics and Chemistry from the
Faculty of Medicine and Geography from the Faculty of Arts. Mathematics was established as a new subject, followed by Biology and Geology.

The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, the former Danmarks JordbrugsForskning (DJF), was amalgamated with the university in 2007.

Aarhus School of Business was founded in 1939 and amalgamated with the university in 2007.

The National Environmental Research Institute (NERI) was amalgamated with the university in 2007.

The University of Aarhus ranks amongst the 200 best in the world, and has very strong academic environments within science, health sciences, social sciences, theology and the humanities. The study environment at the university is concentrated around an attractive campus in the centre of the city of Aarhus – with excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and contact with all parts of the university. The university is internationally oriented and in a strong state of development, with an extensive academic scope that covers all aspects of the social sectors.

On 1 January 2007, the University of Aarhus merged with the Danish National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences (DIAS) and the Aarhus School of Business (ASB). On 28 February 2007, this merger was extended to include the Danish University of Education (DPU). As a result of the merger, the University of Aarhus has considerably increased in size, and is the second-largest university in Denmark. The university has approximately 35,000 students and a staff of about 9,000 (full-time equivalent).

University of Aarhus ranked 114th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Aarhus ranked 81st in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Aarhus ranked 63rd in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Aarhus ranked 84th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

University of Aarhus ranked 79th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking

University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen is the largest educational institution in Denmark. Together, the eight faculties offer over 200 programmes for study in health sciences, humanities, law, life sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, science, social sciences, and theology.

The University aims to prepare students for a broad range of jobs in the private and public sectors. For this reason, education at the University covers specific skills and scientific methods as well as other more theoretical skills that will enable graduates to improve their qualifications. Teaching and research are closely integrated in order to achieve this, first and foremost by according them equal importance in the daily work of the academic and scientific staff and whenever possible basing the teaching on research.

History

The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is the oldest university in Denmark. Between the closing of the Studium Generale in Lund in 1536 and the establishment of the University of Aarhus in the late 1920s, it was the only university in Denmark. The university became a centre of Roman Catholic theological learning, but also had faculties for the study of law, medicine, and philosophy.

The university was re-established in 1537 after Martin Luther's reformation and transformed into an evangelical-Lutheran seminary. Between 1675 and 1788, the university introduced the concept of degree examinations. An examination for theology was added in 1675, followed by law in 1736. By 1788, all faculties required an examination before they would issue a degree.

In 1801, under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, the British fleet bombarded Copenhagen during the Battle of Copenhagen, destroying most of the university's buildings. By 1836, however, the new main building of the university was inaugurated amid extensive building that continued until the end of the century. The university library, the Zoological Museum, the Geological Museum, the Botanic Garden with greenhouses, and the Technical College were also established during this period.
Interior of the old university library at Fiolstræde around 1920.

Between 1842 and 1850, the faculties at the university were restructured. Starting in 1842, the University Faculty of Medicine and the Academy of Surgeons merged to form the Faculty of Medical Science, while in 1848 the Faculty of Law was reorganised and became the Faculty of Jurisprudence and Political Science. In 1850, the Faculty of Mathematics and Science was separated from the Faculty of Philosophy.

The first female student was enrolled at the university in 1877. The university underwent explosive growth between 1960 and 1980. The number of students rose from around 6,000 in 1960 to about 26,000 in 1980, with a correspondingly large growth in the number of employees. Buildings built during this time period include the new Zoological Museum, the Hans Christian Ørsted and August Krogh Institutes, the campus centre on Amager Island, and the Panum Institute.

In 2005, the Center for Health and Society (Center for Sundhed og Samfund - CSS) opened in central Copenhagen, housing the Faculty of Social Sciences and Institute of Public Health, which until then had been located in various places throughout the city. In May 2006, the university announced further plans to leave many of its old buildings in the inner city of Copenhagen, an area that has been home to the university for more than 500 years. The purpose of this has been to gather the university's many departments and faculties on three larger campuses in order to create a bigger, more concentrated and modern student environment with better teaching facilities, as well as to save money on rent and maintenance of the old buildings. The concentration of facilities on larger campuses also allows for more inter-disciplinary cooperation; for example, the Departments of Political Science and Sociology are now located in the same facilities at CSS and can pool resources more easily.

In January 2007, the University of Copenhagen merged with the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Science. The two universities are now faculties under the University of Copenhagen, and are now known as the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Degrees

The University of Copenhagen offers several degrees of education in a variety of subjects. The degree structure is divided into three levels. Three years of undergraduate studies lead to a bachelor's degree, and an additional two years lead to a master's degree. Only the structures of the theological, medical and dentistry degrees differ from this model. All masters degrees obtained from the University of Copenhagen can be extended with three more years of postgraduate work leading to a PhD degree.

International students

The University of Copenhagen offers a significant number of courses in English each semester. This allows exchange students to put together a comprehensive study programme, which will meet the demands of their home institutions.

With over 37,000 students and more than 7,000 employees, the University of Copenhagen is the largest institution of research and education in Denmark. The purpose of the University – to quote the University Statute – is to ’conduct research and provide further education to the highest academic level’.

Approximately one hundred different institutes, departments, laboratories, centres, museums, etc., form the nucleus of the University, where professors, lecturers and other academic staff, as well as most of the technical and administrative personnel, carry out their daily work, and where teaching takes place.

These activities take place in various environments ranging from the plant world of the Botanical Gardens, through high-technology laboratories and auditoriums, to the historic buildings and lecture rooms of Frue Plads and other locations.

On 1 January 2007, the University merged with The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and The Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The two universities are now faculties at the University of Copenhagen.

Academics

The University of Copenhagen currently has eight faculties, although the composition and number of faculties has changed over time.

Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Humanities
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Life Sciences
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Social Sciences
Faculty of Theology

Research at the University of Copenhagen

The motivational force of the University's research activities is financially and politically independent, i.e. free basic research; however, specific collaborative endeavours with other institutions and companies also have a place among the countless research activities. The dissemination of knowledge and findings to other research environments and the general public is a natural element of the University's research efforts.

The diversity of academic environments and scientific approaches is the University of Copenhagen's distinguishing feature and strength. Within the shared framework, the University is divided into eight academic fields referred to as faculties. The faculties are further divided into departments and institutes acting as the primary workplace for the University's researchers. The University is also home to a number of centres, interdisciplinary projects and other units typically focusing their work on research in more specific academic areas.

A merger with The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and The Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences has led to the formation of one of the largest Health and Life Science centres in Northern Europe consisting of four of the University's faculties: the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of Life Sciences, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Faculty of Science.

International research collaboration

The University of Copenhagen is a member of IARU (International Alliance of Research Universities). The alliance consists of ten universities worldwide: Australian National University, ETH Zürich, National University of Singapore, Peking University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Cambridge, University of Copenhagen, University of Oxford, The University of Tokyo, and Yale University.
Regional research collaboration

The University of Copenhagen represents a cornerstone in the regional educational and research collaboration in the Øresund Region. The Øresund University partnership involves 14 universities in eastern Denmark and southern Sweden and provide researchers and students alike with improved access to expertise on both sides of the Sound. The Øresund Science Region forms an umbrella for research co-operation and operates through six research and innovation platforms integrating universities, industries and the public sector.

The Øresund regional collaboration forms the largest concentration of higher research and educational programmes in Scandinavia and one of the most significant strongholds for knowledge in Europe.

Ranking

Every year, international surveys are published in the attempt to determine the ranking of universities around the world. The methodology in the rankings vary, but often include peer reviews, research articles published in important research magazines, number of nobelprizes won etc.

The University of Copenhagen is usually ranked as the overall best university in Denmark and Scandinavia.

University of Copenhagen ranks 2. in the North - Times Higher Education Supplement, 2007

University of Copenhagen No 8 in Europe - Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking, August, 2007

General leap up in faculties ranking- Times Higher Education Supplement, November, 2006

University of Copenhagen ranks 54 in the world and tops the list in Scandinavia - Times Higher Education Supplement, October, 2006

University of Copenhagen 13th best university in Europe - Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking, August, 2006

University of Copenhagen ranked 93rd in the THES-QS 2007 World University Ranking

University of Copenhagen ranked 48th in the THES-QS 2008 World University Ranking

University of Copenhagen ranked 51st in the THES-QS 2009 World University Ranking

University of Copenhagen ranked 45th in the QS 2010 World University Ranking

University of Copenhagen ranked 52nd in the QS 2011 World University Ranking