ENGINEERING BULLETIN

The Danish government has announced a dramatic increase in spending on higher education in 2013 as student numbers hit an all-time high.

On Monday 27 August Finance Minister Bjarne Corydon published a budget proposal for 2013, boosting the spend on higher education by DKK3 billion (US$506 million) to cover additional expenses from a record intake of 60,000 students.

The plan also earmarks DKK6.5 billion for investment in new buildings and improvements to research laboratories and a strengthening of the taxameter – Denmark’s per capita allocation to universities for active students – in the humanities and social sciences by DKK250 million.

The injection of funds means Denmark would exceed 1% of gross national product invested in public research, Minister of Education Morten Østergaard said. At the same time the move would secure the long-term planning needs of higher education institutions when the 2006-12 Globalisation Fund, which has delivered a total of DKK40 billion, comes to an end.

Professor Jens Oddershede, chair of the Danish rectors’ conference, welcomed the signals given in the budget, saying that they fulfilled the long-standing wish among universities for stability and long-term budgeting.

Copenhagen University said it would receive DKK200 million to invest in buildings and infrastructure, to provide buildings for new students, upgrade laboratories and establish a plant science centre.

Oddershede said the extension of the increased level of funding per student in the humanities and the social sciences, introduced three years ago, was a positive step.

The government also intends to continue to invest in doctoral training, with an annual intake of 2,400 students – up from 1,200 in 2003 – which has been financed from the Globalisation Fund.

A government-commissioned analysis of the demand for doctoral candidates up to 2030 concluded there would be sufficient demand in industry and society to justify the higher intake.

Source: University World News