Universities need to educate more IT experts

In a joint PR campaign, Danish IT universities respond to the alarming lack of IT experts

Together with other IT universities, CBS has launched a campaign called Future People, which will try to solve a serious recruiting problem for Danish businesses. There are currently 5-6,000 open IT positions in Denmark, which means that many companies have to turn down orders.

- It is essential for Denmark’s competitive performance that more of its young people apply for IT courses, so I welcome the cooperation between the IT universities as a great initiative. IT is not only for nerds, but also for young people who want to change the world, travel, and experience new things, says Jakob Lyngsø, CEO, The Danish IT Industry Association (ITB).

A nerdy image

Even though most Danes are conversant with IT, and even though careers in the field of IT offer high salaries, young people choose to take other paths. IT companies point to the image of the IT industry as the main reason for the problem. Many people see IT as a nerdy and lonely game that does not meet the dream of a job with social contact, travels, etc.

The main message of Future People is, therefore, that IT is a versatile, creative, interdisciplinary, and project-oriented profession that covers areas as different as medical science, computer games, traffic safety, and space travel. This message is emphasised on the campaign website where IT graduates write about their versatile work life, and where information is available about the IT courses at the various universities.

Future People

- The campaign is a cooperation between CBS, Aarhus School of Business, the University of Southern Denmark , Aalborg University, and Aarhus University.

The campaign is coordinated by the IT University West – an educational network between the above-mentioned four university institutions in the Western part of Denmark.

CBS is part of Future People because of its Bsc in Business Administration and Computer Science and MSc in Business Administration and Computer Science, which focus on how companies and organisations can use IT.

In 2002, 2,426 students were accepted to the IT courses in Denmark, but last year, only 1,991 new students were accepted, despite the increasing need for IT graduates.