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For the first time, DTU has offered an education in Kalundborg, where students are employed in the Biotech City's industry while studying the Master of Science in Biomanufacturing.
The Master of Business Administration program is another exciting, relevant and important addition to Kalundborg's growing educational environment.
Scandinavia's largest biotech cluster, Biotech City Kalundborg, needs both academic and skilled workers. That's why Knowledge Hub Zealand works to attract and support relevant higher education opportunities in the region together with our many strong partners - such as DTU.
A business master's degree is a two-year master's program that is organized as a four-year part-time course where the student works in a company alongside their studies. The agreement on a business master's program in Kalundborg is made between DTU and all the partners in the Kalundborg Symbiosis.
It makes perfect sense for DTU to work closely with the companies in Kalundborg on the new program. The biotech industry is developing rapidly, and a business master's degree program in Kalundborg therefore offers unique opportunities for students, companies, and society.
We are very pleased to welcome DTU and the new Master of Science in Biomanufacturing program in Kalundborg. This is a great opportunity for students who want a career in the field. As a combined part-time student at DTU in Kalundborg and part-time engineer in one of the many exciting local companies in Scandinavia's largest biotech cluster, students have a fantastic starting point to specialize based on both theory and practice while creating a strong network in the industry. The business graduate from DTU is another important step in establishing a strong food chain of future talents for Scandinavia's largest biotech hub.
Christina Rønholt Jensen from Novozymes agrees:
For Novozymes and for the entire area, having a business master's program in Kalundborg is a big plus. The students gain a better understanding of and connection to the company. They become part of a department and gain a network. In this way, a business master's degree can help to make students more likely to stay with the company, and in Kalundborg, after graduation.
Attracting and retaining qualified workers is a challenge for the growing industry in Kalundborg, where more than 1,200 new jobs were created in the municipality in 2022 alone. Therefore, local anchoring is important, and this is a task that the city must solve together, according to both Christina Rønholt Jensen and Mie Fischer from NNE.
"As a city, we must create an active urban life, association environment and study environment. It must be attractive to be young in Kalundborg, and the sense of community is key. It's a journey that we in the city are already well underway."
One of the business graduate students who will be exploring the city is Fouad Boumahdi, who is also employed at Novozymes:
I knew nothing about Kalundborg beforehand and my first thought was that it was far away. I'm still fully engaged in the introductory course of the new education and haven't yet explored what the city has to offer, but the transportation is actually not bad. It's just an hour train ride and I'm there. It's nice enough, and I can use the train time to wake up, smiles
Like the company representatives, Fouad Boumahdi highlights the interaction between education and industry as particularly valuable and something that you won't get as a student assistant, for example.
On Monday, August 28, six students started the program with five different nationalities.
The Master of Business Administration program in Biomanufacturing was originally planned to start in the fall of 2024, but due to both the demand from the Biotech City's industry and the opportunity to start a smaller class in close dialogue with the companies, it was decided to launch the program a year earlier than planned.
The fact that it has been possible to start the program a year ahead of schedule is due to both DTU's willingness to cooperate and courage to test the program in Kalundborg and the companies' great support for the program.
It's amazing that we've been able to start up the program in such a short time. We can all see that the program will help improve both the educational environment and the ability to attract and subsequently retain graduates. And then we do what we do in Kalundborg: We support each other, pull together and make things happen.
NNE, Novozymes, Novo Nordisk and Unibio would have liked to have hired more business graduates, and therefore they are now looking forward to continuing the good collaboration with DTU to attract even more business graduates to the area in the coming years.
The industry is experiencing a growing need for labor - both skilled and academic. Together with good partners, the industry has played a significant role in attracting, developing and supporting education programs to/in Kalundborg.
In 2016, there were no academic programs in Kalundborg. By 2024, around 300 academics will be educated in the city annually, and around 1,000 students will be based at Campus Kalundborg.
The range of education in Kalundborg is steadily increasing. In 2023 alone, three new education programs have been added:
In addition, there are Absalon's Bachelor of Engineering programs in biotechnology and mechanical engineering, the Process School's electricians and process operators specializing in food and pharma, and the research and education center Helix Lab's work with master's students from all over the world who do their master's thesis in close collaboration with industry in Kalundborg.
And from 2024, the University of Copenhagen will offer a Master's degree in Biosolutions.
Knowledge Hub Zealand
Biotekparken 1
4400 Kalundborg
Knowledge Hub Zealand
Biotekparken 1
4400 Kalundborg