Student projects, student jobs and collaboration with companies

DTU has around 10.000 students, and many of them would like to get in touch with the business sector to bring their theoretical knowledge to the table in the company before they finish their education. A collaboration between DTU's students and the industry has advantages for both.

Students on study trip

The advantages of a collaboration between companies and DTU’s students in simple words:

  • For the students it can be a good introduction to the job market and a shortcut to finding a job after graduation and
  • For the industry it is a good way of connecting future employees to the company, not least giving the students a sense of work life and what is expected from them after their studies.

When the companies collaborate with the students they can contribute with the latest new knowledge within the company’s field – without the costs. Most companies who have experienced collaborating with students agree that the outcome equals the effort.

There are different options when it comes to collaborations between students and companies. The most common collaboration is when the student is hired as a ‘student assistant’ in a company. An alternative can meanwhile be an internship and/or a collaboration around a student project.

An internship is a mandatory part of the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) where the student tries to work with engineering tasks in practice in a Danish or foreign company. The internship is 20 weeks (30 ECTS) and ends with an internship report. Read more about engineering internships here.

Another alternative is, as mentioned, a collaboration around a student project – a student report. This is for both students on the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) and the Master. It can be minor assignments for a few weeks or assignments for the whole semester. The students’ advantages are the possibility of working with a current issue in a real context. And for the companies, there is the possibility to get fast, innovative – and inexpensive help from the student on how to solve an issue which can provide the latest new knowledge within the companies’ field. DTU has a project database which works as a match-making website for companies, organizations, DTU students and professors. Companies themselves can post notices in the database. Find the database here.

RailTech DTU has created a short template to prepare a great project description. In general, you must be aware of identifying the right tags (search words), ensuring that your post will be noticed when the students search. Thereby you must consider that the post must reflect the real world because the students are interested in using their latest knowledge in practice and as close as possible to a concrete work situation.

You always have the possibility to contact RailTech DTU, if you have any questions or need help with the database, if you have a post about a student job or internship – or if you would like to hear more about the possibilities of connecting your company closer to the students and professors at DTU.