Since Christina Egelund took office as Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science in the winter of 2022, she has made it her priority that Danish universities work more closely with the business sector.<\/p>\n
But for one group of students that is proving more difficult. And this in spite of the fact that Danish companies are eager to get their hands on them.<\/p>\n
EU and European Economic Area (EEA) students in Denmark have the right to the Danish student grant SU <\/em>if they have a paid job for at least 10\u201312 hours a week. But if the students want to do an internship as part of their university studies, they either have to give up this student grant or meet the employment requirement on top of their full-time internship.<\/p>\n Rules for internships and SU<\/p>\n SU<\/strong> Project-oriented courses<\/strong> (commonly referred to as internships) are intended to give students at university relevant practical experience and skills.<\/p>\n The course is not considered employment<\/strong> but an academic course, and so it does not qualify the student as an employee and therefore does not entitle EU and EEA students to the Danish student grant SU.<\/p>\n EU and EEA students can only<\/strong> get SU during an internship if they also work 10\u201312 hours a week alongside it.<\/p>\n Source: ku.dk and su.dk<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n 26-year-old R\u00e9ka Joo, who sees an internship as a key part of her master\u2019s programme in Global Development at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH), found herself caught up in the dilemma this spring and has now made her decision:<\/p>\n \u00bbInternships are pretty decisive in terms of job prospects in my field. But I had to drop it because I would otherwise lose my SU. To meet the requirements, I would have to work from Monday to Sunday non-stop for four months, and that\u2019s just not sustainable,\u00ab she says to the University Post.<\/p>\n On the master\u2019s programme where R\u00e9ka Joo is in her third semester, both students and lecturers see university internships as a given if you want to write a good master’s thesis and land a job after graduation:<\/p>\n \u00bbMy fellow students choose internships to gain experience and build their networks, so they have a foot in the door when we finish,\u00ab she says, adding:<\/p>\n \u00bbAnd our lecturers say that even though it\u2019s not mandatory, your thesis should be based on your internship or fieldwork \u2014 which, by the way, you also have to fund yourself.\u00ab<\/p>\n R\u00e9ka Joo is concerned about her future job prospects in what she describes as a \u00bbtough and unstable\u00ab job market for new graduates:<\/p>\n \u00bbI\u2019m stressed about the situation I\u2019m in right now, and I truly believe that an internship could help me in the future. But it\u2019s just not financially viable.\u00ab<\/p>\n At the National Union of Students in Denmark (DSF), which represents students across higher education, it is a well-known issue:<\/p>\n This is a group of students we are very keen to bring into the Danish labour market<\/p>\n Mads Eriksen Storm, Head of Education and Research Policy, Danish Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00bbWe recognise the problem,\u00ab says DSF chair Christoffer Rosenkvist.<\/p>\n DSF argues that international EU and EEA students should be allowed to get SU during internships, even if they do not also have a paid job. The internship fulfils the same purpose as the requirement for a job in Danish SU legislation, in their view: to ensure a genuine connection to the Danish labour market.<\/p>\n In practice, these students put in the required hours and contribute actively to a company or organisation \u2014 just without pay, because the internship is part of their studies, says DSF. So the working hours are effectively covered through the internship.<\/p>\n According to Bent Greve, professor of labour market policy at Roskilde University, it is counterproductive to have rules that complicate things for students who come to Denmark to study:<\/p>\n \u00bbSome of those who come here to study are people we would really like to stay and work here. And they\u2019ll only do that if they can see a path to a job in the Danish labour market. If that path is blocked by SU rules, then it\u2019s important to change them,\u00ab he says, noting that internships in particular can benefit international students:<\/p>\n University reform in brief<\/p>\n The Danish 2023 university reform<\/strong> was passed by the three parties in the governing coalition, the Socialist People\u2019s Party, the Liberal Alliance, the Denmark Democrats, and the Conservatives.<\/p>\n The reform states<\/strong> that university programmes should be more closely connected to \u00bbthe world that students are going to work in.\u00ab<\/p>\n At the same time, the reform aims<\/strong> to make it \u00bbattractive for talented international students to come to Denmark to study and find work.\u00ab<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00bbIt can be hard to find study-relevant jobs, and that makes it harder for international students to land a job afterwards. Internships can help them get that connection to the labour market. Seen in that light, you could argue that internships should be exempt from the 10\u201312 hour work requirement, because they ensure that education becomes valuable to society \u2014 meaning students can actually get a job and put their education to use.\u00ab<\/p>\n The Danish Chamber of Commerce acknowledges that under the current rules, internships as a part of university studies are less attractive financially for EU and EEA students. But Mads Eriksen Storm, Head of Education and Research Policy at the Chamber of Commerce, sees that the current rules have potential to bolster the Danish business master’s scheme \u2014 a two-year, 120 ECTS programme structured as a four-year part-time course, where the student works alongside their studies.<\/p>\n \u00bbWe\u2019re very focussed on making the business master\u2019s scheme work, and perhaps this makes it more attractive for EU citizens to choose that path. It is definitely a group of students we\u2019re eager to integrate into the Danish labour market,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n The University Post asked Minister for Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund about the consequences of the rules for international students and whether they align with the government\u2019s own objectives. In a written reply, the Ministry of Higher Education and Science states that the minister does not wish to comment on the matter.<\/p>\n This article was first written in Danish and published on 4 November 2025. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.<\/em> Master\u2019s student R\u00e9ka Joo wants to do an internship so she can get a foothold on the Danish labour market. But as an international student, she simply can\u2019t make ends meet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":183318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSU (Statens Uddannelsesst\u00f8tte) is the Danish educational grant for students. At time of writing, the SU rate for a student living away from home is DKK 7,086 per month (before taxes).<\/p>\n\u00bbI\u2019m stressed about the situation\u00ab<\/h3>\n
An old problem<\/h3>\n
Labour scholar: Rules seem counterproductive<\/h3>\n
Chamber of Commerce: Makes business master’s attractive<\/h3>\n
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"