Master in Computational and Applied Mathematics
Student Interviews
Group projects prepares you for the job market
When Jacqueline Anne Endres was 18 she moved out from her parents to study industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Then she decided to go to DTU for a year
- What affected your decision to study at IMM?
"It was probably about a year ago when I talked to the international advisor at my home university. We discussed my options on maybe studying a year abroad. Actually DTU came up right away since it is widely known that Denmark has some of the best engineering schools in Europe."
- So there were other students from your home university who had previously been to DTU?
"Yes and actually DTU has the highest satisfactory index of all the engineering study sites abroad."
- Do you remember in what aspects the DTU score was particular high? Was it the academics, study environment, inventive teaching or what?
"The questionnaire was focusing on the general outcome of the study period so I guess it was the combination of many factors. The freedom of choice regarding subjects at DTU was certainly noticed."
- How would you describe the arrival at DTU?
"The teaching method at DTU was a big surprise and a bit of a culture chock. In the University of Wisconsin-Madison the semesters are very intense with focus on written exams and constant evaluation. Sometimes you can have 3 mid term evaluations and an additional final examination in the end of the semester. When I came to DTU I had never done a group project but now in every class I have a group project."
- What about the academic level?
"Some classes such as the introduction class were not that difficult but other classes have very intense work load in a level which I have never seen before. The level of the courses much depends on the group you are in and of the ambitions of the whole group. If everyone in a group wants top degrees for the project you really have to work hard as a group. For me this was entering a completely new way of thinking."
- And what do you think of the group work?
"Experiencing this completely new way of teaching engineering skills has been really rewarding for me. Obviously you are not having an exam when you start to work as an engineer. You will be working with people and do projects and perhaps be a team leader in a project and delegate different tasks. I think the project work at IMM actually prepares you quite well for the market place and that is definitely a bonus from my stay."
Morten Nonboe Andersen, January 11, 2006.