the right to choose our life”

The student income, launched in 1970, is one of the pillars of the Danish solidarity society. Young Danes can receive this allowance of 700 euros per month (or 550 euros after tax) for six years provided they no longer live with their parents and are diligent in their studies. To offer this freedom to its youth, this Scandinavian country spends more than 2 billion euros per year, or 40% of the national education budget. Thomas is a successful model of the Danish system. At 32, with his doctorate in mathematics, he found a job in the energy industry and earns a good living. His wife Maria, who had just graduated from medical school, also benefited from this help. The couple was able to buy a house and have no debt on their shoulders.

“We free ourselves from our parents because the state finances us to study. This help allows us to choose our path and decide what we really want to do in life”, explains the mathematician to the magazine “We, the Europeans” (replay). And in Denmark, a student can afford to get pregnant: “I was able to take a break. We don’t call it maternity leave when you’re a student, but it’s still a break in the middle of the course. I was able to receive my student income when I was at home. house with my baby for a year, then I started school again and finished my master’s degree”says the medical researcher.

“Training young graduates is useful to all of society”

Thomas asserts his working-class origins: his mother is a cleaning lady. The one who plays that day with one of the couple’s children knows very well that without this help, her son would not have been able to succeed: “I’m very proud. We started from nothing. No one went to university in the family before Thomas. It’s an enrichment for the country. People are becoming intelligent. Training young graduates, thanks to the SU [Statens Uddannelsesstøtte ou Soutien éducatif de l’Etat], it serves the whole of society.”

Thomas regularly returns to his university or stays in contact with young student researchers in mathematics. They too have parents who have not studied. He asks about them: “Do you have what it takes? Food? An apartment?” Christian’s response: “We’re getting by. Yes, we can say we’re getting by, but that’s fair.” This student and his colleague Magnus are well aware of how lucky they are: “We are privileged to live in this place we call Denmark. Here, the student income grants us an essential freedom: the right to choose our life.” European students can benefit from this system provided they work at least ten hours a week.

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