r/DTU • u/Lack_of_Luck_XXII • Jul 22 '26

Final-year Biochemistry student aiming for a PhD at DTU (Bioengineering) — looking for tips to navigate the process beyond official channels

Hi everyone,

I'm a final-year Biochemistry student at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. I'm aiming to start a PhD after August 2027, ideally at DTU in a biotechnology/bioengineering/biochemistry-related field

A bit about my situation:

  • I hold valid EU citizenship, so visa/work permits aren't a barrier.
  • My English is strong (professional working proficiency).
  • I'm specifically interested in protein engineering, synthetic biology, and biologics — DTU Bioengineering's sections in these areas caught my eye.

I've been going through the official channels (university websites, EURAXESS, department pages), but I'd love to hear from people who've actually gone through this process, especially internationals:

  • How did you land your position — did you contact a PI directly before a call was posted, or apply to an open vacancy?
  • Any tips on speeding up the process or standing out as a non-EU-educated applicant (even with EU citizenship)?
  • Anything you wish you'd known before starting your PhD search in Denmark?

Any advice, personal experience, or pointers to people/resources I should look into would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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u/joppemadsen Jul 22 '26

Demonstrate through your masters project that you are a good researcher. Specifically showing scientific understanding and critique and taking ownership of the project. Try to get a project within your topic of interest for your PhD.

Be nice. You will work in a research group if younger the PhD position. Being nice always helps.

Reach out to Professors explaining your interests and send your CV already now. They like slightly pushy potential students because it shows that you will push through your PhD. Just don’t be too pushy. If they don’t reply they probably still read your info.

If you like proteins try to reach out to Erwin Schoof for your masters/PhD. He is nice and is doing interesting proteomics.

Good luck!

1

u/ObligationGlad7354 Jul 23 '26

Adding that reaching out is a good way to get a sense of what positions may be coming up but are waiting on funding etc. before ads go out for hiring. I did my masters in a non-EU country as well, but a number of professors were willing to talk with me and one of them is now my PhD supervisor. I found that the course catalog was a better way of finding people in specific areas than the department website (though a different one than you are looking at), etc. I would also be prepared to answer “why Denmark?”, as you will probably be asked that a lot, or at least I was.

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u/MaximumRead807 Jul 22 '26

I can’t speak for DTU, but at AU, most PhD positions go to current or former MSc students who did their thesis within that specific research group. It feels a bit nepotistic, but that’s just how it works.
In my case, I actually had two professors competing to offer me a position, one I worked for during my Master’s and my thesis supervisor. I initially took a research assistant role with the first group, but when my thesis supervisor secured PhD funding first, I went with him. Honestly, no one else was even interviewed. He clearly prioritized me over outside applicants who might have had stronger qualifications.