Alfred Mølgaard is the first person to have completed Greenland’s technical / marine engineering program under a new education model. He received his diploma last week at the Copenhagen School of Marine Engineering.
The technical / marine engineering program Alfred completed is a new education model launched in 2022 through a collaboration between Teknikimik Ilinniarfik (KTI) and the Copenhagen School of Marine Engineering. The ambition was to educate more local professionals and better connect graduates with the Greenlandic labor market.
Alfred, 35, was born and raised in Qeqertarsuaq. He was an AFS exchange student in Portugal (2007–2008), completed upper secondary education (GU) in Aasiaat, and prior to enrolling in the technical / marine engineering program trained as a construction machinery operator and miner. Alfred has also worked at the Aappaluttoq ruby mine near Qeqertarsuatsiaat and was involved in the airport project in Nuuk, where over a two-year period he helped blast approximately four million cubic meters of rock.
A Hesitant Yes
Alfred’s path to the technical / marine engineering program did not begin as a dream of higher education. However, he hesitantly accepted the offer when KTI in Sisimiut presented him with the opportunity.
“I had never considered becoming a technical / marine engineer, so I was very surprised when KTI contacted me and encouraged me to enroll in the program. I thought it was probably because they knew me from the Greenland School of Minerals & Petroleum and knew that I’m a fighter and someone who doesn’t give up,” Alfred explains.
He candidly admits that at first, he was not entirely sure what a technical / marine engineer actually does. He assumed it mostly involved engines and was therefore surprised by how broad and multidisciplinary the program really is.
From Sisimiut to Kongens Lyngby
Before Alfred knew it, he was back in the classroom in Sisimiut. He began on August 15, 2022, together with 13 other local students. According to the study plan, all 13 were to continue to Denmark, to Kongens Lyngby, to complete their education. By that time, the class had been reduced to just five students from Kalaallit Nunaat. In short, by the end of the program Alfred was the only one left from his original cohort.
However, Alfred understands the dropout rate and also found the program challenging. Studying in Sisimiut in familiar surroundings was very different from studying in Denmark. In Sisimiut, the students formed a close-knit community and had close contact with instructors, supporting one another throughout the program. In Denmark, the class was larger—around 30 students— and both the overall academic culture and learning environment felt different.
“You could probably compare it to the feeling of being an outsider. I personally struggled with writing and expressing myself in Danish, as Danish is my second language. That made it especially demanding and required more time for reading and completing assignments. It consumed nearly all my time,” Alfred says.
No Pretending to Understand
The coursework required his full focus, which also meant that he did not have the capacity to take on a student job.
Every hour of the week was spent intensively studying electrical engineering, energy supply, indoor climate systems, refrigeration technology, management, maritime subjects—and PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), which is used for process automation.
“I’m the type of person who can’t move on to something else until I understand what I’m working on. I’m also not the type who can pretend—or ‘fake it’—when I don’t understand something. It was a tough process, and at one point I was actually close to giving up. Fortunately, I was granted special permission to continue and could continue my studies with confidence,” Alfred explains.
Greatest Pride
Alfred’s perseverance has paid off, and last week he received formal proof that he can now confidently call himself a qualified technical / marine engineer (Danish Maskinmester).
“My greatest pride is that I completed the program, even though I wasn’t the best in the class. The technical / marine engineering program has changed the way I think. It has confirmed for me that there are always solutions—and not least that my new knowledge as a technical / marine engineer can be applied across a wide range of fields,” Alfred says.
As a newly qualified technical / marine engineer, a wide range of career opportunities are available in both the public and private sectors, on land as well as at sea. These include work on trawlers, with Nukissiorfiit, Royal Arctic Line, Royal Greenland, hospitals, or within private companies.
“I’m open to dialogue with a potential future employer, and I’ve already been in contact with a few. But right now, I need to take a breath and enjoy the fact that I’ve completed my education,” says Alfred, a happy and proud newly graduated technical / marine engineer.