A response to Should DTU rely on US software? in Akademisk Råds debatforum, on 15 January.
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Thank you for raising this important discussion. Only a few years ago, concerns about digital sovereignty were often characterised as largely ideological. Today, the geopolitical landscape has shifted to the point where technological dependence is central to our security, resilience, and strategic autonomy. As global conditions change, so must our assumptions about the technologies that underpin the university. And as Europe learned from its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, reducing deep-rooted dependencies requires time, planning, and coordinated effort.

Strengthening Digital Sovereignty Through Cross-University Collaboration
In the latter part of 2025, the Danish university CIOs conducted a joint analysis of how to reduce reliance on American technology platforms. Their conclusion was clear: meaningful reduction in the short term is not feasible, and incremental approaches risk undermining stability and security.

But that does not mean we are just stepping aside and letting the tech giants call the shots. The challenge we face is structural rather than institutional, and addressing it will require coordinated action across the entire university sector. In January, several DTU colleagues attended UNIDIG26, the annual IT-focused university conference. This year’s theme was “How to Reclaim Power”.

The overall takeaway from the conference is that there is willingness, need, and desire for collaboration across the university sector. We already work together in the university sector on shared licenses, but this collaboration can be expanded to include a higher degree of shared infrastructure. Note that in the short period from late 25 to early 26 you can already see this change in attitude from “it’s difficult” to “we have to”.

The Depth of Technological Dependencies
The Microsoft login prompt is only the visible tip of a much larger system of dependencies: Intel processors, US-manufactured networking hardware, and AI technologies dominated by American vendors. These components form the backbone of our digital infrastructure. Addressing such dependencies requires more than swapping individual tools – it demands rethinking decades of accumulated architecture.

The Burger Lab – Balancing Innovation and Operation
Replacing fifty years of Silicon Valley innovation cannot happen overnight, nor can DTU do it alone. We value experimentation, but we also recognise the difference between demonstrating a concept in a controlled environment and running a stable, secure, campus-wide IT operation. As with the old “Burger Lab,” experimentation and core operations must remain clearly separated. A failed experiment must never compromise the university’s essential functions.

Advancing Strategic Independence Through Research and Alliances
So how should DTU proceed? DTU’s new strategy explicitly prioritises strategic independence in research. Initiatives such as Computerome show that viable alternatives to non-European technologies can be built – including AI solutions already used by Danish municipalities. This demonstrates that DTU can contribute not only through research but also by shaping future digital infrastructures.

But broader alliances are essential. The challenge exceeds the capacity of any single university, and credible European alternatives must be developed through coordinated national and European efforts. At the same time, DTU must remain focused on its core mission: supporting research and education, not building large-scale administrative IT systems.

Acting Now While Navigating Difficult Trade-offs
Full technological independence will take years, but we can act now. We can be selective about the services we adopt and deliberate about where we place sensitive data. Some choices will be difficult. When universities discontinued a dominant gene-sequencing provider for strategic reasons, it raised legitimate concerns about research impact. Similar dilemmas may arise as we evaluate emerging European AI solutions. Until they mature, avoiding AI entirely is neither realistic nor desirable.

As part of this ongoing transition, DTU’s management also wishes to emphasise that we strongly encourage our employees to explore and make use of the opportunities that open-source technologies offer wherever they may be relevant in their research and teaching.

A Moment of Technological Tectonics
The technological tectonic plates are shifting. DTU is committed to contributing to this transition, but doing so requires balancing ambitions for greater strategic autonomy with the practical realities of resources, operations, and our institutional mission. The discussions in this Council will help shape both the direction and the pace of that balance.

Mads Henrik Bang
IT-direktør
Afdelingen for IT Service