It’s not only Danish students that go on exchanges to learn about the world. Every semester, exchange students from all corners of the world flock to the Department of Political Science to study and live in Copenhagen. MED ANDRE ORD has asked four of them about their time at the Department of Political Science and in Copenhagen.
Skrevet af Astrid Holck Brauer
Illustreret af Ida Lous Jensen
Andrew, Bachelor, The University of Birmingham
What has been the best and worst thing about being an exchange student?
Best: The best thing was meeting loads of international people and being part of a really big international community.
Worst: The first few weeks kind of like trying to adjust and also trying to integrate into the Danish community and realising how hard that was. I think it was being in a new country, but also all the international people quickly realised we weren’t going to make Danish friends. Like we were gonna be an international community, and I loved that, but it was kind of different from what we expected.
What has surprised you about spending a semester as an exchange student in Denmark?
The weather was much better than I thought it was gonna be.
I’ve had more module choices here than I did in my UK university which really surprised me. I didn’t care about the studies as much when I came here, but I’ve really enjoyed them because there’s been so much choice, which I loved.
Would you recommend an exchange at the Department of Political Science at UCPH to others? Why?
Yes! I would definitely [recommend it]! I think that although it wasn’t the same as I expected, I absolutely loved it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. It has been such a cool experience, especially in Copenhagen because it’s such an international city and there’s so much to do. It’s the capital city, there’s so much to see, and I feel like it has a really good community and a very good culture that has been really interesting to learn about as well. In the UK, we don’t hear too much about Denmark, so it’s been really cool to learn all the stuff brand new. I’ve loved it, I’ve absolutely loved it.
Why did you want to study at UCPH?
I actually didn’t choose to study in Copenhagen. I applied to go to Aarhus, but I got Copenhagen instead. And I was so excited to go to Copenhagen because there’s so much to do and so much to see. I also feel like there’s a lot of ‘myths’ about Copenhagen, like it being a really green city and a really happy city, and I’ve kind of learned that it’s not so green and not so happy, but all the same, it’s a really liveable city. So although I didn’t choose it, now looking back, that’s why I would have wanted to choose it.
What is the difference between Denmark and your home country?
I think the biggest difference is the maturity level of students. I feel really young here, whereas in the UK I feel really old, which has been very different. Like the fact that you all study so much later, I feel like you all gained more life experience before studying, which shows in the way that people interact with each other at seminars. Danish people are way more talkative, they ask and answer questions in seminars way more than in the UK. Although Danish people are known for being quieter, once you do get in a conversation with a Danish person, they’re really curious and ask questions and kinda relate to their own experiences. In the UK, I think most people who start uni start at 18 or 19, so we are kind of all at the same level which makes it less interesting.