Exchange Report. Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Cheung Kai Ping Fall Exchange

Transcription

1 Exchange Report Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Cheung Kai Ping 2013 Fall Exchange 1

2 Table of Contents Activity Log P.3 General Information P.7 Things to bring P.10 2

3 Activity Log Aug 2013 When I arrived at Copenhagen, I met my Exchange buddy and he took me to my dorm. My dorm is called Kathrine Kollegiet. I bought a bike and did the registration of CPR (An ID document similar to HKID) and the student ID card in CBS. I travelled in Copenhagen and I found that it is a really beautiful city with no tall buildings which is quite different from Hong Kong. After getting the CPR, I opened a bank account in Nordea bank in Copenhagen. Everything was sent to my mail box automatically as the CPR no. used in registration was linked to my address. After I have settled down in Copenhagen, I joined various parties and welcoming Danish dinners which are included in the orientation package of CBS. I enjoyed meeting new friends there. The social package which was offered by CBS is worth buying as it includes many activityies including boat tour in Copenhagen. 3

4 Sep 2013 School started and the teaching style in CBS is different from UST. However, CBS students are harder working than UST students and the library is always full of students. As an exchange student, I also explore many new things in Denmark. I traveled within Copenhagen and part of Sweden. I went to the Around the Sound tour to Helsingør and visited the Hamlet Castle. I also went to different places like the Royal Library, Opera house and the famous Nyhavn. Danes love their national flag and there is a national flag day every year. I went to see the event and everyone was exciting to see the performance of the military. I tried different restaurant in Copenhagen and I think the food is not as good as I expected and expensive. Therefore, I usually cook with my friend in dorm. 4

5 Oct 2013 I start to travel around Europe as there is not much homework and no midterm in CBS. I went to countries in Eastern Europe and Swiss with my new friends. I first fly to Budapest to visit the Fisherman's Bastion. Then I went to various cities in Austria by bus. I was amazed by the beautiful scenery of HallStatt. It s a must-go- place!. I had the chance to live on a snow mountain for a night. This experience is very special as I totally did not understand how the bus system in Austria is like and I and my friend need to keep on asking other people and bus drivers. Then I went to Switzerland by train. I enjoyed the beautiful views of mountains in Swiss during I travel within Swiss by train. It was pity that when I arrived at Interlake, it was late and I could not go to the top of Jungfraujoch. 5

6 Nov 2013 Starting from November, the sky gets dark near 4 pm in Copenhagen (Same as many other place in Northern Europe) and the weather is getting cold. Therefore, it s time to start to pick up my study. Meanwhile, I went to Italy with my friends and it was a unforgettable experience. Italians were not good at English and we have difficulties in communicate with them. We got on the wrong bus and nearly missed the intercity night bus as we could not find the bus terminal. I also went to Amsterdam and Den Haag before I had to prepare my final exams. The night life in Amsterdam is fascinating and there is plenty of clubs and other places which people would never find in Hong Kong. Dec 2013 It was the time I had my final exams and I had to submit different papers. The exam format is different and CBS required student to hand in the exam answer through computer. After all the exam had done, there was not much time left for my exchange. Although the weather is getting cold, I went to the beach in Copenhagen to explore it again. I wish I spent more time in Copenhagen as there are still many places I have never been to. I also tried to travel alone in Paris and London. It is a great experience for me as I have to push myself out of comfort zone and to ask others about different information. I enjoyed watching The Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty s Theatre in London I would say this is a must go event if one visit London. 6

7 General Information 1) Course in CBS Students need to register for courses through the online system of CBS. The course are not first come first serve. Staff in CBS is really helpful and in some extreme situation, they would allow you to switch courses even in middle of the semester. Depending on choice of the course, some courses require lot of readings and writing a thesis like the course I chose. Teaching style in CBS is different from UST. There are lots of discussions in lectures. Also, there is no midterm in CBS and little homework. However, CBS students are at least as hard working as UST students and it is possible to fail a course if a student does not study hard enough. I chose the following courses: HA E160 Trading in Financial Markets Fina Elective HAE181 Applied Time Series Analysis and Econ Elective Forecasting BLC 3GEG Global Economics Governance Econ Elective HA E35 EU, the European Market and Business Strategy Free Elective Some courses like Global Economics Governance and EU, the European Market and Business Strategy are challenging as often the professors assume the student know European culture and history. All other courses have similar level to courses in UST except that student may need to submit paper instead of taking an closed book exam. 2) CBS Orientation Activities CBS provided an ordinary orientation activities and a social package which students need to pay. I recommend the social package as one can enjoy different parties, boat tour for joining the social pakage. I made a lot of friends in the activities included in the social package. 7

8 3) Accommodations and Foods I register the housing through CBS s online system and it is first come first serve. One can choose Tietgenkollegiet which is the best choice in my mind given that they register really early. My dorm is Kathrine Kollegiet which is in Finsevej. It takes me around 10 to 15 min to go to school by bike. My dorm is near the metro station and I can go to airport in 30 to 40 mins. The dorm is not cheap compared to dorm in HKUST. Things are expensive in Copenhagen except some food and drinks like milk. It would be much cheaper to cook and buy the ingredient from supermarket like Nidl and Fotex. There are also some Chinese/Japanese supermarket near central station (Kobenhav H) A lunch set in ordinary restaurant may cost around 150 HKD and the dinner will cost more. It will be more expensive for the better restaurants. 4) Transportation I would recommend other to ride a bike. A 2 nd hand bike cost around 500 to 700 dkk. However, when the semester start, many exchange students will find a 2 nd hand bike at the same time so it may not be easy to find one. I bought a new bike of 1500 dkk (~2000HKD) and sold it at 700 dkk. The cost for renting a bike is similar so I do not recommend other to rent a bike for one semester. Alternatives would be a monthly pass. Zone system is used in Copenhagen. For most of the student, they only need to travel within zone 1 and zone 2 so a 2 zoner monthly pass can be used. The holder of the pass can take any transportation freely including metro and buses. One 2 zoner monthly pass would cost 300 dkk. 5) Expense Accomdation DKK (~39340 HKD) Living expenses DKK(~21000 HKD) Cost on Bike (After selling it) Travelling Tickets CPH Visa Total from HK to 700 DKK (~980 HKD) 4000 Euro (~40000 HKD) 9000 HKD 1713 Dkk (~2398 HKD) 112,718 HKD 8

9 6) Communication Almost all Danes can speak good English. There are also some courses on basic Danish if students are interested. Nearly all the machines use English and Danish at the same time so there will be no problem in daily communication. CBS will provide a Lebara 3G Sim card in the welcoming package so students do not need to buy their own card. I used the auto top up with my credit card once I got the CPR. 7) Visa Process Students would need to apply for the Visa at the Denmark Embassy in Guangzhou. Applicant need to pay online first and bring all related documents. The Denmark Embassy is actually easy to find. 9

10 Things to bring Some toiletries Laptops, Adaptor, Phone, Charger Passport, credit cards, ID card and insurance documents Medicine Enough clothing that can help you to with stand the cold weather Camera Some euros Visa documents Although Copenhagen does not have many attractive tourist spots as other cities in Europe, it is an excellent city to live in. I regret that I did not use enough time to explore it and learn from Danish Culture. I suggest that the students who are going to CBS for exchange can use more time to interact with the local and enjoys the living styles of Danes instead of non-stop travelling. CBS is a great school and there are many resources that an Exchange student can enjoy. The exchange experience is fruitful to me and I will definitely visit Copenhagen again in the future. If you have any questions about the exchange in CBS, feel free to get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by ing at bmugexch@ust.hk. 10