Exchange Report - Aarhus University, Denmark. Contents

Transcription

1 Exchange Report - Aarhus University, Denmark Tintin Chung BBA (MGMT & IS) Fall Exchange 2013 Contents Part I - Monthly Activity Log P.2 Part II - General Information P.3 1. Visa Procedures 2. Orientation Activities 3. International Services & Activities 4. Accommodations 5. Courses Registration 6. Teaching & Assessment Methods 7. Sports & Recreational Facilities 8. Cost/Expenses 9. Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities 10. Health & Safety 11. Food 12. Transportation 13. Climate 14. Communication 15. Cautionary Measures 16. Other Notes Part III - Items to Bring and Contacts P.8

2 Part I - Monthly Activity Log August 2013 I arrived in Aarhus on 18 August, a week before the Intro Week started. The Intro Week for School of Business and Social Sciences began on 25 August, in which I was assigned to a group with student tutors and other exchange students. There were brief introductions to Aarhus University (AU), plus a series of social activities with other exchange students. Further procedures for residence permit application were completed during the week as well. September 2013 Semester commenced this month and there were still some orientation tours and gatherings. Exchange students started to hold small gatherings themselves and I started to build friendships with schoolmates. I have been to an art museum in Aarhus, ARoS with some Czech friends. At the end of this month, I went to Norway for 5 days until 2 October. I think it is an appropriate time to go since it was not too cold at that time. Daytime was long enough for me to explore the fantastic landscape there. October 2013 One of my courses required me to do a brief presentation of proposal for a group project in early October. In mid-october there was an autumn break which was a week long. Most exchange students planned their trip aboard; it was no exception for me. I went on a trip for 10 days with two friends to Greece and Italy, which was a perfect time for travelling again weather was very nice but not too hot. November 2013 Some courses ended at the end of October, making the first half of November more flexible. In mid-november I went to Iceland. The trip was the most exciting trip I ever had. We joined some local tours making the trip a very carefree one. The written report of a course was also due in mid-november. December 2013 Most courses ended in late November and the first half of this month was the exam period for exchange-in students. I had two written exams and two oral exams in a week's time. I had some Christmas gatherings with friends during the month. After the exam, I had some farewells with my friends and then went on a trip which lasted for three weeks aboard. I have been to Finland and Sweden later this month.

3 January 2014 I first returned to my dormitory for inspection and check out. Besides I have visited Den Gamle By (The Old Town) in Aarhus, which is an open-air museum showing Aarhus in her old days. After that I continued my trip to Germany, Belgium and the UK. I returned to Aarhus on 12 January and stayed for a few days before I left Denmark. I left from Aarhus to Hong Kong on 15 January, arriving in Hong Kong the next day. Part II - General Exchange Information 1. Visa Procedures To study in Denmark for more than 90 days, non-eu students would need a residence permit. The International Centre (IC) would send an application form and you should complete the form. Note that Embassy of Denmark in Hong Kong has closed down since July 2012, therefore you should submit all necessary documents and application fee to the Visa Application Centre in Guangzhou. You must submit the application in person as biometric features of applicants would be recorded for the residence permit. You could visit the following link for more information: ies/long-term-visa---more-than-90-days/ 2. Orientation Activities Before your arrival in Aarhus, AU would send you a detailed schedule of the Intro Week. The Intro Week started one week prior to the semester and it was mandatory for all exchange students. There were seminars about school policy and life in Denmark, completion of CPR registration procedures. We were divided into groups of around 10 students, lead by two student tutors to know our first friends in Aarhus. Different social activities were held for us to experience Danish life. A few city tours and campus tours were also offered after Intro Week. You have to sign up for the tours before you arrive in Denmark. Information about the tours was sent together with the Intro Week Schedule. 3. International Services & Activities The IC is responsible for all affairs regarding exchange students, including housing and CPR registration. IC would hold some social activities such as International Nights for international students to gather and hang out as well. They have organized short trips to the Denmark's northernmost small town Skagen and the well-known theme park Legoland in Billund.

4 4. Accommodations If you wish to stay in dormitory, you should submit your housing preference, i.e. room type, location, etc. together with your online application for the exchange programme at the AU's Self Service portal. The result would be available two months prior to arrival. You should pick up your keys and folder at the IC upon your arrival. You have to pay the first half month rent to secure your offer within two days. You would also be asked to deposit around HKD 10,000 together with your rent after you have checked in. For me I was allocated a private room with private bathroom and shared kitchen in Vilhelm Kiers Kollegium. All electricity and water fees were included in the rent. Besides. there would be 100 kr. included in the rent for laundry use. 50 kr. extra was further required for the kitchen tax. Some dormitories may require you to move out 7 days before the contract ends. The caretaker would come to your room and inspect. Any damages or insufficient cleaning would cause deduction in your deposit. 5. Courses Registration AU would inform you about course registration 3 months prior to commencement of semester. A list of available courses and course registration form would be sent to you via . Exchange students could only choose specified courses from the Bachelor courses. You should consult your major departments about credit transfer before choosing your courses. Once you have chosen your courses, you should submit your course list to the coordinator via . Result of enrollment would be released 2 months after application. When the time table is available, you should check the class time as more than 3 overlaps in class time is not recommended. The school processes course registration very efficiently, as the coordinator always gives prompt reply to s. 6. Teaching & Assessment Methods Courses at Aarhus University usually made up of regular lectures, guest lectures and tutorials. First 15 minutes of class is known as"academic quarter" that you should arrive in class within the quarter. Assessments are usually in the format of written exams or oral exams, which are all conducted before Christmas for Fall exchange students. Performance is assessed using a 7-point scale (-3, 00, 02, 4, 7, 10, 12), in which 02 is the passing grade. External examiners and markers are employed for assessments. Courses I have taken are as follows:

5 A. Business Intelligence [5 ECTS] This course introduces concept of information systems in generating efficiency and revenue in business. From obtaining business requirements to designing business Intelligence architecture to deployment, the course provides students with a clear overview of that. It is taught together with the textbook. Candidates are allowed to use computers for typing their answers. Internet access and all kinds of notes are allowed during exam. Assessment methods: 3-hour written exam B. Strategy [5 ECTS] This course walks students through the process of adopting a competitive strategy for an organization using regular lectures and tutorials. In lectures, concepts are introduced, with mini-case studies and questions that you can discuss with classmates in class. Tutorials start 2 weeks after the lectures. Case study approach is used throughout the course. Case studies are uploaded before class so it is important to read the case before class. During class, students are divided into groups of 5 to 6 and discuss the questions about the cases. The tutor invites students to share their ideas and integrate them into answers to case questions. The format is exactly the same as papers in tutorials. All aids are allowed during the exam. Assessment method: 4-hour written exam C. Innovation and Entrepreneurship [10 ECTS] This course is a practical course that it gives students a taste of being an entrepreneur. Students are required to write a business plan in a team of 2 or 3 or individually. Besides regular lectures talking about important elements of an entrepreneurship, a number of entrepreneurs are also invited to give guest lectures and share their real-life experiences. One month from the start of the course, teams are asked to give a brief presentation of their business proposal for discussion and improvement. The final written report have to be submitted and in the oral exam, students have to give a 5-minute presentation regarding their business plan, then a 10-minute Q&A session. The assessment is based on the performance in oral exam but not the business plan. Assessment method: Oral exam D. Cross Cultural Negotiation [10 ECTS] This is a course with practical exercises. Basic concepts of negotiation are introduced, followed by negotiation practices, aiming at mixing students from different cultural

6 backgrounds. Key takeaways are highlighted after practices during debrief. The course emphasizes on both "cross cultural" and "negotiation", therefore students would have plenty of chance to interact with students from different cultures. Each student would have to negotiate with the professor based on a case for the exam. Assessment method: Oral exam 7. Sports & Recreation Facilities There are swimming pools and ice rinks. There is also a small gym in the common building of my dormitory. There are as well fitness clubs and sports clubs at Aarhus University. You have to pay before you enjoy the facilities. You may visit for more. 8. Cost/Expenses Items Cost (DKK) Cost (HKD) Visa 3,890 Air ticket + 925X 100 8, Insurance 2,380 Rent (excl. deposit) 14,180 Food 3,500 Transportation 1,230 Travel 23,080 4,200 Telecommunication 280 Miscellaneous 2,700 Subtotal 45,070 (= HKD 63,536) 15, Total HKD (1 DKK = 1.41 DKK) 9. Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities Besides joining activities held by IC, you could also join International Nights and other activities organised by the Student House (Studenterhus). You could hang out with friends and have a drink there. Each exchange student could have 1 year free membership card for Studenterhus. 10. Health & Safety If you have a residence permit in Denmark, you are entitled to free medical insurance in Denmark. You would receive a yellow card after your application for CPR. You must choose a doctor and when you go to the doctor, it is free. However, if you go to a pharmaceutical store to collect medicine, you have to pay for the medicine. It is very safe to stay in Aarhus generally. Nonetheless, I have a friend staying in

7 Brabrand that 6 of her flatmates had their valuables stolen, which ended up in a police inspection. Therefore don't forget to stay alert. 11. Food It is always cheaper to cook on your own than eating out. You could find most of the food that you need in supermarkets, they are conveniently located. If you need Asian food, you could either go to Asian stores near train station or bazar which is a bit far away from city centre. Food in Bazar is cheaper and with more variety. Prices for supermarkets varies day by day, you could know the prices better by going to the price comparison website: Transportation Local traffic: You could take bus operated by midttrafik. There are 3 types of tickets. For a single ticket, you could buy it on bus, which is 20 kr. You could buy a 10-trip card (Klippekort 10 klip) for 2 zones, which costs 140 kr. You could choose a monthly pass (periodekort), which is 365 kr valid for 30 days. You could also rent a bike from AU (625 kr. per half year) or other agents. Regional traffic: You could take DSB trains from the central train station to other cities. Exchange students are eligible for a WildCard. It is a better idea for you to purchase a half-year WildCard. With the card you could buy youth tickets at lower prices. Airport: Bus no. 925X which travels between the airport and city centre costs 100 kr. per ride. Credit cards, Euros and Danish Kroner are acceptable. 13. Climate Weather in Aarhus varies a lot in a day. Raining is often for fall and winter. From August to October, the temperature drops quite significantly from 23 C to 10 C. From November to early January, temperature ranges from 7 C to -2 C. Normally it starts snowing in January. Around winter solstice the sun goes up at about 9:00 and goes down at about 16: Communication Language: Danish people generally speak excellent English so you would not find any communication problem. However, most signs, notices and letters are written in Danish only. Therefore it is a good idea to sign up for free Danish courses. Details of

8 Danish courses at the language centre (Læ rdansk) would be available after registration from AU. Telecommunication: In the Welcome Bag offered by AU at registration, you would get a free Lebara SIM card with 50 kr. However, I have signed up for a monthly plan by Fullrate via Studenterhus. The plan cost 79 kr. per month with 120 minutes local vocal communication, unlimited SMS and 200 MB data access. For first 6 months of usage, I have got a 200 kr. gift card and 1 GB data access extra for each month. 15. Cautionary measures Cold water from tap is safe for direct drinking, but never drink warm water from tap as there may be bacteria in it. 16. Other notes Remember to go to the City Hall (Rådhus) to get a free welcome pack. You could find leaflets introducing Aarhus and 6 free tickets. With the free tickets you could visit museums and recreational facilities at discounted prices. My dormitory has a music room that requires 100 kr. for 6-month access. If you are eligible for a travel grant by AU, you will be informed in mid-june and you should keep all the receipts as proof for application upon arrival. Part III - Items to Bring and Contacts Necessary: Air tickets/itineraries Residence Permit, enrollment letters Passport, passport photos, ID cards + copies Credit card, cash Cell phone, camera + chargers Adaptor for electrical appliances (220V), laptop, LAN cable Waterproof coat, gloves, snow boots Stationery Medicine, personal care products Optional: Hairdryer (recommended) Sunglasses Umbrella (rain in Aarhus is often mild or too windy for umbrellas, raincoat sometimes works better) Danish currency (may be obtained by exchanging currency upon arrival) If more information is needed, get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by ing at bmugexch@ust.hk.