Fall Exchange Report Lam Ka Hei, Elsie. Aarhus University

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1 Fall Exchange Report Lam Ka Hei, Elsie Aarhus University

2 Aarhus University Table of Content A) Monthly Activity Log p.3 B) General Exchange Information p.4 C) Checklist p.5 2

3 Aarhus University 3 Activity Log August 2015 Right after the release of exchange application result, SBM connected me to another UST student who was also going to Aarhus University. Thus, we registered for the same dome and booked the flight together. With no direct flight from Hong Kong to Denmark, we have to change flight at Munich Airport and Copenhagen Airport and it took us 20 hours to Aarhus. As there was a compulsory orientation week at the end of August, we were required to arrive Aarhus earlier. Thus, we reached Aarhus on 17 th August, which was a week before the introduction week. The orientation activities were exclusively designed for all business students and two mentors were assigned to each group of ten. To some extent, the activities were good for helping exchange students to get familiar with the school environment and explore different culture. September 2015 The semester started from the first week of September. The workload in Aarhus University was extremely low. For the courses that I have registered, there was only one lecture in each week per course, with no tutorial, presentation, assignment, attendance or project. The only assessment was final exam (or one essay). Also, I bought a bike to school. Yet, the path was too steep for me to ride fast. Still, it was a great time to blend in with the Danish culture! At the end of September, I had a 3-day Norway trip with other exchange students. October - November 2015 The school life was more or less the same as in September. I spent part of the time to plan for trip and take walk around Aarhus. There was an outing activity organized by the school, which was trip to the LEGOLAND. If you are interested in it, remember to join through the school as it saves you lots of money and time! In the mid of October, I spent four days in Greece and seven days in Switzerland. These places are extremely nice and

4 Aarhus University 4 highly recommended! Nature lovers will definitely love it. Hamburg trip in the beginning November was my last trip in the semester. As the hundred-percent assessed final exams and essay were rounding the corner, I spared a month for revision in the November. December 2015 It was the last month in Aarhus. I could strongly feel how I will miss this place after going back to Hong Kong. In the first half of the month, there was a series of exams. Based on the courses I took, the exams in Aarhus University were far easier and the course content was lesser, in comparison to HKUST. And their exams were all done through our personal computers. Thus, remember to bring the computer and charger with you! After the exams, I travelled to Russia (Moscow, St Petersburg), Finland (Rovaniemi, Ivalo), Iceland and Denmark (Copenhagen). Again, Iceland is a must-go place for nature lovers! On 1st January, I arrived Hong Kong and marked the perfect full stop for my 5-month exchange program.

5 Aarhus University 5 General Exchange Information 1. Visa Procedure There is no Denmark Consulate in Hong Kong, you can apply for the visa in person at the consulate in Guangzhou. Including to the transportation time, it can takes you a day for the application. Thus, bare in mind you have spared a day for it. As the application procedure can take up to two months, it is recommended that you apply as soon as possible after you received the visa application from Aarhus University. You will pay half of the fee online and the remaining half at the Consulate. 2. Orientation Activities There is compulsory orientation week at the end of August. All exchange students are required to attend. Students are assigned into different groups and two mentors will lead the group. Activities include talks, gathering, party and outing. It is a great chance to explore Danish culture and other culture bring in from other exchange students. 3. Accommodation and Transportation You can choose for the specific dome you like and who you want to live with online. Stavnsvej is highly recommended to those who wish not to share facility with many students. For more details, you can visit the housing website which will be sent to you once you are accepted by the university. 4. Transportation i) Bus From Stavnsvej to Aarhus Business School (BSS), you can simply take a bus (19, 111, 112, 114, 116) for 10 minutes. As there are five buses available to school and

6 Aarhus University 6 the city center, you usually don t have to wait long for it. Officially, you can buy a DKK20 single ticket from the driver on the bus. Or for the cheaper option, you can buy a 10-journey ticket from the convenient store at 30% off discount. ii) Bike It is common and safe to take bike in Aarhus. Almost all places are available and reachable by bike. Car drivers in Aarhus are very patient and they drive in a slow pace. Thus, you will not be anxious in riding bike on the same road with cars. Still, the bike seats are usually high in comparative to Hong Kong s. For girls, your feet can barely touch the ground. Thus, it is better for you to be confident in your riding skill or you may experience a hard time to overcome this. iii) Air As Aarhus Airport is a small one, most flight will be taken off and landed off at the Copenhagen Airport. Thus, in order to travel, you can choose to take a 4-hour bus/ 1-hour train from Aarhus city center to Copenhagen airport and connect to other flight. 5. Food There are not many fancy and budget restaurants in Aarhus. Thus, in most of the time, I cooked at home on my own. Restaurant in the campus is also cheap. There are two Asian shops in the downtown, where you can find Cantonese and hotspot ingredients. 6. Course Registration You can register for courses two months prior to the arrival through . It is simple and fast as you don t have to consider the course time at the time you select the courses. The course schedule will only be available in the end of July. Once you found your registered courses involved time conflicts, you can drop it during the add-drop period.

7 Aarhus University 7 7. Assessment Method Not all instructors are professors. Rather, a lot of them are lecturers. There is no TA as in HKUST. The assessment is straightforward: 100% final written/oral exam. Some is even just a take home assignment, which is an essay. 8. Climate From August to September, the daytime is very long and it is sunny most of the time. The temperature is around Degree Celsius. Yet, unlike Hong Kong, you can wear short at this temperature. Stepping into October, the daytime starts to be shortened and temperature drops all in sudden. In November, it turns dark at 3:30pm and sun rises at around 8am. The shortest daytime is in December. I have experienced snow in Aarhus for once only at the end of November. 9. Cost and Expense ITEMS HKD VISA 4600 FLIGHT TICKET (FROM HK TO AARHUS) HOUSING (exclusive of deposit) TRAVELLING INSURANCE 3200 MOBILE FEE 400 DAILY EXPENSE TRAVELLING Total 123,200