Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Queenie Luk Year 3 BBA (GBUS & MGMT)

Transcription

1 Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Queenie Luk Year 3 BBA (GBUS & MGMT) S p r i n g E x c h a n g e

2 Table of Contents Part I Activity Log Part II General Exchange Information Part III Checklist and Contacts Page Nyhavn, the most famous tourist spot in Copenhagen 2

3 Part I - Activity Log January 2013 Arrived at Copenhagen Settled down at dorm Met with my exchange buddy Orientation activities February 2013 School started Final course registration Visa application Traveled to Rome, Florence and Venice March 2013 Traveled to Berlin and Stockholm Finished my first exam April 2013 Finished three exams Courses ended Traveled to Prague, Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan and Budapest May 2013 Finished my last exam (paper submission) Traveled to Paris, London, Manchester, Scotland, Salzburg and Munich June 2013 Traveled to Barcelona Returned to Hong Kong Copenhagen 3

4 Part II - General Exchange Information Visa Procedures Application for residence permit is a bit troublesome since the Royal Danish Consulate General in Hong Kong was just closed in May You either have to go to Guangzhou (the nearest Denmark Visa Application Center) or wait till you arrive at Copenhagen to do the application (since HKSAR passport holders have 90 days of visa- free- stay in Denmark). I personally went with the latter option since I did not want to travel to Guangzhou, but I ended up only getting my visa in May, which was one month before I leave the city. There was some inconvenience with it as you can only get the CPR number (your ID number in Denmark, similar to HKID) with your residence permit. Both your residence permit and CPR number are important if you would like to open a bank account in Copenhagen, enjoy European students discount at certain tourist spots, and travel after the 90 days visa- free- stay. Therefore, I suggest you go to Guangzhou to apply for the visa so as to get it as soon as possible. (Try to apply for it once you got accepted since it takes a few months to process) I talked to other Hong Kong exchange students at CBS, they all went to Guangzhou to do the application and they said it was not that troublesome after all. Orientation Activities There are quite some orientation activities and there are both mandatory and voluntary events. The mandatory ones are mainly talks on different topics to let you have a better understanding about the exchange program, the school, the city, etc. The voluntary events are all evening activities, which are part of the Exchange Social Program and you are required to pay in order to join. Examples of some of the activities are: International Buffet, Bar Night, Danish Folk Dancing, Lake Party, Park Party, Movie Night and Welcome Dinner. International Services and Activities You will be asked whether you want an exchange buddy and you should definitely say YES! My buddy picked me up from the airport and brought me to my dorm. She also helped me a lot in settling down and toured me around the city during the five months. There is also a facebook group for CBS exchange students of that semester. That is where exchange students share news and information and it is a nice way to make friends and stay connected with others. Besides, the International Office organized a trip to Berlin for exchange students during Easter, which is the last event in the Exchange Social Program. Accommodations Student residences are quite expensive since they are not owned by the university. Accommodation for international students is organized through public and private housing companies. There are eight residence halls in total, you can find more information (location, size, facilities, prices, etc.) on the school website. Registration for housing is on a first- come- first- served basis. If you like a particular dorm, make sure you check your frequently and apply for it once you get the . You have to prioritize your choices and you will get the 4

5 allocation result immediately. Then you will need to choose to accept it or not. I wanted to stay in Tietgen, which is a newer residence hall and a award- winning architecture. It is really beautiful, but places were very limited. Tietgenkollegiet In the end, I stayed in a medium- sized single room with en- suite bathroom and kitchen in Svanevej, which is 10 minutes bus ride from campus. The location is quite convenient with buses to school and the city center, and there is also a big supermarket and some grocery stores nearby. It costs almost 7,000HKD every month. Shared rooms are slightly cheaper or you can go for private housing with a few friends, which can save you quite a lot of money. My room at Svanevej 5

6 Course Registration Unlike housing application, course registration is not first come first served. You can choose a maximum of five courses and you need to have a second choice for each of these five courses. I am not sure their logic of deciding who get their first choices, but there will still be chances for you to change your courses afterwards. They are quite lenient on course registration for exchange students; if the system does not allocate your first choices to you, you can just go to the International Office and talk to the staff. They can put you in the courses you want immediately in their computer. Besides, most of the courses are on quarterly basis. I particularly chose to take all the first quarter courses and spent most of my time travelling around Europe from April to June. Teaching & Assessment Methods Students are encouraged to take a more active role in learning here. Attendance is not compulsory. Self- learning is an important part, so there are quite a lot of textbook readings to do. Discussions are common in lectures and active participation is expected. The workload here is much lighter than that in UST. Most of the courses only have a final exam, so your grade is 100% dependent on the exam. There are no mid- term exams or assignments. I have two courses which have presentations, but they are very informal. There are three types of exams: written exams, oral exams, and take- home assignment, and the exam type of each course is listed in the course syllabus. Cost/Expenses Cost of living is very high in Copenhagen, so I cooked my own food most of the time. Your expenses will also heavily depend on how much you travel during the semester. I personally travelled a lot, so I spent quite a lot during exchange. Always try to plan your trips earlier to buy cheaper air tickets and save more money! Transportation Most of the people in Copenhagen have a bicycle. They bike around the city and a lot of exchange students bought one and biked to school as well. I did not buy one, so I bought the monthly transportation pass. Since the metro, the train and the bus all belong to the same company, you can take all the transports with the pass. Climate It is very cold in winter and it often snows. There are heaters in dorm and all indoor areas. Spring comes in around April, but it was still a bit cool when I left in June. Communication A free sim card is included in our orientation package. There are small balances in it and you can top it up online when you have used up the balance. 6

7 Part III - Checklist and Contacts Important items to bring: Down jacket Beanie/ear muffs Gloves Slip resistant shoes/boots Camera Laptop LAN cable/router Adaptors If you want, you can also bring: Small rice cooker Chinese seasonings Instant noodles Things provided in dorm: Pillow/Blanket/Bed sheets Cooking utensils Electric water kettle Going on exchange is definitely a once- in- a- lifetime experience, and I enjoyed my time here a lot. If you have any further questions about Copenhagen Business School, you can get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by ing at bmugexch@ust.hk. Hope you have a wonderful stay in Copenhagen! One of the popular things to do here in spring - PICNIC! 7