Xueyi Guo - Köpenhamns universitet

Reseberättelse från Köpenhamn, Danmark

Copenhagen, an engaging city with vibrant ambience, attracts visitors from all over the world. Most campuses of UCPH are in the central of Copenhagen, it enables the students to easily access to the activities and events in Copenhagen city. There is a great amount of choices on cultural activities such as various themed museums and galleries. When the weather is good, having picnic in the park will be a fantastic option.

University of Copenhagen (UCPH)

The campuses of UCPH are separated into different area of Copenhagen. Comparing to Lund University, I felt my experience in UCPH was more in the Faculty of Social Science specifically. There were not many other interactions with other faculties either. Faculty of Social Science is in the very central of Copenhagen. It was an old building with long history. The spaces in the campus are not big, however, there are still some fields to sit down and enjoy the sun in the summer. Because of its convenient location, the tasks to sort out the student ID and other things became easier during the study in UCPH. Since the main international student building is two blocks away from Faculty of Social Science. And the service for the international students was very organized.

Arrival

It was not a good experience for me since I did not get choice to join any of the introduction activities. I had signed for mentor group. But I did not receive any emails from them until the semester started. Thus I missed all the events regarding a new-comer in UCPH.

Courses

Teacher: Karen Lisa Salamon The course aims to understand organization through anthropological lens. This year we mainly focused on organizational culture. The whole program ran the whole semester. Comparing to Lund University where one course last one month, I preferred longer time to get whole and solid knowledge of the courses like I experienced in UCPH. The obligatory readings were 500 pages for this course, which was similar to Lund University’s requirement. What I like was that the teacher gave us enlightened and helpful input regarding the readings. At the beginning our exam was planned to use the portfolio module which asked us to send one portfolio including two pages every two weeks. However, the exam system changed in December in UCPH in 2016. Students are graded only based on the finial thesis which means they are free to be present in the class or send the portfolio exams. The students are most Danish, however, the teacher was very considerate and always gave me as a non-Danish speaking student extra help.

Teacher: Perle Møhl Visual Anthropology was an very interesting course. In this course we aimed to learn how anthropological film was produced and analyzed. We also got chance to do some hand-on experiments. So besides the theory, the practical excises enhanced the skills on short-film making. The exams consisted of presentation of the short film conducted with group member and written thesis.

Accommodation

I found my place to live through the help of Housing Foundation in UCPH. It was very fast to make the decision to live a bit far away from Central Copenhagen because of the rent was relatively lower.

Leasure

I have some friends I knew before who live in Copenhagen. So this time during the exchange period, I hang out a lot with them. I met some new friends from UCPH as well, but hanging out together rarely happened.

Costs

It costed higher to live in Copenhagen comparing to Lund both in terms of accommodation and food. So, I tried to save money not eating out more often and cooked myself.

Final remarks

I very much appreciate this opportunity to go on exchange in Copenhagen. Especially I am so grateful for the help of Professor Wingkvist, the international coordinate. Under her kind and patient help, I could get this valuable opportunity. This exchange experience enriched me in many domains, especially the different academic setting broadened my vision and enhance my academic background.

For more info about my exchange period, feel free to contact me. Text: Xueyi Guo