Exchange Report University, Semester B, 2014

My name is Amber and I decided to go on exchange to Copenhagen University, I chose this University because of its location in Europe and the selection of papers that are not available at Waikato.

Before you leave

Get the process for getting your Visa going as soon as you get the paperwork from Copenhagen University, you have to book an appointment in Wellington, and the payment you make to the office in Wellington has to be in cash and is around $500. From there the application is sent to Australia to be processed so it takes a long time!

When you first arrive

One thing you will find out when you first get there is that most people speak some English. The second is that you need your CPR number for everything. In order to get this you must register with the local authorities, to register with them you need your Visa approval documents, something that gives your address (rental agreement works) and your passport. Once you have this you will be given a print out with your number on it that you can use until the card comes in the mail – this is different to your resident card!

When you first get to Copenhagen get a local SIM for your phone, to get one on a plan you will need to have your CPR already, however you can get a prepaid SIM from the 7-Eleven, they have several different ones to choose from. The prepaid ones have roaming options which is great if you are planning to travel, you just have to activate that option once you have the SIM, and the instructions are in English as well as Danish usually.

Finance

There are different ways that you can get money to Denmark, I found it easiest to open a bank account and get a debit card, and it makes things so much easier. I had the money transferred from my NZ bank account to my Danish one. I went with Nordea Bank, they have a special deal for those under 28 years old, no set up fees and no transaction fees, and free internet banking. The account was set up in a week, and I had my card a week after that. Danish rules mean that the bank has to do a security check on all new customers, but once that is done it is really easy. The best way to get it set up is to go straight into that bank and ask about an account, don’t worry most people speak really good English.

You will need to have your CPR number with you to open the account, something with your Danish address and a Danish phone number.

Cost of things:

- A cappuccino at a normal café is around 35DK, so around $7. - A loaf of bread can be anything from $1 to $8 depending on the type. - A movie ticket is around $20. - Seasonal, locally produced fruit is cheaper, 3 capsicums in the summer only cost $2.50 - Meat is expensive, a small portion of beef is around $15, and it doesn’t quite taste like the stuff at home. - Metro ticket from the airport to central Copenhagen (Nørreport) cost 36DK / $7.

Housing

The easiest way to get accommodation in Copenhagen is though the Housing Foundation, trying to get a place privately is very hard. All information on how to apply is given by the university – however their system is not very good and tends to crash a lot. If you have any issues with them the best thing to do is to hound them with emails until they fix the problem.

I stayed at Nordre Kollegiet. It is a studio room with a private bathroom and kitchenette. There is no communal kitchen and the cooking facilities consist of two stove elements, no microwave or oven. All cutlery/crockery is provided as well as furniture in the room and the bedding/towels etc. You are provided with a laundry card, the laundry includes washing machines and dryers. There are many supermarkets close by, the closest is QFakta, and this is found on the ground floor of the building. It is really easy to get to as there is a Metro close by.

Transport

I decided not to get a bike after borrowing one from a friend and trying it out. My skills on a bike are not the best, and when you add to that being on the other side of the road and the madness of the Danish cyclers I decided it would be best not to. That did not mean that I was stuck, the public transport system is really good in Copenhagen, the buses are regular all day and night as well as the trains and Metro. There are 3 ways to pay for the use of public transport, pay for each journey as you go – this can be annoying particularly on buses, you can get a PeriodKort, you pay around $60 for a month of unlimited travel, you can buy several months at once, you just need to select which zones you wish to include on the card, the more zones you add the more it will cost. The final method of paying for transport is getting a Rejsekort, this is a card pre-loaded with money that is scanned when you enter and exit the transport, and it deducts the journey from the card.

For planning journeys using public transport the best way to go is using this website (it is in English too): http://www.rejseplanen.dk/ just put in where you will be leaving from and where you will be going to, it will give you the best way to get there, it uses all forms of public transport.

Things to do

- Tivoli - - Open Air Cinema (Summer Time) - Malmo - Canal Tour (best in the summertime, the wind in the winter is cold!!!)

Exams

Exams are done differently in Denmark, there are 3 types of exams, the take home, the written and the oral. Oral exams are 20 minute exams where you are questioned by the examiner on anything covered in the course, the great thing is that you get your mark immediately at the end of the questioning. The take home comes in two forms, one is 24 hours, and you have that time from receiving the questions to submitting them online, the other 3 days over a weekend. The written exams are generally 4 hours and are done on the computer, and most are open book.

Other Facts (That may help)

- The main supermarkets are called: Fakta, QFakta, Netto, Superbest, Føtex and Irma; Irma is more expensive than the others. At Føtex you can also get toasters and kettles and things like that relatively cheap, some of them even have clothes, it is kind of like a supermarket/Kmart mix. - Tiger is a great shop for all those little things that you may want to find cheap like dish brushes, note pads, pens. These shops are everywhere!

If you decide to go to Copenhagen you will have a fantastic time!

Matriculation Ceremony to introduce all new students at the beginning of the academic year.

The streets next to one of the main lecture buildings for law.

Snow from my room at Nordre Fasanvej Kollegiet.