Faculty: Mentors can be non-Danes too

Faculty of Humanities responds to University Post story: Mentors don't have to be Danes. But they need to have a comprehensive connection to – and knowledge of the Danish system as well as language

by Mike Young

Mentors for incoming international students may be non-Danes, according to the Faculty of Humanities. However, they must have comprehensive connection to – and knowledge of the Danish system as well as language.

This is according to a featured comment submitted to the University Post from the Director of Studies at the Faculty of Humanities Annette Moe. Her response comes after a recent University Post article about the decision and is a small but significant change from the position of an e-mail sent to international applicants for mentor positions. This states that the programme is not for internationals and only for Danes.

See the text of an e-mail which is sent to international applicants for mentor positions here.

The Faculty decision to restrict international mentors had prompted criticism from one international mentor, and several adverse reader comments.

Read the new featured comment from the Head of Studies at the Faculty of Humanities here.

Needs comprehensive Danish connection, language

According to Annette Moe the Faculty of Humanities has decided on a new routine that puts »more weight on the knowledge of the Danish society, as well as Danish language skills in our mentor programme. The decision has nothing to do with the question of nationality, and does not exclude Non-Danish students,« adding that the Faculty is »proud of those of our international students who volunteered for the mentor programme.«

In the featured comment, the Faculty of Humanities defends their decision, and clarifies:

From now on the Faculty only assign »mentors with a comprehensive connection to – and knowledge of the Danish system as well as language«.

Only new mentors

It adds that »if the Faculty has denied international students from the mentor programme with the above mentioned background, the Faculty apologies and welcomes those students to contact us.«

»Nobody has been kicked out of anything. The new routine applies only to new mentors,« Annette Moe writes.

universitypost@adm.ku.dk

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