Hard work finding Danish friends

Danes are reserved and hard to get into contact with, say international Erasmus exchange students in a recent study by Kathrine Bruun Thomsen of the Saxo Institute/European Ethnology. But the same international students admit that they don’t go out of their way to make friends with foreign students in their own country.

See 'Exchange student ‘party’ is serious stuff' here .

See the new internationals at orientation meeting

Getting to the orientation meeting proved to be a hassle for some students.

First you had to find the KUA lecture hall. For some students it proved such a difficult task, that they arrived up to an hour late.

Then, once you arrived, you were overloaded with flyers. Studenterhuset, USG and Erasmus to name a few. University Post was also there to give out our postcards which also serve as a free drink voucher at our Party March 16, 2012.

1/3 of full degree students homeless on arrival

A whole 29 per cent, almost a third, of full degree students do not have a place to live upon arriving in Copenhagen.

This is according to a recent study that also shows that three out of every five full degree students must find their accommodation on their own and three out of five full degree students are forced to move during their stay.

Newsroom's choice: Old KUA

The demolition workers have done their job well. Old KUA, the former site of the Faculty of Humanities, has been stripped to the bone.

»In the beginning, KUA staff had the possibility to pick up plants, signs and furniture,« constructor Anders Wede explains.

The demolition crew then sold everything from copper cables to handle knobs. Huge amounts of plaster have been transported to an entrepreneur in the Netherlands and KUA's old roofing felt is to be turned into asphalt.

Extensive re-use

»Everything left is to be re-used in the new KUA buildings,« says Anders Wede.

Overwhelming first day for new students

Copenhagen is a good place to be, say international students.

The Danish language, and the new university procedures are overwhelming. But most Danes speak English, and this helps things along.

International students had got together Thursday, some for their very first Danish language course, some for the University's orientation. It was a chance for newly arrived international students to meet the university, other exchange students and to learn something about the country where they’ll be spending the next few months.