New internationals angered by housing chaos

Plenty of students attended the second international orientation meeting of the semester at the Faculty of Humanities on Wednesday 1st of September.

The auditorium was full up, and an unfortunate handful of students were forced to perch on the steps for the two hour marathon info-session.

But for some homeless international students, information on moose-safaris in Sweden and courses on the Danish Welfare Model was not high on their list of priorities.

Discouraging

Top 5 places to get free or cheap stuff

For international students arriving in Copenhagen, housing is the top priority.

But once the key to the anticipated dorm room or shared apartment has been collected, it is time to make the tiny bare space feel like home – a cosy refuge from the social whirlwind and new experiences that lie ahead.

For tips on how to decorate on a budget, the Copenhagen way, here is our top 5 list of places to scavenge, barter or buy cheap stuff:

5. Flea markets

Black humour and culture shock at intro event

High summer means new students in town, and the first introductory meeting for international students was held Monday 9 August.

Around 500 curious students packed into the Christian Hansen auditorium at the Faculty of Social Sciences (CSS) Monday afternoon.

See our photo gallery of the event here.

The first hour of the meeting was highly practical: the Danish welfare state has a lot to offer, but requires a whole list of papers to be filled out. Unfamiliar with these, the audience had to take notes continuously.

Culture shock preparation

Report: Giant campus a good idea

The idea of an enormous campus area in Copenhagen, with student housing, sports facilities, shops and restaurants is worth pursuing, according to a private think tank.

The campus would attract new talented young people from abroad and encourage them to stay in Denmark by giving them a social network, according to ThinkTankTalents.

The study concludes that in order to be successful, the campus must have »a strong culture and a story to tell«.

Brewery is the best location

Internationals flock to new pharma MSc

English-language Pharmaceutical Science MSc attracts more internationals than expected. 14 out of the 30 new students starting on 1 September are international students.

This is according to the faculty’s website.

2010 is the first year that the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences offers an international MSc programme in the pharmaceutical sciences, taught in English.

Exceeded expectations

When the course was launched, it was estimated that around 5 international students would take part. However, the new MSc has been a bigger hit internationally than first thought.

Return ticket makes leaving easier

Karen Hewell from Arizona, USA, is, like so many other international students, facing the prospect of packing up and leaving Copenhagen behind.

She has been through reverse culture shock before, and knows what to expect. In spite of this, she still had to book a ticket back to Copenhagen before she could come to terms with the idea of leaving.

See Karen's blog on leaving Copenhagen here.

Copenhagen did not live up to fairy tale

For Greek student Vasia Moragianni, an Erasmus exchange semester in Copenhagen made such an impact that she decided to return as a full-degree Master’s student.

But neither her home country, nor the post-Erasmus Copenhagen lived up to her expectations. On her return, she found it very hard to resume her life in Greece:

»It was really hard. I was here from January to May and I had a great time in Copenhagen, so the moment that I landed at the airport and I met my father, I just said ‘I want to go back to Denmark’,« she explains.