ExchangeReportCopenhagenBusinessSchool,Denmark

PatRattanarungruengchai

(GlobalBusinessandEconomics)Fall2017

TableofContent

PartIMonthlyActivityLog3PartIIGeneralExchangeInformation5PartIIIItemstoBring7PartIVUsefulContact8

PartI:MonthlyActivityLog

August2017IarrivedinDenmarkAirportandabuddywhowasassignedbyCBScametopick me up. They will send you to your accommodation with keys and awelcomepackage.ThismonthwasmainlyinvolvedingettingyourselfreadyforyourstayinDenmark.IthenlaterwenttoopenabankaccountinNordeaBankandregisteredmyCPRasaDanishcitizenatthetownhall.IalsotookthechancethismonthtosightseearoundCopenhagenwithmyfriends.

September2017Classes began on the first of September 2017 for the fall semester. Thismonth,youmainlyhaveintroductionclasses.ItookfourclassesandtheyallbeganonSeptember.NoticethatcertainclassesatCBSonlybeginafterthe2ndmonth(thosearecalledsecondquarterclasses).ThismonthIhadclassesononlycertainweekdaysandwasfreeforsomedaysneartheweekend. ItookthechancetotraveltoothercountriesinEuropelikeGermanyandwenttothelollapaloozamusicfestival.IalsovisitedAustriaandFrancelaterthismonth.October2017October began with certain exams where the classes that only were halfquarterwouldhaveexamsduringthismonth.Fortunatelyforme,myexamswereallinDecember.Therefore,thereisalsoanOctoberbreakduringthistimeof theyear.DuringOctober,manyEuropeansalsocelebrate thebeerdrinkingOctoberfestandwouldagreatopportunityforyoutovisitGermanyduringthistimeoftheyear.Forme,ItookthebreaktogotoFranceandItaly,

visitingSouthern toNorthern Italy. Iwouldhighly recommendyou to takesometimetoalsovisitotherEuropeancountriesduringtheOctoberbreak,astheweatherinCopenhagencanbequitedarkandgloomywithrainduringthistimeoftheyear.

November2017Asexamsbegantostrike,thismonthformewasmainlyinvolvedwithgroupprojectsandpreparationsfortheexam.TherearemanytypesofexamsatCBS, and I will further elaborate on the part II of this exchange report.However,Novemberwasthemonththat Iwasmainlybusywithuniversityandpreparingmyself formyexams.However, ifyoualreadyhave finishedyourexamsinOctober,thenyouwillhavesomefreetimeduringthismonth.Thismainlydependsonthecoursesyoutake.Nonetheless,blackFridayisalsoabigthinginNovember,soifyouareinterestedinbuyingstuff,youshouldtakealookintovariousstores,becausetherearebigdiscountsduringBlackFriday.

December2017DuringDecember,examswillprobablybefinished.Thismonthisthemonthof Christmas. Danish people are take a lot of significance in celebratingChristmas,therefore,Decemberforthemisquitefestive.Youwillbeabletoobservechangesintheenvironment,likelightsandtreesthroughoutthecity.Moreover, you should also be aware of the different sales and discountpromotionsofChristmas.TherewillalsobeChristmasmarketsaroundtown.IspentthismonthtravellingbothinCopenhagenandtoothercountrieslikeIceland,Norway,Sweden,andFinland.Iwouldhighlyrecommendyoutoalsoexperience other Christmas in other European countries because eachcountryhastheirownculture.Youshouldalsotrythecaramelizedalmonds,gloggwine,andotherChristmastraditionsinDenmark.

PartII:GeneralExchangeInformation

VisaProceduresCBSwillimmediatelycontactyouregardingyourvisaapplicationafterHKUSThas approved your exchange university with CBS. For me, as I was aninternationalstudentinHongKong,IdidmyvisainmyhomecountryundertheVFS.IfyouareaHongKongresident,IassumeyouonlyhavetogointoChina to do the visa, as I have heard fromothers that there is noDanishConsulateinHongKong.However,thevisadocumentsarerelativelysimpleandaslongasyoufollowCBS’sinstructions,thereshouldbenoproblem.Butpleasedosparesometimefortheapplicationprocess,althoughminetooklessthanaweekformyvisatobeapproved.

OrientationActivitiesCBSwillarrangesomefreeofchargeorientationactivities forallexchangestudents.Inadditiontothat,CBSalsohostsvariousextraorientationactivitiesintheWelcomePackageforexchangestudents.However,youwillhavetopayanextraofaround500DanishKroneforcertainpackages.TheseincludeDanishculturaldance,boattripsinthecity,andcitytour.IwouldrecommendyoutoparticipateintheextraWelcomePackage,asyouwillbeabletomeetmoreexchangestudentsaswellasexperiencetheDanishcultureinauniquemanner.

Accommodation

There are different type of housing at CBS. You can browse through theirwebsiteandchoosethetypeofroomandlocationyouwant.Somearenearthecampusandsomearen’t.Forme, IstayedatPorcelaenshavenandit islocatedveryclosetothemaincampus.Itwasveryconvenienttogetaroundtownforme,asitwasonlyafewminutewalktoabusstopormetro.Ihighlyrecommend this place. However, there are also other types of

accommodationindifferenthousingstylesandcommunity.CBSwillsendyoua link regarding the application process. However, please be aware thathousingisverycompetitiveforCBSandinCopenhageningeneral.Therefore,bereadywithacomputerwhentheapplicationprocessopens,orelseyoumighthavetofindprivatehousingyourselfforyourstayinDenmark.

CourseRegistrations

Course registration at CBS is relatively simple as the International Officewouldhelpyouregardingthisissue.Yousimplylookatthecoursesthattheyofferduringyoursemesterandemailyour listofpreferenceaccordingly. Ifyouaredesperatetogetintoaspecificcourse,youcanalsoaskHKUSTforaletterofpriorityforyoutogetintothecourseyoudesire.Therecanbetimeconflictinthecourseregistration.However,CBSdoesnothaveattendance,anditisuptoyourdecisionwhetherifyouwouldliketochangecoursesorjustleaveitthewayitis.

TeachingandExams

ThelearningenvironmentatCBSisrelativelyopenandfree.Youareallowedtoaskanyquestionsandprofessorsaretheretoteachandlecture.Theyhavevery clear goals and expect you to be there. However, if youwish to notattendtheclasses,itisalsoyouroption,asattendanceisnotcompulsoryinany courses. Theexams inCBSare in3different types:Written,Oral, andHomeAssignment.Writtenisatypicalexamwhereyousitandtakeanexamataspecific timeanddate.Fororalexam,youhavetopresentyourexamregardingaspecifictopicorthingofthatcourseto2examiners.ForHomeAssignment, this ismainly awritten report that you can do any time youpreferbutsubmitatagivendeadlineonline.

Sports,ClubsandRecreationSports inCBSisquite limited,astheydonotofferavariety likecertainbigschools.Youcanchecktheiruniversity’ssportswebsite forthesportsthey

offerlikeTennis,Basketball,etc.However,therearealsoothergymsatCBSrunbyothercompaniesthatprovidediscountforCBSstudentslikeFitnessDKFalkoner at Frederiksberg, just near the CBS main campus. You can alsoconsiderjoiningclubsforsportsthataren’tcompetitiveinnatureandattendtheir weekly practice sessions.More information can be found when youarriveatCBS.

FinanceandBanking

LivinginDenmark,youaremainlyexpectedtousecardormobilepay.Thisisbecausecashishighlylimitedinthecountryandthemajorityofpeoplepayby card. Therefore, you should definitely consider opening a local bankaccount in Copenhagen. There are various banks but I would recommendNordeaBank,asitistheeasiesttoopenforinternationalstudents.Thestaffarealsoreallyfriendlyandhelpfulcomparedtootherbanks.

Food

Denmark offers a variety of Food. There are local Danish markets likeTorvehallernethatIwouldalsorecommendyoutovisittobothbuyfoodandfreshgroceries.However,thepriceofeatingoutcanbequiteexpensive. IfyoucompareitwithHongKong,itwouldcostyouover100HKDforasimpleandeasymeal.Yet, ifyoueatatafancierrestaurant, itcancostyoumorethan500HKDforameal.However,tapwaterinDenmarkissafeandclean,andalsoconsideredoneofthebestintheworld.Therefore,thereisdefinitelyatleastsomethingfreeforyou.

HealthandSafety

Denmark isa relativelysafecountry.Thereshouldbenoproblemsforyoutravellingaloneatnightbecausethecrimerateislowinthiscity.However,youshouldbeawareofcertaingangfightsinsomedistrictsofthecity.Yet,youshouldn’tbeworriedaboutyoursafetyinDenmarkingeneral.Forhealthproblems,theDanishsystemwillofferyouahealthcardwhereyoucanvisitadoctor.ThehealthsysteminDenmarkisfreeofchargeandyouwillbegiven

freeadviceandmedicalassistance.However, thedoctorswillnotgiveyouanymedicine forcertainsymptoms, therefore,youwillhave togo to localpharmaciststobuythemedicine,likeApotek.Ihaveneverhadtheexperienceofgoingtoadoctororpharmacysomycommentonthatwillbequitelimited.But in general, it should be no worry for you to get medical care inCopenhagen.

Transportation

Copenhagen is a small town and transportation is easy. You can take themetroorbus.However, I findbicyclingquite convenientas therearebikelanesthroughoutthecity.However,youwillhavetobeagoodbikertobikein Denmark as Danish bikers can bike quite fast, so you won’t be in anyaccidents.Imainlytransportedwithabike.Nonetheless,themetroisalsoaconvenientwayof travellingas it connectsbetween theairport to variouslocationsaroundtown.

ClimateTheweatherinDenmarkcanbequitecoldandgloomy.Rainisfrequentandsun is rare.Depending on themonth and year, rain can fall everyday andthroughout the day. August is mainly sunny. However, September toDecemberwillmainlyconsistofstrongwindandrain.ItalsogetscoolerfromSeptember,where temperaturewould drop to single digit. Therefore, youshouldbepreparedfortheweatherhereandalsobringclothesandjacketsthatarewaterresistant.

Communication

Communicatingwith locals in Denmark should be easy because locals canspeakbothDanish andEnglish. There shouldbenoproblemwhenyougooutside,asEnglish is taught in thebasicschoolingof theDanisheducationsystem.

CautionaryMeasuresDenmarkisrelativelysafe.However,youshouldjustbewareofpickpocketsandgeneralrulesandlawofeachcountry.Youshouldkeepinmindthatyouareaforeignerandalsolivelifewithawarenessofyoursafety,regardlessofanywhereyoutravel.Also,followtherulesandyoushouldbefine.

PartIII:ItemstoBring

1. AdaptorsforEUPlug2. PersonalIDandphotosforcertaindocuments3. CasheitherinEuroorDanishKrone.4. Warmclothes(WinteriscoldinDenmark)5. Medicine(Ifany)6. SmallSuitcase(FortripsinEurope)7. SuitorFormaldresscode

PartIV:UsefulContacts

1. CBS International Office, Dalgas Have 15, 2V.020, 2000 Frederiksberg (E-mail: ahc.intoff@cbs.dk)

2. Danish Emergency Helpline Tel: +45 1813 3. Emergency Line Tel: +45 112 (For Life-Threatening Illnesses and Situations) 4. Danish Non Urgent Police Assistance Line Tel: +45 114 (There is also a large police

station at Copenhagen Central Station – useful for reporting any incidences of theft.) *If you’d like any more information, please feel free to reach out to me by contacting the SBM Exchange Team at bmugexch@ust.hk.