FALL2018

EXCHANGEREPORT

COPENHAGENBUSINESSSCHOOLDENMARK

CHAN,ChiKin(Oscar)BBA(GBUS&ECON)

ChanChiKin(Oscar)|2018FallSemesterCopenhagenBusinessSchoolExchange 2

A. MonthlyJournal:

August

IarrivedCopenhagenon24thAugustandwaswelcomedbyaperfectsunnydayandfriendlyDanes.Inthefirstfewdaysofmyarrival,Ispentalotoftimetogettoknowtheareaaroundmydorm.

IjoinedtheintroductionweeksocialpackagethatImetalotofnewexchange friends. There were also sightseeing tours bringing usaroundtoseethebestpartofthecity!

September

After having a lot of fun in the introductionweek, our school hadofficiallystartedon1stSeptember.Someofmycoursesstartedprettyearly at 8am, which were so different from that in HKUST. Theirteachingstyleweresimilar toHKUST,buttheyrequiredmoretake-homereadingsovertheweekend.

On the samemonth, I joined the Denmark tour organized by CBSInternational Student Group. We went to other major cities andtouristspots inthecountry.MyexchangefriendsandIenjoyedthetripalot.IalsowenttoCroatiaandSwedenaftertheDenmarktour–whatafruitfulmonth!

October

Mid-OctoberwasthestudybreakweektoendQ1ofthesemester.SincemyexamtookplaceinearlyNovember, Igraspedthisopportunity totravelaroundEurope.Myfriendand Iwentonatrip toIreland,wherewesawthebeautifulCliffsofMoher!MyIrishfriendonCBSexchangewashomeforabreakbychancesohebroughtusaroundtoexperienceIrelandinalocalway.

AsmyAsianfriendsandIwerecravingforhotpot,weorganizedahotpotgatheringwiththeAsiancommunityinCBS.ItwasquiteinterestingtomeetAsiansfromallaroundtheworld.

ChanChiKin(Oscar)|2018FallSemesterCopenhagenBusinessSchoolExchange 3

November

Afterstudyinghardformy4-hoursit-inwrittenexaminearlyNovember,myfriendsandIwenttoIcelandasaretreat.Thehighlightofthetripwastheglacierhiking,whichwesawthesunsetonanicemountain.IhadmyDanishoralexaminmid-November.EventhoughDanishisoneofthemostdifficultlanguagesintheworldasthepronunciationisdifficultandthegrammarisdifferentfromEnglish,itwasfunlearningitwhileyou’reinDenmark.

December

TheweekbeforeChristmasEve,ourdormhadaChristmaspartyandsomegiftexchangeactivitiesasourlastdormgatheringtowrapupourexchangejourney.Beforeleavingthebeautifulcity,Ispentmostofthetimefare-wellingmyfriendsandwalkedaroundCopenhagen.

Althoughit’ssadtosaygoodbyetothisbeautifulcityandfriends,Iamsogratefulwiththisexperience,andIbelieveIwillseeyouagain,Copenhagen!

BiggestLessonLearnt:

AfterstayingfourmonthsinDenmark,thereareseveralmainlessonsIhavelearnt.

1. Every friendship requires both side to makeeffort to initiate and maintain, especially in across-culturalenvironment

2. Cherish every singlemoment you have as thatmaybeyourlasttimechillinginthiscoffeeshop,seeing suchabeautiful view,or talking to yourgoodfriend

3. TherearemoretoseeintherestoftheworldI am fortunate enough to explore the globe through HKUST academic exchange programme.Reflectingonmyexperience,thiswasinfactagreatjourneytodevelopmyselfpersonallyandwidenmyhorizoncomingtoEurope.Iwoulddefinitelyrecommendeveryonetogoabroadforasemester.

ChanChiKin(Oscar)|2018FallSemesterCopenhagenBusinessSchoolExchange 4

B. GeneralExchangeInformation:

VisaProcedure

Youwill receiveemails fromCBS regardingvisaapplicationprocedures. Since thenearestDanishembassyisinGuangzhou,youhavetobringallthenecessarydocuments,photosandprintedforms& copies there. The application processwill take up to 2months, so apply as soon as you havereceivedtheinformationfromCBS.Forfurtherinformationaboutvisaapplication,feelfreetochecktheofficialvisaapplicationwebsiteout:http://www.denmarkvac.cn/contactus.htmlOrientationActivities

CBSusuallyofferstwotypesofsocialorientationactivitiesbeforethestartofthesemester.Thefirstpackageisthe“DanishCrashCourseWeek”,whichincludesone-weekDanishlessonsandafter-classsocial events. Since thatwas held theweek before I arrived, I didn’t participate in any of theseactivities.Thesecondpackage is “IntroductionWeekSocialPackage”,which I stronglyencourageeveryonetojoinasyoucanmeetalotofnewfriendsthere.Thispackagecostedme575DKKanditincludedDanishtraditionalfolkdance,canaltour,Danishmovienightandwelcomingdinner.

DuringmystayinCopenhagen,thereweretwotoursarrangedbyCBS–DenmarkandBerlintrip.CBSwillsendyouanemailregardingthetoursbeforeyourarrival.IjoinedtheDenmarktourtoAalborgandAarhus-secondandthirdlargestcitiesinDenmarkafterCopenhagen.Iexperiencedthesimplesideofthecountry,whichhaveastarkcontrastwiththecapitalofhustle.Unfortunately,IwasinCroatiathatIcouldnotjointheBerlintripbutthefeedbacksweregood.InternationalServices&Activities

The CBS InternationalOffice is very helpful and theywill handle all the enquires fromexchangestudents.Theyprovidedexcellentsupportbeforeandduringtheexchange.Makesureyoudonotmissanyoftheimportantemailsfromtheinternationaloffice.Theofficewillalsoassignyouwithalocal exchange buddy that help you with local integration by picking you up in the airport/somewhereinthecityareaandhelpyousettledown.Accommodations

YouwillreceiveemailsfromCBShousingofficeaboutthestudenthousingapplicationprocedure.IwouldsuggestyousetareminderfortheonlineapplicationdatesincethecompetitionforCBSdormisveryfierce.Evenifyoumisstheapplicationdate,youcantrytoemailCBShousingofficetoaskifthereisanydormvacancyleft/privatehousingrecommendation.

IlivedinSvanevej,whichisnearNørrebrotrainstationand10-minsbikeawayfromCBS.WhatIlikedthemostaboutthedormisthebigcommonroom,kitchenandrooftop,wherealotofmeaningfulconversationandfungatheringstookplace.Yet,theareanearSvanevejhavealotofnewimmigrantsandsomehomelesspeoplearound.Ifyouprioritizesociallifeovertheconditionaroundthedorm,Svanevejwillbeyourchoice.

ChanChiKin(Oscar)|2018FallSemesterCopenhagenBusinessSchoolExchange 5

CourseRegistration

CBS academic office will send you an email with detailed information regarding the courseregistrationprocedure.Checkyouremailfrequentlyandreadthedetailedinstructions.

TherearemanycoursesforeconomicsmajorstudentsinHKUST.Studentscannormallytakefourcoursesasemester,butyoucanrequestforoverloadtotakeuptofiveclasses.UnlikeHKUST’sclasstimetable,CBSallowstudentstohaveclassscheduleoverlap.Teaching&AssessmentMethods

LectureteachingstyleissimilartothatinHKUST.However,theassessmentmethodinCBSisverydifferentfromHKUSTthattheirfinalexaminationpapercounts100%ofthetotalgrade.Evenifyoufail, there will be re-take examination a few weeks after your first attempt. We observed thatstudentsinCBSarelessstressedbecauseofthesepolicies.Sports&RecreationFacilities

CBS is a city-university that they only have a power-lifting room in the campus. Friends aroundnormallypurchasedamonthlygymsubscriptionataprivatefitnesscentrewithaffordableprice.Iboughtastudentswimmingpass,whichcosts450DKKforthepool10minutesawayfrommydorm.

Forrecreationalactivities,everyThursdaythereisapartyincampusorganizedbyacampusbarcalled“Nexus”.At thestartof thesemester, therewillbeahugepartyorganizedbyNexus,which IdostronglyencourageyoutogotoexperiencetheworkhardplayhardcultureinDenmark.Finance&Banking

DanishKroner(DKK)istheofficialcurrencyinDenmark.Youcanopenabankaccountthereandapplyforadebit card foryourday todaypayment.Themajorbanks inDenmarkchargeyouacertainamountoffeetocreateabankaccount.Ifyouwishtohaveabankaccountforfree,trytoexplorethelesspopularoptionssuchasArbejdernesLandsbank,LanSparandSparNord.

AnalternativetowithdrawcashisthroughEuronetATMmachines,whicharehighlyavailableinthecityarea.YoucanwithdrawmoneywithyourHongKongbankcardthathasaUnionPaylogo.DonotforgettoactivatetheoverseasUnionPaycashwithdrawalfunctionbeforeheadingtoDenmark.SocialClubs&NetworkingOpportunities

Therewasaclubpromotiondayinthefirstmonthofthesemesterwhereallthesocialclubswillsetupaboothtorecruitnewmembers.IpersonallyrecommendyoujoinAIESECinCBS,aninternationalyouth-runorganizationdeveloping leadership skills inyoungpeople throughoverseas internshipsandvolunteeringexchanges.Forotherclubs,therewerealotofFacebookeventspromotion.Chooseeventsthatyouareinterestedinandsignuponline-youmightbemeetsomelike-mindedfriendstherethatwillmakeyourexchangeexperienceablast!

ChanChiKin(Oscar)|2018FallSemesterCopenhagenBusinessSchoolExchange 6

Inmid-October,therewasacareerday,whichwassimilartocareermosaicinHKUST.Otherthanthecareerday,thereweremanyrecruitmenttalksorganizedbyCBScareercentreforyoutonetwork.SincesomeoftheworkshopswereinDanishonly,youhavetodoublecheckbeforesigningup.Health&Safety

Tapwater inDenmark issafetodrink,sonoworries! Incaseyouaresick,bringalongthehealthinsurance card issued by theDenmark government that youwill receive after your CPR numberregistration.Youcanalsopurchaseahalf-yeartravel insurancebeforeyourdeparturefromHongKongtoclaimothermedicalexpensesifseedoctorwhenyouaretravellinginothercountries.

Copenhagenisgenerallyaverysafecity. Infact,duringmytimeonexchange,therewereseveralshootingincidentsindistrictsnearmydorm.Somecarswereburntduringthatperiodaswell.Otherthanthat,IfeltverysafestayinginCopenhagen.Giventhatsaid,youshouldkeepaneyeonyourpersonalbelongingsandstayalertwiththingshappeningaroundyou.Food

TherearenotalotofvarietiesinDanishcuisines.ThemostDanishdisheswouldbeopensandwiches,draftbeerandDanishpastry.DiningoutisexpensiveinDenmark,andthereforemostoftheexchangestudentswentforthemoreaffordableoptionstocookbythemselves,oreatinCBScanteen.Transportation

BikingcultureisverypopularinCopenhagen.Youcaneitherbuyasecond-handbikeuponarrivalorrentyourbikeviaSwapfiets,whichprovidesmaintenanceserviceandfreedelivery.BusesandmetroareveryconvenientwithinCopenhagendistrictaswell.Youcanapplyfora“Rejserkort”card,whichisequivalenttoOctopuscardinHongKong.Furthermore,therearenocheck-in/outgatesinallthemetrostations.Remembertotapthecardwhenyouareentering/leavingthestationasyouwillbefinedfor750DKKifyouforgottotapwhensecurityguardscheckyourcard.Climate

DuringmyfourmonthsstayinCopenhagenfromAugusttoDecember,theweathervariedalot,fromthewarmandbeautifulweathereverydayinthesummertimetothewindy,rainyandcoldwinter.Prepareenoughwarmclothesifyoudonotgetusedtocoldweather.Communication

YouwillreceiveafreeSIMcardfromtheCBSwelcomingpackagethatyourbuddywillgiveyouonthedayofyourarrival.Youneedtotopupyourcardmonthlyforthedataplan.Duringmyexchange,Ispent99DKKpermonthfor10hoursofcall+60GBof4Gdatawith4GBinclusiveforroaminginEUcountries–gooddeal!

ChanChiKin(Oscar)|2018FallSemesterCopenhagenBusinessSchoolExchange 7

C. ItemstoBring:

Apartfrombasic itemssuchasclothes,shoesandcash,etc., followingarethe itemsthat Iwouldstronglysuggestyoutobring/somethingIregretnotbringing:

Items AmountAdapters 2roundpinsAnextraphone Incaseyourphoneisstolenorbroken(taxmakeseverythingexpensive) Calculators SomeCBSexamsonlyallowfinancialcalculators:HP10bll+orTexasBAIIPlusFormaloutfit Forformaldinner,networkingorpresentationHEATTECH Bringsufficientamount–itwillbefreezinginthewinter!IDphotos 2-4copiesSmalllock 1forlockerinhostelwhenyouaretravellingSnacks Incaseyouarecravingforsnacksfromhome!D. UsefulLinksandContacts:

• CBSExchange:All informationaboutexchangingatCBS, includingstudenthousing,courseregistration can be found at this link - https://www.cbs.dk/en/international-opportunities/international-students/guestexchange-student

• Emergency:Call+45112incaseofanyemergency• Flixbus:ExploreEuropebybus-https://global.flixbus.com/• Hostel.com:StayinginhostelisagoodwaytosavemoneyforyourEuropetrips.Hostel.com

isagoodoptiontofindarighthosteltostay-https://www.hostelworld.com/• Skyscanner:Agoodwebsitetofindcheapflighttickets-https://www.skyscanner.com

IfyouwishtolearnmoreinformationaboutmyexchangeinCBS,feelfreetogetmycontactfrom

SBMExchangeTeambyemailingatbmugexch@ust.hk.Enjoyyourexchange!