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Personal experiences of a QA board member

Tom is a full degree student at the University of Copenhagen. He is just about to wrap up his two years of studying in Denmark. For the past semester Tom has been a board member and enjoyed it tremendously. Read about Tom’s positive experiences and consider running for the board at the General Assembly on March 17.

Tom Fletcher

My name is Tom Fletcher and for the last five months I have had the privilege to be a board member for the QA programme. I love QA for its ability to bring Danish and international students together. So after being a mentor I decided at the General Assembly to put myself forward for election to the board. After joining I soon found out what was involved and I assigned myself to become one of the coordinators of the Academic Platform and part of the Administration team for the duration of my term. As an admin team member I had two main jobs: to help set up and carry out interviews with potential mentors and to help be in charge of the programme’s email. 

At first this was daunting as I had never interviewed anyone before but i soon learnt to rely on my friends who had done board work before to guide me. They helped me and told me what was involved and we soon set up interviews and invited students to apply. I loved this experience because I grew in confidence about communicating QA and its values and workings and began to engage with potential mentors. Whilst an admin team member, I began to see that looking after the QA email was an important part of the job as queries and questions began to come into view. However, I always had someone to ask if I was not sure how to respond. This process of admin helped me to get to know the workings of QA and I liked helping other mentees get the most of of their experience in Copenhagen.

As a board member I helped run the Academic Platform during the autumn term. I helped set up a James Bond Marathon to watch as many films as possible before Spectre (The newest release staring Daniel Craig ) came to the cinemas. I presented on the link between the author Ian Fleming, his work in naval intelligence and the Cold War in which the early films were released to present an academic approach to the film franchise. Fun was had by all involved and the final trip to see Spectre at the October was very successful as well.  

So how would I summarise my experience as a QA board member? The last five months have been a huge amount of fun. The board members and I have become very close and I have enjoyed seeing the inner workings of the programme up close. The work of a board member is never boring but diverse, fun and even in the stressful times I could always count on the support of everyone to see me through. Therefore, I am very grateful for the help of my fellow board members for helping me during the process. 

Please consider standing for election this term as it is an amazing opportunity not to be missed. Even after stepping down, I will look forward to seeing how the next elected members will take this excellent project into the future, but will also be on hand to answer questions and offer advice on issues whenever they arise. Involvement in QA has been a lovely part of my stay in Denmark and I am very grateful that in running for board election I was able to be involved in its   workings and help it continue to support international students upon arrival even in a very small way.

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With kaleidoscope eyes

Kasper is a former mentor and a current board member in the QA Programme. Currently he is doing a semester abroad in Hong Kong. Read his account about the challenges that you might face as an international student in a foreign environment.

Kasper Schiødt

When the plane hit the asphalt in Hong Kong International Airport, it was my turn to be an exchange student in a foreign new culture. I was excited to see how such a well-established international metropolis as Hong Kong dealt with internationalisation and a multicultural student environment. 

Through the past two semesters, I have helped international students in Copenhagen, both by being a mentor and a board member in the QA Programme. Trying my best to better the experience for students coming to a new place and helping to make everyone feel as a part of the local student body. I believed that with my wide perspective on international/local-student milieu, I would easily be able to fit in with the locals. No problem, right?  I overestimated myself… of course... I quickly found that my broad experience and insights, my kaleidoscope eyes, were in fact not as far seeing as I had hoped. The problem of integrating into the local student environment is not easy when you have help, every international student in Denmark can tell you that – but it is practically impossible when you do not! Walking around campus, I often found myself the observer, rather than an active participant. One time a couple of international students and myself turned a corner on campus and ran into a huge gathering of local students. They had enacted colourful stalls with food and various mini-games. Local bands were playing and everyone were having fun. That is everyone but the international students, who had no idea what was happening. We were the only westerners in sight. As it turned out, this festival had been in the making for months. Advertised countless times on email, in the dorms and through colourful posters all over campus… But in Cantonese.

A couple of days later I looked closer at an email written in Chinese and it said in the end: international students are welcome too! Cleary the internationals had not taken it to heart. Almost none showed up. A user on Reddit once asked if anyone else had ever been alone in a crowded room. That was basically how we felt. Not surprisingly local students converse in Cantonese and they are not that into speaking English, unless you make them. This is exactly the problem the QA Programme are fighting here in Copenhagen. And for the first time since I started involving myself in the international environment at KUA, I could see how much the programme is helping. It was a mind-blowing realisation for me – hitherto I had been frustrated that we just seemed to create a new international environment instead of integrating the two student populations. Now, I have seen how a university without a mentor organisation deal with international students. In the university’s defence it should be said, they are very good at making sightseeing and hiking trips for international students. However, there is almost no events bringing local and exchange students together. That is what QA Programme is all about! Since that time at the festival, I have come to terms with the fact that I probably won’t be a part of the normal student-body in Hong Kong, but I have found local, mainland and international friends in abundance and I haven’t spoken Danish in about two months.

Seeing the university with my kaleidoscope eyes (The Beatles used drugs, I used the QA ), has brought me great insight and helped me enormously during my stay. Every student should go abroad and in my opinion, every student should be a mentor before going!

Knowing how to deal with a lot of very different people, having an idea of what it feels like to be new in town, and lastly what culture shock really is… All of this is something you will thank yourself for having experienced beforehand. At least I did.

It did not make my stay worse, that I already knew people in Hong Kong, through my former mentee in the QA Programme. Joining the QA Programme and QA Alumni is definitely useful and even more in the future! Have a great international Christmas everyone!

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Cabin Trip Throwback: The Volunteer Edition!

Fabian Potthoff is an international exchange student from Germany. He was one of the much treasured volunteers at the Spring semester 2015 Cabin Trip. Fabian and his fellow volunteers did an awesome job in preparing and executing the trip, and we simply could not have done it without them. Read about his experience here - who knows, maybe you want to help out at this semester’s Cabin Trip?

Fabin Potthoff

Friday, 6th March 2015 , the clock just turned 3 pm.

The sun flooded the communal room; outdoors you can just hear the sounds of nature — apart from the monotonous noise of the highway from afar. It should be those last quiet moments before a voice echoes through the whole Cabin: “The bus is coming! The bus is coming!” In a few minutes, around 60 people will inhabit this place and hopefully experience a memorable weekend …But this is actually not the beginning of this story …

 Months before, at a mentoring workshop.

I myself am an exchange student and I had a great team of mentors last semester which has warmheartedly welcomed me to Copenhagen. In one of our many meetings, my mentor told me how he had supported the last “Cabin Trip” and how much fun he had doing it. Since I now also became a mentor, I did not want to miss this experience and signed up as a volunteer.

Since the start of the Cabin Trip was not far away, meetings followed quickly. So two weeks later a motley crowd of volunteers and board members have met and distributed the field of duties. Everyone could decide where they wanted to help and also how much effort they wanted to put into it. This was one of the greatest strengths: Everyone just had to do as much as they could. Time-dependent problems were taken seriously and every time someone could quickly step in if needed.

At every meeting all the creature comforts of a student were present: Cola, beer, lots of coffee and cookies! In these brief and ever fun meetings we talked about accruing tasks and created schedules for the bar and the kitchen. There was once an extended meeting many participated at with a slight hangover from the Fridays’ bar tour the day before. Luckily there was pizza and coffee—some proper hangover killers!

 Now back to the beginning of this story.

It took exactly 90 seconds after the first “The bus is here”chant: a horde of people stormed into the communal room and rushed to the drinks and chips-laden table. Here it should be mentioned that a small group of fearless volunteers went to the cabin a day before, waited for the food supply and prepared everything.

But now that all arrived, we volunteers were in great demand: it finally got started! We presented ourselves as their counterparts and told them a bit about the stunning program awaiting them. Soon after, the participants moved to their rooms and we volunteers opened the bar and started preparing dinner.

Of course, as volunteers, we were not always roped in. We had enough free time and could enjoy the whole trip, participate in the activities and come into contact with people from many countries around the world. However, to support the others was oftentimes so much fun that you  helped each other anyway. Whether at the bar or in the kitchen.

During the trip, new friendships were obtained between us volunteers, and everyone discovered their strengths and weaknesses. Everyone is good at something. Cooking, photography, bartending or managing social activities. Perhaps there were one or two who realized that they’re more like “epicures” and not suited for organizing  or supporting others. That’s also fine and quite natural.

Thanks to our excellent preparation and strong but friendly company between all of us volunteers, it was a simple task to master this trip. We certainly have managed to make it, for the majority of participants, an unforgettable trip.

At the party Saturday night, the alcohol flowed freely and there was dancing and singing until after 4 am. Especially the midnight snack became increasingly popular and provided a refreshment, so everybody was able to continue dancing. 

On the last day, even during cleaning, all participants had fun. When they entered the bus to head home, one could only see happy and satisfied people.

For a volunteer, this is always the highest reward: The time one has invested has paid off and brought to many a great experience—including oneself!

It was an incredibly wonderful experience, all things considered. Volunteering was a lot of fun. I can only recommend to assist the QA Programme in something, ’cause as the recent proverb has it quite appropriately: “Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re part of a team!

Sounds like fun? You can sign up for this semester’s Cabin Trip here: http://qaprogramme.dk/event/qa-cabin-trip-autumn-2015/

...And if you want to volunteer at this semester’s Cabin Trip, drop us a line at [email protected]! 

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A welcome to the cultural madhouse!

This first blog post of the semester is written by Robert Fechete. Robert is the president of the QA Programme. As an international student himself, coming from Romania to study a Masters in Film Studies at the University of Copenhagen, he knows a thing or two about the needs of international students. Robert has been the front man in implementing the new ideas and structural changes, the QA Programme has gone through during the summer. 

As the first blog post of the season, I would like to welcome everybody to a brand new autumn semester here at KUA. The QA Programme is also starting a new season in its development, as over the summer the board of 14 delightful and hard-working students have restructured QA so that it is easier to cut through the technicalities and confusions with the university and get directly to you.

Remember that you are in a new country, with new food, a new style of life and a new culture. Here at QA we celebrate diversity, so we suggest you bring everything that makes you unique with you, however keep your mind open for the whole adventure that is the Danish Cultural Experience. You might find yourself surprised by how this or that is done, by how this or that person behaves, and when you do, remember that they feel the same way about you and it is these marvelous differences that make KUA a great place to be. You will discover, you will learn, maybe you will be surprised and sometimes you might even be shocked, but you most certainly will return mentally vaster and culturally richer. Perhaps even spiritually fuller, as the stories of students coming for one semester, falling in love with everything and returning later are innumerable. It might be your first introduction to becoming a global citizen, a personage of the world, a cosmopolitan.

In this we will assist you with everything you need, all different kinds of events, trips, parties and fancy dinners so that you are welcome whatever ambiance it is that you prefer. And if it happens that we don’t have an event quite to your liking or you would like to try a traditional home event in Denmark, we will facilitate you with everything you need, from funding to human support, to the necessary network.

All you have to do is say so.

Robert and some of the volunteers at the spring cabin trip 2015.

I started my association with the QA Programme by becoming a Mentor and offering to help with some extra tasks and volunteer at certain events, because I thought these were cool students getting something done. That put me on a two and a half year path of meeting some of the greatest and most interesting, intriguing and sometimes downright strange individuals I have ever encountered. We have shared journeys and holidays and inappropriate jokes at the dinner table and an endless parade of memorable life moments. Slices of time and space that I will always carry with me and that have taught me immeasurably more than any university ever has.

Robert showing his helpful nature while serving cake at the Danish birthday party. 

I share my story just so I can say that it is not isolated. There have been hundreds of students who started new here, just like you, and who ended up finding long-term friends who they continue to meet up and adventure with. A certain degree of culture shock is inevitable, but you don’t have to be lonely, depressed, miserable, there is a full world out here and it is wonderfully friendly to students, both Danish and foreign.

All you have to do is make the plunge and join us. Show up, say hi to people, and we will take care of everything else. :)

Happy QA members being happy after a happy cabin trip! 

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Build your talents in the QA (you might even get a job from it!)

Sanne Bergh was one of the founders of the QA Programme but has since graduated from university with a Master of Applied Cultural Analysis. She now works for Maersk, and guess what - she uses her QA skills every day. Here is her take on how you can use the skills you gain in the QA Programme to further your career after university.

Sanne Bergh, Michael Hockenhull (co-founder, former president, now vice president,) Rhina Lindhøj (co-founder and former vice president), and David Folting (co-founder and former treasurer) at the award ceremony where the QA Programme won the International Study Environment Award of 2014!

There are obvious reasons to be a Mentor for international students. It is fun, you meet lots of great people, and it might even increase your chances of getting a study abroad spot.

I am here to argue that it might also be a stepping-stone to build your talents for a future career and give you skills to highlight on you CV and in job applications.

Granted, being one of the founders of the QA Programme, I may be subject to a bit of favouritism when it comes to faculty of Humanities’ international Mentor association. However, I am also a so-called ‘professional’ that has entered the private job market and now is a project coordinator in Maersk. Therefore, I have been asked to share my thoughts on how being a Mentor will prepare you for the mighty job markets of the future, so here they are:

Intercultural skills. I am sure you are familiar with the concept and the context: the world is becoming smaller, we travel, we meet different people, we entangle, and we work across cultures and countries. More and more Danish companies and organisations have English as their working language and attract a variety of employees from all over the world.

We students from KUA are prepared for such a working environment. Right? We study the Human, and aspire to understand variations of relations between humans through theories of culture, history, languages, art and religion. We know about the pitfalls in cultural meetings, at least in theory, but is that the same as knowing how to work them?

When I began my studies in 2007, I do not recall seeing many signs in English on Campus, my classes were not in English, and I never once during my BA in Religion had to do group work or interact with students not raised in Denmark. Rarely in a university context, during classes or breaks, did I experience the cultural, misalignment that I since then have bumped into and have had to learn to manage during my time in QA, and which prepared me to work with Ukrainians, South Africans, Indians, Australians, Brits, Americans, Turks and other nationalities.

Being sensitive to cultural differences, able to express yourself in English in all sorts of situations and capable of working in a cross-cultural environment takes practise. It is not that difficult (though it can be) but it does require experience internalising the tacit routines that arise when you are confronted with different cultures of work, humours, meeting discipline and all the little things. Even when we do know the theory, we may not always have the ability to recognise and react to cultural misalignments in a professional situation unless we have actually tried it. And it is important, because if you can already work in an intercultural setting, you are better predisposed to do the task you are charged with in a job, faster, and ultimately be more successful in your work.

QA exposed me to an international working environment, and, looking back, was in other ways a stepping-stone for me.

We planned big projects for hundreds of people. That experience is useful as so many companies and NGOs these days build their organisations around projects and programmes. Especially when you get hired as a project coordinator it comes in handy. Each semester we in the board would discuss how to structure the association, the work groups and how to organise the up to 350 students we could have in a fall semester. Building the organisation from scratch, I learned some basic insights into organisation management and how to motivate my fellow students. I use these skills every day in my job to help organise the programme organisation I am part of, to build and simplify work processes and to understand some of the logics behind the very large Maersk organisation.

In QA, I was lucky enough to be a coordinator of the social platform. We had about 15 awesome Danish and foreign students whom we had to guide and support in planning their own events or projects for other volunteer students. It was tangible leadership experience and something that has prepared me for leading teams since.

All of the above are just bonuses you get from QA. First of all, you meet amazing people, you have fun and you build an international network.

We who has been in QA are actually so keen on staying connected and keeping alive a network of old QAs that we have started an international QA Alumni association. So if you have been a QA, you will be invited into a network of professionals spread across the world!

Did I by the way mention it was a contact in QA that got me the student job that eventually led to me being hired in a full time position? However, that is another story.

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My experience as a mentor (Tom Fletcher)

Tom is one of our more experienced mentors. For a while now he has actively participated in the Academic Platform, where he has been a part of creating many interesting and popular events. This is a little insight in how a mentor can use their skills.

Tom and his team on the Cabin Trop of Spring 2015.

 This spring term I have been a mentor for the QA Programme.  My job has involved providing support to eight International Students. We have met up for dinner and participated in events organised by QA. I have enjoyed seeing students  enjoy their time on exchange.

My other responsibilities include working on the Academic Platform. It is a team of mentors and mentees who plan events for students along academic lines. We organised a Culture symposium (debate) with the question: motion "Can you be a citizen of the globe while maintaining a national identity?"  This process has improved my networking and organisational skills which are very useful to gain for your CV. As a group we had fun discussing ideas and seeing our event come together.

I would recommend becoming a mentor and joining a platform as it is a great way to make friends and develop new skills.  The process for applying to become a mentor is now open and the following link provides more information.

http://qaprogramme.dk/signup/

 I have reapplied to become a mentor again for next term and cannot wait to meet new students and continue having fun within the QA Programme.

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From a few hours of free time into a life time of experiences

Jacob A. Johansen is a mentor turned board member. In his daily QA life, he is one of the coordinators of the Language Exchange platform. He has also been a big part of planning this semester’s Cabin Trip. This is his QA story

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  For me my initiation into the QA was quite coincidental and I remember it quite vividly since it happened on my birthday two years ago. After a day of studying, I found myself with a few hours to kill before meeting some friends for a drink. As I was heading out of the main building, I saw a speed friending event going on, and decided to check it out.

The event was arranged, not surprisingly, by the QA-Programme and I was soon chatting away with a bunch of international students. For me this was a brand new experience, since I never had any contact with the International students at university even though I knew there were plenty. And at that time I never heard about the program at all.

A few weeks later, an acquaintance of mine introduced me to some of his mentees from Japan. Intrigued by the social interaction and cultural differences that I saw between them I decided to check it out for myself. Mainly because I wanted to improve my social and language skills.

Therefore, I signed up with the program. And, what a ride it have been since then. The first semester in the program were mostly fun and games with little to no work for my part. I socialized with my mentees and those from other groups alike, volunteered for the cabin trip and had two mentees living on my couch when they were homeless.

I never felt overwhelmed, the gratitude from the mentees and the fun we had together easily outweighed any inconvenience or expense I had. That was when I realized that I was hooked and joined the board and started seeing how much of a difference the mentors actually do. 

After joining, the board the amount of time I spend on the program have only increased. I now plan events, man the office and hold endless meetings but still all good fun since I am lucky to do it with my fantastic fellow board members.  

It is strange to think how my motivation and my involvement in the program changed so much over such a short period. I joined on a whim but now I cannot imagine not being a part of it.

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Blue suits, singing and beer: The first Copenhagen Cantus

Willem Beks, one of our mentors in the QA Programme, is a Dutchman studying in Copenhagen. Some time ago, he approached us with a dream he had: to share a traditional event from his home country with Danes and internationals in Copenhagen. His hard work and skilled coordination payed off, because the first Copenhagen Cantus sold out early and turned out to be a huge success. This is an account of the event in his words. With rumours of a repeat event, perhaps a new tradition is born, one not to miss.

The first ever Copenhagen Cantus took place a little more than a month ago. The sweet taste of beer, the voices joining in harmony, and a wonderful memory have not left my mind since.

I can still remember how the idea was received with cheers during one of the Social Platform meetings. And from that moment onwards, the cantus was set in motion. The organization was eased by my committee of random students - including other mentors in the Social Platform, and after pushing and pulling, months of meetings and beers, the cantus was ready to take Copenhagen by storm.

On the big day, together with my friends who had flown in from the Netherlands,  we went over the songs once more. After preparing the Main Hall at Studenterhuset, we rewarded ourselves with a quick bite at McDonalds. As the crowd shuffled in, I sent out the last tasks for the committee members, straightened my tie and broke the ice for the evening with a final shot of Schrobbeler.

Hosting a traditional event in a foreign country, having friends and friends-to-be standing shoulder to shoulder, and seeing a plan come together made this an experience that went way beyond my imagination. Not in a lifetime could I have dreamt of the first Copenhagen Cantus being such a success and the morning after, despite the hangover, I woke up the happiest man alive.

Finally, I would like to thank the committee for their contributions, Studenterhuset for hosting us, the I*ESN’ers that found their way to Copenhagen for their enthusiasm and last but not least the QA Programme, for helping me make my dream come true.

Now if you were so unfortunate that you could not participate yourself, or if you just want to relive the memory of that crazy night, then I hope this aftermovie of the cantus will quench your thirst! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvK3KwZQBKg&feature=youtu.be