SDU student: ‘At SDU in Sønderborg there is always something new to learn since we have almost every nationality here’

Why have you chosen to study abroad rather than in your home country?

I always knew I wanted to study abroad since I was little. I got a taste of living abroad when I went for my exchange year in high school to Texas and I spent almost a year there.

After I came back from Texas I had no doubt that I would go away after highschool. I wanted to experience something new and have always loved to travel; it is my main hobby. Studying abroad is a combination of traveling, experiencing new cultures and learning a lot of new stuff in everyday life which is perfect for me.

Why did you want to study in Denmark?

When I was considering which schools to apply for there were multiple countries I was considering, such as Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Malta and Denmark.

I ended up going to Denmark after talking with a friend whom I met in England during a two week study programme. She actually moved to Denmark from Slovakia one year before me, and therefore she could provide me with some guidance. When I talked to her about my possibilities I decided to go to study in Denmark at SDU, because the approach to everyday lives was much different here.

How is it to study at SDU?

I am studying at SDU Sønderborg which is quite different from other SDU campuses. Most of the students are international, and the education programmes and study environment are well adapted to it.

What I like about studying here is how the courses are structured. We are not required to memorize the information, we are rather taught how to search for information, where to find it, how to judge it correctly and how to use it for practical purposes.

In most of the courses we are dealing with real life examples, we are solving cases from practice and sometimes we are even working with companies or startups. There are various benefits of collaborating with business but the main one is the fact that we get the knowledge and experience from practice.

How is the study environment?

I really enjoy being part of an international environment with classmates from various countries and with different cultural backgrounds. From a study perspective, this is amazing because there are so many various perspectives on the topics and therefore it is very easy to engage in class discussions and you can really get a lot from it.

As international students we are in the same situation so it creates strong bonds between us and creates amazing friendships since everyone is starting a new life in a new country which can be challenging. There is a lot of help from other students and the friendships allow us to share our knowledge and experiences so overall, I could not ask for a better study environment.

What ways are you involved in the university?

I have worked at the university as an Academic Advisor for my study programme. As academic advisors we prepare the introduction days for the newcomers and help them have a smooth adjustment to university life. We also prepare a lot of different hangouts where students from business administration meet and spend time together while enjoying some good food.

It is not common for universities in my home country to offer their students social activities like these, so I consider this a big plus of studying in Denmark. As academic advisor I also get to attend a lot of fairs in Denmark and Germany where we present SDU and our study programmes to possible applicants.

What have you learned in your time studying abroad?

Besides learning about how businesses operate and about the day-to-day economic situation which is a must in my programme, one thing that resonates the most with this question is the cultural aspect and how much I have learned about different cultures while studying abroad.

At SDU in Sønderborg there is always something new to learn since we have almost every nationality here. Whether it is how things work on a day-to-day basis in Nigeria or Italy or it is the food that people cook in Pakistan, Colombia and Korea it is always interesting to hear these stories. I think this is the most amazing way to learn something new.

What do you like the most about SDU and Denmark?

I will have to repeat myself a little and say how international the Sønderborg campus is. The fact that I can talk to people from three different nationalities just in my study group never ceases to amaze me. This is really an unforgettable experience, and I will take with me many wonderful memories from my time at SDU.

What I love about Denmark is how happy everyone is. A lot of people have a mentality of not being really worried by issues but rather look at them from a higher perspective; that every problem is solvable. This is something I am still getting used to, however, in the nearly two years I have lived here I can see a big positive change in the way I think which I am very happy about. I can therefore definitely say that Denmark is rubbing off on me.

What would you like to be doing, and where would you like to be living?

When it comes to the topic of the future there are numerous options of what I can be doing or where I would like to live. I can definitely say that I would like to work in a business environment which has always interested me.

I do not know where I will live. There are so many places you can go and even though I have loved living in both Slovakia and Denmark, I will probably go somewhere new. I think it would be a shame to just stay in one place all my life and not discover what the world has to offer. But we will see, never say never, maybe I will end up living in Denmark or going back to Slovakia when the time comes.