Derek Beach
Professor of Political Science
United States

If you’re trying to work here, one of the things that many people will notice is that Denmark kind of works like a tribe. It’s kind of like a club with a bunch of unwritten rules, a bunch of social norms. So things in the United States, where you aggressively market yourself with buzz-saws on your elbows, you can be like that but you do it in a less open manner.

Danes have something called Janteloven – the basic idea is that it’s a collective norm, nobody is better than anyone else, etc., etc. The things you might do in the United States to get ahead, any Dane would think it’s bragging.

Mark Sedgwick
Professor of Religious Studies
United Kingdom

I have a theory that every country has a surplus of something when you walk around the street. Spain has too many banks, Norway has too many hairdressers, Egypt too many shoe shops, England too many pubs. I’ve been thinking what Denmark has too many of, and I think Denmark has too many Thai massage establishments.

I’m not exactly sure what that means. I think if I was an economist and I could do some complicated sums involving taxation and the price of labour and things like that, I might be able to explain it.

Elsy Malkonian
Master’s student
Armenia

The weather was pretty shocking for me. It was really hard for me to cope at the beginning. That first week I panicked because it was really cold and it was September! And remember, I was working in Syria before I came here, so it was quite different. I was amazed that I got used to it, but I guess after a while you have to.

I was also really pleasantly surprised by how friendly people are, how helpful they are. I’m really amazed – old ladies, young people. They were very helpful, very smiley. So even if the weather is difficult, the people are not.

Teke Ngomba
PhD Student
Cameroon

What really struck me when I first got here was the significant level of informality between the students and academic staff. It is not like that in Cameroon. Things were so different in the classroom – this far more independent, critical thinking, and engaging in ideas with the academic staff. It was a really different platform for me.

And then on the more personal side, the first thing I realised was the international feel we had in class was significantly different when you went back to your hall of residence because everyone there was a Dane. They are very nice people, very friendly, but also very introverted. And I’m that way as well, so it takes a while to break into their circle. You will find yourself on the sidelines, and you need to be proactive.