Every year, around 100 ‘buddies’ welcome the 1,000 or so international students who come to DTU. Today, three of them have brought their new-found friends of four nationalities on an outing to Christiania.
“It’s kind of different …”
So says Arturs Levics from Latvia when asked what he thinks of Christiania—the free city in Copenhagen—as he looks around the smoke-filled café Nemoland with a wry smile on his face. It is certainly true that Christiania seems to be worlds away from DTU, if its coloured houses emblazoned with graffiti are compared to the clinical laboratory facilities in Lyngby and Ballerup. Nevertheless, the destination chosen for today’s excursion is not all that strange, as the three buddies relate: The mixture of multiple nationalities at DTU is just as colourful and multicultural as Christiania.
The trip is just one of the many activities the three buddies have taken part in over the past couple of months, each with his or her own buddy group. Every semester, all the buddies who have signed up for the role are allocated 8–10 international students to look after, and the intention is to help them get off to a good, secure start at DTU, as Louise Godt—who is responsible for the start of the academic year for international students—explains:
“The idea behind the scheme is to give the international students a ‘go to’ person, so that they are never left alone. The Office for International Cooperation is always there for them, but we want them to have a one-on-one contact with an experienced student who knows the university,” she says.
The whole world to DTU
The international students contribute to bringing the whole wide world to DTU. “There are many students from our university who travel the world and experience other cultures, but it’s just as important to nurture an international environment on campus,” says Louise Godt. The buddy scheme really helps in this context, with the numerous buddies ensuring that students from abroad get off to a good start at DTU and with living in Denmark in general.
Today, it is the turn of the colourful section of the city by the Christianshavn earthworks to make a contribution to this aim.
“We wanted to show them a part of Copenhagen that was very different from anything they’ve seen elsewhere,” relates Nick Plytsgaard, who is taking a BEng in Global Business Engineering, as we stroll along the gravel paths by the water with just a hint of ‘wacky baccy’ in the air.
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A buddy recalls...
Amalie Rasmussen, BEng in Global Business Engineering, 4th semester. Age 21.
“I’ve been a buddy for two semesters. I like the international aspect. It’s great to talk to people from other countries and find out how they do things. I’d love to study abroad myself. I didn’t really think about it, I just saw the invitation and thought ‘that’s for me’.
We buddies help the international students to feel welcome in Denmark. We show them the Friday bars, for example. The group I’m with now are interested in where the parks and cinemas are. It’s different making friends with them, as you sort of skip a few stages. You just become friends.
There are always some cultural differences. For example, I always tell students from the south of Europe that we’re getting together half an hour before we actually are. That way we all arrive at the same time.
As a buddy, I get the feeling that if I travel to Italy, then I’ll have someone to visit. In my group, I have students from France, Australia, the United States, Taiwan, Singapore, Finland, Iceland, Italy and Poland. Last semester, I also had some students from South Africa, Norway and China. I encourage everyone I’ve met to become a buddy.”
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