Around 450 of the new MSc Eng students filled Oticon Hall on Tuesday 4 October. In addition to food and drink they got a pep talk and some helpful tips from Martin Vigild, Senior Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs, and Sebastian Molbech Hansen, President of the PF student association.
by Thorkild Amdi Christensen
Idunn Tara Asgrimsdottir from Iceland then entertained her fellow students with fun and surprising facts about her beautiful homeland. For example, 0.05 per cent of the population in Iceland are studying at DTU, and there are no McDonald's restaurants, mosquitoes, or 7-eleven stores among the volcanoes in the north Atlantic. On the other hand, the island is home to 30 Santa Clauses, and Icelanders can use an app on their phone to check whether their date might be a close relative before things go to far.
The official programme ended with the DTU choir giving their rendition of Robbie Williams' 'Angel'. Before making the big decisions on overseas exchanges, which courses to take, and their Green Challenge project, the future graduates were able to spend time getting to know each other and talking with representatives of Students' Business Relations (DSE), Polyteknisk Forening (PF), and BEST (Board of European Students of Technology) of what each organization has to offer, while reflecting on the Dean's advice that planning is a key virtue for an engineer, and the PF President's encouragement to enjoy student life and focus on friendships.