Playing the game of...
…Secret Santa has for years been a tradition leading up to the Christmas break at the International Education and Grants office. Secret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition in which one person is randomly assigned another person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift giver is a secret until a set date where all secret Santas are revealed.
At our office however, the secret Santas do not always bring gifts. Often they will hide away your papers on the desk, cover your screen in “post-it” notes or kindly on your behalf via e-mail offer to clean somebody else’s house. Most of these “gifts” bring about a lot of office talk during December and frequent guesses as to who might be your secret Santa. Why do we do it? It brings us closer together, it builds office culture and equally important, it brings a smile to our faces in the midst of busy December.
Bridging cultures and academic fields
Building culture also happens when we travel together across academic fields, positions and areas of expertise. Last month a UCPH delegation of academic heads of studies and professional staff visited two long-standing international partners in Canada. This marks the fourth delegation visit to super partners and as wonderful as it is to increase our student exchange capacity and to explore new areas of collaboration, it is equally joyful to meet across faculty boundaries and learn from each other.
At the University of Victoria we learned about their approach to work-integrated learning and of Canada’s longest “co-operative”-programmes. At the University of British Columbia we learned that interdisciplinary approaches form a key part of their new international strategic plan.
Interdisciplinary approaches to the Arctic
Interdisciplinary collaboration is also key to our five Arctic modules available to those of your students interested in the complex global and regional challenges related to the Arctic. The courses build upon more than 100 years of research, and our ambition is to provide the best possible platform for students who want an interdisciplinary arctic profile and to explore UCPH’s ways of learning.
Studying in Copenhagen – good for your health
Other than highlighting our Arctic course modules, our international course portfolio offers more than 1,000 courses taught in English across our six faculties. As we are finalising the international exchange intake for spring 2019, and whilst your students prepare for spending a semester in Copenhagen, it is worth mentioning that Copenhagen is one of the best performing cities in the Healthy Cities initiative of the World Health Organization. Just to mention a few initiatives, we have Copenhagen as a clean city, Copenhagen as a biking city, the new Nordic cuisine, the harbour baths etc.
2019 – just around the corner
Last month we met a group of students currently on exchange in Canada. Listening to them speaking of their learning experiences half way through the semester is a wonderful reminder of why it is important that we strive to send out and receive even more students in 2019.
On behalf of the University of Copenhagen, I would like to thank you for helping us providing students with global mindsets and international learning experiences throughout the year.
After a month of being treated to daily chocolate gifts by my secret Santa, I personally look forward to the start of 2019 in healthy Copenhagen. Season greetings - and hoping to connect with you next year.
Trine Sand
Trine is Director International at the University of Copenhagen. Contact her at tsm@adm.ku.dk.