UCPH delegation visits Edinburgh
In November 2019, a UCHP delegation visited the University of Edinburgh, one of our top European partners. The main purposes of the visit were to strengthen existing relations, identify new areas of student and staff exchange options, and gain new insights in relation to education.
The University of Copenhagen and the University of Edinburgh have a long-standing partnership through the Erasmus programme, and even though we already exchange more than 40 students annually, both institutions see the potential for more within existing areas of collaboration as well as new areas such as African Studies, Computer Science and Veterinary Science.
In addition to individual meetings on collaboration within specific academic fields, Edinburgh colleagues shared with us reflections on their international strategy including the University’s stance on the ubiquitous theme of Brexit. Furthermore, they introduced the delegation to Edinburgh’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, initiatives to further graduate employment, and their work on educational portfolio and curriculum development to meet the demands of the 21st century. The conversations showed that two universities share many similarities, challenges and like-minded initiatives.
Student perspectives
To include other perspectives on our collaboration, the delegation met with UCPH students currently on exchange at the University of Edinburgh. They were particularly impressed with Edinburgh’s academic mentor system, which also includes exchange students, and gives all students access to one-on-one academic feedback. The students also highlighted the interdisciplinary approach they found in many of Edinburgh’s courses as particularly enriching.
As with previous partner visits, the UCPH delegation included both administrative and academic staff, but this year, as a new initiative, the delegation included a student representative, law student Kristian Hove Dam:
“It was interesting to hear the perspectives from the UCPH students on exchange, and also see what initiatives regarding exchange students and teaching methods we can get inspired by at the University of Copenhagen. Having a meeting with the Edinburgh University Student’s Association was also interesting in terms of discussing the role of the student organizations in relation to exchange students”.
After returning home, the UCPH delegates continue conversations with Edinburgh colleagues to increase the student and staff exchange across the institutions, new contacts have formed and an already strong partnership has been further consolidated.
In addition to the strong relations through Erasmus+, leadership at UCPH and the University of Edinburgh signed a Memorandum of Understanding in August 2019 to further research collaboration particularly in the areas of diabetes and social data science.
By Anne Bruun and Mie Marie Hjartdal Morthorst