In general…

The Erasmus program at UCSYD in Haderselv offers a unique experience for European students. From February to May 2024, it includes courses, workshops, and teaching opportunities. Students learn about the Danish education system, try new teaching methods, and make international friends. This program enhances skills and promotes personal growth and cultural exchange.

About the program…

https://www.ucsyd.dk/english/incoming-students/living-and-learning-together

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The program Living and Learning Together at the University College South Denmark UCSYD, Haderselv took place from the 5th of February until the 31st of May 2024 for four months in the spring semester. We were an Erasmus group of 21 students from 8 different European countries.

You had three courses during the semester, one is obligatory, and for the other ones you can choose from 4 different options: Outdoor Learning, Playful Learning, Food, Friends & Future, and English.

You have one obligatory course called Nordic Schools where you visit all the different kinds of schools in Denmark, get to know the Danish school system, and get prepared for the lessons during internships or workshops from the other courses. In this course are only the Erasmus students.

In the other courses, you participate with international students who study here full-time.

We had no Danish lessons although it was written in the leaflet but some of us used the opportunity to go to the language school in Haderslev and learn the basics but we had to organize it on our own.

In my semester almost everyone chose Outdoor Learning. We have been together with Danish and international students. During this course we went on a metal detector search, we lived in the Iron Age for three days, we taught a workshop in a museum with kids from 6-10 years about the Iron Age and the crafts we learned in the Iron Age village, we used myths and fairytales during this course, we went to a beach to learn how to use the beach for lessons and we have been on a two days hike with 25 or 42 km walking.

In the Iron Age village, we learned how they lived in a village together, how they cooked, and which crafts they did during this time. It was a really interesting experience and also a bonding for our Erasmus group. We had time during the course to prepare the workshops in the museum and held them afterward with kids from the age of 6-11. On the beach day, we learned how we can use the environment outdoors in our lessons on the example beach. With the hike, we slept one night in shelters and walked the next day the 25 or 42 km whichever we decided.

I chose as second course Playful Learning. We worked a lot with different kinds of approaches like Bee Bugs and the Pacman Game in real life, we used WordPress to upload our progress on our website, we told a story just with sounds with the program foundation, we used body percussion, we created podcasts and videos, we build a co-space environment, used programs like Twine, Bookcreator, Soundation and organized a fair to present our learnings during this course,

The course Food, Friends and Future is mostly about one group cooking together and presenting food from one’s country interviewing the grandparents, tasting it afterward, and writing down the progress in a cartoon this year.

The program english was only chosen by one and she changed to another course at the beginning of the semester.

The first week all the other students were on holiday so we had another program then the following weeks. We created our dream school during the project EduDream for one week. It was so interesting to see all the different approaches and also the way everyone presented the outcome of their project with the school building in Minecraft, showing how a lesson would be, creating different versions of lessons, … very playful.

Organisation on-site

The university offers apartments a 20-minute walk away from the university. You live in the apartment with three of four other Erasmus students and all apartments are on the same street. The rooms are furnished with a bed, closet, desk and chair, and a shelf. The apartments look all the same with a kitchen, bathroom, and a small hall. The showers are unfortunately on the same level as the bathroom floor and the apartments are not newly renovated but despite that, we enjoyed our stay and it is very handy that all Erasmus students live on the same street.

The university organizes also the trip to Aarhus to get the CPR number in order a stay longer than three months and to get health insurance in Denmark.

Anne is the one who is organizing everything. She is also the first one you get in contact with and she is the sweetest.

The organization in course terms was not done at the beginning of the semester. We got the information and dates during the semester.

About the internship…

We had an internship for 2 weeks. We had the opportunity to all be in the same school and take over the school for a whole week. The first week we were just there to observe and to get to know the Danish school system better again and the second week we had the class our own for four days. We were free to create the lessons just as we wanted, the topic, the activity, outdoor, indoor, cooking, games, etc.

We felt the cultural differences the first time we came there but in the end, it was hard to leave the students and the lessons we created wtith them.

Haderselv…

is a small city in the south of Denmark along a Fjord with beautifully typical Danish houses. Near the apartments is a gym, the grocery stores are within 10 min walking distance, a big garden with barbecue places and benches behind the apartments and the city center with bars and restaurants is a 20 min walk. The university is also a 20-minute walk and on Saturdays was the swimming hall for all students free from 13:00-14:00.

There is also a big bus station in Haderslev even with a Flixbus to or from Copenhagen. You can explore the cities around Haderslev easily with the bus or Flixbus. For going out there is the university bar called Fredagscafé and the club Crazy Daisy where you get free entrance before midnight with your student ID and the bar Tribunen with a small dance floor where we spent all of our Friday nights.

Evaluation…

I liked our small Erasmus group and how we grew together. I experienced a lot during those 4 months that I would not want to miss and I learned a lot in terms of education, personality being freer with my lesson planning, and how to react with pupils.

The organization was sometimes a little bit too short in my opinion and for my planning.  The organization from the internship was sometimes too open for me and without a plan but it was nice that the whole Erasmus group was in one school and almost taught the whole school for one week.

UCSYD entrance, photo is taken by Marlene.