This week was introduction week for the international students at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). They did a fantastic job of familiarizing us with CBS, Copenhangen and each other.
Monday was a fun-filled day of getting to know the campus by way of treasure hunts and trivia questions. They seperated us into groups and we were to find our way from station to station to answer questions and find places we had never been. We now know the campus-and didn’t fall asleep in the meantime. Some of the buildings at CBS are stunning! They have won awards for their exceptional architecture-and this does not surprise me. Standing inside the buildings, each one different, you feel the freedom of the thoughtful use of space and light. Truely beautiful.
The rest of the week was filled with practical information and social events. Interestingly, there were a few similarities with regards our university’s collective concern. Namely, PLAGERISM and the difficulties and challenges that come with GROUP WORK. For some reason, in many countries, it seems plagerism has slipped through the cracks of the otherwise conscientious student body. In addition, surprisingly, group work is not a common practice in many major universities in, for example, Germany. Several students (from different countries) found that unusual and began praising the virtues of group work, highlighting its relevance in the corporate world. These conversations broke out quietly, around the room, during the presentation. So, group work, although universally frustrating, is a necessary evil in every MBA program. Learning to deal with the inevitable frustrations with grace and strength is a constant challenge. We have no shortage of group work in the Global MBA progam at the Sawyer School of Business (Suffolk University).
A noteworthy event was the “cruise to a tropical island”. Certainly there was not enough time to cover the distance needed to put enough latitude between our current cold northern climate to meet with some sunshine, so we knew our fine hosts were up to something. At 7pm sharp (1900) we hopped in a boat and took a nice cruise by the opera house. We were then dropped off at some strange distant dock and escorted to an abandonded warehouse with disco balls and a dj. Without going in to detail, the night was interesting and everyone made it home safely.
Saturday there were more riots in Nørrebro. It was in response to the Youth House (Jagtvej 69). They want the world to know that the house is gone but not forgotten. It is interesting that this is one of the only shows of violence you will see in Denmark. I will walk over there later this week and take a picture of how things look there now and post it for you. Right now, they are showing it on the local news. The neighborhood is a complete mess. There is broken glass everywhere. It is a problem for the neighborhood-many locals are wanting to sell their homes and move to different neighborhoods. Danes are not accustomed to this sort of unrest (this conflict being the exception). It is an interesting debate. The youth want a new Youth House yet the opposing political view argues that they are now deemed criminals and should be in jail. I’ll keep you posted.
Posted by ninagmba 
