Hej!
I am Priyam, and I’ve been in Copenhagen for two full weeks now! In this blog, I talk about my course for session 1 and what studying in Copenhagen has been like.
Digital Media in Marketing
For the first session I am taking a course called Digital Media in Marketing. I’ve learnt about how an advertising department works, the steps they execute, and the factors they take into consideration for advertising. I’ve been really fascinated by how much thought goes into making even the simplest of ads. I’ve learnt how every element of an ad has a well defined purpose behind it and almost nothing is a coincidence!
My professor is Danish but has lived in the U.S. and also been around the world a lot! On our first day of class, we discussed American and Danish stereotypes and differences in perception. It was a really interesting conversation. I found it really funny when the professor was talking about how the media sometimes makes it seem like the Danes have no worries/goals and nap in a hammock all day, which is far from true. My professor has co-authored and published books and film series on marketing for which he interviewed leaders from around the world! He also has a lot of experience in film-making. I really like how all the DIS professors have real life experiences in the fields they teach us!
Our class has about 20 students and is very group project based. We spend about 3 hours a day in class but the time flies by surprisingly fast and it’s very rare that I find myself bored. We engage in a lot of discussions and I always find it very interesting how everyone has different perceptions and thought processes. The class never feels rushed and the professor takes time to listen to what everyone has to say. At the same time, I feel that I take away a lot of learning from each class. I enjoy watching ads and dissecting the different elements of them with everyone else. Even outside of class, whenever an ad comes on, there have been times when I’ve found myself noticing the tactics employed in the ad!
Most classes here also consist of integrated field studies in which we visit places and see how the course content plays out in real life! We went to the beautiful Tivoli Gardens which is a very famous amusement park in Copenhagen with rides, performances, and a rich culture. After an intimate tour where we even got to see what happens behind the stage during performances in Tivoli, we got to know about the history of Tivoli and its advertising model and changes over the years. After that, we were allowed to hang out and take the thrilling rides at Tivoli! I had a great time hanging out with my classmates and getting to know them outside of class.
For the latter part of my class, we have been focusing on learning film-making techniques, how to make advertisements, and the importance of and meaning behind different kinds of shots. We are working on making two video advertisements! It has been a fun experience writing the script for the ads and putting the script into action!
Study Life
There are so many cool study spaces in Copenhagen ranging from coffee shops, libraries, outdoor parks, and book cafés! I enjoy reading books in the Copenhagen Main library, listening to a podcast in the park, or even having coffee at an Espresso House. There’s also places like the DIS Student Hub as well as Studenterhuset where there’s opportunity to socialize with DIS students, other expats living here, and even local students!
I was really surprised when I went to the Paludan Bogcafé on a Saturday and there were signs that said “Keep calm and don’t study”. I asked the barista about it who said that they have a rule that you can’t use laptops for work/study on a Saturday! The café has a very Hygge atmosphere and great food (and is open for studying most other times).
In general, the academics here feel a lot more hands on and less theoretical. We never open textbooks or use laptops during lectures (at least in my course) but we do take notes. For every concept that we learn, we usually also get some experience and practice by actually implementing it! The work load has been lighter than what I’m used to back in my home university. The course is fast paced as we only have three weeks, but I never feel too overwhelmed. I am almost done with my first session and feel really excited about the next two!
Until next time!
Priyam