Each semester at DIS, students embark on Long Study Tour with their Core Courses to explore their studies from a new location within Europe. The week is spent meeting with professionals within the field, NGO’s, creative consultancies, and other experts allowing students to immerse themselves in the contents of their courses. The week is not spent solely on academics, the students also engage in cultural activities such as historical tours, workshops, and visiting museums. The Student Photographers have a knack for capturing their semester beyond the classroom, each with their own individual style. We asked the Student Photographers to share their reflections from Long Study Tour, and some of their favorite highlights and photos.
Eva Coleman, Denison University, DIS Stockholm
Core Course: Precision Medicine: Tailored Treatment in Clinical Practice
Traveled to: Dublin, Ireland
My Core Course explored Dublin during our Long Study Tour where we met with researchers and activists in our field and visited classic tourist sites like the Guinness Storehouse! We started our week with a lecture by Natalia Duarte Linhares (a clinical research scientist) at the start-up Genuity Science. The company helps patients identify rare diseases through genome sequencing. We also met with Dr. Mark Rowe (a family practice physician) at Waterford Health Park who advocates healthy living as the solution to medical problems. He led us on a mindfulness meditation walk where we were meant to focus on appreciating nature.
One of the mornings we organized a sunrise walk on the cliffs near Dublin. We woke up early enough before our day started, to hike the Howth cliffs as the sun rose over the ocean. The whole morning was very scenic with perfect weather, and we went home on the bus with smiles on our faces ready for our academic visit that morning.
For me, one of the main highlights was our visit with Prof. Amanda McCann at the UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research. She gave us a thorough lecture that tied in very well with our studies in genomics used for cancer research. She is in the process of developing and promoting comparative oncology using genomics, which was a new and fascinating idea for most of us. It was very inspirational to see someone that passionate about their work. Overall, we had an amazing experiences that balanced academics and fun perfectly!
Christian Selden, Reed College, DIS Copenhagen
Core Course: Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity
Traveled to: London, England
Early on a Sunday morning, my Core Course traveled to London, England for Study Tour. Wasting no time after we landed, we dropped our belongings off at our hotel and walked to the Design Museum of London to visit the ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) exhibit. We also explored the art landscape through a street art tour in Shoreditch and visited the In Plain Sight exhibit at the Welcome Collection to learn about how the different ways of seeing shape our values and identities. The Psychologist Dr. Giovanni Moneta, who was mentored by the famous flow researcher, Dr.Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, gave us an insightful lecture on the relationship between flow and creativity. Another lecture by ADHD researcher, Jane Sedgwick-Müller, explored the neuroscience of neurodiversity and myths of people with ADHD, who may have an advantage to creative exploration due to having different ways of thinking.
As the week progressed, we participated in a food walking tour, enjoyed tea and pastries together, and got to watched Hamilton live at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Our time with Dr. Jonathan Iliff, a medical doctor that also researches how psychedelics influence mental health, was one of the most memorable parts of the tour. We learned about how psychedelics may modulate the different stages of the creative process, through both historical anecdotes and preliminary research studies investigating this topic. I am grateful for the opportunity to travel to London to learn about neuroscience and creativity from different perspectives.
Janice Park, Wheaton College, DIS Copenhagen
Core Course: Graphic Design Foundations Studio
Traveled to: Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands
My Graphic Designs Foundations course traveled to the Netherlands for our travel week! We spent time in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam exploring the city along with its strong design scene. We visited museums like the Stedelijk Museum, Foam Museum, Van Gogh Museum, and Voorlinden. We also had the opportunity to visit top graphic design and advertising companies such as KesselsKramer, Studio Dumbar, and Wieden+Kennedy. We got to see firsthand the work they create and speak with the professionals in the design field in regard to our future careers.
One of the big highlights of our trip was the print workshop done at Studio Saber. We got to work with ink and personalized squeegees to create letterings and patterns. We all enjoyed getting our hands dirty and being creatively challenged.
Ellen Hu, Scripps College, DIS Copenhagen
Core Course: Ice Cores and Ices Ages
Traveled to: Kangersulssuaq, Greenland
During Long Study Tour, my course was immersed in the geology and culture of Kangersulssuaq, Greenland. It was amazing to be able to see what we have been learning about for the entire semester and I was in awe of the landscape’s beauty and grandeur. Each day we ventured out into the pristine white snow to peer out at the Greenland ice sheet. Our trip was filled with reminders of how real climate change is and the immense impacts it has on arctic communities. Due to the warming conditions and consequential road damage, our bus was unable to travel to our pre-planned destination on the ice sheet on our second day. Our guide, Adam, came up with a new plan for the second day.
We began the day by hiking to Russell Glacier in the below freezing temperatures. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around just how far the ice extends and to imagine how much more coverage there was before the abnormally extensive summer melting this past year. After enjoying our lunch and hot cocoa, Adam showed us to a place he called “the secret spot” – a side of the glacier that can only be reached by crossing frozen glacial lakes. Navigating the terrain was such a peaceful experience with the untouched ice and snow as well as the almost silent atmosphere. We ended our time by actually walking on the glacier, something that was only possible because of Adam’s knowledge of the area and safety precautions. As our professor, Inger, said: we got the true arctic experience!
