In my Renewable Energy Systems class we took a week long trip around Germany and got to see many historic landmarks, like the Berlin Wall!
Author: Trey Merreighn | Major: Industrial Engineering | Semester: Summer 2023
I chose Denmark because it is commonly known and widely accepted as the happiest country in the world and I wanted to experience this for myself. On the first day in Copenhagen, the thing that stood out to me the most was the crazy amount of bikes; they were everywhere. Some believe bikes are why Denmark is such a happy country, and after living there for 6 weeks and riding a bike everywhere, I also believe that to be the reason.
Although Denmark is a great country, I chose this program because of the field-study oriented classes they offer, the week long study tour to a different European country, and the type of classes they offer. I took two, three hour classes, my first was Food and Identity followed by Renewable Energy Systems. My professors for both of these classes were very passionate about the field they were teaching and wanted us to learn the most we possibly could over the 3 week class. My study tour was to Germany where we got to learn all about renewable energy systems, how Germany decentralized their power grid, see where wind turbines first started, and climb a wind turbine. The study tour was an exciting week filled with learning but also allowed us to explore a different part of Europe.
The most unique and unexpected experience during my study abroad was getting to climb a wind turbine!
The classes were much different than classes taught at the U of A, the classes were 3-week intercessions which is different from normal U of A classes, but the way they were taught was also much different. The teachers taught in a manner in which each student could learn their own way. Assignments had no rubric so you could interpret the assignment how you wanted and complete in whatever way you think would help you retain the information best. Since students were different majors, there were different daily readings and you could choose which reading you think most closely resonated with your major. Another way the classes were much different than classes at the U of A was how everyone was from a different part of the country and different parts of the world. Working in group projects allowed me to learn how to work with people from different parts of the world and taught me so much about their cultures.
The best way to describe Denmark to another person would be: well put together. You can tell that everything in Denmark is well-planned. The bike lanes are flawless. You can get almost anywhere in Copenhagen, a city of 1.4 million people, in under 15 minutes on a bicycle. The way modern architecture blends with traditional architecture is seamless. The metro and bus system is perfect, I never had to wait more than 2 minutes for a metro and the buses are always on time. Not to mention, you always feel safe when you are there.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this program to another student. One thing I would tell a student before going to do this program is take advantage of the long weekends. Plan ahead to take weekend trips around Europe, even if you’re going alone! Another thing I would tell them is to try to do it with someone else you know from your university. This gives you a sense of home and makes the program much more fun!