This semester I decided to do an exchange study in Denmark. This was something I had been planning on doing for quite some time and Aarhus had always been at the forefront of my mind.
On my last year of my Bachelor, here I am. Not that far from home and not actually having a tremendous culture shock but still learning and having new experiences.
Being a science student I decided to do some fact checking
vs. 
213 (wtf) Average rainy days a year 121
3.500 Students enrolled 44.500
64°08′ N Latitude 56°16′ N
1998 Age of school 1928
Usually, bachelor studies are taught in Danish here and being aware of that I’ve kept my high school notes in my drawers for some years! It turned out that I could apply for a special international program for software engineering students all taught in English. Even though it would have been good to be forced to freshen up on my Danish this definitely makes things easier for me.
Studying Software Engineering at Reykjavik University does not make it easy to do an exchange. There are not many elective courses and in the end, it was only possible since I took one mandatory course a year earlier and that way saved up more elective courses for this semester. As well I have to take one course at RU alongside my studies in Aarhus. This was not my first option but it made things work out without delaying my graduation.
At Aarhus all my courses are 5 credits so in total there is one more course per semester then I’m used to at RU. Making up for the fact that I spent all except one of my elective courses is the broad range of courses I get to take here. The courses I’m taking are Big Data, Internet of Things, Software Design, Internet protocols(Computer Networks), Smartphone applications and Web Development.
The semesters do not match completely so I have to do my exams in January when I am actually back in RU for my last semester. This is the first time I have exams in January meaning I have to study during my Christmas break. I hope, even though I doubt it, that it will be hygge to study with Christmas cookies and hot chocolate.
Another new thing for me is that most of my finals will be oral. Apart from presentations I have only once before done an oral exam. They are shorter than written exams so it can be stressful if you don’t know the answer to a teacher’s question. On the other hand, they’re interactive and you can get feedback and possible guidance if you get off track or misunderstand something. Let’s see how I will do in January.
The University is made up of many departments which are spread out. I am in the northernmost part (closer to home, which is actually funny since the next road is called Reykjaviksgade). The University Park is really beautiful and actually the city in general. Aarhus was chosen the European Capital of Culture this year so it’s not a place to be bored at. To make it even better there are massage chairs in the school’s main library.
Hulda Lilja Hannesdóttir
Lost in code 