Hannah's Exchange to Danish School of Media and Journalism | Denmark
Throughout my life I have always been one to appreciate and grasp any opportunities that come my way but often I don’t actively seek to find them. I was only in one of my regular lectures for Journalism at Murdoch University when our tutor mentioned that there was an information session and Skype chat with the Danish School of Media Journalism, or DMJX, and anyone was welcome to attend if they were interested in studying abroad.
I don’t know exactly what it was that caught my attention but I knew I felt compelled to cancel my after class plans and go along. After hearing from DMJX and a Danish student who was on exchange at Murdoch I knew this was something I wanted to do. The idea of temporarily disappearing from my world and slipping into another was mesmerising although somewhat daunting and somehow my heart just knew that I had to pursue this. So after stumbling upon this opportunity by chance the next step was for me to grab it and do everything in my power to make it happen.
After demonstrating my eagerness to embark on this adventure and being approved by Murdoch and the host university, a whirlwind of emotions took me by surprise. I was excited for the most part and running a million different scenarios in my head about what it would be like. The fear of the unknown was also settling itself quite comfortably in the back of my mind and forming a niggling doubt about my decision. It was something so new to me and a big step to leave everyone and everything I know and do what felt like diving headfirst into the deep end with a blindfold. But this is when I knew that I must be making the right choice because the scariest things are meant to be the most rewarding and with a “now or never” strategy in my head I knew that even with all the unknown variables, this would be the experience of a lifetime.
After all the planning and preparation for my journey and when the veil of surrealism that was hiding the reality of the situation finally passed during the last moments of saying goodbye at the airport, it was time to make the first brave steps towards a new chapter in my life. With a few tears in my eyes and a heart full of hope for the exciting mystery of the semester ahead, I boarded the plane and embarked to Denmark.
The adaption to Denmark happened quite quickly over the first week but the initial first days definitely took me by surprise as my entire body and all my senses tried to come to terms with the different world I had stepped into. My first initial shock was that I had gone from a hot Australian summer straight into Denmark’s crisp snowy winter where the sun is only up for less than eight hours a day. It was surely a shock to the system going between these two contrasts but the transition was eased by the familiarities like the general Western culture, familiar shops and brands, and the most helpful: common fluency of the Danes with the English language.
Once I was settled in to what would become my new home it made adjusting to my life in Denmark a bit smoother. I was lucky enough to be sharing an apartment with a familiar face who had also been studying at Murdoch. This meant we could share our experiences and develop our knowledge of even how to do the simplest of tasks like using the buses and buying groceries. But while building a whole new life for myself on the other side of the world there was always the unsettling realisation that I was missing out on things back home. The bonus of modern technology allows convenient contact to Australia and that lessened the feeling of separation but there are always experiences you can’t be there for; like when my best friend moved out of home for the first time and I never got to visit her first house, or when I couldn’t be there for my family in times of stress. But this is what comes with the package; it can’t all be smooth sailing but those small sacrifices are well worth it for what there is to gain from a semester studying abroad.
We had dedicated a bit of time on our first week of arriving in Denmark to get ourselves settled in before doing what we had travelled all that way to do and start Journalism studies at DMJX. The group of international students had arrived from all corners of the world to study various areas of the Journalism industry and improve their skills. Even though we were spread out in a few different classes the entire cohort became really close and we all connected through the experience of student exchange as a big muddle of mismatched strangers. That was the beauty of the exchange program; you didn’t choose friends based necessarily on your similarities but in the interest you had in everyone’s differences. You were all sharing a common experience and that brought you closer to these people than you normally ever would in such a short time.
Other than the great social interaction with the other international students there was also the connections made with Danish students most often at DMJX’s Friday Bar. Even though the international classes were separate to the Danes, the Universities bar and social events made for great opportunities to mingle with all the international students as well as the locals.
The Danish University structure was something I hadn’t experienced before but I felt like it more accurately mirrored the expectations on you in a Journalism career so that was valuable in itself. There were some set hours of required attendance for lectures and learning new skills but once we had been given a project we had free time until the due date to work out our own hours and get it done. This encouraged a sense of self-responsibility but because all projects were done in groups there was a different level of time-management because you are also responsible for supporting and working with a team.
DMJX is a great choice for a more specialised area of study so I got a lot out of being able focus all my attention on TV Journalism and Foreign Reporting. Everything is done with a practical hands-on approach which means you learn from experience rather than a textbook allowing for that knowledge to be more easily transferred into a future career in the industry. The TV Journalism course taught us all about how to research and prepare for a news story, contact appropriate sources, technical production like filming and directing, editing, and most importantly how to do this all as a team effort and work together so our ideas built up our concept in harmony. Working in a team also meant learning about properly delegating tasks, managing schedules and co-ordinating a project to meet deadlines. Then there was the added benefit of studying foreign reporting in a foreign country which gave a more realistic education on what it’s like to work in this field.
Over the five months I was studying in Denmark I built up a wealth of knowledge on the subject of TV journalism and the technical side of production and I also learnt a lot about myself. I built up a lot more confidence within myself and my own skills. I stepped out of my comfort zone and became quite accustomed to interacting professionally when arranging and conducting interviews. I also learnt about how to take initiative and have more faith in my own ideas and decisions, and I feel more motivated to take all opportunities no matter how daunting they might seem. The newfound confidence and world knowledge has given me more clarity about what I want for my future and what direction I’d like to take with my career.
After five months of making a home, settling into a new university, and embarking on fun adventures with new friends it wasn’t easy then uprooting myself again when it finally felt like I had found my feet. Knowing that all of these great people I had met would now be in different corners all around the world was a bit hard to come to terms with because we’d all made such a connection and you couldn’t be sure how long it would be before there’d be another opportunity to reconnect, especially when Australia is a long distance from pretty much everywhere. On the positive side at least it means you have friends and connections around the globe which is not only a good excuse to visit some exotic countries but it can be very beneficial for future work, especially in foreign reporting.
My semester studying abroad in Denmark has left an imprint on me that will last forever. Even though working up the courage to do something like this was originally a bit of a challenge it has given me a whole collection of wonderful memories, an address book full of contacts around the globe, a new skillset of technical skills, and a feeling of accomplishment and pride in both my educational and personal achievements.
- Hannah studied abroad at DMJX in Denmark
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