# 8 Copenhagen Business School (CBS)

Copenhagen Business School –  Copenhagen, Denmark

Fall Semester 2013

Nyhavn

The City & Main Attractions

Copenhagen is a blissfully modern, clean and structured city – almost the antithesis of laid-back Lisbon. Its collection of neighbourhoods is surprisingly diverse, as are its dining and nightlife scenes. Sightseeing is a rather relaxed affair – two or three days are ample to see the ‘highlights’. 
Firstly there is Nyhavn, the picturesque ensemble of coloured houses lining the harbour, which you will undoubtedly see numerous times with visiting friends. It’s especially lovely in summer, when you can grab a beer and sit on a dock facing the restaurants and the whirl of tourists. Then there’s the Little Mermaid statue north of the city centre, which could be described as a little underwhelming. In terms of architectural excellence, the Royal Danish Theatre and the Black Diamond (a futuristic extension of the Royal Library) certainly outdo themselves. The latter is also a great place to study when all the library seats at CBS are booked up. 

 

 

The city centre

Tivoli with its Christmas lights

Unlike Southern European cities, Copenhagen seems to come alive as winter approaches, with the relatively austere city transformed by twinkling Christmas lights. Taking this one step further is Tivoli Gardens, a theme park whose elaborate Christmas decorations turn it into a veritable winter wonderland, although it is worth a visit at anytime of the year. After a trip to the famed Carlsberg factory, there is also the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. It’s an art museum that’s free on a Sunday - and probably not worth paying for any other day - but it does have an exciting assortment of Egyptian artifacts. 

Last but not least is Christiania, an autonomous community on the island of Christianshavn, notorious for allowing the sale of marijuana. Despite its slightly seedy reputation, Christiania boosts a beautiful walkway around the lake, with the locals’ eccentric houses providing an extra element of curiosity. Keep an eye out for Christiania’s festivals; as this is one anarchist community that certainly knows how to throw a party.  

For a day trip, it is worth taking the train to the internationally acclaimed Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, situated roughly an hour’s train ride north of the city. Perched on a hillside overlooking the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden, the location alone makes for an interesting visit. It’s worthwhile checking which artists are currently exhibiting, as well as purchasing a return train ticket plus entry (for a discounted price) from the Copenhagen central station (København H).

The University & The Courses

Solbjerg Plads

Copenhagen Business School (CBS), with its 18,000 students, is one of the largest business schools in Europe. The university is located in Frederiksberg, close to the center of Copenhagen and the courses take place in 4 different buildings. 

The university is very modern and offers various study rooms which can be booked online in advance. Also the library (situated in the building Solbjerg Plads) is huge and is spread over 3 floors. Individual study seats can be found in any of the 4 buildings and also have to be booked online. Yet, usually it is still possible to find an empty seat when you arrive early in the day.

Solbjerg Plads

The international office of CBS is very helpful and offers a buddy program. Moreover, the CEMS club was very active during our semester and organized lots of nice activities such as a Running dinner, Wine tasting or a Christmas gala.

The semester starts at the beginning of September and usually lasts until mid December. Yet, some exams might also take place in January, therefore it is advisable to check out the exam dates when choosing the courses. 

The courses at CBS are very academic and research oriented. CBS only offers courses which are worth 7,5 ECTS. Yet some of the courses might only last for half of the semester. In all of the courses you are expected to read a huge amount of academic papers throughout the semester. It is up to the student if and when to read the papers. In our courses we formed a group of students where every student summarized one paper which didn’t make it necessary to read every paper in detail. However, reading the papers is usually required for exams or you have to relate to them when writing a paper. Finally, the workload at CBS is in general much less compared to Nova.

During our semester we took the following courses:

Global Strategic Management (CEMS obligatory) (7,5 ECTS):

We had to do a group presentation without receiving a grade for it. At the end of the course we had a 72 hours case exam. An interesting course where you learn a lot but the grade average was very low with a C.

Pharmaceutical Marketing Management (7,5 ECTS)

We can highly recommend this course for anyone that is interested in working in the pharmaceutical industry. You will be working on a group project, in our case a launch plan for a new drug. You are required to hand in a paper, followed by an oral exam where questions are asked about the project and about the material of the whole course.

Neuromarketing (7,5 ECTS):

Also a very interesting course. The grading is only based on a 15 pages individual assignment that you write at the end of the course (no exam!).

Online Marketing (7,5 ECTS):

We were very disappointed about the course since the content was very theoretical and not up to date at all. We had to hand in a paper about a group project and had an oral exam at the end of the course.

In every course we received weekly about 2-6 academic papers which we had to read + chapters in the corresponding books. In general it is up to the student to attend the classes and participation is usually not part of the grade.

Here is also a list of the courses that were offered in our semester. Each course is worth 7,5 ECTS:

1) Introduction to System Dynamics

2) Competing on Social Networks

3) Financial Models in Excel

4) International Logistics Management

5) Process Management

6) Pharmaceutical Marketing Management

7) Strategy Problem Solving in Management Consulting

8) Flash of Genius

9) Social Entrepreneurship

10) Neuromarketing

11) From Good Idea to Venture: How high potential start-up companies overcome strategic issues

12) International negotiations

13) Financial Markets and Instruments

14) International Financial Markets

15) Theory of the Firm

16) Business Analytics (course open only to CEMS students)

It is also possible to choose one course which is not in the list of the CEMS courses (in our case the Online Marketing course) or to take the CEMS research project.

The grading system at CBS differs from Nova. Generally, an A is quite difficult to get and a C is still regarded as a very good grade.

The Block Seminar: Corporate Social Responsibility

For the block seminar we already had to read in advance a huge compendium of academic papers. The seminar itself consisted of a mix of lectures, group work, presentations and guest speakers. In general we received a good and broad overview of Corporate Social Responsibility. At the end of the week we had a 24 hours exam with about 10 pages to write.

This was our course schedule for the week:

Accommodation

Competition for apartments is fierce; so start searching as soon as you know you’re headed for Copenhagen. We discovered our apartment through boligportal.dk, and also found the ‘Housing in Copenhagen’ Facebook page to be useful. Yet finding a place in Copenhagen, akin to finding a job, is all about whom you know. If you have any contacts, let them know you’re coming and hopefully they can keep an ear to ground and inform you of any apartments that will soon be available. Most places are filled before even making it to any kind of advertisement. 

Although generally most people take what they can get, certain areas are hotly in demand. Nørrebro is the up and coming hipster neighborhood, jam packed with cafes, bars, a cemetery that the locals happily use as a park and a couple of clubs – it’s a cosy atmosphere. Vesterbro and Frederiksberg are upmarket neighborhoods close to Uni that also have an array of shops, bars and cafes – plus you’ll be thankful you don’t have to bike as far when the temperatures start to drop.

Roughly a third of the CEMSies lived in Halls of Residence, however they are generally overpriced and filled with wild Erasmus students – so don’t expect to get much studying done. The exception is Tietgen, an amazing hall that’s famed for its architectural design, and surprisingly, is less expensive than most other options. 

If you don’t get a place in one of the residences or if you would like to find a room on your own, you should check out the following facebook sites:

-          Accomodation in Denmark

-          Housing in Copenhagen (private)

-          Shared-flats Copenhagen

-          Copenhagenrentalservice-studenhousing

-          CBS-Housing / Study abroad

Dining

The epitome of a wealthy cosmopolitan city, Copenhagen has an endless array options when dining out. Sadly most of these won’t fit within a student budget. Topping this list is Noma, considered the world’s best restaurant, which is renowned for its locally sourced ingredients and molecular gastronomy. 

For more affordable options, consider the area of Nørrebro, with its eclectic range of foreign food joints (including your typical 3am kebab spots) or along Istedgade, a street in Vesterbro. Danes are also skilled in the art of brunch, with Kalaset, Paludan Bogcafé, Granola and Laundromat Café(s) offering a great spread to help with that hangover. If you are looking to meet up later in the day however, Mother (legendary for its pizzas), Cocks & Cows, Bang & Jensen or Dalle Vale are trustworthy options. Also, close to University is Forno a Legna, a place frequented by Italians – indicative of just how delicious the pizzas are. 

For a quick and easy lunch, opt for a traditional Smørbrød, an open rye sandwich with quirky Nordic toppings such as herring (or safer options like chicken). Worth a visit is Torvehallerne; a vibrant covered market in the city centre where you can find a superb selection of exotic produce, as well as small restaurant stalls offering everything from tapas to porridge. Finally, the CBS cafeterias offer a range of hot and cold meals, as well as coffee and pastries for very reasonable prices. Plus they are open until 9pm – so you won’t be left fending for yourself from the vending machines.

Café Paludan

Nightlife

Copenhagen has a lot of great bars to offer, many of them are open until around 3 to 5am and don’t cost any entrance. Most of the bars can be found in the Meatpacking district and in the city centre.

Drinks such as cocktails or wine are very expensive when you go out but some bars offer happy hours. A beer usually costs about 7 Euros. The cheapest alternative is to have pre-drinks and then head out to the city afterwards. Here is a list of some of our favorite bars:

-          Bar 7 (Dance Floor, lounge)

-          The Jane (Club and cocktail bar, mixed music)

-          Zefside (Cocktail bar, dance floor, happy hours)

-          Zoo Bar (Dance Floor, mixed music)

-          Karriere Bar (In the Meatpacking district, dance floor, hipster)

Furthermore, we recommend you to check out the following clubs:

-          Sunday’s

-          Molly’s

-          Rust

Also you should stop by Nexus, a bar in the Solbjerg Plads building. Every Thursday evening at Nexus there is a party with dancefloor and a DJ and happy hour with very cheap beer.

Transport

Biking is a religion in Denmark and there are few cities in the world that are so accommodating to cyclists as Copenhagen. Although the metro and buses are swift and reliable, they are also rather on the pricey side – unless you want to forgo a bike completely and use a monthly travel pass. However, if you are keen to acclimatize yourself to Danish living, there is no better option than getting a bike. Try to organise one before you arrive, as finding a bike at the start of the semester is hugely competitive and you’re likely to suffer from inflated prices as a result. 

Nørrebro is the best area for bike shopping, or alternatively keep an eye on the ‘ESN CPH: Give-Buy-Sell-Rent’ page on Facebook. It’s also worth asking around your Danish friends, as many of them have a spare bike – we both managed to borrow our flatmate’s spare bikes for the whole time we were there. If you end up with the inevitable flat tyre – there are numerous bike shops dotted around the city (most of which also have air-pumps outside during opening hours), so keep an eye out for one close to you. Additionally, make sure you have a good set of lights, as there are steep fines if you’re found without them, and learn the basic hand signals that will keep you from getting run down by fellow cyclists. Overall, it’s a very convenient way to get around, plus social cycling to Uni or out to town will make for a few memorable times. 

If you’re looking to fly out of Copenhagen airport (Lufthavn), the metro runs directly to it, streamlining the whole travel process. However, if you’re after a low-cost airline, you’ll have to head over to Malmö Airport (Sturup) in Sweden, home to favourites such as Ryanair and WizzAir. Make sure to take into account the added expense of a return trip (200DKK for the 737 Bus, or more for the train), plus a couple of extra hours at each end. At least you get to say you’ve been to Sweden and cross the impressive Øresund Bridge, which plunges under the sea at a certain point.  

-By Ella Cullen & Bianca Kriegisch, Class of 2013/2014

Term abroad - Fall 2013