Leonie Murphy

Tell us about the skills and experience you have developed by studying abroad.

My year abroad enabled me to gain a wealth of experiences and skills, facilitating my personal and professional development. Living, studying, working and establishing networks in a country where English is not the first language required me to communicate successfully in a range of settings - a skill I improved whilst abroad. 

Being surrounded by people from all over the world, and being sensitive to and learning about our cultural differences has been incredibly insightful and interesting; it is essential for our increasingly globalised world and workplaces.

What are the host university and your particular department like?

Copenhagen Business School is a very modern business school, with a beautifully designed campus. It is located in the lovely suburb of Frederiksberg, which is like a little town in itself with some of the country’s nicest parks right next door to the university. Things do seem very professional here – they really focus on practical, real life business application and the societies often attract reputable speakers from industry. They really go all out to welcome international students in the introduction weeks and throughout the term.

The system is different in a number of ways: first, there are fewer contact hours; second, there are only lectures - no seminars or individual tutorials and third; there is a greater offering of practical business courses and emphasis on application to the real business world.

Are there any places of interest in the city/surrounding area that you would recommend?

Copenhagen is a truly wonderful city and has provided me with an endless contrasting supply of interesting opportunities to constantly take me out of my comfort zone and improve my confidence. I set myself the challenge of trying something new each day, and am proud to say I have never had such an amazing time achieving a goal!

There is so much going on as is it the capital, yet it is still homely and not overwhelming. There are so many dimensions: the cosy café culture, lakes, parks, shopping, endless number of festivals, as well as the canals and beaches in the summer time. 

What is your overall impression of the experience?

Brilliant – I want to move here permanently! As a Youth Goodwill Ambassador for Denmark, I worked as part of an international team of students representing Copenhagen Business School in the University Branding Battle. This was a competition where we had to shoot and edit a branding video showcasing the university and the city. We were given several rules which we had to abide by, one of which was to avoid typical Copenhagen stereotypes (such as showing bikes), think outside of the box and make a video which young people would want to watch and share.