From Denmark to Dunedin – a student experience to remember

They may not have seen a kiwi, but two visiting Danish students will have plenty of other fond memories to take home with them.

Emilie Cassøe and Sabine Gazany, who are studying medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, are doing part of their Master’s at Otago, based in the Department of Medicine (Dunedin).

The pair arrived in August and are on campus until January. They are loving their time in Ōtepoti Dunedin, commenting on the friendliness of the locals and the fun of being in a city with, thanks to the student population, many young people.

“Everyone has been so kind and welcoming. We’ve been surprised by how open and friendly people are. We’re more closed at home and don’t really do things like greet each other on the street,” Sabine says.

Emilie says they often end up chatting with new people and are keen to “take that approach home”.

“We’ve also picked up some new words, like ‘heaps’ and ‘keen’.”

The weather has taken some getting used to – they have experienced everything from snow to temperatures in the 20s.

“It’s definitely been four seasons in one day at times,” Emilie says.

The good friends, who met at university, are in their last year of their Master’s and will graduate in June. The Danish medical degree is structured differently to the MB ChB in Aotearoa New Zealand; they have a three-year Bachelor’s followed by a three-year Master’s degree.

Their demanding curriculum means it is difficult to have opportunities to go abroad and studying in Nepal is the only option arranged by their university, with limited spots available.

Sabine, who has visited New Zealand twice before, says on one of her trips she met an Otago alumnus who said the University of Otago was the best place in Aotearoa to study medicine. Following some investigation, the pair decided to try to arrange to do some of their study here.

It took almost a year to progress their plans, but they made it to Dunedin and are now working on a children and sleep behaviour project with Professor Rachael Taylor and Associate Professor Kim Meredith-Jones and their team.

Sabine and Emilie are also doing a systematic review and evidence synthesis of clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, identification and management of frailty in older adults, supervised by Associate Professor Andrew Reynolds.

Fortuitously, Rachael and Kim, who collaborate with Danish researchers on their large-scale sleep studies, were in Denmark in May and so Emilie and Sabine were able to meet them before arriving in New Zealand.

Rachael says, “It has been terrific having Emilie and Sabine here with us for six months. They have been a wonderful and hardworking addition to our research teams, but importantly, they are fabulous advocates for both Otago and Aotearoa in general. They have certainly made the most of their time here and have explored so many places already, with many more to come when their families join them for the holiday season.”

“We bought a cheap, old car and have had lots of weekends out of the city. We’ve been to Queenstown, Wanaka, Christchurch and Akaroa. We went to Stewart Island too, but missed out on seeing a kiwi!” – Emilie Cassøe

As well as enjoying their time in the Department of Medicine, Emilie and Sabine have been doing lots of sightseeing, around Dunedin as well as further afield.

“We bought a cheap, old car and have had lots of weekends out of the city. We’ve been to Queenstown, Wanaka, Christchurch and Akaroa. We went to Stewart Island too, but missed out on seeing a kiwi!” Emilie says.

“It’s really busy and structured at home so we’re really enjoying being spontaneous,” Sabine says.

They would definitely encourage other students to arrange a study stint overseas. They say it’s great to do something different to their peers and the new experiences are positive for their personal and professional development.

Their advice is not to worry if some things aren’t organised before departure – it will all work out so just “go with the flow”.

Sabine and Emilie will defend their Master’s theses just before Christmas and then will enjoy an Aotearoa festive season with some of their Danish friends and family who are travelling here to celebrate with them.

They are not sure what branch of medicine they will pursue when they graduate, saying there are 36 specialities to choose from. When they finish their studies, they will spend the next year getting general practice and hospital experience.

– Kōrero by Andrea Jones, Team Leader, Divisional Communications