Interview with Isabella Kullnig

Isabella is originally from Austria, but she has also lived in Argentina while doing her first Master’s degree.

(the University of Southern Denmark, red.) bridges these fields.

Now she lives in Odense where she is doing her second Master’s degree in Business, Language and Culture (Negotiation) at the University of Southern Denmark.

I had certain expectations concerning my university that I wanted to be fulfilled, as I was assuming to come across a high level of innovation in terms of how academic input would be passed on to the students.

Isabella is aware that there is a life besides studying, and that it is crucial to be proactive when moving to a new country and adapting to a new culture.

What were the main reasons for wanting to study in Denmark?

While I was studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina during my first Master’s degree, which was focused on business in emerging markets, I decided that I would like to gain new and different perspectives – especially complementary knowledge to market entry strategies by adopting negotiation skills, which are useful in the commercial field. The Cand. Negot program I’m enrolled in at SDU

Also, I was anticipating a lot of interactive workshops to complement theoretical lectures and assumed, based on what I've heard from friends and relatives, the study environment in Denmark would provide me with the right academic tools to spark my creativity.

What was also important to me was the support infrastructure in career counseling. I believe that it is crucial that the university acts as an intermediary between the academic world and the job market from the beginning, so that students can choose a field of study and slowly begin to explore the job market from an early stage. This has proven to be the case, as I am experiencing a very strong link between the steps of studying in Denmark and gaining a foothold on the Danish job market.

How did you prepare yourself for moving here?

I did a lot of research! I gathered all the data about free time activities that I wanted to explore, which was quite simple as all information was available in English. Of course, I googled a lot, but I found that the

website (studyindenmark.dk, red.) comprehensive and very useful.

was

How did you find accommodation?

That was pretty easy, actually. I only had to let the international office at SDU know that I wanted to apply for accommodation, and then they took care of everything for me. You can really feel that they are prepared for your arrival at SDU, which I think is amazing, and also something that influenced my decision to study here. Their (SDU, red.) online presence is almost overwhelming; they have a bunch of helpful videos and other materials that you can look at to be completely prepared for your exchange or full degree.

This let me focus on what was equally important to me – my free time activities. All I had to do was to join the groups that would deal with the activities at stake and then the rest was pretty much taken care of.

How did you settle in Denmark?

The same day I arrived in Denmark, I joined a sports association, more precisely the Odense Salsa Forening (OSAF), a local dance school. I was pretty confident that the best way to meet others and gain a large network

was to ‘go native’ and become a member of an association.

This has meant that I relatively quickly gained a large network of local and international students and Danish and international working professionals. I have met so many kind people and discovered much warmth and openness during my time here.

What are you plans after your second degree?

I'm eager to find a Danish company that works within the Furniture industry, so that I can apply the various international insights and add value from what I’ve learned from my stays abroad and my international background.

The perfect company would be a company that implements a flat hierarchy and that has extensive focus on human capital, dynamic teams and work-life balance. I mean, you’re a different person when you have time to relax and reboot for the next day. I’m sure that companies providing a comfortable working environment that gives room to recreation time can count on having happier and more efficient employees.

It might seem too good to be true, but I’m sure that if it exists – it’s in Denmark.

Thank you, Isabella!