By Line Bernt Nielsen, AAU Communication and Public Affairs

Translated and edited by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Emil Kragborg Eriksen, AAU Communication and Public Affairs

Again this year, AAU held Study Environment Day at CREATE where the theme for the afternoon was "Take a timeout", continuing last year's success. The day was held as an open house so students could come by and take a break when it fit their schedule. All students were welcome, regardless of degree programme and nationality, and the activities were held in both Danish and English.

Study Environment Day gave the students the opportunity to meet new fellow students from other degree programmes and get inspiration on how to take a break from day-to-day life through various activities, both physical and creative.

The possibilities were many, and the students could try a bit of everything. There were workshops for everyone: Those who wanted to be active could try yoga, dancefit or spikeball, while creative breaks offered a crepe flower workshop, mandala drawings and an open yarn corner.

Why did you participate in Study Environment Day this year? 

Frederik Venø Elling: We got an email about it, and we thought it could be a lot of fun. It also seemed like a good group activity, because sometimes we drown a little in project work, linear algebra, chemistry and biology. So we thought it could be a great way to do little bonding.

 

Sidsel Bak Knudsen: Actually my friend Joy lured me here today because we have a knitting club outside of this event. She got an email saying that we could join, and it sounded nice, so of course we said yes.

 

Anton Nygaard Petersen: It was actually a bit of a coincidence. We were already here at the university and saw that they were getting ready for the event, so we decided to head down there. We ended up going to the introduction in the auditorium, and the activities seemed really cool, a super good initiative and we ended up staying here all afternoon.

 

Natascha Svalgaard: It's actually the first time I'm taking part in Study Environment Day, even though I'm well into my studies. I thought that now I would finally give it a try, and I really think there were some good initiatives, from yoga to lectures on sleep and energy. And now we're making flowers, and it's a very creative as well as a very informative initiative.

 

What do the small breaks mean for you during your study time:

Martin Belstrup Sørensen: I think it means a lot to get away from the group work and just be together in a different way. 

 

Sidsel Bak Knudsen: They make it clear that you focus better when you have to do something study-related afterwards, and that you are more present.

 

Anton Nygaard Petersen: I think they mean a lot, because sometimes you’re driven a little hard at the university, especially this semester. It feels like one deadline after another, and you can easily feel like you can't get everything done. So it's really good to get a break, because your productivity dies a bit, and you go completely mad if you don't get a break.

 

Vanilla Riis Mortensen: The thing about being able to think about something other than studying and just put it aside, and then, for example, immerse yourself in something like the flower workshop, is that you’re using your brain in a different way. 

 

Natascha Svalgaard: It means a lot to get that little break where you’re not sitting tensed up in front of a computer; at least I do that a lot and I'm very tense in my shoulders and maybe a little stressed. This has been a really good opportunity to take a break from the stress of studying.