University College of Northern Denmark - UCN (reviews)

The internal infrastructure is of UCN is great, as it is possible to charge the laptops literally everywhere on the campus. At the same time, they also have a Friday bar where students can hang out during or after classes. The building is 24/7 accessible which is a great help if you need a silent study area.
The community is quite colourful, as there are people here from all over the world.
As for the quality of the education, teachers are friendly, helpful and easily approachable. Furthermore, they all have work experience from the field they are education, which makes the practice-based learning activities really effective.
In addition, UCN has a great feedback system, which helps students to point out the weaknesses of the institution, thus opening doors for development.
Sadly the future does not look so bright for UCN in my opinion, as they were forced to close many English-taught programmes.

I like SU and I like the student loan. Also, the level of education is nice and the teachers are kind. As for the campus, the campus sandwiches are not the best and the soccer table is very bad.

UCN is an institution with focus on team work, development of projects based on real based cases. It is good for developing skills in practical and theoretical knowledge which is helpful when coming to the job market later on.

All in all I can say that I like UCN and what it offers, but on the other hand there has been many situation and circumstances in which just didn’t seem professional and serious enough.
I also have gotten a feeling that some teachers are not really competent for their positions, meaning that they either don’t know how to teach/lecture or simply don’t seem skilled enough in their field. But those are all minor things and are definitely not dominant.
I personally recommend UCN to the students that don’t expect a lot and are aware of themselves as not so highly ambitious people!
7/10

To begin with, I think that problem-based learning -method is a fantastic way to go. Learning through projects based on real-life problems give a good opportunity to educate yourself in an environment which prepares you for the future. Also, minimizing the amount exams and increasing the number of projects is definitely something positive especially when comprehension and understanding are what is needed in the modern society. I believe that educations based on memorising and scoring well on countless exams are not really measuring anything else than how good one is memorising a lot of detailed information in a short time. UCN’s approach is more up to date in today’s world -offering students a way to show their overall understanding by intertwining subjects to a whole, just like in real life. And isn’t real life our goal with education?
However, there are a few points which have made me to give only 2 stars to NAKU. Firstly, I think that I was expecting a higher level of the teaching. It has felt like that only every now and then I leave a class with a feeling that it was worth to come instead of just reading the material for the day. I am expecting more in-depth teaching as well as higher-level English in institutions for higher education. Secondly, I think NAKU is lacking in sufficient feedback. Sometimes I feel that students are treated a bit like little ducklings that have to be protected from “negative”/constructive feedback. However, it is difficult to perform better and reach bigger goals and even think about surviving in Masters programs if constructive feedback is missing. Also, the lack of individual assignments leads to a situation where some students work a lot harder than others but are given the same feedback/grades. Unfortunately, it is true that there are students that have completely ridden on the wave of other students without moving a finger with very insufficient skills. Lastly, I must complain about structure. It seems to me like there are many organizational problems at UCN/NAKU. It is very difficult to get information about lectures, important dates, projects etc. on time. Because of that, at least my own stress levels have risen high. Planning life around the school can be difficult when information is very hard to get on time.
All of these things together have made me come to a conclusion that UCN is a bit like a juvenile as an organization. It has potential to grow up but at the moment it still needs to put its energy into fixing fundamental problems. I feel like it is very easy to get a degree out but I would not feel very proud of it.

The University College of Northern Denmark provides me with the opportunity to study in the very friendly and open-minded environment. I have learnt, that every idea can become reality. Teachers give you more positive feedback and make you more engaged in the learning process. What is more, the school fully supports you in every aspect of your studies, including your leisure time activities. From the school facilities and equipment (you can find here literally everything you need, and if not, the school staff will make sure that you will have what you need) to the possibility to organize various events, meetings …

I’m studying Natural and Cultural Heritage Management at UCN Hjørring and it is really great! The environment and atmosphere at the school is nice and cosy. The teachers are very friendly and open to discussions. During classes, there is a lot of group work which is really great as it helps to understand the theory and exchange thoughts and ideas. I love that there is place to creativity. There is a Project Week four times a year, where we get to make a project with some local businesses. I love it because it is an opportunity to put the theory into practice, and make something for real in the real world and help those businesses. The campus has a nice canteen and you can use the virtual-reality room, swimming-pool, 3D-printer and work-out room for free. I love that it is situated in Hjørring; I bicycle a lot and there are a lot of places to explore. Overall I’m having a really great time here in the top of Denmark thanks to all the friendly and inspiring people being here, I learn a whole lot of interesting things that I can take with me to think more about and I have personally grown so much!

UCN is a great place to educate yourself. There is a lot of different things to do, study groups where you can get some help with your studies, Friday bar where you can meet friends, and have a beer. Furthermore, It is possible to use the school facilities after hours, on till 10 O’clock in the evening. You should definitely apply there. The teachers are really good, and they can and will help you with a lot of things if you need it.