Freya's Denmark Experience

Overview of Activities in Denmark

Hej! I’m Freya Robinson, a former student in Dr. Kornbluth’s graduate class Path to ZNE at UC
Davis. Seven classmates and I attended SDU in Denmark for a two week class titled “Cities and
Climate Change.” The class was held 10am to 5pm Monday through Friday with a balance of
engaging lectures and group work time. After class the students were free to explore the bike
friendly downtown, natural areas, and beautiful local historical architecture. The Davis squad
used the weekends to visit local historical sites like the oldest castle in northern Europe, the
Egeskov Castle. As well as, traveled to Malmö, Sweden to catch the last day of a music and
cultural festival (both pictured below). The availability of local bike rentals freed up downtown
Odense and allowed us to take a paddle boat tour, dine at many local restaurants, and enjoy some
sustainable shopping. The class was set up similar to ZNE in that you worked closely with your
group classmates to produce a high quality final deliverable. This helped the groups quickly get
close and soon the Danish students were inviting the Davis squad to local restaurants, downtown
activities and other cultural experiences one can only experience though a locals guide. My
personal favorite memory was the Davis squad joining their classmates to watch Denmark win
gold in the men's handball in the 2024 olympics. Overall, the class pushed me to work with
people from a large spectrum of educational backgrounds, perspectives and break boundaries of
cultural differences. Lastly, producing a solid deliverable and building collaborative team skills
to study a city from a system analysis perspective that can only be gained through experience.
SDU Summer School Itinerary
Upon arrival the 49 students in the course were divided into blended groups of 6-8 people with
varying levels of expertise, age and educational background. Each group was tasked with
researching a city of their choice and producing a final deliverable that suggested improvements
to the city's climate action plan. My group studied Sydney Australia and found that although it is
very well developed and climate is on the forefront of many politicians, citizens and city
planners minds, the plan can still be improved. Sydney faces challenges from many fronts at
once being a harbor city sea level rise, landslides, and flooding. However, my group focused on
the wild fires as well as flooding issues as Denmark and California were great case studies to
help guide my groups suggestions to the Australian cities climate action plans. The class lectures
emphasized both using the correct diction when describing your cities issues, learning the
universal key words will help us communicate with a larger audience like the UN, WWF, and
larger system thinking. Using Miro as a collaborative platform to work, the whole group was
able to bounce ideas off one another, and work through the exercises provided with guidance and
support from the summer school staff. Overall the close quarters solidified the teamwork
environment and pushed the groups to create the best possible product in the fast paced class.
“Fluid collaboration between faculty and students created a diverse and well rounded learning
experience for studying complex problems in a city context through a systems approach.” - Freya
“Omg! Another nature based water management basin!!” -Freya