IBP Magazine 4th Edition

INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

IBP MAGAZINE BSc INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS & POLITICS NO. 4 – FEBRUARY 2021

COVER PHOTO

by CopenhagenByCosedis He shoots the city from a real airplane, no drone involved

Alumni RASMUS & EMILIE Student Societies CBS ART Talking Politics THE TIK TOK CONTROVERSY Covid GETTING THROUGH LOCKDOWN

CO N T E N T S

COVER PHOTO The Copenhagen lakes in the record cold month of January.

by CopenhagenByCosedis

4

EDITORS LETTER from IBP Communications

5

IBP of the Issue MEET ASGER About interning at DR

8

The Professor’s Page EDDIE’S LAST ARTICLE from Eddie Ashbee

9

A Comment on IBP IBP’S RELEVANCE TODAY

by Jan Molin

10

Update from the Study Board A MESSAGE FROM THE STUDY BOARD Meet the new members

12

A Comment on a Contemporary Political Issue THE TIKTOK CONTROVERSY

by Jeppe Teglskov Jacobsen

13

Master Profile INTERVIEW WITH DAVID On the MSc IBP

15

Alumni Profile INTERVIEW WITH RASMUS On his job as a Project Manager at Rasmussen Global

19

Alumni Profile INTERVIEW WITH EMILIE On her job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

CO N T E N T S

Student Societies CBS ART Interview with founder Carolina

21

Student Societies IBP BOOKCLUB Book Recommendations

23

Opinions COMMENTS ON INTRO How did the Covid friendly intro week suceed?

25

Tips & Tricks OVERCOMING COVID BOREDOM Get through lockdown

28

Become a Better Student STUDY SNACKS Our favourite study snacks

29

Stories Behind IBP CASPER ØHLERS Interview with Casper

In this

ISSUE

31 FEBRUARY

W I N T E R I S S U E 2 0 21

E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R

E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R Dear reader, The awful “C” word has negatively impacted lives on a global scale. It has been spoken a bout daily over the past year whilst the world has been closed and we have lived in lockdown and self-isolation.

First-year IBP students were in particular hit by these circumstances. Instead of fully experiencing university life, they were faced with empty lecture halls, social restrictions, closed canteens and an absent night life.

In true IBP spirit, however, we have seen students try to make the best out of it: Intro 2020 was adjusted to fit the situation and attracted great participation, CBS societies found new members though online meetings and students engaged in the debate surrounding the best solutions for

online teaching methods.

With this edition of the IBP magazine, we once again hope to entertain and inspire the IBP community. Amongst a broad variety of interesting topics, we provide you with book recommendations and brain teasers in an effort to help you overcome the boredom of Covid-19 restrictions.

Should this not be enough, then you may also want to check out Jakob’s lockdown lifehacks. As usual, we also caught up with two former IBP students to talk about their inspiring path after graduation.

On a more subject-specific level, we asked Jeppe Teglskov Jacobsen, an expert of The Danish Defence Academy, for a comment on a rather unexpected conflict from 2020: The TikTok Controversy.

We are all looking forward to seeing you again very soon. Until then, stay safe and enjoy reading this issue!

Best, IBP Communications

To shed further light on the IBP community, we asked Jan Molin, the former Dean of Education, for his thoughts about our study line and the new study-board members share their aspirations for their term.

FIND US ONLINE Follow our Social Media accounts to learn more about everyday life at IBP, and to receive regular updates from the Study Board, IBP Union and more. Or contact our e-mail if you have any questions about the union, or something to add to the next issue of IBP Magazine.

@ibpunion www.ibpunion.dk ibpunion@gmail.com

4

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

IBP OF THE ISSUE

In this issue we want to introduce you to Asger Emil Bundgaard, the former Head of IBP Communications and one of the founders of our beloved IBP magazine. Asger recently left student journalism behind and moved on to work as a political journalist at DR. Get inspired by his experience and gain some insights into what it is like to produce a political debate in which Denmark’s main political actors discuss Denmark’s most current and most disputed issues.

You did a summer internship at DR before you got offered your current job. Can you tell us a bit about the technicalities of this internship experience first?

I applied for the summer internship because I wanted to get a grip of political journalism and check it out from the inside. As a student you have a three months summer vacation and you can get away with getting a new job every six months. You can’t do that once you have a degree, so it’s all about trying out different things while you can. When I applied in April, I still thought I was going to LA for my exchange. Had I known that it would be cancelled, I would probably have applied for a full semester internship instead.

value for them with the project. A summer internship of 7.5 ECTS requires you to write a 20 pages report which is graded pass/fail. I followed Zoltan’s piece of advice, focused my energy on the internship and wrote the report fairly quickly.

You now got offered a position at DR. Tell us a bit about your current job. How does a typical day look like?

I was an intern at the radio program, P1 Debat, but I got offered a freelance position at the televised pendant, Debatten DR2, which is the neighbouring editorial office.

It is a very fun and fast-paced job, but also quite different from working in many other places. For instance, there are no long-term projects or strategic considerations.

There is just one weekly output, the live broadcasted program, and then you begin from scratch the following Monday. Of course, this both has advantages and disadvantages. It’s rewarding to produce something that is so concrete and relatable to people and to be part of the project from beginning to end. The colleagues are great, and the atmosphere and the working procedures are extremely informal and down to earth. We are only ~5

”As a student you have a three months summer vacation and you can get away with getting a new job every six months. So, it’s all about trying out different things while you can.”

The technicalities behind the internship are quite straightforward to be honest. I asked Zoltan Fazekas to be my supervisor and he accepted right away. In the end, we only had one meeting way before the internship even began.

He advised me not to spend too much time on the internship report but suggested that I instead used the report as sort of a networking tool by including DR in the process and try to create FEBRUARY 2021

people working on each program, so you also really get a sense of ownership and can exert a lot of influence. There are many personalities working in DR and it is quite a creative environment to be in.

On a typical day, we begin by deciding on the topic of the debate, which of course is subject to change several times during the week depending on the news flow. Then you start doing some research on 5

IBP OF THE ISSUE Meet Asger Emil Bundgaard

by Tara Dastmalchian

ASGER

photo by Carolina Lindman

IBP OF THE ISSUE

”There is just one weekly output, the live broadcasted program, and then you begin from scratch the following Monday.” the topic: what’s at stake and who are the central actors?

Quickly you start calling the potential participants and interviewing them. This is also part of the research, although in a very practical manner. You call the main actors politicians, experts, opinion makers - and you find out exactly what the nuances of their arguments are and how far they can they be pushed.

Once you know the participants’ arguments, the analytical part begins where we put together the program as one big puzzle piece by piece. Who will face each other in the duels? What are the most critical questions to each person?

And how can we lift the debate from being concrete to being a principle? These questions guide us as we develop a script. It is a lot of fun, and what I particularly like about the job is that I constantly work with current affairs, and that I get very direct exposure to the main political actors.

When did you start becoming interested in political journalism?

Was this area of work also your goal when starting to study IBP? I did not have a specific goal when

I started studying IBP. The way I see it, the IBP bachelor is a very broad foundation that helps you understand how the world around us works. You have a lot of introductory courses to all kinds of fields: Political science, economics, accounting, finance, organizational behaviour, etc. Although there is an overlap in many of our courses, they rarely build directly on each other. You don’t have microeconomics I, II and III, which means that we don’t get that in-depth knowledge in one particular field.

But when you start putting together the pieces of all your courses, you get a very good sense of how things work and how it is all connected. This is crucial in political journalism.

if you had a background in e.g. communications. Our course objectives always use buzzwords like “You should be able to identify, analyse, assess and evaluate X, Y, Z”. In a sense, this is exactly what I do in my job. Identifying the most interesting topics of debate, analysing what is at stake and for whom, and assessing the various arguments. But of course, there are many things in the job - as in all other jobs - that your courses can’t teach you.

Does the experience of being the former Head of IBP Communication help you with the tasks you have to do in your job?

Most definitely. I spend a lot of

”The IBP bachelor is a very broad foundation that helps you understand how the world around us works.”

How do the courses you had at IBP so far help you in your job?

Well, the topics on which we do debates naturally vary from week to week, why it is very helpful to have some fundamental knowledge about various fields. I think the job would be much more difficult 6

time interviewing people, which I also did when I was working with the IBP Magazine.

So far, is your work as you expected it to be? Did you face any surprising challenges?

I was surprised by how IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

IBP OF THE ISSUE

autonomous the many editorial offices in DR are. There is very little coordination across similar shows, which is surprising in such a large - and in many ways bureaucratic - organisation. At first, I found it strange and thought that there was a lot of potential for rationalization. But quickly I realized that the autonomy of each show is a way to encourage creativity in the production of content and a way to induce internal competition among the various programs. Editors and show hosts are obsessed with ratings.

The media has a lot of power over the public opinion by choosing what issues to report, what political actors to interview and what questions to ask which politicians. Especially in times in which ”fake news” are such a buzzword, fair representation of all political opinions is crucial. Is this a topic that you encounter a lot at DR and how do you ensure to be fair?

This is a topic that requires a lot of editorial considerations and that I encounter A LOT. I think the overwhelming majority of journalists are extremely aware of this issue. At Debatten DR2, we keep track of the participants’ party allegiance and strive for participation of parties that is proportional to their representation in parliament. This is sometimes difficult, because there is an inherent bias toward the more extreme opinions in the debate genre. We also keep track of participants’ gender and geographic location as we believe a balanced representation improves the quality of the program.

that some people don’t trust the vaccine? Is it OK to discuss the presence of structural racism on the basis of the murder in Nordskoven, Bornholm? It takes a lot of editorial discussions to get to terms with these questions and you need to be aware of the strengths and limitations of your format. In general, you could say that the media (and especially DR) has a responsibility to report on the issues that people care about, but also a duty to set the agenda through critical journalism. Often, debates arise from new legislation, from events or simply from some influential individual’s controversial statement. People (and politicians in particular) always battle for setting the agenda.

Sometimes politicians spontaneously call me up and invite themselves to the program. Then I tell them no. Our job is to always ask ourselves: Why is this particular topic or this particular argument from this particular actor important enough to be broadcasted on our platform?

That being said, if you ever want to participate in Debatten or P1 Debat or if you have a cool topic, hit me up for sure! We need more

Do you wish to continue working in journalism in the future?

Not sure, maybe.

Finally, as you now have insights into how professional journalism is done, do you have any advice / new ideas for IBP Communications?

An IBP podcast would be an a mbitious next step. There are many possibilities with regards to the format. It could be conversations between students, solo interviews with professors or anything in between. In general, journalism is about creating content and one of the great privileges is that you make the rules and decide what content should be produced yourself. I have seen that even in a large and rigid organisation as DR, you can actually quite easily challenge and maybe even change the format of an already existing program if you have a good idea.

There is so much potential in IBP Communications’ various platforms and a lot of creativity waiting to be unleashed.

”An IBP podcast would be an ambitious next step”

The agenda-setting power and the issue of “fake news” are also something that we put a lot of thought into. There are many recent examples from my job: How can we have a debate about the covid-vaccine without disbursing anti-vaxers while still recognising FEBRUARY 2021

IBPs engaged in the public debate.

7

PROFESSOR’S PAGE

P R O F E S S O R ’ S PAG E Eddie Ashbee, one last time We are - to state the obvious - back in very uncertain times. As I write this, the daily infection figures have just topped 3000, and that figure will almost certainly work its way through to the numbers hospitalised or worse over the coming weeks. As of now, your guess about what will have happened by the time we get to the end of January is as good as mine. Sadly, I imagine Christmas and the New Year will add to the toll.

I know full well that the Autumn semester has been extraordinarily difficult. Everybody understandably wants normality. That lack of normality is, it is rightly said, having serious social and psychological consequences. And, on top of that, there are fractures across the student body as some insist that all staff teach them in-person whilst others are fearful of coming into the CBS buildings (Solbjerg Plads in particular) and protest against a lack of distancing.

And, to be very blunt, there may well be worse to come. The natio-

nal and international labour market is going to be far from normal for some considerable time to come. It would be silly to deny the fact that you are in the process of being hit with what is called a double whammy whereby two adverse things happen in quick succession.

COVID aside (and that sounds like the old “apart from that how was the play Mrs Lincoln?” joke) there are a few other bits of news. Like other programmes we are in the process of drawing up new competency profile for IBP. A competency profile is the legal basis for a programme and lists the skills that our graduates secure. We are also trying to increase the amount of teaching and feedback the students receive although there is sometimes a problem when teaching staff hit limits in terms of the hours they can supervise or teach. Trying to find ways around that. And the course representation system has sometimes worked well (and the Study Board Vice-Chair Maria Damsgaard has done an outstanding job in organising this) but we

need it to be more widely institutionalised.

And - as you may already know - I finish as Programme Director at the end of the month. I have been doing the job for almost six years and it is now time to move on. Having said that, I hope to continue teaching (and perhaps do rather more teaching) for a few more years. For better or worse I will try to remain an IBP fixture for some time to come.

By the way I am (numbers permitting) running a BSc elective in the Autumn: “After Trump: the US and the Global Economy” and I would welcome plenty of IBP participants. It should be added that the first part of the course title may yet prove to be a faulty assumption.

All that having been said let me wish a very good (but not too sociable) Christmas and New Year.

Thank you for 6 incredible years, Eddie!

Eddie h t i w Keep up

8

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

CO M M E N T

A CO M M E N T ON IBP

by Jan Molin Former Dean of Education

For th is Issu e of th e IBP M agazin e, we asked Jan M oli n, th e fo rm er Dean of Edu catio n at C op en h agen Bu sin ess Sc ho o l, fo r a co m m ent on our stu dy lin e. Read along fo r in spirin g p e rc eptio n of IBP.

”You may learn a lot if you observe what happens in a society during ‘The Perfect Storm’”.

Covid-19 like a Black Swan (Nassim Taleb) has swept over all parts of the world and this example of an ‘unknown-unknown’ has exposed how different countries with very different infrastructures and governance traditions have been able to cope and develop responses. It is quite evident that in the Nordic countries with a highly developed tradition for collaboration across sectors and institutions the situation is much more under control. In my view this demonstrates how important professionals with an IBP background are today and will increasingly be in the future. The competences and capacity to bridge between political and corporative interests and potential - and to do so with an international focus will be in huge demand.

STUDY BOARD

A N U P DAT E F R O M T H E S T U D Y B OA R D The five newly elected members of the IBP Study Board share their ideas and aspirations fo r t h e n ex t y e a r

My aspirations for the study board are: Firstly, ensuring that our courses and curriculum continue to live up to the aim of IBP: The enabling of a program that combines economics, business administration, and politics.

Thirdly, ensuring that the voice of the students is heard when planning how we fulfill the CBS and advisory board requirements.

Secondly, ensuring that we have a transparent process, such as for students wanting to take electives.

Zakarias Hove Johansson

I would love to explore alternative COVID-safe learning to ensure students’ well-being and motivation in a safe manner. Besides the pandemic, I want to improve the communication between administrators, professors and the student body. I hope to be a medium for students’ voices so we can be heard.

Harun Bala

10

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

STUDY BOARD

My name is Katrine and I’m a first-year student. I am very happy about being elected for the study board and I will work hard to improve IBP. I look forward to start improving online lectures, centralize our online platforms and improve communication between the students and your study board.

We can and will do better.

Katrine Porse

Signe Lindegaard

My aspiration is that the IBP’s feel heard and that the quality of our education is prioritized. I aspire to prioritize education in-person and make it even better by meeting the demands of also live-streaming these classes. Further, I want to secure transparency between the CBS administration, the study board and the students.

My name is Jonna, I am 20 years old and an enthusiastic IBP student from second year. As of January 20021, I am part of the new Study board of IBP. Additionally, I was elected the Vice Chair of the Study Board which gives me a little more responsibility and I will work closely alongside Leonard (the new IBP Program Director).

Jonna Schmude

FEBRUARY 2021

During my term I want to focus on communication. I feel like the communication between the students and the Study Board has not been great, especially during the pandemic. In order to get through

11

this smoothly, students need to be informed about what is happening in the Study Board. As the elected Vice Chair of the Study Board, I am the interface between Study Board Members, Professors, and Students.

Eventually, I am also your representative, so please reach out to me, whatever you are concerned about.

Additionally, I want to work on figuring out a hybrid teaching system, where also when we get back to normal, students will have the option of attending lectures either from campus or live-streamed from home.

POLITICS

CO M M E N T O N A P O L I T I C A L I S S U E : T H E T I K TO K CO N T R O V E R S Y

by Jeppe Teglskov Jacobsen The Danish Defence Academy

In 2020, the video sharing platform TikTok was at the center of a conflict between China and the US that was observed by many around the world. In this context, we asked Jeppe Teglskov Jacobsen from the Danish Defense Academy to comment on the economic and political ramifications of the TikTok controversy from his point of view.

The security politics of TikTok: Why a video-sharing app with lip-syncing and dancing teenagers has become the object of great power competition.

TikTok, we are told, is now a threat to US national security. In August, President Donald Trump accused Byte Dance – the company behind the popular app – of sharing user data with the Chinese government and censoring content. The President demanded full US ownership of TikTok and issued an executive order banning future US transactions with the company.

Since then, several US companies, such as Oracle and Microsoft, have shown interest in buying TikTok. The Chinese government has responded with export restrictions requiring government approval before Chinese companies can export tech. The Chinese government is not interested in handing over the algorithms and AI-solutions that drive TikTok.

never encounter information on for example Hong Kong protests or the situation in Xinyang on the platform, but these issues are not big threats to US national security.

TikTok is a US national security issue because it is the latest manifestation of the battle for ownership over the most advanced algorithms that characterises the ongoing race for global tech-dominance between US and China.

The outcome of this race depens on the private sector. In the US, big tech companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft are spearheading the development of artificial intelli-

gence (AI) and are simultaneously delivering much of the software that now constitute the IT-backbone of our societal and corporate infrastructures. The same is happening in China, but here the big tech-companies are Baidu, Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi.

At the political level in both the US and China, the hope is that their respective companies come to dominate globally and that their AI-advanced solutions will spillover to their military apparatuses.

In this light, President Trump’s TikTok-controversy is, on the one hand, an attempt to ensure that all the most advanced AI-algorithms are on American hands and on the other hand, it is an effective way to signal to the public – both nationally and internationally – that China and Chinese technologies are generally not to be trusted.

A great power technology competition, however, is not without risks.

A securitisation of AI could lead to a break-up of cyberspace. This means that we will have a Chinese, a Russian, a European and an American Internet – and different Chinese, Russian, European and American technology standards.

Such “balkanization” is not only damaging to the economic ties between the great powers and the global economy more broadly; dividing the world may also foster more mistrust and instability.

Of course, it is problematic that the Chinese government is collecting facial and behavioural data on millions of American TikTok users and that the mainly teenager users 12

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

MASTER

Why did you choose IBP for your masters?

I always wanted to be a specialist in politics as well as in international business relationships. Public policy has always been of interest to me and being able to merge both worlds and understand both sides is highly valuable. I think IBP was therefore precisely what I was searching for.

MASTER PROFILE: M S c I B P DAV I D After working with politics, for the Portuguese government and as a counselor in the city hall, David decided to apply for a master’s program in International Business and Politics at CBS. By combining his knowledge from his bachelor’s program in Public Administration, which he did in the University of Lisbon, as well as the insights from his IBP master’s program, he wishes to continue his career in a governmental institution or international institution or a multinational corporation with the prerequisite that the company´s sustainable and social objectives align with his own values.

By Ilmi Perkiömäki

“He said: Hey you strawberry guy over there!”

How has COVID-19 affected your studies?

In terms of studies, it has not affected that much since I was used to studying a lot from home during my bachelors. With regards to relationships, it is harder to have social interaction during this pandemic and that is the big challenge with COVID. Most social interaction is limited into the classroom so in that sense it has had an immense effect.

Would you recommend IBP for your masters?

I do advise everyone to do this program. If you are ready and eager to understand in depth very specific topics of international business and politics, then this is the program for you. This year we have a new interesting course called Applied Policy Analysis which is a new course focused on public policy.

While I do believe that sometimes it is good to combine a different bachelor and master’s program, I

FEBRUARY 2021

would say that the IBP master’s is a very complete program and provides you with knowledge you cannot obtain from other programs.

A tip for future IBP master´s student is to learn new languages and try to have an international approach in everything you do. Doing summer programs, visiting other countries and going out of your comfort zone are some things that will help you adapt and understand more in depth, what it is we are learning in classes.

What has been the most interesting subject in IBP master´s?

I would nominate the course Analysis of industry and competition which allows you to understand market dynamics and strategic positioning. It gives you the ability to understand how a company in a specific market segment should act, based on different inputs and insights. I think this course is very very useful in the future not only if you are working in a multinational corporation or small or medium enterprise but also in an investment agency.

13

Do you have any funny story from your time in IBP? Once during my Analysis of Industry and competition class I had a question, so I went to the professor Marcus at the end of the class to ask him something about the structure of business model and pricing analysis. He asked me to give him an example – so I came up with an example of the strawberry market.

A week later in class we were discussing pricing strategy – and I was trust me paying attention- but in a certain moment of the class I just looked at my phone and he called me the strawberry guy saying” well the strawberry guy over there” and everyone was looking at me. It was a bit awkward ha-ha…

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

I could see myself working in Denmark in a governmental institution or international governmental institution or in a multinational organization that has strong business ethics and an aim to achieve a sustainable business model. However, it might also be that I return to Portugal and work for the Portuguese government.

ALUMNI

by Sara Lind Arlund & Jeakob Werner Jeppesen

What is there to do after r e c e i v i n g a d e g r e e i n I B P ? We reached out to and interviewed fo r m e r I B P s t u d e n t s R a s m u s a n d Emilie.

14

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

ALUMNI

RASMUS GRAND BERTHELSEN In this edition we will hear from alumnus Rasmus Grand Berthelsen, who finished his MSc in International Business and Politics in 2019 and went on to work as a project manager at Rasmussen Global, where he interned during his studies. Rasmus works alongside former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to help democratic governments and companies navigate a complex world. If you are interested in a career working on international projects in the political sphere – and if you are curious about what it is like to work for the former Prime Minister of Denmark and Secretary General of NATO – then read along.

Why did you choose IBP in the first place?

The interdisciplinarity was something that really attracted me. I did not really find politics in itself fascinating enough to study political science, the same for economics or business, but the combination however was really interesting to me.

And then I have to admit the high GPA entry requirement also played a role. Not because of prestige or vanity, but because I knew I would end up with some bright and very engaged peers. I found out this was very true.

Walk us through your study path.

Before I started at CBS in 2014, I had been travelling around the world for a year. I did not cut my hair for the entire year, so I started out at CBS with a man-bun and a very relaxed attitude towards doing my coursework.

I had several student jobs throughout my studies. I first took a student job at the Danish Geodata Agency where I remember using some skills from microeconomics to help calculate the degree of competition in data-reliant sectors.

Around a year later, I joined the Danish Green Investment Fund as a student assistant, where my tasks ranged from building excel models to climbing around the top of a windmill on Samsø. I definitely enjoyed those years! And I know they grew quite happy with IBP’ers later on.

FEBRUARY 2021

On my fifth semester I went on exchange at Boston University.

I knew I was not going to need courses in accounting or marketing for a different master’s degree, so instead I took courses in Islam and politics, sustainable development, as well as markets and corruption. They were all genuinely exciting! And one thing I learned here was that I was terrible at presenting in front of an audience – because I had never done so during my years at CBS. When I returned to CBS, I remembered how terrible I was at presenting, so I applied for the CBS International Case Teams and made it through to represent CBS at the Belgrade Business International Case Competition.

Writing my thesis, working a student job, and doing intense training lessons and 24-hour cases at all the management consulting firms seven weeks in a row was really stressful. It is probably my most intense period at CBS, but also a period where I learned the most. Not only did I get over my fear of presenting, I also really learned how to balance different priorities. Today, I still hang out with my case teammates who are all doing really cool things!

What about your master studies?

When the time came to apply for master studies, I was fed up with business, so I actually applied for a dual degree in Politics at 15

the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and Sciences Po in Paris.

But at the same time, I knew of an internship position at Rasmussen Global, which I secretly applied for - just in case. To my surprise, I ended up getting the offer and decided I could not let the opportunity to work at Rasmussen Global pass. So instead of going to Paris and Berlin, I applied for the IBP Master’s programme, which to this day is probably the best decision I have ever made.

So you did an internship on your first semester of the IBP Master?

Yes, the internship was full-time in addition my 30 ECTS at the IBP Master. Luckily, IPE and IBS were familiar courses from my bachelor and Rasmussen Global was flexible to accommodate it, so doing a full-time internship while studying was not as stressful as I feared.

Interning at Rasmussen Global was really hands-on, and I was thrown right into it. I remember my first task was to prepare a presentation

ALUMNI

for Anders Fogh Rasmussen for the University of Copenhagen about the economic policy during his time as Prime Minister. I recall his frustrations over how little I remembered myself from his time, to which I responded that I was only 8 years old when he became Prime Minister.

After my internship I stayed on with Rasmussen Global as a student assistant. I also got involved as Head of Partnership of CBS AID, which was a newly founded student organisation at the time.

On the IBP master, I chose the IPE stream and was incredibly happy with it. Len Seabrooke really opened my eyes to transnational governance and so-called policy entrepreneurs – something I have come to know quite well through my professional work afterwards.

You also did the CEMS Master in International Management.

What were your considerations in choosing this?

I somehow decided that I could also fit in another master’s degree, and CBS has this great opportunity to do CEMS on top of your regular CBS degree. I knew going into it that CEMS is more practice-oriented compared to the theory-heavy courses we are used to at CBS and especially IBP. I also knew that they are quite focused on landing high-paying jobs for their students, because this is part of what puts CEMS on top of the rankings for the best master’s in management.

But ultimately, I think CEMS is a great way to compliment the academic baggage you get from IBP with something more practical. .

Also, you get to know so many people from across the world, many of whom I am still in touch with today!

group (an Italian, Chinese and a Russian) was tasked with finding out how Maersk could reduce their CO2 emissions by changing procurement practices. We struggled quite a lot with how to handle a big player like Maersk, but it was a good experience! At the same time, I wrote my thesis on cross-sector partnerships for economic development with my thesis partner who studied Applied Economics and Finance.

Tell us about your job as a policy advisor at Rasmussen Global?

We are a small team mainly based in Copenhagen and Brussels, and we only take on projects we believe in. Anders Fogh Rasmussen founded the company with a clear purpose to help democratic governments and decent private companies. So specifically, that means no China, Saudi Arabia, or Russia and no surveillance firms, weapon manufacturers or tobacco companies. I started as a policy advisor which is our entry-level position, and recently got more responsibility. But of course, being

a small firm, I get to work very closely with some brilliant minds and political heavyweights - something you rarely come across.

I have worked on a wide array of different projects. I have run two diplomatic campaigns for top positions in different UN organisations, supporting the candidates in making the right arguments with different ambassadors or government officials, helping them understand who ultimately makes the decision on the vote for a candidate, and keeping track of which candidate other countries are voting for so we can adjust accordingly.

I also worked on a project related to EU accession talks, where we supported a Prime Minister’s office in mapping relevant stakeholders, gathering political intelligence, and understanding EU and domestic debates to help form arguments for the diplomatic service.

Right now, I work with a major renewable energy company that is expanding in Northern Europe.

We work with them to understand

After my exchange semester in Vienna, I came home and did the CEMS Business Project where my 16

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

ALUMNI

the climate targets and what this means for them in terms of concrete political negotiations and regulations. As main project manager, I am giving advice directly to the executive leadership which at times is quite overwhelming, but I also learn a lot from it.

What is it like to work for Anders Fogh Rasmussen?

When I started working for him, I had heard from his time as the Prime Minister that he worked with very tight deadlines and a strong focus on delivery. And some of that, I guess, is true. He is a serious guy, meticulously detail-oriented, and he expects people to deliver.

But he is also very, very good at recognising hard work and giving feedback – even to interns! I have written a number of his speeches to which he gave detailed feedback points and let me in on the final version for any comments or edits. He usually comes up with nitty-gritty improvements – even spellchecks – for reports and client deliverables. So, in addition to being really good at the big picture stuff, which I think all politicians eventually learn, he can also be deep down in the detail. That I think is really quite special.

Let me also point out that I work at Rasmussen Global in a professional capacity. I keep emphasizing this, because having won three consecutive elections, Anders Fogh is of course a name that everyone FEBRUARY 2021

in Denmark knows and sometimes have a strong opinion about. That does not mean I disagree with his views politically, not at all, but I am too young to have ever been able to vote for him. What I will say, though, is that working for such a heavy political profile sometimes add weight to my words, at least because I rarely have to convince people to listen to me in the first place - that just makes my job easier.

And then, of course, there are some cool perks, including the exposure to high-level politicians and businesspeople. For instance, we help arrange the annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, and in 2018 when Joe Biden visited, I actually got to meet him backstage.

Unfortunately for me, though, I didn’t get to shake his hand as I held the door for him with my one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. That was a bitter tasting cup of coffee.

What does a typical workday look like?

Typically, I come in a bit early and read the news. I usually go through the Financial Times morning briefs and Politico’s Brussels Playbook.

And then there’s usually client work, internal meetings, business development, making slides, writing reports, doing analysis, external meetings for gathering intelligence – you name it. We are a small firm, so there is not really 17

RASMUS BERTHELSEN & ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN

room for being super specialised within one area.

Working with politics can be relatively stressful, particularly if you are the kind of person who likes to control things and plan your day.

Because obviously, things change and in politics, they can change very fast when someone in power wants them to.

The changing political agenda is probably the main determinant of work hours as well. But in general, we have a very good and healthy work culture where nobody is left with large chunks of work in the evening. Not that this never happens – sometimes you’re just the only person who can finish that memo to your client; that proposal to a new potential client; that briefing for the CEO; or what have you. But it is very rare that I work later than 6/7 pm unless it is a result of my own laziness or of choice - writing drafts for speeches and articles, I really enjoy doing in the evening.

We are, however, always somewhat available if anything major happens in politics, so it is pretty important to be plugged in, I would say.

Scrolling Twitter, listening to news podcasts, reading the paper, and so on.

ALUMNI

What is your favourite aspect of working as a policy advisor?

I get to work with something that is really interesting! Of course, the changing nature of politics can be frustrating when suddenly something you’ve worked on for weeks becomes entirely useless because it does not fit the new political reality. But all that aside, I think the topics I work with are really what sets it apart. Not that I do not do boring research tasks – that is also part of the job – but at least I get to research something that I find interesting.

I also get to stay on top of many political topics, especially in the sphere of international politics – which can be both a blessing and a curse. It is great to be well-informed and sound like an expert when I discuss e.g. Belarus or Turkey sanctions with friends and family. But lately I have started to notice that my arguments are getting sort of nitty-gritty and people start losing their interest when I mention the (lack of) powers of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, and why we need qualified majority voting.

Which do you find to be the most valuable competencies you acquired during your studies at IBP? There are two points worth mentioning. First, I think IBP is often underrated for the abilities it gives you to understand complexities.

It might not be an entire toolbox to do a company valuation, but I think it is much more valuable in the long run. You get to know the interdependence of global institutions; you learn how regulations and political signals affect markets; and you understand political and business actors, their ideas and interests within a broader context. That is a pretty good starting point. The toolbox you can acquire along the way.

Second, I think there are also very concrete skills that you obtain at IBP. I cannot mention it all, because obviously this depends on your electives and stream courses, but I’ll say a few that I use in my work: I can translate complicated business propositions into political terms and vice versa for all kinds of stakeholders; I can write and present arguments that are clear, concise, structured, and backed up by evidence; and I can grasp large amounts of information and data and condense it into short memos, briefings, and key action points for various audiences.

Do you have any piece of advice you would give to students interested in a career path like yours?

Let me first warn you that I am still at a very early stage of my career path (if it is even a path yet), so I would take my advice with a pinch of salt.

I tried out a range of different student jobs, both in terms of job types and sectors, and I think this has really helped me find out what I want to work with. There are many opportunities for student jobs in Denmark, and I know employers tend to like IBPs, so I would advise you to also use your university years to try out different jobs and get a more nuanced view of what you want to do before that employment stress hits you at the last year of your master’s.

That being said, I would also advise against racing for the perfect student job right away. Do not let it stress you out! You should only get a student job if you can balance your social and academic commitments as well. And when you are finished at CBS, I honestly do not think employers care much about exactly what student job you have had. On top of that, I would also remind you that various student activities, such as joining the case 18

club, running a student society, arranging events, etc. will often give you much more experience! So do not miss your chance to engage in the vast opportunities that are right in front of you.

And finally, let me point to something that I took very good notice of five years ago, when I sat at Solbjerg and listened to an IBP alumnus myself. She worked in the Danish Prime Minister’s office at a very young age, and I remember thinking she must have been a genius! But she really just got there from working hard. So let me stress that it is extremely important – especially in the beginning of your careers – not to feel too superior or valuable for any tasks. Be humble and do not think you are entitled to something major just when you have graduated. Sometimes getting a cup of coffee for a colleague, helping out with an IT issue, or just putting in that effort to do a task outside your comfort zone can get you far!

MSc IBP

Internship : Rasmusse n Global

nager in a M t c e Proj Global n e s s u m Ras

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

ALUMNI

EMILIE ROSE BUSS Could you describe your study-career path?

I began studying the IBP bachelor in 2014 and finished my master last summer. During my time at CBS, I did not go on exchange but I spent plenty of time abroad working for a private company with office in the US, modelling, doing an embassy internship, and summer school. I have also done a lot of voluntary work. In 2016, I joined an NGO that focused on questions of trade and development, which brought me to the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in 2017 as part of the official Danish delegation. Since May last year, after finishing my master’s, I have worked as Head of Section in the Department for Trade Policy and Economic Analysis at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What job did you see yourself in while studying the BSc IBP? I knew early on that I wanted to work with international relations.

But it was not until 2017, after experiencing the WTO Ministerial Conference, that I knew exactly how or where. Seeing Danish diplomats put their skills to use during three days of intense multilateral negotiations, and how much knowledge they had on this complex area of trade policy, inspired me. By the time I got home, I had my mind set on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Walk us through a usual day at the MFA? In my department I cover a mix of on-going trade negotiations, existing trade agreements and ‘themes’ within trade such as questions related to ‘trade and health’. My days are very different but, generally, I spend a lot of time staying on top of developments in FEBRUARY 2021

the policy field that I cover as well as current developments in world politics overall. This is important since I have to be able to view my own cases in relation to the bigger picture politics - nothing, especially trade, takes place in a vacuum. And since world events have a habit of changing political agendas, it is a very dynamic work environment at the MFA. I thrive this way and find it very exciting.

What made you continue on the MSc IBP? I have always considered myself more as a political scientist than as a typical CBS student, and for some time I thought about applying for a master’s programme at the University of Copenhagen.

But I am glad that I have spent so much time studying business because the private sector is such an important dynamic in international politics and economics.

What ultimately made me chose the MScIBP was the combination of stream courses and great professors.

If you could give yourself one piece of advice during your time at CBS, what would that be?

Grades are important, but they are not everything. I think that we can easily get lost in chasing numbers.

Of course you should do your best, which takes a lot of effort.

But what I missed during my time

BSc IBP

MSc IBP

Alumnus Emilie Rose Buss finished her masters in IBP in 2020, and has since started working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Emilie tells us her study path, and how it led her to her current- very much IBP- career.

at CBS was someone saying that developing your personal skills and finding out what your passions are is just as important. How to build good relations and demonstrate a genuine interest in what you do.

And never be afraid of reaching out to people, even the ones you don’t know, to learn more about what they do. You will be surprised how many people want to share experiences and knowledge – at least I was.

Summer School

Voluntary Work Embassy Intern ship Affairs Ministry of Foreign 19

SOCIAL L I F E AT IBP All of our social lives has u n fo r t u n a t e l y t a ke n a t u r n t h e p a s t y e a r. . .

Here is some inspiration to stay social & involved, and l o o ks a t t h e past semester a t I B P.

STUDENT SOCIETIES

INTRODUCING A STUDENT SOCIETY: CBS ART Interview with Carolina Edman, co-president of CBS ar t

by Karin Strömholm

Third-year student Carolina Edman is currently undertaking an academic internship at the art institution Faurschou Foundation while being the co-president of CBS Art. Being dedicated to art at a full-fledged business and politics degree sparked our interest and we reached out to her to learn more.

What drew you to CBS Art? My interest in art spans over a long period of my life. When starting my studies at CBS, I knew that I would need to engage with this interest in some way. Initially, joining CBS Art was a natural way of balancing my studies with a passion of mine. There was no way I could have foreseen how art would become so integral for me. Upon entering the realm of business and art, I was pleasantly surprised and utterly intrigued to discover how filled with life and potential it is.

When the previous president and founder of CBS Art, Christoffer Faurschou, stepped down from

FEBRUARY 2021

his position I was thrilled to be offered one of the leading roles in the organization. Today, I am more determined than ever to dedicate myself to working with art, through leading CBS Art, and beyond.

Could you describe what CBS Arts do?

One central purpose of CBS Art is to use art to provoke and expand business students’ minds. It is commonly acknowledged that business school alumni have actively contributed to some of the worst crises recorded and the necessity for new and alternative strategies

21

in business education has become increasingly urgent. As such, CBS Art aims at going beyond the instrumental and bypass the reducing value of ‘rational thinking’, through evoking the sensual and emotive with art. I believe that art is an important tool to galvanize action and find innovative solutions for some of the direst challenges of our time.

An important source of inspiration and collaborator for this vision is the art initiative at Stockholm School of Economics. Here, you have a business school that has based its strategy and its pedagogical models, on art. In the autumn of 2019, I and my fellow co-president Adam Thyssen, went there to explore how and why art is integrated to such a degree at the school.

We learned that art is far from merely decorative and can be used as a powerful tool to make students more competitive in our modern market environment. To illustrate this point, SSE’s degrees have since then climbed several positions in business school rankings, something which the president of the school, Lars Strannegård, accredits their unique strategy. It is my ambition to invoke similar uses of art, also at CBS.

STUDENT SOCIETIES

CAROLINA EDMAN HOSTING A MEETING FOR CBS ART

We work closely with CBS to encourage the integration of art at the campus. One example of this work is the Digital Art Space, which you can find located in the main corridor of Solbjerg Plads.

Here, we curate video art – which has become an appreciated and natural part of the CBS campus fabric since the screen came into existence, in early 2017. The process of integrating art at the campus is an important aspect of the organizations’ work, but it usually involves long bureaucratic discussions with CBS management. As such, our events that are dedicated to organizing tours to museums or art exhibitions, usually with a beer or glass of wine after, are just as important.

The recent year, with the extensive social restrictions, has imposed many challenges on our organiza-

tion. Usually, we strive to gather as many participants and visitors as possible and the physical dimension is of great importance for building a community based on sharing and discussing the experiences that are evoked by art. As this is currently impossible, we have turned to cyberspace, which we are still exploring how to use in a meaningful way. Fortunately, we have a large organization with many engaged members. In my opinion, the best thing about CBS Art is seeing the passion of our members and how their inspiring ideas can come to life through the organization.

For people who are interested CBS Art, what is the best way to reach out to you?

To join the conversation about art and our activities, you should follow us on Instagram and Fa-

22

cebook. One of our most recent initiatives is an Art Guide for Copenhagen, where we share what exhibitions we consider worth visiting. This is perfect to use in a time when we are unable to gather people for events! Lastly, if this read resonates with you and you want to discuss becoming a member, you are always welcome to present yourself through sending an email to hellocbsart@gmail.com.

@cbsart hellocbsart@gmail.com

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

STUDENT SOCIETIES

IBP BOOK CLUB

A n o t h e r y e a r, a n o t h e r l o c kd o w n w h i c h m e a n s we have plenty of time to finally read all these books that have been s t a c k i n g u p i n t h e c o rner of our rooms. Read along to find out which b o o k s o t h e r I B Ps e s p e c i a l l y l i ke d a n d a d d them to your reading l i s t fo r c o l d a n d r a i n y l o c kd o w n d a y s .

Clara Lehmann

2nd Year BSc IBP On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong This novel is written as a letter from a Vietnamese son to his mother and portrays the many difficulties in the life of a family with traumas from the Vietnam war.

Through these letters ‘little dog’ who is the main character discovers

Laura Serafine Pilmark 2nd Year BSc IBP For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is without doubt one of the most interesting authors in the last century. In his career, he not only wrote short stories and novels, he also covered

Sebastiaan Klein 2nd Year BSc IBP Meditations – Marcus Aurelius

One could view Meditations as a self-help book from before it was

FEBRUARY 2021

his family’s history from before he was born. His grandmother was a prostitute during the war and his mother lives with post-traumatic stress from the American bombs and from a relationship with a violent man. With this discovery little dog reaches an understanding of the mistreating from his mother in his childhood. The novel is a testimony to a fallible but undeniable love between generations. The

story discovers class, race, violence, addiction, humanity and tenderness. What makes this novel more than just a good book is the way it is written, there is no clear genre in the book. Some passages are pure poetry while others are close to the essay genre. There are so many social political references in this book which is why it is especially a great book for IBP students.

actual events in a reporter role.

This is probably why he is one of the best authors to blur the line between fiction and facts – and For Whom the Bell Tolls is Hemingway at his very best. It’s a deeply engaging story about the Spanish civil war, focusing on a young American who has joined

the republican forces. The subtleness of Hemingway’s great writing feels deeply personal and yet very universally philosophical. The book opens with one of the best poems (in my opinion) ever written – and the story that follows doesn’t fall short. For Whom the Bell Tolls is the perfect break from textbooks!

cool, from nearly 2.000 years ago that is. The book offers its readers a peek into the mind of one of ancient Rome’s most beloved emperors, who was also a stoic philosopher. Besides offering straight from the source insights into the

thoughts of an important historical figure, Marcus Aurelius’ writings provide advice regarding personal discipline and morality that remains strikingly relevant in our own time.

23

STUDENT SOCIETIES

Tara Dastmalchian

2nd Year BSc IBP A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is probably one of the deepest moving books I have read in a while.

Through the eyes of two women, Khaled Hosseini tells the history of Afghanistan shaped by the invasion of the Soviets, the reign of the

Jonna Sophie Schmude

2nd Year BSc IBP Factfulness – Hans Rosling

In the last 20 years, the population of the world living in extreme poverty has a) almost doubled b) almost halved or c) stayed roughly the same. This is one of the questions that Rosling asks in his book, which starts off with a global knowledge test that I got wrong as well. And it seems that I am not alone, but among the majority

Taliban, 9/11 and its aftermath. As a reader you follow these two women though their lives, which are not only formed by war, fear and loss – but also by culture, friendship, hope and love. I was especially struck by the changing role of women in the Afghan society. How a generation of women could grow up going to school just like their male friends, making plans to go to

university and to marry their loves of their live just to find themselves in an abusive marriage, unable to walk on the streets without their husband struggling to have enough food every day, a scenario in which the first part of their lifes seems like from a different world. Thank you, CBS Literature Club, for recommending this book!

of people, including journalists, investment bankers, noble peace lautersters and politicians. And that’s exactly what the book is trying to improve. The world is not actually as bad as we think it is, nevertheless, we systematically get it wrong. The thesis in Factfulness is that we do so, because of established opinions rather than facts.

It’s a hymn to science, and that slow progress over times will grow into change. In a nutshell, the

book helps to critically assess the world around us, understanding news, politics, ideology. I would not only recommend this book to an IBP student, as critically assessing is part of our nature, but also to everyone else living in the 21st century. Especially being surrounded by Covid conspiracy theorists, Trump supporters and profit-oriented news outlets, this is a refreshing take on the truth, supported by actual data. P.S.: it is answer b) that is correct!

24

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

INTRO REVIEW

INTRO WEEK 2020

We spoke with some first-year students to get their view on this years intro week. Nor only has the format of the intro period been changed, but Covid of course left it’s trace on the planning and execusion of the week. Have the second years been successful in creating a week of memories for the freshies?

Have you heard about the introweek at CBS before starting?

Sidse: Yes, I have heard different things about the intro week before starting IBP and mostly very good things. Therefore, my expectations were high and I was looking forward to meeting all of my peers.

However, I had also heard some of the crazy rumors from past years’ intro weeks… Therefore, I didn’t really know what to expect for our intro week (especially considering the corona-restrictions etc.)

Kasper: I had talked to a couple of IBP students that told all sorts of crazy stories from their intro week, so I was super excited to get started and see what all the fuss was about. I also noticed a programme at the CBS webpage, that (luckily) didn’t come to include all aspects of the intro week :).

Did you have any expectations going into the introweek?

Sidse: As mentioned, I was really looking forward to the introweek, but I didn’t really know what to expect corona-wise. The introweek however, turned out very well. Our tutors did a great job arranging nice things for us under the given circumstances.

S. Helena: I was looking forward to intro week for a kind of embarrassingly long time. Of course, the pandemic curbed my expectations to some extent, but overall, the intro week really exceeded my expectations.

Sander: I was really looking forward to the intro week, and meeting a lot of new cool people.

FEBRUARY 2021

Kasper: Because of ’rona, I didn’t really expect to be able to go out for beers with my peers. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to make things happen because people were eager to meet up and socialize, so I was very positively surprised from this turn of events!

Did you have any stereotypical thoughts about IBP and CBS in general and did you experience any of these stereotypes?

Sidse: My CBS stereotype before starting IBP was well-dressed, career-orientated and self-interested people (totally exaggerated...). When starting IBP I realised that people are actually very well-dressed.

However, they are not at all self-interested - doing introweek our tutors made it very clear that our peers are our allies.

S. Helena: Suits, briefcases, ambition and arrogance is what I was told to expect from CBS. Haven’t exactly found that, but rather a bunch of super nice people - especially IBPs. Sander: I heard that people at CBS were very snobbish, dressed up in fine clothes and some could be very arrogant.

Kasper: I expected to see more of the notorious CBS-stereotype, but I’ve only seen a couple of students complying with the stereotype who certainly aren’t IBP’s. Most people at IBP are super ambitious though, but not in an unpleasant way which one might expect - I think it’s a really nice environment if you want to take education seriously.

SANDER

S. HELENA

KASPER

SIDSE 25

INTRO REVIEW

What were your first thoughts when you met your intro group Sidse: I of course knew that IBP is taught in English. However, I did not consider that the social parts of the program were in English as well. Therefore, when I met my intro group and I realised that we were not all Danish (obviously ...I’m just stupid) it was somewhat out of my comfort zone. Luckily, that changed very fast, and now it is very natural and nice.

Besides that, my intro group was really good - we had and still have a lot of fun together.

S. Helena: Super happy with my intro group! They are all really cool people and it’s great with the international dynamics.

Sander: They were very kind, outgoing and easy to talk to. And it was also very fun that some were from different countries as well and hearing about the countries people come from.

Kasper: My first thoughts were that everyone was super international and came from exciting lives from all across Europe. And there I was straight outta southern Jutland, super boring.

These thoughts were obviously not the case, and I was probably just overwhelmed at first. I mean, Sweden isn’t THAT international.

Also, of course, everyone was really sweet and nice.

Under the circumstances of corona, how was the introweek?

Sidse: Introweek was a lot of fun!

It definitely served its purpose: made us get to know each other. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of corona, we only really got to know the people of our own intro-group. Therefore, it is a little bit weird to be months into the semester and still barely know half of the students in our year… Hopefully, that will change when corona is over!

S. Helena: It feels like we made

26

the most of it. I liked the fact that CBS divided us into smaller intro groups - it really worked out in our favour and still didn’t limit our possibilities to meet people from other groups. The events that they had planned for us were really cool, like the case competition, the presentations from CBS alumni and the Tivoli quiz.

Sander: It was surprisingly fun and I am amazed at how they managed to make it so entertaining.

Kasper: I honestly don’t think it could have been executed much better considering the restrictions that we had to take into account.

Most of the time I barely thought of it as an issue.

Did the intro week live up to your expectations?

Sidse: Yes, intro week definitely fulfilled my expectations. Before starting IBP I knew that it would be different due to corona. I feared that intro week would be canceled or be very restrictive. However, under the circumstances of corona, intro week was really nice and fun.

Kasper: I wanna give a big shout out to the tutor group that managed to have the intro week exceed all my expectations in spite of coronez. It was an embarrassing, anxious and tough (because of

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

INTRO REVIEW

hangovers) time, but most of all it was FUN and exciting!

to my rescue and lent me another shirt. Thanks Kia.

What was your favorite part, and what was your least favorite part?

S. Helena: Favorite parts were tutors, intro group, presentations (shout-out to CBS Debating Society), social events. Least favorite part was no sleep.

Sander: Favorite part was the different kind of activities and least favorite part was corona Kasper: My favorite part was having dinner at my fellow IBP’s place, it was super chill and cosy.

And my least favorite part… gotta be honest, having my t-shirt covered in dogshit on the first day in an attempt to do the worm in the intro-group dance. My tutor came

If corona didn’t exist what would your perfect intro week look like Sidse: Ideally, doing an introweek without corona the freshies would be even more mixed - and maybe even introduced to the students of the other years of IBP! Besides that, maybe it would have been nice with an even more detailed program, so that there was no confusion about the plans after the CBS intro-program ended (the evenings).

S. Helena: The same, but with lots of CBS-organized parties where everyone can squeeze together on a dance floor.

Sander: It would ideally look like

FEBRUARY 2021

27

our intro-week but without corona Kasper: In that case, it would have been nice to mingle more with other intro-groups and across the different years of IBP as well. Partying and dancing would also have been easier.

T H E T U TO R T E A M F O R I N T R O WEEK 2020

MISC.

J A KO B ’ S 5 LO C K D O W N L I F E H AC K S To be honest, “lifehacks” might be a bit of a reach. With CBS campus (re-)closing times are tougher than ever.

Here are 5 imperative verbs for the (hopefully) gradually better months to come.

By Jakob Mollerup

Stream...

something in a foreign language.

You study in English, You socialize in English, your culture is in English. Try something different.

The all-american mastodont, Netflix, is ironically a great place to start: Watch Lupin (in French), Baby (in Italian), Casa del Papel (in Spanish) or Babylon Berlin (in german, on www.dr.dk but hey).

You’ll like it.

Listen...

to some classics from the 80s. Not Wham. Not Michael Jackson. You insist that you’re artsy, but in reality you are unable to distinguish Miles from Coltrane. And that’s fine (I can’t do it either). But if you listen to The Smiths (say “The Headmaster Ritual”), The Cure (“Just Like Heaven”) or Joy Division (“Disorder”) you get to be part of the exclusive clubs of edgy people “born in the wrong generation” once you’re able to socialize again. Not bad.

Eat...

some more hummus.

Tasty, healthy, cheap. Not much more to say.

Read...

Shoshana Zuboff’s book “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism”.

A must-read for IBP’ers in my opinion. Transcending business, politics, history, tech, organization and everything inbetween you’ll be left equally enlightened and depressed about the state of the world we live in. And if that does not sound impressive enough for you, it is done completely without mentioning Corona :)

e tips, h t r o f Thanks Jakob!

Exercise...

if you want to. With the gyms closed, at-home high intensity interval training (HIIT) has really blossomed. This way you minimize the need for equipment, transportation and time in which you suffer.

15 minutes doing burpees in your living room and you’re all done (sort of).

28

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

MISC.

Now that we are stuck at home for yet another three months and, hence, not able to buy study snacks from the CBS canteen, it may be difficult to keep coming up with new and exciting snack ideas to make study sessions more bearable. Luckily, we come to your rescue! We have made a list of our favourite and affordable snack ideas, which hopefully will give you some inspiration for your study sessions.

IDEAS FOR STUDY S N AC K S

by Mikala DeWet Bræmhøj

The Healthy Snacks:

The Quick Snacks:

The Guilty Snacks:

Apple slices with peanut butter

Crispbread with butter and cheese

Bananas that have been peeled, covered in tin foil or plastic wrap, and frozen down

Dried fruits

Whole grain tortilla wraps with the filling of your choice (example recipe on the next page)

Olives

Pesto pasta

Mixed nuts

Coco Pops with milk

Popcorn

Energy drinks

Fruit juice

Nachos

Granola bars

Instant noodles Soda

Steamed edamame

Vegetable sticks with hummus or another dip (example recipe on the next page)

Oatmeal

Roasted toast with avocado

Homemade frozen yoghurt

Pre-made sausage rolls

Frozen grapes Skyr covered in your favourite types of berries Ruuit smoothies (example recipe below)

Chocolate-covered rice crackers

Iced coffee

FEBRUARY 2021

29

Mix-yourself-candy (in Danish known as ‘blandselv-slik’) Potato chips Chocolate

Ostehaps (Danish cheese snack) Fruit salad with crème anglaise (in Danish known as ‘abemad’ – example recipe on the next page)

MISC.

Step-by-Step

Recipe for Healthy Tortilla

STEP 1. Add slices of mozzarella to whole grain tortilla wrap and microwave until the cheese is melted

ber, and red onion.

STEP 3. Add chili mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper

STEP 2. Add cherry tomatoes cut into halves or quarters, as well as slices of avocado, cucum-

Step-by-Step

Recipe for Hummus Dip

Step-by-Step

Recipe for ”Abemad”

STEP 1. Add 1 tablespoon of tahini and the juice of 1 lemon to a blender or food processor and blend for 1 minute

pinch of cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons of cold water and blend for another minute

STEP 2. Add 1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed), 2 cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, a

STEP 3. Add more cold water if the consistency is too dry

STEP 1. Rinse 2 handfuls of grapes and cut them in half

STEP 6. Whip 0.5 teaspoon of vanilla powder, 4 pasteurised egg yolks, 3 tablespoons of sugar together

STEP 2. Rinse 1 apple and 1 pear and cut them into small pieces STEP 3. Cut 1 banana into slices STEP 4. Peel 1 orange and cut it into small pieces STEP 5. Mix the pieces of fruit together and add 1 tablespoon of sugar before putting the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes Step-by-Step

Recipe for Fruit Smoothie

STEP 1. Ddd ½ banana, 1 decilitre of frozen strawberries, 1 decilitre of frozen blackberries, 1 decilitre of frozen raspberries, 1.5 decilitres of oat milk, and 0.5 decilitre of Greek yoghurt to a blender

30

STEP 7. Lightly whip 2 decilitres of cream in a separate bowl STEP 8. Add the eggnog and the whipped cream to the fruit mixture STEP 9. Top with chopped chocolate

STEP 2. Blend until the consistency is smooth

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

MISC.

S TO R I E S B E H I N D I B P : MORE THAN JUST O N E D R E A M by Andreas Løvengreen You know what they say about rumors – they are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. I guess this makes me a hater, because now I’m going to share a rumor with you, that I heard the first day of IBP. It’s about a person that goes by the nick name ‘Tall-Casper’. You might have seen him before. Tall-Casper is 198 cm tall; has a friendly smile; always wears a distinctive sweater, like the one Sarah Lund wears in ‘The Killing’… and supposedly he has dated an Arabian prince.

Though I might be a hater, I definitely don’t consider myself an idiot and instead of just accepting the rumors, I asked Tall-Casper to grab a coffee with me. He said yes, and for this issue of IBP Magazine we’ll enjoy the liberatingly different story of how Casper Øhlers ended up at IBP and met a prince on his way.

“I talked to my piano instead of a therapist. It saved me a lot of money.” dream every day. When Casper was only 12 years old, he won the Danish Championship in gymnastics. Almost immediately afterwards he lost interest in gymnastics and focused on theater instead.

One night, when Casper was 13 years old, he wrote an Email to the Royal Danish Ballet School, in which he explained that he could not only act, but also do the splits. When he woke up, he was invited to an entrance exam.

Though his mom thought it was a bad idea to go. Casper explains that it was a bit of a hard sell since his family isn’t very interested in art and culture. If we studied politics, we might have used a term like ‘path dependence’ here.

“IBP is probably the most creative anyone in my family have studied.”

Before meeting with Casper I stalked all of his social media. You can gather a lot of information about Casper from his 309 Instagram posts. On his Instagram you instantly notice his engagement in political issues such as the LGBT+.

However, his Instagram is also filled with singing, dancing, and musical theater. To understand this combination, we have to go back in time.

Certainly, Casper has not always dreamed of studying IBP. For as long as he can recall, Casper has dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer. Though, his mom says that he would come home with a new FEBRUARY 2021

A conversation with Casper Øhlers

Casper comes from an upper middle-class family from Roskilde. His entire family works in the corporate sector with a few entrepreneurs as well. “I wanted art and culture, but everything in my upbringing screamed the opposite. In fact, IBP is probably the most creative anyone in my family has studied.”

Casper said.

Anyway, Casper’s grandmother stepped in, and Casper ended up going to the entrance exam, which turned out disastrous.

“Destiny proved you wrong,” he thought. Instead he learned something important about himself. All you have to do… is “just do it!”

31

And boy, did Casper ‘just’ do a lot of things. Hold on tight for the next paragraph.

From age 13 to 18 Casper starred in a variety of musical theater shows in Tivoli with ‘Eventyrteateret’, where he finally found a place to grow his interest in the arts. When Casper was 15, he thought himself to play the piano.

You wouldn’t know from talking to him today, but he was a very angry child, and he used melodies to calm himself down. “I talked to my piano instead of a therapist. It probably saved me a lot of money.”

Around this time, he came out of the closet without further ado, and as he says himself, “It is a very boring story.” So, we’ll skip that one.

When Casper was 18, he moved to Singapore to attend one of the 18 United World Colleges.

These colleges are a peace promoting project based on the idea, that people who have lived together, won’t go to war against each other.

Here Casper learned to dance and as he poetically describes it, “I went from performing art to creating it. In other words, I developed from a tasteless musical performer to a slightly more tastefull artist”.

You might have guessed it already, but in the exotic and hot surroundings of Singapore, Casper met his Arabian prince in the school hallways. Except, the prince wasn’t Arabian but Indian. If haters gonna hate and rumors gonna spread, then we might as well get it right.

MISC.

When Casper came back to Denmark, he got elected for the board of LGBT+ Denmark Youth. He explains that he joined because of “opportunity costs”. He saw unresolved potential and believed that he had the skills to take the organization to the next level. As un-romantic as it sounds, Casper says, “It’s about making a change rather than the cause itself. Okay maybe its also somewhat about the

cause.”

In the end of the interview I asked Casper, what his wildest dream is? “As cheesy as it sounds, I want to change the world,” he answered. In this perspective it does actually make sense that Casper ended up at IBP. As Casper explains, “IBP provides theories that I can put my thoughts into.”, Based on his own experiences from the arts, from abroad, and from his work in

LGBT+ Denmark, Casper firmly believes that it is possible to change the world. Youth that it is possible to change the world.

I was left with a feeling of unresolvedness and one question – what about the artist Casper? He told me that, “One dream does not exclude other dreams,” and then we said goodbye.

“One dream does not exclude other dreams.”

32

IBPMAGAZINE

NO.4

CREDITS

CREDITS AND CONTRIBUTORS I B P M AG A S I N E I S S U E 4

ED ITORIAL CO MMITTE E Jan Spanholtz, Ingrid Selte, Christina Hounisen, Moa Stierna WR ITE RS Sara Lind Arlund, Jakob Werner Jeppesen, Ilmi Perkiömäki, Tara Dastmalchian, Andreas Løvengreen, Mikala Ann DeWet Bræmhøj, Emma Wilson, Karin Strömholm, Rasmus Feldt Jørgensen LAYOUT DE SIG N Ingrid Selte CON T RIBUTORS AND INTE RVIE WE E S Asger Emil Bundgaard, Carolina Edmann, Jakob Mollerup, Jeppe Teglskov Jacobsen, Eddie Ashbee, David Pereira de Castro, Rasmus Grand Berthelsen, Emilie Rose Buss, Clara Lehmann, Jan Molin Laura Serafine Pilmark, Sebastian Klein, Jonna Sophie Schmude, Sander Nørgaard Andersen, Signhild Helena Djurhuus, Kasper Strunge Lauridsen, Casper Øhlers, Sidse Overgaard Björnsson, Harun Bala, Zakarias Hove Johansson, Signe Lindegaard, Katrine Porse PH OTOG RAPHY CRE DIT Carolina Edman, Frederik Damsgaard, CopenhagenByCosedis, Tara Dastmalchian

FEBRUARY 2021

33

S U B M I T YO U R CO N T R I B U T I O N S F O R N E X T I SS U E TO CO M M U N I C AT I O N S . I B P @ G M A I L . CO M