IT University Travel Report
Dear Student, this is a template – the aim is to inspire other students who may wish to follow in your
footsteps. You are free to give your report the shape you want and to go beyond the questions, as
long as you cover the information asked for below. You are also very welcome to include pictures and
contact information – but you need not. Remember that the report will be made available on the
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Host University: IT University of Copenhagen
Study Programme at IT University : Global Business Informatics
Activity Abroad: Ethnographic Field Work in the course of IT & Work Design on 2nd semester of the
bachelor programme Global Business Informatics
Exchange Period: 2nd Semester Spring – the 6th of March 2015 to the 15th of March 2015
Your stay abroad
Please describe your stay abroad:
The main objective of the stay in Dubai was to conduct an ethnographic investigation of the vast
software company SAP. The field work itself was carried out via interviews and observations at the
SAP headquarter in Middle East and North Africa. Furthermore, it was a great opportunity to
experience a different global environment from what one experience in Denmark, which is much
relevant to the students of Global Business Informatics.
What was your initial motivation for going abroad and did your stay meet your expectations?
The field-work was initiated to gather empirical data, which we later used to support our final
conclusion in our semester project in the course of IT & Work Design. SAP has consultants employed
whom very much conduct work that is relatable to a position a GBI student can fulfil when the
programme is successfully ended. The stay did meet all of my expectations, both study-wise and
socially.
Please describe what you got out of your stay, both personally and academically, and how do you
expect it to contribute to your further studies?
It has given me a broader understanding of what I can end up working with when the study is
finished; I have experienced concrete examples of the possibilities for my future work carrier. That
experience has added to my motivation towards the GBI programme in general. On a more personal
level, the stay has supplemented my understanding and interpretation of the many cultures mixed
together in one big global community. All of which will assist me in my further studies at the IT
University and in the programme Global Business Informatics.
Arranging your stay
Please give a short description of the process involved in arranging your stay:
We were given a broad assignment, where we were to conduct ethnographic investigation. We were
encouraged to reach out, and the location was not to be a boundary, but rather a possibility to
experience and learn. In our study group we were reaching out to our personal connections, where
one of them is working and living in Dubai, he offered us to stay at his plays and that we could do our
field work at his work place, SAP Dubai.
What resources did you find helpful in planning your stay and which people did you use (if any)?
We used you, SAP (not the company where we conducted our investigation), and we got help from
our professor in the course IT & Work Design, Pernille Bjørn, whom encouraged us to take the
opportunity.
How did you arrange practicalities such as accommodation?
A family member of a student in our study group.
Expenses and Financing
Please comment on expenses connected to your stay abroad
As we were lucky that we could stay at a family member’s accommodation, we had no expenses on
housing. Dubai is a huge city, and public transportation is almost non-existing in the city, so we
rented a car during the full period of our stay – a necessity as we had to commute from the
residential area towards the SAP office in the inner city. Petrol and renting a car is not expensive in
Dubai, but other living expenses, such as food, is about the same price as in Denmark, depending on
which area you would go in Dubai.
Did you apply for scholarships and would you recommend any ones in particular?
I did not apply for any scholarship.
Recommendations for other students: