This document summarizes the experiences of exchange students from various European countries visiting the innovative Ørestad Gymnasium school in Copenhagen, Denmark as part of the AVITAE exchange program. The students were impressed by the modern, open design of the school with large shared spaces and classrooms separated by glass instead of walls. They observed Danish students using laptops and iPads for learning instead of traditional books and paper. The exchange students found this new approach to education very different from their own school systems and cultures but thought it provided more freedom and opportunities to learn. They enjoyed learning about Danish culture and making new friends from across Europe through the program.

1. Greece-Denmark
Even though Greece and Denmark are placed on the same continent and both are
members of the EU, they are two completely different countries. The two countries,
including others, met in Denmark for the Avitae project. In the following article there
will be an interview with a Greek guy and his experience with the Danish school
‘Ørestad Gymnasium’.
The first thing that popped in Stauros’ mind was “Am I in the right building? This is like a
hotel!”. When he arrived at the gymnasium for the first time, he noticed the special design of
the school and how the big stair combined the four floors. He was really surprised by the
many different facilities, the school is offering their students. The cafeteria, the open
classrooms and the modern way of learning with iPads and computers.
Stauros was impressed by the school cafeterias’ capacity and its size. When the lunch bell
rang, it was only in a matter of second before the cafeteria became full. Students who didn’t
get a seat, had to find another place, to eat their food they bought in the cafeteria. The
cafeteria was big, but it couldn’t hold all 1200 students and teachers.
Later on, when Stauros was being shown around at the school, he saw a different way of
teaching. He saw how the teaching environment was designed to improve the students'
concentration and group working skills. ”Oh crap” that was the first thing that flew out of
Stauros’ mouth when he saw the how the architects used glass instead of bricks to make walls.
The open classrooms allow the students to work in groups and create something special and
innovative, which haven’t been seen in Greece before.
All the students sat with their computers and iPad, instead of the traditional book and paper.
In Greece, the main way of learning is by listening to the teacher, but in Denmark the new,
innovative way of learning has taken its place and the students have to learn by doing. The
Avitae project gives foreign young people the opportunity to explore a different way of living,
learning and of course meeting new people, from all over Europe.
(Stauros and Juliane)

2. MULTI CULTURES COME TOGETHER
Photo: Elva Mist – The visitors studying together.
People from seven different countries from, all over Europe, meet and greet for one week in
Copenhagen.
They are here to make friends, learn new things and enjoying themselves.
The young students are among a youth from Cyprus, Slovakia, Finland, Denmark, Greece,
Spain and Italy. We have grown up in different cultures, and have different morals. Many
changes have been made for the youngsters, like getting used to eat different foods, get used
to different weather. One thing that has made them really come together, is teaching each
other our mother language. Swearwords and greeting words were thrown around, while
laughter filled up the rooms of the museums they visited.
All so different, but still quiet the same.
“It has been fun. Of course it has been. What else you can expect when sixty teenagers
working, visiting places, experiencing thing, and just doing things together. “ – Says young
Elias from Finland.
The young students were most of the time in Ørestad gymnasium, and visited some of
Copenhagen’s most interesting facilities. They experienced the Ørestad students in their daily
life, and their classes they were allowed to experience. They ate lunch at the canteen, were
introduced to the people and saw their routines.
“We have for example the atmosphere of Ørestad gymnasium, visit aquarium and spend time
in each other’s homes, shopping malls and in the city were also visited. It has helped me grow
socially and to understand the cultures from the different countries that were invited to Aviate.
“ Says Marina from Greece, who is visiting a new country for the first time.
(Elias, Marina, Elva)

3. AVITAE PROGRAM
The AVITAE program involves seven different countries: Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Greece,
Slovakia, Finland and Spain. The projects goal is to involve people in innovating projects,
where their mind, creativity and imagination comes to a test. The students have to connect
different target groups with different time eras, see a problem that involves both the group and
time era, and then find the solution to the problem. After creating the solution, the scholars’
idea has to come to life with a prototype. The ideas for the solution have to be realistic, and put
in thought that it must be able to be produced in the real world. Therefore the students get a
place to create the prototype in along with the other restrictions.
Beside this, they have the possibility to experience another country's culture and school
systems. Here the scholars get to improve their English language together with their knowledge
about ancient time history.
Travailing to other countries and living with new persons, they have the opportunity to know
not only the selected countries lifestyle, but also to approach the way of study in the country.
The program offers a chance of getting basic knowledge from the inside of another city.
The first country the students will go to is Denmark, in the city of Copenhagen.
Danish students will host them, and the exchange students will go to a Danish school along
with the Danish students.
The Danish school, which participate in the AVITAE program, is Ørestad Gymnasium. The
high school is one of the most technological and innovative schools in all of Europe. Here
people don’t use physical books, but they work with computers, iPads and other technological
tools. Books are provided on the computer or iPad in the form of i- or e-book. Additionally they
are learned to bring their knowledge into the real life. This they do with projects, presentations
and prototypes while working in groups, to improve their group work for preparing for real life
jobs, where they have to interference with others.
The students will be hosted for one week, from 25th
January to 31th January.
The program for the week is very hard and it requires group work, presentations, trips around
the city and guided tours in different museums. It also involves talking, writing and reading in
English, and therefore the students must be able to certain skills in the language.
In the first exchange the AVITAE logo will be chosen based on the different proposals from
the participating countries. Also here the mascot of the program will be selected. The proposals
from every countries, is based on their creativity and imagination of what represent AVITAE
as a program.
Both students and teachers will vote for the best one and democracy will decide.
w
The AVITAE program will not only be focusing on the entrepreneurship of the countries
ancestors, but it will also teach the students to work in groups and unleash their innovative,
imaginative and creative side.
(Frida and Noemi)

4. A Portrait of an exchange student
Copenhagen is the city, where it all started; it is the capital of Denmark and the current host
for the exchange-program Erasmus Avitae; a program made by a bunch of teachers to
exchange young students from the countries of Greece, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Slovakia,
Finland and Cyprus to learn about other countries and their view on ancient entrepreneurship.
Michal was sitting on board of a plane to the Copenhagen Airport on the afternoon of the 25.
January. Sitting there, he noticed things to every detail. That is to say that Michal is a blogger;
he writes and takes pictures on the subjects of travel, gastronomy and architecture. Every time
Michal goes to a new country, he creates ideas on how to enjoy the city as much as possible.
Therefore Michal hopes for a city filled with astonishing buildings and delicious food – and of
course a stable Internet access. One hour later he landed on Danish ground and already met
difficulties in the form of a cash-exchanging machine. The currency of Denmark is not euro,
although Denmark is a member of the European Union. But he managed it as best as he could.
Then he was ready to enter Denmark.
As soon as he saw his host, he knew he was not going to be homeless for the week. Michal
had to stay at this unknown host for 6 nights on a flat mattress. At first, it seemed to be very
uncomfortable, but then it turned out to be a real adventure. In the daytime, he was out
exploring Copenhagen, taking pictures as rabidly as a true tourist. With the school, he went to
places that he had never seen; like Christianshavn, Roskilde or ‘The Blue Planet’: an
aquarium of scale. Most of the touring were done outdoors in the January cold:
“The weather is smacking my face all the time, because it’s so windy,” he said after walking
in Roskilde for several hours. But even though the weather made the trips difficult to enjoy,
Michael felt compelled to the beauty of the old and historic architecture of the capital. He
made many posts on his blog, capturing a lot of the modern buildings, the food and (of
course) the Disney Shop. It was the teachers from Italy, who first came up with the idea for
AVITAE, but after including teachers from other countries it involved into something much
bigger than what the Italian teachers expected. The project is therefore always evolving,
making every plan always changing. Every day was like a surprise to the students, because
they never knew how much the scheme would change. It was stressful and chaotic, but also a
sign of how many ideas, that emerged from all being together.
So when not exploring Copenhagen, Michal had a great time at school. He was amazed of the
style of the school and the special kind of educating. The program contained the main themes
of innovation and entrepreneurship.

5. A Picture from Michal’s Blog, taken by him The students from all the countries had to
collaborate in workshops, preparing prototypes of an innovative product. The teamwork went
through multiple stages: creating the idea, making personas and even the branding of it.
Michal made a telescope with his group; the idea was to show exchange-students an
innovative product from the Renaissance. At last the product was presented to all the other
classmates and teachers. The week went by quickly. Michal went home with a baggage full of
new experience and social connections. He had learned a great deal of new information on
subjects such as Danish history, architecture and culture. Now he is looking forward to
repeating it with the small difference of being host himself, when the AVITAE goes to
Slovakia.
By Marcus and MichalAVITAE-Article30/1/15
The school without paper
By Bianca Rasmussen, Denmark, with Lefteris Trambas, Greece, and Bianca Vannucci, Italy
Bright lights. Glass walls. Flashes of Facebook on the Macbook screens.
We're on the second floor of Ørestad Gymnasium in Copenhagen, attending math class with
our host. It's all still so new - the open spaces, the relaxed atmosphere, calling the teacher by
her first name. Looking around the classroom, we notice that everybody is looking down at
their screens. The teacher is explaining something in danish, which kind of sounds like a less
brutal version of German, sprinkled with french. Apart from her voice, all that can be heard is
the sound of about 300 fingers tapping on their respective keyboards, apparently listening and
taking notes about linear functions.
During the break we go to the banister of the huge beautiful staircase. It really is magnificent -
how you manage to drag yourself up and down those stairs every day is beyond us. We
seldom have more than two floors, since we are only about 300 students at our respective
schools.

6. Everybody gathers along the banister and conversation starts floating off into the open space
above the canteen. The air is filled with the sound of funny non-rolling r’s that you somehow
produce at the back of your throats. One of the danish students tells us about Ørestad’s
famous fire alarms as we watch the other classes slowly filing out of their class cages.
We have come to learn that breaks are meant for your favorite hobby: people-gazing.
“What is that guy doing?”, we ask our host, and point at a guy in one of the Fatboys.
“I think he’s doing homework”, she says after a while. “Or sleeping, you know, whatever.”
It is really amazing to us how free you are - both with all the open learning areas, but also
when it comes to the choices you have and what is expected from you at school.
It seems like Ørestad Gymnasium is like the synonym to freedom and modern teaching. You
guys have access to so many things - Laptops, media equipment, more than three bathrooms
(!!) and a world full of information right at your fingertips. Even the subjects that you are bad
at, you can choose at a lower level and focus on your favorite subjects instead. Imagine that!
It’s like taking a time machine into the future.
The teacher calls us back in and gives the class some math problems to solve. With the help of
our host’s translations we solve most of them by the end of the lesson. Surprisingly the class
is not given any homework. The rest of the students seem oddly relaxed, considering they
have been working intently on solving math problems the past half hour. Or what?
As perfect as Ørestad Gymnasium looks, it almost seems like your society gives you… Too
much freedom. You guys have all the means to study, endless possibilities and wonderful,
interested teachers, but somehow it seems like you don’t fully realise and appreciate how
lucky you actually are.
Of course too much freedom is a luxury we wish we had. Ørestad Gymnasium is like a dream
come true for us - it’s going to be hard to return back home. Free WiFi really grows on you.
And that "flæskesteg" thing? Delicious.
Hopefully we can learn from your ways of thinking, and you can learn a bit from ours as well.
Thank you for hosting us all - it has been a wonderful experience. We think we have enough
selfies to last us for some time now.
But hey, the whole “school-without-paper”-thing? Nice try. We saw it! You’re officially
busted.
AVITAE – A lot more than an individual experience.
By: Meave Buchignani & Sofie Brøbech Hedam Hansen
Thanks to this AVITAE project we have gotten to know many different people from all over
Europe and made enough memories to last us a lifetime.
Getting to know each other through group work.
When we first got to the airport we only knew about each other and the only thing we knew
was more or less our names. On Monday though, thanks to our Index group work sessions, we
have come to know not just each other, but someone from every country. In the groups you
needed to talk with someone you have never met before and we had to find a way to get our
heads together and fix the problems in front of us. At first it was hard. Everyone had their

7. own opinion, their own idea, of how the problems should be fixed. But we found our way
around it by discussing our different ideas, and at the end we found a solution everyone could
agree with. Thanks to the group work we have gotten more and more friends. The very first
evening we were out for dinner with the entire Italian group, both guests and hosts, but the
next days we were all hanging out together. An example could be our little trip to McDonald’s
on Wednesday night, after our dinner at Riz Raz. There we were people from Denmark, Italy,
Spain, Finland and Greece, just enjoying each others company. We laughed a lot and took
many great pictures. Even on Thursday night, when there was an orientation night at school,
where everyone could come and see if Ørestad Gymnasium was the school for them. All of us
people from the AVITAE project stayed together and joined the fun, while all the hopeful
Danes were going up and down the stairs getting the true Ørestad experience.
Learning through our new connections
We do have to say though, that also getting to know each other we learned new things thanks
to the Index groups. We really got to know how to solve problems and be innovative. We also
learned how to brand and how to promote ideas to our target groups. But what we learned
wasn't just school related. We learned about new cultures and countries, and off course some
new words in all of the different languages. The Italians learned danish, the Danes learned
Greek and so on. We tried learn each other some useful things to say, but they were not the
things that we remembered the next day. Those were usually the swearing words and funny
sentences.
Thanks to the Index sessions and all of our many new experiences from this week at Ørestad
Gymnasium, everyone is now talking to everyone. The first day you wouldn't have seen a
group with people from 7 different countries, but now you can easily spot a girl from Spain
talking to a guy from Italy or a Slovakian sharing their food with a Dane.

8. Coming to the Ørestad Gymnasium
Three students, from Slovakia, Spain and Finland, explain their experience when they
stepped inside the doors of Ørestad Gymnasium.
We have some common things, which we can agree with and disagree with. That's show how
are the styles of teaching different at schools in Europe that we could learn from each other .
Now, coming from schools which are more or less traditional - one of them from the sixteenth
century - and going into a 10 year old school which looks like it only has one room, is quite
the change. No more traditional schools, but instead open rooms with glass walls, so you can
see whatp everyone is doing. There is a feeling here, that everyone is more together,
compared to our own schools.
Another thing to say is the electronic world. Here, you can see iPads and laptops everywhere.
Everybody can use them when they are in classes, in the break, and since its their own
personal computer, they get to take them home, by the end of the day.. We haven't seen any
paper, book or notebook, except for on book shelves, since all is virtual. In our schools we
haven't got this good thing, we can't use electronic everywhere, and they are not as advanced
as this ones here-the newest range. However, this thing has got a bad part, too, because the
students sometimes look on facebook or other pages during classes. Plus, if the internet is
down, nobody can do any work.
Matias (17) from Finland says; “Although the Finnish school in Pyhäjoki has wide open class
rooms with glass walls and students are using same kind of a technology as here, the whole
learning environment feels quite a different. The teachers are of course reaching at least the
same level. Probably the biggest difference in this school compared to ours is the amount of
students.”
When I came in to this school for a first time it was like WOW! So much open space, no
doors I could feel kind of freedom. It's a huge difference compared with my school, that's
why we don't know each other very much. The open space offers opportunity to start
conversation with everybody, closed rooms are kind of in our way to know each other. - Sara
(18) from Slovakia, Bratislava expresses.
The style of teaching in Ørestad gymnasium goes a lot by conversations, and that impressed
all of us a lot. It helps the students express themselves without problems; they are able to
express their ideas immediately, without long thinking. The teachers are giving the students
ability to join the conversation, and question things that they are wondering about.
All in all, The school made quite the expression. It was an eye opener to another way to teach,
a way most of them haven’t experienced before, and if the had experienced it before, it wasn’t
on such a high level as it is, on Ørestad Gymnasium.
FABLAB REVOLUTION
Fablab RUC is putting Roskilde University at the forefront of the technological revolution
with their NEW creation. Denmark will have the biggest 3D printer in the whole Northern

9. Europe with concrete instead of plastic. By Lenka Debnárová and Svandís Rafnsdóttir Fablab
RUC is an experimental, creative learning and research facility in Denmark. They are
interested in all forms of modern digital production and have a wide range of machines
available: • Laser cutters • 3D printers • Large format CNC mills for light materials such as
plywood • CNC mill for precise manufacturing in hard materials. • Electronics workshop,
including production of printed circuit boards • Sewing workshop • Wood workshop • Metal
workshop, including lathe, welding etc. Their lab leader Nicolas Padfield has a master in
computer science, communication, and a BA educational studies. He states,“We want to
create a culture for learning and sharing knowledge” According to Nicolas Padfield, designs
empowers students and researchers to engage and experiment in dialogue with real world
contexts and real participants about future scenarios. 3D printers are still unusual to use and a
CNC still requires an elaborate labyrinth of tools to work. But the lab leader, Nicolas Padfield
anticipates that in approximately 35 years, you can download a model for example a spare
part and use the 3D printer to create the model. Therefore you will save shipping costs and
time. Countries such as China, America and the Netherlands inspires Fablab RUC. China has
constructed ten 3D printed homes, which it produced in under 24 hours. It took the company
twelve years to develop the 3D printer, which measures 10 meters by 6.6 meters. In the near
future they will attempt to use their 3D printer to create skyscrapers. With 3D printing, there
is zero waste, reduced transportation costs, and everything can be melted down and recycled.
This could revolutionize how we make our cities. Collaborations between countries such as
the AVITAE project, where the students work innovative together will strengthen, develop
and revolutionize the world. The countries inspire each other to learn in a creative process and
contribute to the community. If you want to learn more about the Fablab RUC, you can visit
their homepage: www.fablab.ruc.dk or their Facebook page: facebook.com/ fablabruc. You
can also visit them at Universitetsvej 1, building 4, Roskilde, Denmark. 3D PRINTING
HOUSES
By Lenka Debnárová and Svandís Rafnsdóttir
Ultimate Experience
There’s nothing more important than opening your mind to a new perspective, embracing
different cultures and learning to see things from diverse point of views.
That is what the AVITAE project aims to do; by teaching students to be innovative,
international, global citizens, aware of the width and diversity of the world they live in.
Imagination, creativity, and the capability to solve problems, are some of the qualities that the
project teach the students. Thanks to the project which is supposed to be a mixture of theory
and practical experience, every student is supposed to be able to develop ideas, and find the
perfect balance between learning and actually using the knowledge in real life.
As soon as I arrived at Ørestad Gymnasium, the very first day, I suddenly felt how different the
atmosphere was here compared to a traditional school like mine. (My school is located in an
historical, tiny little city in Tuscany, Italy). I realized how important it is for a young student’s
education, to get to travel and learn about different lifestyles, and even more specifically about
other school systems.
On the other hand, trying to live in a different country, even for a few days, can teach you how
to appreciate the good and positive things about your own culture. It will make you appreciate
things that you maybe had never liked before. But it will also make you aware of things that
could be changed. For example to make the school system better, and keeping up with the
European standards.

10. Moreover, the program does not only provide you with knowledge of entrepreneurship and
innovation, but it also gives you the opportunity to be independent, and get to know the
country’s culture by literally living in. We so often tend to think that things don’t change much
from a country to another and that studying contents is what will make us successful, when it
actually is travelling that will teach us how precious diversity is. Thanks to this project I can
now come back to Italy with new purposes, ideas and intentions to try hard and use new tools
that I have learned on this trip both in my own school and in my everyday life.
Living in such a big city, like Copenhagen, can be a great opportunity, for young students like
us to have an idea of what it means to have a frenetic, awesome and exciting life in one of the
most important centers of tourism, fashion and culture. In addition to that, staying in a new
family can easily make people overcome their shyness, learn the insides of a culture and be
more independent, out going and ready to face up to the adult world.
The main difference between this high school, and mine is not only the technology or the fact
that people hardly knows what books are, but it is mostly the way subjects are taught; while we
focus on abstract theory and contents, in Ørestad Gymnasium students are taught to be able to
be bringing their knowledge to life with presentations and projects. On my personal stance, I
do believe that both systems have great values that could be combined in order to create a
boundless school, ready to bring up international citizens for a better European future.
(Camilla and Molly)
The Danish National naval archive
Tuesday the 27th, everyone from the AVITAE program went to Christianshavn.
The students took the metro from Ørestad Gymnasium at 2pm. They stood off at
Christianshavn, where they needed to wait for some people, who did not get into the metro, at
Ørestad. Klaus then told them about Christianshavn and how it was a man made island, by the
Christian the 4th, or rather he made the command to make the island. The Students were taken
to see two churches, befor going to the Danish national naval archive.
Then the students went to the Danish national naval archive, where they only had 30 min to
look through the museum.
The students walked in groups, host with their guests.

11. The museum held models of ships, old ship parts, and other things that had to do with the
navy, from historical time, to the present.
One of the things the student saw, was this remarkable half finished ship. The Danes are good
at building ships, which you can see from this model. Even Though the ship is only half
finished, it´s still a great example for the Danish shipbuilding
Another thing the student saw was an old map of Copenhagen, before it was as big, as it is
today. As you can see it has this big wall around it, like a big fortress. The walls were
necessary back then, because they protected the city from the invaders.
There was also this really impressive map of europe, that caught the students attention. It´s
done with remarkable accuracy, especially considering the time it was done. It was used to
travel through europe back in the day. The map was a long process to do, because they needed
to travel along every coast to note how it was going.

12. Along the Museum there was an old cannon, which was the weapon they used for the ship, to
attack other ships along the way. But this is a very old cannon, so it was only used on the
wood ships, so it was long before the industrial revolution.
The museum was very interesting, and it showed Denmark in prime time, when we ruled the
seas, and when we had one of the strongest naval armies in the world. How the Danish people
build the ships, and how they used them, how their harbors worked, and everything they did
with their ships, past and present.