Visiting Health Care College West Jutland

We try to assist visiting students with accomodation in one of four ways. Please talk to your local international coordinator and inform them of your preferences. While we typically cannot make arrangements for you, with the exception of dormitories, we can engage with your international coordinator and help suggest the best solution for you, depending on your preferences and place of work.

The first is accomodation in a dormitory or "skolehjem" ("school home"). While the college does not itself have a dormitory we are often able to arrange for places in dormitories at sister colleges in Herning or Holstebro towns.

In Holstebro that is the UCH Skolehjem. In Herning we have the Herningsholm Skolehjem. We suggest you read the descriptions before you decide as the skolehjem do have rules for students that you too will need to adhere to. If you have questions about staying at skolehjem, please feel free to contact us. Fees are still being worked out, though it should be the cheapest option.

The second option is using AirBnB. We do not have recommendations for particular hosts, nor can we make the arrangements for you. We can however, help you find a suitable location to search in, once your place of work has been decided on.

The third option is staying at a youth hostel. There are youth hostels in the following towns:

• Herning: Danhostel Herning on the outskirts of town.
• Holstebro: Holstebro Vandrerhjem at the edge of town centre
• Brande: Danhostel Brande in the town centre
• Ringkøbing: Danhostel Rinkøbing at the edge of town centre

Finally, we are exploring the option of finding student hosts who can provide hospitality. This is not currently something we can offer but might be in the future.

Our region has a large network of buses and trains. There are three payment options for public transport.

1. A "rejsekort" (travel card) is a prepaid card that allows you to use all public transport by checking in whenever you board a bus or train. When you leave the bus or train you check out and the cost is taken from your card. The school has prepaid cards that can be borrowed though you will need to add funds yourself.
2. Smartphone apps. If you need to go by the same route every day to get to work, we recommend buying a commuter card. This is best done using an app from the transportation company that serves your route.
3. Tickets: Tickets can be bought at all train stations using debit/credit cards. Look for big boxy vending machines saying "Billetter". Usually tickets can also be bought for buses in the bus but bring cash in case the driver does not accept cards. Finally, tickets can be bought in advance from rejseplanen.dk.

We will always help you get set up with routes if needed for getting to and from work as well as payment options. The school also offers borrower bikes (see "Bicycles").

In order to find connections from one place to another, we recommend using Rejseplanen. Look for "Rejseplanen" on the Google Play Store or the Apple Store or go to rejseplanen.dk.

The college keeps a large amount of bikes at hand for students to use when going on in-town field trips on both locations. Whenever possible we reserve a bike for any visiting student or staff. Bikes come with helmets, lights and chains.

We recommend one of two options for travelling to Herning/Holstebro:

• Flying to Billund Airport and from there onwards with either taxi or train/bus
• Flying to Copenhagen and from there onwards by train or bus

To get from Billund to Herning or Holstebro using public transportation, you should

1. Head out of the terminal and find the bus stops. They are just to the left of the terminal exit.
2. Find the holding spot for the bus 119.
3. Take the Bus 119 to "Give station". This is the final bus stop so there is no chance of missing your stop.
4. From Give station, take the next train in the direction of Struer. 
5. For Herning: Get off at Herning station after about half an hour.
6. For Holstebro: Get off at Holstebro station after about an hour.

Please bring Danish kroner in cash to pay the bus driver for your ticket. The ticket for the train can be purchased on Give station or in advance from DSB.dk.

You can also travel by taxi from the airport to either Herning/Holstebro directly or to Give station to take the train onward. All taxis accept Visa and Mastercard. There are always taxis right outside the airport. Larger parties (10+) might consider booking in advance - we can help you with that.

To get from Copenhagen Aiport to Herning/Holstebro is somewhat simpler but a longer journey.

1. Find the train station inside the airport (terminal 3).
2. Depending on the time of day, you may be able to take the train direct from the airport towards Struer. However, connections vary so you may have to take a train to Copenhagen Central Station first or switch trains along the way (usually in Fredericia).
3. Please see Rejseplanen ("The travel planner") to find your connection. Enter "Københavns Lufthavn" (Copenhagen Airport) as your starting point and either Herning or Holstebro as your destination. Rejseplanen also provides links to purchase tickets in advance (recommended).
4. For Herning: Get off at Herning station.
5. For Holstebro: Get off at Holstebro station.

Flixbus also offers trips on the route, though it may be difficult to find departures that suit your arrival time.

Please check in advance if current pandemic restrictions allow you to enter the country without delay. Please see rules currently in effect on the official Danish corona contagion website.

We are happy to receive you in either Herning og Holstebro.

We will make arrangements with your international coordinator to ensure that one of us will be at the train station (or another agreed upon place in town) to greet you, help you find your accomodation, share plans for the coming days and answer any questions you have.

As a general rule, however, we cannot meet you in the airport. Please see the Travel section and find the detailed travel suggestions therein. We will do everything we can to help you get here safely and without problems :)

If you wish to visit as an employee of a partner school, see the contact information below. We will typically need at least 2 months' notice to arrange a visit.

Visits tend to fall in one of two categories: General purpose visits or job shadowing.

The first tend to focus on seeing and experiencing a variety of school activities and meeting with staff and partners from across the school. The purpose is to get a general impression of the Danish educational system in general and/or pre-nursing/child care education in particular. These visits are typically planned to last 3-5 days.

The latter are more focused, typically on teaching activities and will team you up with 1-3 teachers whose practice you will get to experience first-hand. These can last from one to several weeks.

Be aware that coronavirus restrictions may still make work placement visits difficult, even though travel restrictions have been lifted.

Erasmus+ rules state that students in traineeships should work no more than 40 hours a week. We generally suggest to the employers that they arrange for a working week of 30 hours to leave time for adjusting and seeing the sights. Let us know in advance if you need longer or shorter hours.

The college only plans your first day, typically, the first work day after arrival. We will tell you where to go and when to be there. There your employer and you will make arrangements for the coming weeks. Danish employers tend to be flexible: If you have preferences, like leaving early Tuesdays, remember to tell them about them.

As an Erasmus+ student you will need your Learning Agreement and possibly other papers signed before returning. This can be arranged with either your place of employment or the college. Some prefer one, some the other. We can arrange for either one, whatever suits you and your international coordinator best.

Make sure to talk to your international coordinator about what signature they expect on the papers.

Also, the papers are dated on the date that they are signed. E.g. if you leave your place of work on the 18th, the papers get signed and dated the 18th.

If you wish to spend a few days in Denmark outside of Herning/Holstebro, e.g. in Copenhagen or Aarhus, we suggest one of two options. You can arrange for a few days off in the middle of your stay, e.g. by working a few extra hours. Or you can end your Erasmus+ stay, get your signature and have arranged for a few days holiday before returning. You will then of course not get Erasmus+ support for these last days.

Visiting students will spend most of their daily time at work. We do, however, think that both visitors and students at the college can benefit from each others' perspective. Therefore we will often try to arrange for one or two visits to the college where a host class will tell visitors about Danish health/child care and hear the visitor's perspective on it.

As a visiting student, this also allows you to make local friends and connections. We will always talk to your international coordinator in advance to hear if this is of interest. That way you can be sure that the date will be reserved in your work schedule.

You may wish to spend a day or a weekend out of town. In general employers are understanding that while you are here to work, you are also here to see Denmark.

If you wish to arrange for a day off, please remember that you need to give good notice. If work schedules are made for the following week on Tuesdays, ask your employer for a day off next week before Tuesday.

If you need help with arranging transport, renting a car etc. please don't hesitate to ask.

For larger groups the school will also arrange cultural visits, a trip to the beach or the like, depending on the season.

Danish is the language spoken in all the work environments you can experience. Don't worry, we do not expect you to know any, though you will easily be able to find children or elderly people who will be happy to teach you some.

We do however expect a working knowledge of English of each and every visitor. By this we mean a score of at least A1-A2 on the Erasmus+ language test. English is required for you to communicate with other staff members. It is not sufficient that one out of party of two or more speaks English and speaks for the group as you may be assigned to different groups or tasks.

While many Danes speak some German and a few some French, visitors cannot rely on this.

You should also expect that many of the people you will work with - the elderly and children - will not know any English and so you will have no language in common. Use gestures, point and listen to the words they say and if all else fails, get a colleague who speaks English to translate for you. It's all part of the experience :)

In Denmark almost everybody is on first name basis and use "du" (German "du", French "tu") to address each other. Call somebody Mr. or Mrs. Last Name and older people may think you extremely polite. Younger / middle aged people will probably just find it funny :)

Things about Denmark that are good to know when visiting:

• Official languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic, German
• Currency: Danish kroner or DKK (not Euro, sorry)
• Time zone is Central European Time (CET), same as most of Western Europe.
• Calling code is +45. Danish phone number are all 8 digit numbers, usually arranged as 4 times 2 digits. Simply put "+45" in front of any Danish phone numer and you will get connected. There is no difference between cell and landline numbers.
• A list of public holidays can be found at the website of the National Bank. Public holidays will mean different transport schedules and most shops will close, though some supermarkets will always be open.

• For emergency services (ambulance, fire fighters, police) call 112
• If you need medical attention (and it's not an emergency) during the weekend or outside office hours, you can call "lægevagten" (the doctor on duty) at (+45) 70 11 31 31. They can redirect you to a casualty ward, emergency services or suggest you contact a doctor when they reopen.
• Health services: If you are an EU citizen (or Norwegian or Icelandic), it should be sufficient to bring your blue European Health Insurance Card to get access to free medical care, including visits to the doctor or the hospital.
• Contact the college or talk to your employer if you need to see a doctor during office hours. Either of us will help you find one quickly.
• If your treatment requires medicine, you will often need to purchase it yourself at a pharmacy.
• You will also need to pay for (most) dental costs yourself. Check with your private or professional insurance before making a dentist appointment to see if they can pay for you (they may require you to use a specific dentist or register with them in advance).

• If you need to talk to the police (and it's not an emergency) you can call 114. This will connect you with local police, no matter where in the country you are.
• If you need assistance from your own country (e.g. if you have lost your passport), there are consulates for Norway (Herning), Finland (Herning), Iceland (Herning) and Sweden (Viborg) in or close to Herning that can help you. Most other European countries will have consulates in Aarhus. Please see the Foreign Ministrys consulate list page.