30 April 2025
Take a brain break at Study Environment Day 2025
30 April 2025
Take a brain break at Study Environment Day 2025
Everything you need to know about the Study Environment Day 2025
Date
April 30, 2025
Time
12:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Location
Create, Rendsburggade 14, 9000 Aalborg
All students at AAU are invited – both Danish and international. The programme will indicate whether a presentation is held in Danish, English, or a combination.
There is a maximum of 249 participants, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. So hurry to secure your spot.
Study Environment Day offers something for everyone. From creative activities like drawing breaks, cooking, and knitting to more physical activities like bushcraft, dancefit, and yoga. There are also opportunities to participate in social activities such as communal singing and board games.
Look forward to:
Yoga
Dancefit
Music
Communal singing
Outdoor activities
Boosters
Knitting
Campfire fun
Creativity
Relaxation
Drawing joy
Zero waste cooking
Board game fun
By participating in Study Environment Day, you not only get a healthy break from your studies but also the opportunity to acquire new skills, meet new people, and enhance your mental and physical well-being.
It's a fantastic chance to create a better balance between study life and leisure, which can lead to increased well-being and more energy in your academic life.
It is completely free of charge to participate.
We serve complimentary food and beverages throughout the day.
Look forward to a delicious lunch consisting pizza rolls, mini wraps, and sliders, along with fresh salad and spring water.
In the afternoon, there will also be coffee and tea, as well as popcorn and snacks.
Check out the programme
12.30
13.00
Lunch
The cafeteria area
13.00
14.00
Welcome and Plenary Presentation
The auditorium
13.00
13.15
Welcome by the Chairpersons of the Study Environment Council
13.15
14.00
Plenary presentation: Balancing breaks and books: embracing positive breaks for a healthy student life
An important part of effective learning is being able to relax without feeling guilty so you can concentrate on your studies when you need to. During this opening presentation, you will get some tips on how to improve your learning and well-being by taking breaks and doing things you enjoy that are not related to your studies.
Language
English
Who gives the presentation
Lars Holm Olsen, M.A., Student counsellor at Aalborg University.
14.00
14.15
Break
14.15
16.15
Drop-in activities
The drop-in activities are open for participation all day, and you can join whenever it fits into your schedule.
14.15
16.15
Nature's Pause Button – Experience the Simple Pleasures of Outdoor Life
Take a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life and find peace in simple, mindful outdoor activities.
In this workshop, we gather outdoors to light a fire, bake bread on sticks, and dive into the crafts of outdoor living. You’ll have the opportunity to relax while learning how to tie strong, functional knots that can bear your weight – essential skills for climbing, bushcraft, and pioneering. You’ll also try setting up a basic bivouac.
Together around the fire, we’ll create a space for warmth, community, and mental relaxation. Come and experience how nature and small breaks can recharge your energy and strengthen your study/life balance!
Language
English and Danish
Instructors
Mads Haugaard Kragh Kristensen, 10th semester, Chemistry (MSc in Engineering)
Simon Abildgaard Hansen, 10th semester, Biotechnology (MSc in Engineering)
Outdoor area
14.15
16.15
Let creativity flourish - make colorful spring flowers in crepe paper
Creating with your hands and immersing yourself in a creative process can be an enriching and mindful activity and an opportunity to give your mind a break from studying.
Let your creativity flourish and the flowers bloom. In this activity, you will learn techniques for making paper flowers so that you can create your own unique creations. Crepe paper is a material that you can shape with your hands and add details with watercolor paint, so that you can create lifelike flowers in all sorts of color combinations.
There will be an opportunity to experiment with colors and shapes, and you will be inspired to make flowers that can be used as bouquets, decorations and gifts
Language
Danish and english
Instructor
Carla Marie Ovesen
The cafeteria area
14.15
16.15
Yarn corner – take a knitting and crochet break
At this cosy activity, you can either bring your own knitting or crochet project or learn to knit from scratch.
In the yarn corner, the focus is on a relaxing atmosphere, where you can share tips and tricks, get help with your yarn project and enjoy the community with other knitting and crochet enthusiasts.
There will be an opportunity to learn and share different techniques and you can work at your own pace.
Language
English and Danish
Who is in charge of the activity
Marie Møller Jensen, member of the Study Environment Council and head of the study board for Danish, English, Cultural Studies and Applied Philosophy
The cafeteria area
14.15
16.15
Drawing breaks – Find your joy in drawing
Kunsten (Museum of Modern Art) introduces creative challenges and exciting materials that you are familiar with from home into the drawing process.
Experience relaxing immersion as you become engrossed in what you can create with different materials and motifs. Together, we will explore techniques, materials, and various challenges that can enhance our drawing skills and joy of drawing. The goal is not for you to leave the workshop with a perfect drawing, but rather to have increased your enjoyment of drawing and to feel inspired to continue experimenting with drawing at home.
Everyone is welcome – even those who think they cannot draw. We promise you, you can.
Language
English and Danish
Art communicators
Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg by Nana Flarup Hansen and Tilde Fogh Vindelev.
The cafeteria area
14.15
16.15
Board game café
Socializing with good friends or family is a fun and pleasant break from a busy study day.
In the board game café, you can challenge your fellow students in various games at your own pace. There is no facilitation of the café, so the board games are just for your free use. Whether you choose a quick round of Loppin' Louie or a longer round of Ticket to Ride is therefore entirely up to you.
Language
English and Danish
Who is in charge of the activity
There is no facilitation of the café, so the board games are just for you and your fellow students' free use.
The cafeteria area
14.15
16.15
Meet TryOut
Aalborg TryOut is an offer for students, where they can participate in a wide range of free leisure activities and communities from mid-August to mid-November.
There are over 80 different activities, and during this period you can try everything from martial arts and yoga to ceramics and board games!
Come and hear about the activities that welcome both beginners and more experienced participants.
Feel free to come alone or with your fellow students – there is room for everyone.
Language
English and Danish
Who you can meet at the booth
Mette Thomsen og Thorbjørn Rohde, who are both ambassadors at Aalborg TryOut.
The cafeteria area
14.15
16.15
Pop-up exhibition: Apart from the books
The exhibition “Apart from the Books” is a cultural-historical pop-up exhibition that aims to convey the history of student life to current university students. The exhibition focuses on what the students themselves have done over the past 75 years to create a good and safe environment for student life. In this way, the exhibition aims to motivate students to think about student well-being in a broader perspective and contribute with both inspiration and debate about what a good student life is today and how we can improve well-being at Danish universities.
The exhibition consists of both historical presentation of the cultural history of student life as well as interactive elements in the form of “fold yourself” fortune tellers and voting tubes. The latter aim to start conversations about individual or collective well-being at university and to encourage people to take a stand on political or moral issues that relate to the main points of the exhibition.
The exhibition was created by Josephine Møller Jensen as a product for her master's degree in cultural history at Aarhus University. The exhibition has been created in collaboration with DM and DM students as part of DM's well-being efforts at the Danish universities.
The orange staircase
14.15
14.45
Workshop round 1
Attend the workshop you wish to participate in. Some have a limited number of participants – but don't worry if there's no space. Most workshops are held multiple times.
Each workshop lasts between 15 and 30 minutes.
14.15
14.45
Sing yourself happy – an atmospheric break
In this workshop, we use community singing to release a lot of endorphins and thus create good energy. In the workshop, you will also learn a few breathing exercises that you can use in your everyday study life.
Participation in the workshop requires absolutely no prior singing talent. Come as you are and experience how singing together can promote positive emotions and give you a happy break from studying.
Language
14.15: Danish
15.00: Danish
15.45: English
Teachers
Emma Poort Nielsen, 6th semester music therapy student Christina Sofie Amalie Bluhme, 6th semester music therapy student
The auditorium
14.15
14.45
A Night On The Bayou - Opening up that personal sphere!
This workshop is about expanding your personal boundaries through song, dance and music.
We'll sing, break boundaries and talk about how we can integrate singing and dancing into our everyday lives. We will explore why we can get nervous when speaking in front of many people and how we can perform more openly and confidently in important situations.
In this workshop we will use dance, singing and acting in front of each other to show that it's only dangerous and scary if we let it be. It's going to be super fun and hopefully it will get you ready for the concert later in the afternoon!
Language
English (if only Danish students attend, we’ll do it in Danish. But all are welcome!)
Teacher
This workshop will be led by Mathias Hansen, a 23-year-old trumpet player and singer from the Royal Academy of Music Aalborg. His daily work consists mostly of creating parties through concerts in both Denmark and abroad, as well as freelancing with all kinds of different bands.
Seminar room 1
14.15
14.45
Flow Yoga - stretch the break a little longer
This yoga workshop not only gives you a break from your studies, but also an opportunity to recharge and improve your mental and physical health. So come and join our yoga class where we explore strength, flexibility and mindfulness together. Whether you're a beginner or more experienced, our skilled instructor will guide you and help you find your inner peace.
Language
English
Max number of participants
20
Instructor
Johanne Hausgaard, instructor at Unifitness
Seminar room 2 and 3
14.15
14.30
Zero waste cooking – tag en smagsfuld pause med de fem grundsmage
Join this workshop if you want to take a break with cooking to nourish both your body and your mind.
In the workshop, you'll learn how the five basic tastes form a universal base for how we perceive flavor in food. You'll also get tastings and insights into how you can work magic with the contents of your fridge, including how typical leftovers can be transformed into delicious energy boosters such as green juice.
Language
14.15-14.30: Danish
14.30-14.45: English
15.00-15.15: Danish
15.15-15.30: Danish
15.45-16.00: English
16.00-16.15: Danish
Max number of participants
Max 15 people per workshop session
Who is in charge of the workshop
Jespers Torvekøkken v/ Mikkel de Vries, Sustainability and development consultant Vest & Rene Holme, Site manager AAU and jester by God's grace
Buffet area
14.45
15.00
Break
15.00
15.30
Workshop round 2
Attend the workshop you wish to participate in. Some have a limited number of participants – but don't worry if there's no space. Most workshops are held multiple times.
Each workshop lasts between 15 and 30 minutes.
15.00
15.30
Sing yourself happy – an atmospheric break
In this workshop, we use community singing to release a lot of endorphins and thus create good energy.
In the workshop, you will also learn a few breathing exercises that you can use in your everyday study life.
Participation in the workshop requires absolutely no prior singing talent.
Come as you are and experience how singing together can promote positive emotions and give you a happy break from studying.
Language
14.15: Danish
15.00: Danish
15:45: English
Teachers
Emma Poort Nielsen, 6th semester music therapy student Christina Sofie Amalie Bluhme, 6th semester music therapy student
The auditorium
15.00
15.30
A Night On The Bayou - Opening up that personal sphere!
This workshop is about expanding your personal boundaries through song, dance and music.
We'll sing, break boundaries and talk about how we can integrate singing and dancing into our everyday lives. We will explore why we can get nervous when speaking in front of many people and how we can perform more openly and confidently in important situations.
In this workshop we will use dance, singing and acting in front of each other to show that it's only dangerous and scary if we let it be. It's going to be super fun and hopefully it will get you ready for the concert later in the afternoon!
Language
English (if only Danish students attend, we’ll do it in Danish. But all are welcome!)
Teacher
This workshop will be led by Mathias Hansen, a 23-year-old trumpet player and singer from the Royal Academy of Music Aalborg. His daily work consists mostly of creating parties through concerts in both Denmark and abroad, as well as freelancing with all kinds of different bands.
Seminar room 1
15.00
15.30
Dancefit - regain your energy step by step
In this workshop, we combine physical activity with music and dance, which can help reduce stress and improve mood.
Whether you're a beginner or more experienced, our skilled instructor will guide you. So come and join us for half an hour of dance fun that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Language
English
Max number of participants
20
Instructor
Natasha Mohr Viðbjørg, instructor at Unifitness
Seminar room 2 and 3
15.00
15.15
Zero waste cooking – take a tasty break with the five basic flavours
Join this workshop if you want to take a break with cooking to nourish both your body and your mind.
In the workshop, you'll learn how the five basic tastes form a universal base for how we perceive flavor in food. You'll also get tastings and insights into how you can work magic with the contents of your fridge, including how typical leftovers can be transformed into delicious energy boosters such as green juice.
Language
14.15-14.30: Danish
14.30-14.45: English
15.00-15.15: Danish
15.15-15.30: Danish
15.45-16.00: English
16.00-16.15: Danish
Max number of participants
Max 15 people per workshop session
Who is in charge of the workshop
Jespers Torvekøkken v/ Mikkel de Vries, Sustainability and development consultant Vest & Rene Holme, Site manager AAU and jester by God's grace
Buffet area
15.30
15.45
Break
15.45
16.15
Workshop round 3
Attend the workshop you wish to participate in. Some have a limited number of participants – but don't worry if there's no space. Most workshops are held multiple times.
Each workshop lasts between 15 and 30 minutes.
15.45
16.15
Sing yourself happy – an atmospheric break
In this workshop, we use community singing to release a lot of endorphins and thus create good energy.
In the workshop, you will also learn a few breathing exercises that you can use in your everyday study life.
Participation in the workshop requires absolutely no prior singing talent.
Come as you are and experience how singing together can promote positive emotions and give you a happy break from studying.
Language
14.15: Danish
15.00: Danish
15:45: English
Teachers
Emma Poort Nielsen, 6th semester music therapy student Christina Sofie Amalie Bluhme, 6th semester music therapy student
The auditorium
15.45
16.15
The Power of Playlists - a Music Therapy workshop
In this workshop, you will learn how to design music playlists to meet your different needs, such as relaxation, focus, motivation, exercise, sleep, and emotional processing.
You will get a brief introduction to selecting music for various purposes and gain insight into the key musical parameters to consider when creating your own personalized playlist.
It is important that you bring a computer, phone, or tablet with access to your favorite music streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.).
Language
English
Max number of participants
30
Teacher
Tobias Lindhardt Togeby, MA Music Therapy
Seminar room 1
15.45
16.15
Flow Yoga - stretch the break a little longer
This yoga workshop not only gives you a break from your studies, but also an opportunity to recharge and improve your mental and physical health. So come and join our yoga class where we explore strength, flexibility and mindfulness together. Whether you're a beginner or more experienced, our skilled instructor will guide you and help you find your inner peace.
Language
English
Max number of participants
20
Instructor
Johanne Hausgaard, instructor at Unifitness
Seminar room 2 and 3
15.45
16.00
Zero waste cooking – take a tasty break with the five basic flavours
Join this workshop if you want to take a break with cooking to nourish both your body and your mind.
In the workshop, you'll learn how the five basic tastes form a universal base for how we perceive flavor in food. You'll also get tastings and insights into how you can work magic with the contents of your fridge, including how typical leftovers can be transformed into delicious energy boosters such as green juice.
Language
14.15-14.30: Danish
14.30-14.45: English
15.00-15.15: Danish
15.15-15.30: Danish
15.45-16.00: English
16.00-16.15: Danish
Max number of participants
Max 15 people per workshop session
Who is in charge of the workshop
Jespers Torvekøkken v/ Mikkel de Vries, Sustainability and development consultant Vest & Rene Holme, Site manager AAU and jester by God's grace
Buffet area
16.15
16.30
Break
16.30
17.00
Concert: “A Night On The Bayou”
Are you ready for a concert experience out of the ordinary? “A Night on the Bayou” invites you into the world of music where you don't just watch, you become part of the party!
We deliver funky rhythms, catchy melodies and a party you'll never forget. All you need to bring is an open mind and lots of good vibes!
The band
Drums - Marcus Kendellen
Bass - August Kjær
Guitar - Mark Vang
Piano - Gustav Bjerrum
Trumpet and lead vocals - Mathias Hansen
Vibes and party - All of you!!
17.00