NEW AUDIO WALK INVITES YOU TO REFLECT ON YOUR OWN STUDENT LIFE

Doubts about one's course of study and the eternal struggle of prioritizing correctly as a student are far from a walk in the park. 

But now you can still attempt to combine reflection on study-related doubts and a walk in the University Park with the student guidance on Nat-Tech's new audiowalk Mellem Søerne (Between the Lakes). 

Nat-Tech describes an audio walk as a mix between a podcast and sound-based theater. The podcast is connected to a physical location, with the audio triggered depending on where the listener is along the route from the Royal Danish Library and around the two iconic lakes in the University Park. The narrative actively incorporates the physical locations of the University Park. 

In the narrative, we meet the two fictional students, Thomas from Tech and Karla from Nat. Thomas finds it hard to prioritise his time when study mates, Friday bars and coursework all compete for his attention. Karla has started to doubt her choice of degree programme, and the doubt is now beginning to take over.

The walk begins and ends in front of the Royal Danish Library - or “Kongen” as Thomas calls it. 

Thomas represents the challenge familiar to many students of having to prioritise between new classmates, old friends from upper secondary school, coursework and the family back home. 

He’s short on hours in the day and space in the calendar. At the same time, he doesn't want to be the one who cancels plans all the time.

Thomas failed an exam last semester, and according to himself, it's due to the many hours at the Friday bar, Katrines Kælder, with his classmates. That's why he cancelled a trip to the summer cottage with the guys at the last minute to catch up on his studies. 

“Everyone around me seems to have time for what they want, so why is it difficult for me?” Thomas asks as the sound of footsteps plays in the background of the podcast. 

Behind the audio walk are student counsellor and welfare counsellor Heidi Høy Sørensen, digital development consultant and upper secondary school coordinator, Nina Borgbjerg Møller, and acting head of studies administration, Catalina Kjær Torres, among others. 

Although the characters are fictional, the dilemmas and challenges are based on statements and interviews from students at Nat-Tech. 

“We often hear these stories and dilemmas in the student guidance, yet paradoxically, the students all feel alone with them,” Heidi Høy Sørensen says. 

“We’ve had the idea that the general dilemmas were an opportunity for the students to see that they’re actually not alone with it,” Hedi Høy Sørensen says.

The other fictional student, Karla from Nat, has come to doubt whether the degree programme is really for her. It’s not mentioned which degree programme Karla is in. 

Karla makes many arguments both for and against the degree programme, and she says she feels like a big what-if right now. 

As the listener walks around the lake at the Lakeside Lecture Theatres with Karla, she asks the listener to look at the path between the two lakes. 

The many paths that merge into one path and then split into three paths again are a bit like how Karla feels her life looks right now. 

“Try looking into the lakes. Can you see how many different paths this path turns into? That's actually kind of how I feel right now. So this feeling that I am at the crossroads and that I will soon have to choose whether to go left, right or straight ahead. Or maybe I should turn around and go back,” Karla says in the audio walk. 

This is an example of how the University Park and the narrative play together. The audio walk is a completely new initiative offered by the study guide. It’s intended for students who might not necessarily consider seeking student guidance on their own. Therefore, the audio walk shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for student guidance, but rather as a catalyst for reflection on study-related doubts and the challenges of student life. 

“Reflection is the key concept. Personally, I think it’s a success if the student has come to think about these dilemmas that they can reflect on during their student life,” Heidi Høy Sørensen says. 

“We draw inspiration from other fictional experiences. Just like when you can reflect on something while reading a book or watching a movie,” Nina Borgbjerg Møller says.

Asta-Marie Hegelund Hardt is familiar with study-related doubts. Before the summer was enrolled in the Cognitive Science bachelor's degree programme, but she has now switched to studying chemistry. 

The response to the audio walk has also been positive. 

“I actually think it was very good. I was just sitting at the Royal Danish Library, feeling stressed about some maths assignments and unsure of what I was doing, so it was really nice to come outside and feel that my doubts were acknowledged,” Asta-Marie Hegelund Hardt says. 

“I didn’t really think of it as guidance at the time, but looking back, I can see that it actually was, a little,” she says.

The fictional students' dilemmas led Asta-Marie Hegelund Hardt to think about how she herself would approach the situation if she were in their place. 

“They talk a lot about things I've probably figured out myself along the way, but it's good to be reminded of them,” she says.

“It's also nice to get out and walk. At first, it stressed me a little, but when I was out, it was actually very good for me,” Asta-Marie Hegelund Hardt says. 

The audio walk lasts about half an hour, and listeners are advised to wear practical shoes, as the route goes along both paths and grass by the lakes and the stream up towards the amphitheatre. 

“We know how valuable it is to get outside and give your mind a bit of a break, and we also work a lot with these pauses for the brain,” Heidi Høy Sørensen says. 

The audio walk can only be played if you are on the route in the University Park. 

“Students in Herning, Emdrup and Viborg are of course very welcome to use of the student guidance offered in Aarhus. However, we have a clear expectation that it will mainly be students studying in Aarhus who will make use of it,” Catalina Kjær Torres says. 

“If it is successful in Aarhus, it’d be natural for us to consider developing similar offers for our students in the other cities,” Catalina Kjær Torres says. 

However, the three women behind the idea of the audio walk know that the concept of audio walks is unfamiliar to many. 

“We’ve really had to explain many times what an audio walk is,” Nina Borgbjerg Møller says.

“We are constantly trying to adapt and develop our offerings to suit the times and the target audience. We are curious if this concept can be used in the student guidance framework. “When we try something new, there is also a risk it might fail, but that is part of being in development,” Catalina Kjær Torres says.

This text was machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen