Eighty-eight per cent of the students generally find their fellow students to be welcoming, as against 86 per cent in the study environment survey three years ago. But twelve per cent of the students fell lonely during their every day study life, an increase of three percent from the 2011 study environment survey. 

And in the additional comments that the students have the opportunity of writing in connection with the survey, a number of them comment on experiencing self-promoting students among their fellow students and that this can affect the possibility of cooperation.

A student from ST writes for example:

"There may well be a tendency for students to compete among themselves in a negative way. For example, students may be unwilling to help each other with notes if one of them has been unable to attend a lesson, and they are often reluctant to pass on practical information if it leads to the possibility of a research position (Master's thesis, PhD etc.) as they don't want to disadvantage their own position.”

Tendency to cultural shift

PhD student Anna Bager-Elsborg from the analysis group behind the Study Environment Survey 2014 was also involved in carrying out a similar survey in 2011. She sees a tendency towards a shift in the culture among the students.

"Last time it was students from BSS in particular who came up with this type of comment. But this time it is across the board. We have examples from all of the faculties. In fact, I think it’s worrying both in relation to well-being and in relation to learning as it’s not particularly desirable to not want to work together."

The fear of unemployment

Anna Bager-Elsborg cannot say anything about the reason for the trend towards a lack of solidarity among the students on the basis of the survey.

"They don’t write so much. It’s more their experience of that’s the way things are. But my own guess would be that it is the fear of unemployment which promotes a culture in which we don’t help each other by sharing the good points, because we look at one another as competitors in the fight for the same jobs.

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