Liz's European Adventures: Thesis Defense

I flew back from my Summer in the US with a few days left to put the last minute touches on my thesis. I handed it in on August 1st - which was a great feeling. But what was even greater was when I defended it on September 1st.

The title of my thesis is:

Globalizing Denmark: ASB International students want to successfully socially integrate and work in Denmark. So why is it so difficult?

I chose the topic because it was very close to my heart - I have worked on this topic through my student job and internship at the Career Centre, and have been one of those students. I was, in a sense, a poster child and a voice for international students at my school, as well as in the region.

I did not spend a ton of time preparing my oral defense - I threw together a powerpoint the night before and the morning of my defense. I was not too worried, because I figured at that point, I either knew it or I didn't. I had been working on this thesis for so long, and with the subject matter as well, that I knew the information well.

The defense is a 45 minute defense. I present my topic and a few key highlights for about 15-20 minutes. Then my advisor (a professor) as well as an external examiner (typically someone in the business world, or another educator) asks me questions: why did I do this? How did I do that? You just have to be on your toes and have an answer for everything. There were a few questions I struggled with, but I managed to have decent answers. When the questioning session is done, I had to sit outside and wait for the two to discuss my grade. I was hoping for an average grade (the grading scale here is this: -1, 0, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12 - with 12 being perfect).

I was called back in, and my advisor said that I did not need to worry, that I had a very well written paper, and seemed to know my subject matter well, so I received the highest grade...a 12!

It was an amazing feeling, and I honestly enjoyed the oral exam/defense. It was fun, because I did know the subject matter the better than I had known anything else. And in typical Danish fashion, when I walked out of my defense, my friends were there with Danish flags, flowers, and champagne!

It was an amazing day, and a relief. And if you are ever interested in taking a look at my thesis, you can find it here!

Linc and I celebrating by the bikes at school