How to stay creative in Kolding

Meet Styrmir Kárason, who moved to Kolding from Iceland to pursue a creative education as a design student

Kolding has a lively international student environment, where there are lots of opportunities to be creative and develop your skills.

Campus Kolding has interviewed Styrmir, who is studying a bachelor in Industrial Design at Design Kolding School of Design. Styrmir shares his experiences as an international student, as well as how he stays creative in Kolding.

See the interview and read the full article below.

“Being a design student in Kolding is actually a bit of a privilege.”

How did you end up in Kolding?

I’m from Iceland – well Iceland and Canada and Barbados, so it’s a little bit of a mix of a lot of stuff. I moved to Kolding in 2022 to study at Kolding School of Design. I choose Kolding very much because of the school, as I enjoy the feel of the school. Kolding’s community also played a big part, I enjoyed how it seemed to function. I’m from a small town myself, so Kolding is a big town compared.

The best part of Kolding is the sheer amount of knowledge in and outside of school, and the people who have gone a similar path in life, who are very willing to help.

Do you see yourself staying in Kolding?

It’s very likely that I’ll stay in Kolding after my studies. I’m doing the bachelor right now, and there is of course a very decent master’s here. So it’s a big question of staying, and I would like to. But it is still at the “thought phase” of trying to figure it out, but it’s one of those places that’s very comfortable to stay in. So it’s a definite possibility.

How has your experience been as an international student?

I didn’t know just how much was happening with Campus Kolding events, but the city feels quite alive. I’ve been able to build up a reasonable community, so I’m very much pleased with my stay here. I would definitely recommend Kolding to other international students.

There is always stuff going on. It’s this kind of interconnected web of things that are just happening all over. You get deeper into the local scene, because you’re not just at events and doing things, but you are participating and helping out. It feels like a very kind of healthy evolution or a way for a person to be a part of a community.

It’s a fun web, where you know one person and that leads you to another person, and you kind of end up entangled with a lot of things. Lots of touchpoints.

Has there been any cultural differences?

I came here for the bachelor meaning that I have to at least understand Danish and be able to communicate to a certain extent. I can’t say that I felt ostracized, but it can be a bit harder being in situations with a lot of other people talking. It hasn’t really been an issue for the events and festivals I’ve attended.

I haven’t experienced any big cultural changes, it’s just the small things. Like the going out culture, because people in Kolding tend to be closer to where things are happening. However, I was quite upset when I learned there are no free coffee refills in the cafés here. It’s a weirdly big thing in Icelandic culture.

“It’s this kind of interconnected web of things that are just happening all over.”

What do you do in your free time?

I do a lot of stuff surrounding studying, such as using the different workshops that Nicolai has to offer. It’s both to study and further my own personal career.

Kolding isn’t too big, so you end up knowing a lot of people from different places. I try to go to many local events and stuff that people I know are hosting. There tends to be a good amount of stuff to do. I go to the international quiz at Knuds. I work at the Arcade, so I tend to go there a good amount. Picnics and Kongespil in the summer.

I’ve been trying to do more community driven stuff. I’ve helped out at Food Reformers, and it’s almost completely international students, a lot of which have stayed in Kolding. I definitely want to do more of that, it’s just a question of how much time one can fit in a day.

Now you mentioned Nicolai – tell me more about that

I like staying creative and a big part of that is the public culture house Nicolai (also known as Bygning 5). It’s great having access to community driven workshops, and I enjoy being able to have hands on experience with tools such as laser cutting, woodworking stuff, and 3D printing. It kind of allows you access to so many different creative opportunities.

I obviously want to be making stuff that’s cool and people will look at and think is just great. But I think more importantly, a lot of students have that kind of mindset or goal that they want to be creating towards a change. There is this kind of general design culture, which I very much enjoy.

So I’d say that being a design student in Kolding is actually a bit of a privilege. I just appreciate that it’s a nice place to be as a design student.

Do you have any advice for other international students?

I’ve heard from other people who were exchange students in Kolding that they seemed to believe there was nothing going on. That felt very odd to hear, but I don’t know if they were just afraid to explore, because there is a good amount of stuff going on. I know there is an entire website for Kolding events.

They shouldn’t be afraid to check out different places. I’ve met a lot of different students at the Friday bar. Through that I learned about other stuff such as the movie nights at SDU organized by Sonic. So talk to other students, see what’s going on and what other people recommend. Don’t be afraid of Danish students, they are mostly harmless. It’s a nice student community.