The International House is now open!

New international scientists and staff have now got their first ‘home’ in Copenhagen.

This is after the so-called International House was opened on Gyldenløvsgade in Copenhagen Tuesday.

The house, a co-operation between the University of Copenhagen’s (UCPH) ISM (International Staff Mobility) office, the city of Copenhagen, and the Capital Region of Denmark, is to fulfill a series of functions under one roof. It will be a citizens’ advice bureau for residence permits and CPR registration, a place for cultural and social events, such as introductory courses and mentor programmes, and a hotel for researchers, managed by CabInn.

One-point entry

Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, spoke about how international scientists and researchers contributed to the Copenhagen and Danish economy in a time of increasing globalisation.

“Foreigners bring innovation into our businesses, and this is a key element in creating growth and new long term jobs,” Frank Jensen said at the opening.

“The International House will provide one-point entry for paperwork, and alot more,” he said.

Top scientist chose Copenhagen

Copenhagen has 20,000 expatriates in the city. The number of international students in Denmark has tripled over the last ten years, and the hope is that more of them will stay after studies. The International House is all part of the attempt to become more open as a city. “They are assets for the city, and assets for the country,” said mayor Frank Jensen.

Dean of the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Health and Medicine, Ulla Wever, pointed to the fact that research and science is ‘portable’ and not country-specific, so scientists if they choose, could choose Copenhagen, or elsewhere.

She pointed to the example of a top health scientist, Professor Stephen M. Cohen from the National University of Singapore, who “could have chosen Cambridge, but he chose Copenhagen, and we won,” she says.

UCPH to manage top floors

“His research is ‘portable’, and he is now relocating, with his core staff to Copenhagen. He is also a family man, and he needs a bank account and a home. His PhDs are struggling a bit at the moment with the move and the paperwork. Now he can contact the International House for a full-service solution”.

The building will consist of six floors. UCPH will manage the top three floors, where foreign employees at UCPH and the national hospital Rigshospitalet can access the one-stop shops, meeting facilities, activity rooms and 31 hotel rooms. The lower floors will be open for all new foreign citizens arriving in Copenhagen.

Photos by Victor Yakimov.

universitypost@adm.ku.dk

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