One Semester Turned into Three Years: Nahom Fell in Love with Student Life in Kolding

He had planned to take just a single semester at the IBA International Business Academy in Kolding. But Nahom Nemera ended up loving both the city and the study programme so much that he decided to stay and complete his bachelor’s degree. And straight after that, he chose to continue with a top-up degree in International Business at the IBA.

“I found that the study culture at the IBA was completely different from what I was used to. There’s a lot of freedom for students to express their ideas and a generally relaxed atmosphere to be yourself. That works really well for me, especially when you need to be creative with your own idea – and that’s definitely needed when working in business related topics,” Nahom explains.

Nahom is from Ethiopia, but after finishing high school, he decided to move to Poland to attend university. His university in Poland has a partnership with the IBA, which is how he came to apply for an Erasmus semester in Denmark. That was in 2022. His stay at the IBA ended up lasting three years.

“I originally planned to move on to the Netherlands after one semester in Kolding. But as time went by, I fell in love with my daily life here. Denmark has so many beautiful things to offer. So why take the risk of moving on? There’s no guarantee it would be as good elsewhere,” Nahom says with a smile.

And so, he stayed. Alongside his studies, he worked part-time as a warehouse assistant at T-hansen in Middelfart. After that Nahom also worked as a driver for PostNord. These jobs helped cover his rent and daily expenses.

“It’s been expensive to take this education. But it’s worth every penny. It opens new opportunities in life, and you also experience having to manage on your own in a different country – and that, as well as the degree, is valuable,” says Nahom.

As an Ethiopian, he’s far from home in this part of the world. But he’s made many friends through his studies in Kolding, and every Sunday he takes the train to Aarhus. There, he plays the keyboard at the local church for the Ethiopian Orthodox congregation. In this way, he stays connected to his own culture while enjoying Danish life.

After completing his education at the IBA, Nahom has now started a master’s in data science at the University of Southern Denmark in Kolding. On the side, he recently got a student job as a data specialist worker at GE Vernova in Kolding.

“I want to mix my studies and work, so I will be able to combine both the traditional way of dealing with business and data driven business – as the pace of the current world needs that. That’s my goal. I’d like to work in an European country while also starting my own business back home in Ethiopia.”