Talks & Debate 2026

TALK // Sex and consent

Trine Baumbach, Professor at the Center for Commercial Law and Public Regulation at the University of Copenhagen.

Your mouth says no, but your eyes say yes. This is how a man sings merrily in a well-known old Danish tune. Give me what I want most, he continues. When you hear the song today, it sounds like a man expressing his power to enforce his desires. He doesn’t get consent until the song is done and maybe he wasn’t that concerned with actually getting it. 

Sex with consent became a topic of conversation with the Consent Act in 2021 – and consent is not about one demanding sex from another, but that sex I something we do together. Until the Consent Act was passed in Denmark, we had the same rape legislation as in the Middle Ages. With the Consent Act, it is no longer the victim who must prove an assault, but the accused who must justify the sexual act.

From her seat on the Criminal Code Council, Professor Trine Baumbach insisted that consent should be the guiding principle of the new rape provision. And that’s how it turned out.

At KU Festival, Trine makes us understand why it was imperative for her to get consent into the rape provision, what myths live on about the consent law and what assumptions about women’s sexuality the debate about the consent law reflects.

Trine Baumbach is Professor at the Center for Commercial Law and Public Regulation at the University of Copenhagen.

This talk is in Danish

TALKS // 2 x STudents projects

Join us for an informative talk where students who have received support from the Green Solutions Centre will talk about their projects and the opportunities that funding has given them. The projects are:

1. Coffee Livelihoods and Climate Change Vulnerability
Master of Science (MSc) in Global Development student Emma Eline Flarup W. A. ​​Munch will present how her study integrates quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess livelihood vulnerability among coffee farmers in Son La province in Vietnam. By examining the vulnerability of coffee farmers in Son La, Emma’s study will provide valuable insights that can serve as a basis for developing climate-resilient agricultural practices and livelihoods.

2. Fast Ride: Exploring the Urban Experiences of Food Delivery Workers in Copenhagen
Master of Science (MSc) in Global Development student Agustin Andres Müller will present how his study explores the urban experiences of food delivery workers in Copenhagen, focusing on their interactions with bicycles, cycle paths and other related urban infrastructure. Agustin’s project aims to contribute to a green and just transition by ensuring that green infrastructure, such as bike paths and urban facilities, is both
functional and inclusive.

We will be joined by GSC Living Lab Manager Mette Frimodt-Møller, who can answer questions about opportunities for student financing at GSC.

This talk is in English

TALK // Gender and academic career

Margaretha Järvinen, professor at the Department of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen and professor Nanna Mik-Meyer from CBS.

What does gender mean for your academic career? What has value and is rewarded in academia? What are “gaming strategies”? And how are they used to promote academic careers? Why doesn’t teaching and administration promote your research career? And what are the consequences of the way universities reward?

Hear more about all this when Margaretha Järvinen and Nanna Mik-Meyer visit the KU Festival and talk about their research on the subject based on their book “Gender and career in academia – behind the facade”.

This talk is in Danish

DEBATE // Who should the future UCPH student be?

The celebration of the 150th anniversary of women at UCPH provides an opportunity to look at what it is like to attend UCPH today, and not least to focus on who should be admitted in the future.

The Student Council will therefore ask key people at UCPH how gender, class and ethnicity are still a barrier to who gets into the university, and how we can create a more inclusive university today. We will do this by incorporating research, experiences from UCPH today and with UCPH’s leadership we will curiously investigate what should be done for the UCPH of the future.

The panel includes:

• Anja C. Andersen, Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Science
• Simone Mejding Poulsen, Ph.D. Fellow
• Sakinah-Michelle Ahmed, Political Science student and member of the Student Council’s board
• Kristian Cedervall Lauta, Prorector for Education

The discussion will be moderated by Anton Stubbe Teglbjærg, Chairperson of the Student Council.

This talk is in Danish

TALK // Climate action at KU

Intro to KU One Planet Climate Council
v. Dekan Bo Jellesmark Thorsen

Celebration of UCPH sustainability efforts

• Sustainable travel practice award show
• Humongous free sustainable cake for all

Free cake!

This talk is in English

TALK // Dammit  (该死的, اللعنة, Блин…) – learn to swear properly in multiple languages

Is it time to expand your swear word repertoire? Do you want to learn to swear properly, so you know the difference between delivering a well-formed insult and just swearing? Then join us when language teachers and researchers from the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies invite you to a language challenge at the UPCH Festival. Learn the most important swear words in Russian, Arabic, Korean, and Chinese, and understand the difference between understanding what is being said, and what is meant!

On stage you can experience Head of Department Annika Hvithamar, Associate Professor Mads Eskildsen (Russian), Associate Professor Hyun Joo Choi (Korean), Associate Professor Karin Jakobsen (Korean), Associate Professor Mikkel Bunkenborg (Chinese) and Associate Professor Ulla Prien (Arabic)

This talk is in Danish (and a little Russian. Korean, Chinese, and Arabic)