In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Professor of Economics at the University of Copenhagen from 1964 to 1969 and from 1971 to 2004, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983 and a member of the Delors Committee set up to study and propose practical steps that would lead to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) from 1988 to 1989, describes the main events that marked his university studies in Copenhagen in the 1950s, especially the Budapest crisis in 1956 and the decolonisation movement in Africa. He also mentions his main mentors during his studies, especially Erik Hoffmeyer, Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1965 to 1994.