Motivation for Exchange

For me, the discovery of a foreign country accompanied by the experience of a different cultural and educational system, seems very attractive. Thus, the aim of my exchange was to broaden my horizon both personally and professionally. My first choice for the exchange was the University of Toronto, since I was very interested in stem cell research which is strongly represented by this university.

Application

After having successfully applied at KI for an exchange and receiving my placement for the University of Toronto (UofT), I had to go through a second round of application, this time for the exchange university. In order to have the UofT accept me as an incoming student, I had to fill out an application form (http://www.cie.utoronto.ca/Exchange-Programs/Students-From-Abroad.htm) which included personal data, a study plan, 1-2 academic letters of reference and my department and courses of choice at UofT. Since KI does not have an exchange agreement with a specific department or program at UofT, I had to look for the graduate program that I wanted to join myself. There are a couple of choices for biomedical sciences at UofT, e.g. Molecular Genetics, Cellular and Systems Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering etc. (check www.utoronto.ca). I ended up choosing the Department of Molecular Genetics (http://www.moleculargenetics.utoronto.ca/), since I thought that the research of its faculty members was the most interesting. 

After receiving the acceptance letter from Toronto (which was around May), the last application that needed to be submitted is the INK application for the scholarship from KI (fortunately just a simple form).

Finding courses and a research project

As equivalent to the biomedicine programme, I conducted a 10-week research project in a lab at the Hospital for Sick Children and took a graduate course named “Topics in Molecular Genetics” during my exchange at UofT.

The university system at North-American universities is a little bit different than in Europe. They have a 4-year undergraduate (Bachelor) and go on with graduate studies (mostly PhD, with first year equivalent to Master) which are very research-focused. The students there have to do rotations in the first year and then choose a lab for their PhD thesis. There were not that many courses offered at the graduate level, and the only course that I could take at the Department of Molecular Genetics was “Topics in Molecular Genetics I” which comprises of seminars in two different topics. 

The application form had to be submitted by 1^st March, however, it was no problem for me submitting it later, since I received my placement from KI quite late (7^th March).

Moreover, I had to independently find a research lab where I could do my 10-week project. I went through the websites of PIs at different departments at UofT and affiliated institutions (e.g. Donnelly Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Princess Margret Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, Hospital for Sick Children, etc.) and applied to five different groups from which I received one positive reply. Eventually, I ended up in a lab at the Hospital for Sick Children which turned out to be a really good lab.

Preparation for the journey

Visa

If you a citizen of the EU and are staying less than 6 months in Canada for studying, there is NO requirement for a visa. However, if you want to work while you are on exchange, you will either need a study permit (for on-campus work) or a work permit (for off-campus work). I received a salary from my research group, thus, I had to apply for a study permit. However, I had some problems with that, since the Hospital of Sick Children where I worked at officially did not belong to the university etc., so it was not completely clear whether I needed a study or work permit, but fortunately (after some nerve-wracking time) it worked out for me. So, if you get financial support during your project, check thoroughly what kind of permit you will need. A work permit takes quite long to get, whereas a study permit can be obtained within ca. 6 weeks. (check: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/index.asp)

Travelling

If you are travelling via the US to Canada, you will need a visa for the US as well. In the case of EU citizens, the ESTA is sufficient. It is very simple to get (fill out form online, pay ca. 14$ and you get it within minutes). However, it is always a hassle going through the US, as you will have to go through US immigration and customs.

If you have applied for Canadian study permit, don’t forget to pick up the proper permit at the Immigration Office at the airport in Canada. I had a major problem later on, since I did not realize that the sheet of paper that I got back from the Canadian embassy after applying was not the actual study permit. And since my flight was delayed and I got to the airport in the middle of the night, nobody directed me towards the Immigration Office.

Medical examinations

Since I was going to work on a project at a hospital, I had to complete some medical examinations as well before I left. This was merely a requirement of the Hospital for Sick Children, so this might not affect you, if you are going to do your research somewhere else. I had to do a TB test (can take quite a while! – so start early) and prove that I am immune against a panel of different infectious diseases. For this, I contacted the Student Health Service at KI and it was no problem getting everything done and KI even pays for everything. 

Cost of living   

The cost of living in Toronto is comparable to Stockholm. Toronto is not a cheap city, especially accommodation can be quite expensive in the downtown Toronto area. Below is a list of average monthly costs that I estimated.

Accommodation: 700$

Food: 250$

UHIP: 57$

Books: 30$

Travel: 200$

Other (phone, clothing, leisure etc.): 150$

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Total: 1387$

Suprisingly, eating out in Toronto is not necessarily more expensive then cooking yourself, since products in the supermarket are quite expensive, especially dairy products. A lunch at the university costs around 5-7 $. Cheap food shopping can be done in Chinatown or Kengsington, whose markets offer a variety of fresh vegetables and meat at much lower prices compared to supermarkets. 

There is no general student union fee at the University of Toronto, however, if you join a club you might have to pay a membership fee, depending what kind of club it is. 

University books can be very expensive. Especially for Bachelor students there is usually a list of books that you need to get and one of them can be more than 100$. A good way to avoid spending too much money on books is to watch out for advertisement of used books around the campus.

Depending on how much and where you want travel, you are probably going to spend a lot of money on that as well. One cheap way to travel to the US is to take the “Megabus” which sells tickets from 1$ to different destinations in the US such as New York City.

Managing your money: bank account 

As I was getting a salary, I had to open a bank account in Toronto. Otherwise, a bank account might not be necessary for one semester if you have a credit card from Sweden. I opened a student account at TDCanada Trust, one of the biggest banks in Canada. This account is free and you get a normal cash account and also a credit card. TDCanada Trust, openening no problem, student account for free; another bank that is quite popular among students is Scotiabank 

The University of Toronto only provides on-campus accommodation to exchange students who stay for one academic year. Since I was only staying for one semester, I unfortunately could not take advantage of this. However, there are some off-campus and private residences that you can apply to. Some of these are very expensive (usually over 1000$), as they include meal plans and are actually hotel rooms that are converted into student apartments. Some examples are listed below: 

• 89 Chestnut residence ( http://www.chestnutresidence.utoronto.ca/Page4.aspx)
• Primrose hotel student residence (incl. meal plan, expensive, hotel) ( http://www.torontostudentresidence.com/)
• Tartu college student residence (cheaper corridor rooms, however, low quality) ( http://www.tartucollege.ca/) 
• Campus co-operative residence (Victorian houses in nice area close to university, reasonable prices for Toronto) (http://www.campus.coop/)

The University of Toronto also provides help for students looking for private accomodation at the housing center (https://www.housing.utoronto.ca/student/). There you can find ads and contact the landlords directly. 

I arrived in Toronto without an accomodation and stayed in a hostel for a week, during which time I was very fortunate to find a room in an apartment. I used www.craiglist.com, something similar to www.blocket.se. You have to be careful of scams and weird places though. I paid 750$ for a room in an apartment of my landlord. It was very central and the quality of the apartment was quite good. 

The average rent of a room in downtown Toronto lies between 500$ up to 800$. 

During my exchange I did not have any proper lectures, therefore I can not really state anything about it. I took two seminar courses which were held in small groups (up  to 12 people), so unlike in the usually huge lectures, the students could get more intimate contact with the teachers. This kind of courses were typical for graduate programmes. The supervision by the teachers was excellent, any questions and concerns could be raised and answered by the teachers.The student/teacher relationship was very good and compared to KI much closer. 

As I was also working in a lab project most of the time, so I had a post-doc as a direct project supervisor as well. Although she did not always have time, she was very helpful and could assist me in different experiments. If I got stuck or could not interprete my results, she always had an idea. Compared to KI, the supervision in the lab was very similar. I think this usually depends on the lab one is in and whether the personal relationship is good or not. 

Language

The language used at the University of Toronto was English. There were no problems with the language at all, as the biomedicine programme at KI is taught in English as well. 

Culture

Culturally, Canada is quite similar to Western European countries. However, Toronto is a very multi-cultural city and is therefore also called a “salad bowl”. There are a lot of immigrants and their descendants living in Toronto. No one really comes from Toronto. Thus, you can experience different cultures in Toronto. Especially the Asian population is quite large and at the university one can see many Asian faces. 

At university

The University of Toronto offers a variety of activities for its students. There are a range of different clubs and societies that one can join, e.g. choir, skiing, outdoor, origami, cooking etc, anything that one can imagine. I really recommend joining a club, since one can get to know a lot of people through them. Furthermore, UofT has its own sport facilities that all students can use for free. The athletic center has a gym, indoor running track, swimming pool, badminton court, squash courts etc. (http://www.athletics.utoronto.ca) The main student recreation house called Hart House also harbors a gym and a swimming pool. At both facilities, fitness and dance classes are also offered. There are also tennis courts and an ice rink on the campus, where students can go ice skating for free. I went a couple of times with friend and it was really fun.

Moreover, UofT has its own theater – the Hart House Theater – where you can watch different plays and musicals.

The website https://www.ulife.utoronto.ca/ describes student life at UofT and all the leisure activities one can do. 

The Center of International Experience at UofT arranges some events for international students as well, such as a Halloween party or a Thanksgiving dinner. 

In the city

Toronto is a modern, diverse and lively city that has a lot to offer. While I was there during the winter semester, there were a series of interesting events in the city, such as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) where Hollywood stars present their new movies; Nuit Blanche, a street art festival; Calvacade of Lights, a firework show at the city hall; the Santa Claus Parade, North Americas largest parade; and the Toronto Christmas Market. There is always something to do in the city. Due to the ethnic diversity of Toronto, there are also a lot of cultures and cuisines to discover. The different neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Little India, Greektown etc. all have their own festivals during the year which are worth a visit.

The official website of the city lists all the events that are going on www.toronto.ca.

The exchange at the University of Toronto was both personally and professionally enriching. Studying in a different academic environment with different educational system and teaching methods enabled me to look at my field in another light. The communication with and the understanding of people with different backgrounds and mentalities helped me to learn to cooperate with people from all over the world and gap bridges between cultural differences.

Moreover, it was very exciting to temporarily leave behind my perspective on things in order to get to know another nation’s view of the world. This way, I could broaden my horizon. The expansion of my own views could also encourage me to reflect my opinions and attitudes, thus contributing to my personal development. I came back with more self-confidence, more independence and more focus on my future goals. 

All in all, the exchange was a great experience.