Imperial College London (ICL) was, according to one of my course leaders early on in the biomedicine programme, one of the top universities within the field of cell biology. In other words, I started reflecting fairly early on in my studies on what would be crucial to me in the process of choosing a university to which I would apply a year later, in the fourth semester. It’s incredibly challenging to remember every single motive and reason for why I decided to apply an exchange program. Furthermore it was tricky to elude which of the universities that met my criteria in teaching quality. But as I decided to not partake in any courses this did not matter very much in the end. All information that I really needed was available on KI’s and ICL’s webpages. In the end I feel I picked the right one.  

Regardless of the limits of my cognition I do remember the most the three important reasons for why I chose ICL in the end. First, my true passion for science lies in neuroendocrinology. When I discovered that ICL had astonishing projects regarding both the endocrine system’s effect on peripheral tissue as well as on the central nervous system it climbed to the top of my wish list very quickly. After some a set of difficult decisions I found my way to a group conducting research on the molecular mechanisms of sleep and the effects of anesthesia. Second, as this was the first time in my life I was going to move to a new country for an extended period of time I decided I did not want to travel too far. It might seem a bit cowardice standing on the outside looking in, but I was always very honest with the fact that I found it terrifying to go abroad to live and study. For this reason London seemed like the perfect pick as it is circa 1½ hours from Stockholm and the Brits are quite to Swedes. Third and most importantly I decided to go abroad simply to develop – personally and professionally.

London is a massive city with around 8.4 million inhabitants, it never sleeps and there are more districts, shops, restaurants and clubs than you’ll have time to see. And close to the heart of this is ICL, which lies in the district South Kensington just south of Hyde Park. Since the United Kingdom is part of the European Union free mobility of the borders apply and no extra paper work had to be prepared, which made preparations for my exchange semester a bit easier.

In retrospect there are some matters I wished I had dealt with sooner than I did in reality. The most important of these were living arrangements. I was well aware of that this is a matter I should have tended to earlier but somehow was put off until the very end. Once it was time to leave I had nowhere to live. When I landed in London on the 19^th of January I made my way to a real estate agency for short time lets and had a room by the end of the day. It took some decisiveness, innovativeness and a lot of patience. It turned out well in the end but next time I’ll make sure I can go directly from the airport to my apartment. I’ll expand more on living arrangements further down.

Some useful links:

• Travel         –   www.flygresor.se which will find you cheap flights
• Everything –   www.londonsvenskar.com a community for Swedes in London
• Projects      –   http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/naturalsciences KI has an exchange program with the faculty of natural sciences
  

I planned my trip so that I would arrive three days in advance to when my project was scheduled to begin. I believe this was a wise choice as it allowed me to acclimatize a bit to the tempo of London and reflect on what my goals and expectations of the exchange were. No one had informed me regarding any introductions or guided tours of the college and campus. Once I arrived to ICL’s campus in South Kensington I wandered about and learnt to orient by myself. Later I spoke to one of my course mates from Sweden who told me that she had been given a tour, either I had missed this information or it missed me completely. Luckily my assigned international coordinator contacted me later and offered me said tour, proving that the channels of information are indeed working. Otherwise it turned out to be easily accessible if only you scratched the surface.

When you go on the exchange program between Karolinska Institutet and ICL you are part of the Erasmus exchange program. This means that you are, by default, eligible to join the Erasmus clubs’ events. There are several Erasmus chapters in London, but the easiest is to join ICL Erasmus Club. Over my 4 months of staying in London I made many new international friends and had the opportunity of trying out some new foods and experiences different cultures. If you’re a person who likes to get to know other students and form a network of friends and co-workers you should consider coming along on some of the events ICL Erasmus club organize.

London is expensive to live in. There’s no other way to express it and it’s no use sugar coating it. However, not everything is more expensive in London than in Sweden and there are some clever ways of keeping costs down!

As any person who is living, or have lived, in London will tell you housing is really expensive in comparison to Sweden. And as I’ll explain below the standard of living is a bit lower. Transport is also a bit more expensive than in Stockholm but I’ll expand on that below as well. What’s cheaper then? Food! Food is much cheaper in the grocery stores than in Stockholm. There is also more to choose from. Meaning if you can sort out getting cheap living arrangements and avoiding high costs for transport, you’re set.

How did I prepare for four months in London economically? I worked, a lot. The fall before I went on exchange I worked a bit more than half time beside my studies to raise enough money to be able to experience London to its fullest.

Sorting out your housing in London can be quite tricky and there are several reasons why. First of all, like any major city there is a shortage of residences which in turn drive prices up. Meaning if you do find a place to live, chances are it is going to cost more than in comparison to Stockholm. In average a student accommodation received through ICL costs £157 (ca 1727 SEK) a week, or £630 (ca 6900 SEK) a month. Upon arrival I lived outside of London in shared house for £115 (1265 SEK) a week, which is significantly cheaper. However, as I implied above, transport can be quite expensive. Once you arrive in London you would be wise to buy an Oyster card, comparable to an SL card. You need to “top up” your card with money in order to use it. When you have received your student ID at ICL (CID) and a home address you should apply for a student oyster card which will diminish your costs further. A month of travel with a student oyster is circa £80 (880 SEK), and with a regular card £140 (1540 SEK).

To lower your costs from a housing perspective you should live further from the inner city, however that will increase your travel expenses. But if you live close to the city your travel expenses will diminish and your housing will increase in price. There is smart way of overriding this challenge – find a friend to live with who’s going to London at the same time as you. From an economical perspective this is a sound decision. And if you have the patience of living on a cramped space with another person for a limited amount of time, it will drive down your costs in housing and travel.

As mentioned above I had no prior living arrangements when stepping of the plane. This is not advisable as it is extremely stressful and puts you in a position of not considering the standard of your housing, which is already fairly low in the UK. During the first three weeks of my stay in London I lived in a shared house in Roehampton. And I found it quite sordid. In the beginning of February, three weeks after I arrived in London, I acquired a room in the Willis Jackson student halls. This was a step upward in price (from £115/week to £135/week), but a considerable improvement as I now lived ten minutes in walking distance from school and sleep in my bed without wearing two shirts and pants. From this point on I had no immediate need of an oyster card, but instead I rented TFL bicycles for £10/week.

If I could give only one tip it would be to contact the college before leaving for London and arrange for student housing immediately. My adventure certainly gave me a useful experience but it was an expensive one as several fees had to be paid in different directions. If you are not comfortable living in halls with other people my advice is to share a flat with a close friend to keep down costs. And get a bike! There is no better way to explore London, take my word.

Useful links

• Student housing –  http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/accommodation/currentstudents/livinginhalls
• Private short term accommodations – http://www.interlet.com/
• Student Oyster Card – http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/registry/currentstudents/traveldiscount

The school system works a bit differently in the UK but as I did not attend any courses during my time at ICL I have not devoted myself into learning the administrative rules. If you are interested in these rules I advise you to read Sofia Morsing’s travel report. Regardless of if you are going to attend courses or not you will interact with other people, more importantly your project supervisor. For this reason I will explain my impression of the hierarchical system and what attention you should pay to it.

As an undergraduate student most professors, post-docs, PhD students and master students will most likely emanate from the notion that you know nothing and they know everything. On some occasions that may be the situation, as they have worked and studied the topic of their research sometimes up to 40 or 50 years, and you should show respect for their knowledge. It does however not leave them open to harass you or take advantage of your lack of specific knowledge. Quite on the contrary a good teacher will want to facilitate your learning and make your experience as positive and worthwhile as possible. The atmosphere at the department of biophysics at ICL was quite relaxed and everyone was on a first-name-basis with each other. However as a true professional one should be able to tell the difference from when one should be formal and when one can be a bit more relaxed. For e.g. when you are in a group meeting, you are expected to be professional and polite. This could be a bit of a cultural shock from Sweden where almost all organizations are flat.

Since I, as an exchange student on the biomedicine programme, was conducting a research project my everyday was more comparable to a full-time job without the usual course schedule with a finite timeframe per day it was easy become overworked. Luckily I had some experience of working in such a manner, which helped to limit my workload per day. Before I started my project I made a proper time plan for my project over the coming four months. I also decided specifically which methods I wanted to learn before I went back to Sweden. By setting these specific goals it was easier to measure my project progress and limit my time spent in the lab and allow myself to have some fun in one of the greatest cities in the world.

Towards the end of my project time I was of course stressed, but I believe this goes very much in line with all projects one executes. The drive for perfection leads us to plan for more that can ever be managed in the short periods of time we are granted. The only way of escaping this sensation of limits and hurdles is to embrace the insight that your entire life is a learning process. Perseverance bestows perfection.

”Swedes speak English so well” was a re-occurring comment whenever I spoke to any Englishmen. That, or “Swedes always seem to have an American accent”. Regardless of the nationality of my accent the challenge of make myself understood was non-existing. Due to this reason I was neither offered any language courses nor did I feel the need to find any. To me the challenge would prove to be the British cuisine and managing several different nationalities every day. Twenty-five people worked in our lab, out of these ten were British. The rest of group was a lovely mix of Italians, Spaniards, French, Germans, Chinese, Portuguese and Indians – all individuals from separate cultural backgrounds. It was so fun to have the opportunity to meet new people and learn of their traditions. At first I was quite frightened to be impolite or say something inappropriate. These feelings did however subside as I understood that they felt the same in front of me, and by being honest about my lack of knowledge it turned to be easier to exchange experiences.

London is overall a melting pot of nationalities and it is quite impossible to describe the average Londoner. My advice is that you go to London and be mindful that every person you will meet is a new person and has different experiences to the next one.

My most memorable cultural shocks were the fact that the British have vinegar on the their fries instead ketchup, that all museums have free entrance (which is astonishing if you consider that all major cultural institutes in Sweden are funded by the government) and that children in kindergarten wear a shirt, tie and a beret.

There is a tremendous amount of different activities in London to put your time into. Considering that it is one of the largest cities in the world this is logical. To have some structure I will mention activities offered through the college and some key insights I had when exploring London.

ICL offers all its students free membership at the college gym (Ethos). You only have to pay £35 for an introduction to the gym, meaning safety tips and instructions on how to use the equipment. It’s definitely worth it. However, be mindful of how you plan your training sessions. As there are a lot of people attending ICL the gym is completely full between 4pm and 8pm. By sneaking away during incubation time of coming early on the weekdays you can escape the heavy crowds. Apart from the physical exercise ICL offers weekly trips to the different the landmarks close to London. E.g. Stonehenge and Bath, Cambridge University etc. One trip was circa £10 (110 SEK). There are many many more activities going on on campus which needs some further internet exploring to find out about, meaning you’ll never have a dull moment unless you want to.

Outside of campus there is a lot going on. You’ll have to hit the web to find out what will meet your needs specifically. The most useful advice, I think, I could give is that you invest in a bike or at least rent one every now and then. By cycling around in London you’ll houses, stores and people you never would have otherwise. The alternative is to take the subway everywhere go, but this leave little room for spontaneous interactions. The TFL/Barclay bikes can be found basically everywhere in London and it costs £2 (22 SEK) to rent one for a day or £10 (110 SEK) for a week.

Useful links

All the places you want to go – http://www.timeout.com/london

If you’re a poor student – http://thebrokelondoner.wordpress.com/  

The things you wouldn’t see otherwise - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Out-London-Londoners-3rd/dp/1846702674

Secret London - http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/secret-london-1

My experiences as an exchange student in London have changed my perspectives on research, education and life in general. By putting myself to the test of moving to another country I showed that I am capable of working as a professional and structure my life as I see put. I grew tremendously professionally by working at a prestigious college and research institute with the brightest minds in their field. It has strengthened me in my pursuit of building a career a future medical researcher and advocate in my field and for my alma mater. I believe I will able to utilize the contribution to my network, which I created during my time at Imperial College London, to perform good science and improve health in my future profession. The experiences I acquired have also improved my skills in planning my time and creating a framework for efficient and effective studying.

I will recommend anyone who asks to go abroad during their studies and grow both as a professional and a human being.