Why I went on exchange

I chose to study biomedicine at KI because of the strong international profile, and going on exchange was something I was determined to do even before I started. Previously I have both worked and studied abroad, and if I could only recommend one thing to other students, going abroad would be it. You will learn a lot about yourself and your own background as well as learning about other people and ways of doing things. Also, I think it is very important to know what is out there, what options there is, if you want to pursue a future in research with an international degree.

University of Calgary, Hotchkiss Brain Institute

Initially I was set on Australia or Singapore, because I wanted to take the opportunity to go far away for a longer stay. But I also wanted to do my thesis within neuroscience. So I started to look through all the partner universities and what they had to offer within that field, I quite quickly found an interest in the exchange with the University of Calgary (UofC), or more specifically with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) of UofC, which is the actual exchange partner. As the name give away they exclusively focus on neuroscience and have a large variety of research projects within and connected to the field. So it was not very hard to find some really interesting projects within a short time. When searching the websites of UofC it seemed like a university with a very active student life. So I decided to try it out, and go west instead of east.

Making the application

To hand in the application at KI was pretty straightforward, there was plenty of information about how to prepare and make the application, several informational events and help to get. However, the exchange with HBI was new at the time and I would be the first student to go from KI to Calgary, so there was very little information about what to expect. But this proved to not be a problem at all. As soon as I had my KI nomination I was contacted by the International Student Support and Incoming Exchange Coordinator that welcomed me and helped me through the Canadian application process. It seemed tedious at first, but I received fast answers and a lot of help from the people at UofC so in the end it turned out to be very easy. I was then put in contact with the Academic Advisor and Education Coordinator of HBI that helped me find a group based on the terms of the project as well as my interests in research. Naturally when leaving for a longer time and far away, doing a thesis, there is a lot of questions and confusion of course, but I'm very impressed by the communication I had with UofC and HBI, I was helped and assisted in every part of the process quickly and friendly, and when they could not help me they put me in contact with departments and people that could. It made me feel very comfortable about going far away to a place I never been to before.

I was not asked to bring any documents, to vaccinate or perform any health tests. The only documents I needed to bring before arrival was for the Canadian custom at the airport, which was my letter of approval that I received from UofC, bank statement, CSN papers and insurance papers. UofC did not require to see any of these.

Flying there and going through customs

As always: the sooner you book your flight ticket, the cheaper it will be. Avoid making stop-overs in the US as well, as it was more expensive. I made my stop-over on Iceland and in Toronto on my way there. On the way home I made only one stop-over in Amsterdam. The price was about the same, I booked one-way tickets because my return date was not set at the time of booking, but booking a return ticket is cheaper. As a Swedish citizen I was not required to apply for a visa, since we are allowed to stay in Canada for 6 months without it. However, you need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) before leaving, this cost me 7$ (CAD). At the customs I needed to provide my insurance paper, bank statement, CSN paper and acceptance letter from UofC (which I received during the autumn, a long time before departure).

Arriving at the airport

The airport is not very well connected with the city through public transportation, there were some busses and shuttles, but their destinations were quite limited. I decided that the easiest thing to do was to take a cab with all my luggage. The main campus is about 30-40min away from the airport, and a cab costs between 40-50$ (CAD). Finding your way at the airport is quite easy as it is fairly small at all.

Starting the semester in Calgary

The school semester starts earlier in Calgary than in Stockholm, and there are fewer students that start their education in the spring than in autumn, just like at KI, so the reception of new students in January is smaller than for autumn. However, because the terms at KI ends after the term in Calgary starts, I unfortunately missed the welcoming day and events. It would have been beneficial since it involves tours of the campus and getting to know people, but it was not necessary because people in Calgary are very friendly so it is possible to catch up, and there are some delayed welcoming events and activities as well.

On main campus

Main campus is huge, UofC have more than 30.000 students, but most of the buildings aren’t of interest since the HBI is located at the hospital site (Foothills campus) less than 20min away from the main campus.

On campus you’ll find a hotel, a library with a view of the Rocky Mountains, the student association building where you can find the main book store, a food court, resturants and a bar, some shops and even a hairdresser. They also have large recreational facilities, more about that later on. There are plenty of coffee shops around as well. And you’ll find the residence service desk (responsible for student housing) and as an international student you can also get a lot of help from the International Student Services on campus, they offered programs, activities and peer-driven programs.

On Foothills campus

This building consists of several buildings that have been connected, there is a hospital-part, the educational parts and research buildings are more mixed up. There is a smaller bookstore, and a library, a café and a small shop-like thing where you can get lunch. Around the campus there are a few other places 5-10min away where you can get donuts (Tim Horton's, you'll end up there eventually) and more fast food places than anything else. Also a small corner shop for emergency milk-shopping and such things. There is plenty of study areas and some nice places to sit and relax. If you want to blend in, start using a reusable water bottle. There is a few refill stations for that with cold water.

Cost of living

Generally, the living costs in Calgary was about the same as Stockholm. The rent was around 500$ (CAD)/month, often including bills and Internet. Some food items were cheaper, others more expensive so overall it turned out to be the same as in Stockholm. Two of the big supermarkets are called Safeway’s and Co-op, and there are one of each located fairly close to campus (and accessible with bus or train). I wouldn’t say the one is cheaper than the other, it varied between goods and what current campaigns were running. Smaller convenience stores (also located on campus) were more expensive. The price for eating out was the same as in Stockholm.

If you lived on campus you could choose a Meal Plan, I did not try this but there were three different ones to choose from, including different meals. And then there was something called Food Funds, it meant that you could load your student card with money, that was accepted in different food stores and restaurants around campus. If this saves you money or not, would depend on the person and what type of food you buy.

Everything else, clothes and other goods are generally cheaper in Calgary because of low taxes (5% compared to Sweden’s 25%). The tax is called GST (goods and services tax), and be aware! Most of the time stores (including food stores) will display the price excluding the tax, so you need to add the tax yourself if you want to know what you will actually pay at the counter. It was somewhat frustrating at first, but you soon get the hang of it and know approximately what you’ll pay without bringing out the calculator.

I would recommend to save some money before leaving. CSN is enough to survive, but to also enjoy the experience and do things it's a good idea to save some before leaving. I had saved enough money to pay the rent for 6 months, and some extra to really enjoy myself with travelling and to be able to do exciting things like skiing in the Rocky Mountains. And I did more than well with that.

Also, make sure you always have cash, Canada is not as cash-less as Sweden is, and you will probably at some point run into a situation where there is only cash accepted.

Internet and mobile

You can actually use your KI eduroam all around the campus areas in Calgary as well, so if you have that account set up here in Stockholm you can access internet as soon as you arrive. Otherwise you have to log in via your student account, which I received a few weeks before even arriving in Calgary, or if you live on campus you can use your resident account. In the labs it was common that they also had their own wifi.

I would recommend to get a sim-card, there are prepaid top-up cards to get without the hassle of setting up a monthly rate. It's good to be able to stay in touch with people because usually they will ask you to call rather than email (when you are in Canada, not from Sweden) when trying to contact an institute or tourist attraction. It is also useful with google maps. When you buy a prepaid top-up card, you need to pay a one-time starter fee, mine was around 20$ (CAD). Then you can add cash and buy different plans combining data, texts and minutes, whatever suits you best. Be sure to look around and check different companies before you decide what suits you as prices can vary depending on what you want from the card regarding data or minutes. It was also fairly common that the sales people was unaware of their pre-paid cards since they are becoming more uncommon, but just talk to another sales person or turn to another store.

Commuting

Commuting in Calgary was inexpensive, about 15$ (CAD)/month. You can get the card in certain stores like Mac’s, or at the transit centre downtown. There were two ways of commuting: bus and train. The bus stops are numbered and have no names, and few busses announces bus-stops. At first this made me confused and I ended up in wrong places a lot my first day. Then I notice that in Canada you actually communicate with other people in public! The bus drivers were generally really friendly and if you would tell them where you want to get off they will let you know. Also it is custom to say "Thank you!" when exiting the bus, or exit at the front and wish the driver a nice evening or weekend. There was an abundance of bus lines, but don't expect the same bus number to work in both directions (for example no. 73 went south, no. 72 went north on basically the same route), and be aware of the circle lines! The train is over ground and only have two lines, and is really easy to understand. There are no gates when entering the train, but be sure you have a valid ticket before you enter because controls do happen.For more information about bus routes and train lines, see: Calgary Transit

Accommodation

On campus there are several options for living on campus: dorms with shared apartments of 2-3 students, or having your own apartment in a corridor. There were many benefits of living on campus. Firstly, it is actually on campus ground, so everything is within walking distance on main campus. There are also underground tunnels for when the weather is cold or windy connected to all the interesting spots. Although be aware of what residence you choose, because some of them don't have kitchens and you're required to take the meal plan as described under Living Costs. In some residence’s you don't even have a fridge, or you share kitchen with several others (like the whole floor of that building). If you choose your own apartment, it is just like having an apartment: your own kitchen and bathroom. The student housing is fully furnished, and if you don’t want to take the bus to IKEA your first day (I did, I don’t recommend it) the Residence Service collaborate with a company that offer different packs of kitchen utensils, beddings, towels etc. Everything you might need but don’t want to pack. These packs weren’t that expensive and are delivered to your room before you arrive. I regret not taking one of those, it would have saved me a lot of time and energy the first day instead of getting lost in a bus system I didn’t yet understand. There is also microwaves and stuff like that available to rent when living on campus, and hoovers to borrow. Then there are many other benefits of campus residence, which of course is being surrounded by all the other students, the rent includes everything (bills and internet), and each residence have their own support group of students and one student living in the resident responsible for each floor. There are rules about alcohol and disturbing noises at certain times so I found it surprisingly easy to live surrounded by hundreds of other students of all ages and nationalities. Also the residence teams arrange some nice smaller socializing events now and then, like pizza night, movie night, tea and donut breakfast etc. The residence also offers fitness classes, yoga classes and other sport activities like badminton or basketball exclusively offered to the residents.

The negative sides of living on campus is that HBI is not located at the main campus, but at the hospital campus. However, you can walk in-between them in less than 20min, or take a bus, so it is still very much worth it. Another thing is that the residence is on the other side of campus from the train station, but there are busses around the residence area that will take you to the supermarkets etc. For the on campus residence there is a non-refundable application fee for applying to the campus residence, and then there is an "activation fee" (kind of like a union fee) included in the total price for the housing. Also you pay the whole rent up front, there is an option to divide the payments but that is also to an extra cost. For current rates take a look at the Resident Services webpage.

If you don't want to live on campus you can find rooms to rent in flats or houses. For this I would recommend looking at a map and choose something within 3-4 blocks from the hospital campus where HBI is located. However, it is not the cheapest area and be aware that it is not always pedestrian friendly in Calgary, the city is built for having a car, so use google maps and see suggested walk-routs because it might not be as close as it might appear. Also, the standard of housing is lower than in Sweden, so count on some drafty windows and carpet floors.

Study climate

My impression was that teachers and students had a close relationship at HBI. Students were encouraged to take part in research groups early on in their education and there were undergraduates/bachelor students in many labs doing projects or working while studying. Students were expected to participate in extracurricular seminar series etc. and actively be a part of the institution. There was a slight more defined hierarchy than in Sweden, but still very open and teachers were very approachable. The teaching method seemed to involve projects and group works of different kinds, and presenting both in class and for the institution what they were researching. There seemed to be a focus on analytical capabilities and critical thinking as well. HBI offered many different seminars and lectures, held both by their own researchers and students, as well as international guests and collaborators. And it was open to ask questions whenever during most lectures.

Language and Culture

Calgary is in the English-speaking part of Canada, but both are official languages in the country, and you’ll see both languages on road signs, in the transit system etc. But I never heard French being spoken in Calgary. Since the biomedicine programme is in English, it really shouldn’t be any problem for any student of the program to manage well in Calgary.

The culture in Calgary is not very different from Sweden. What I found different was the social culture, Canadians are extremely friendly and easy to approach and talk to, also helpful. Small talk between strangers are common, and be prepared for some everyday small talk with cashiers and bus drivers. Also the culture and history of the Native Americans were present.

The weather

When I arrived there was quite a lot of snow, but it melted within the first weeks. I would say the temperature in the city is very similar to Stockholm, but the climate isn't. Calgary has lower humidity so the cold doesn't feel that cold. In the end of January it was much colder in Stockholm than in Calgary. Also spring seemed to arrive earlier in Calgary than Stockholm. However, in the Rocky Mountains about 40min away, you could skii until the end of May. The area had many microclimate zones, and to the east lay the prairie.

The city

From campus to downtown it took about 20minutes. Calgary downtown is not very big and is centred around the mall The Core, which consists of several buildings connected to each other. Otherwise the city is basically spread out suburban areas with roads straight in a grid-pattern all over the city. Also the whole city is built for having a car, so most shopping areas are malls spread around town and they are not always easy to get to. But one of the better ones are within walking distance from campus, called Market Mall, there you can find supermarkets, food courts, all the main phone companies, some housing goods and of course retail stores.

Free time

There is no problem finding things to do on your free time. Since UofC is such a big university, there is always events going on like tie-dye evenings, movie nights, dodgeball tournaments or a game with the school team Dinos (Go Dino’s!). I was really impressed by the facilities on campus, which of course was free and open to all students. There were several ball courts, racket centres, gym, indoor running tracks, their own indoor swimming pool, climbing wall and ice-skating arena from the Olympics in the 80’s, literally a few minutes from the residents. There was also plenty of fitness classes to join for decent prices, and a bunch of sports team to join (including synchronized swimming and Quidditch). There were also things like the ballroom and social dance student clubs, and such things.

Do sign up for fitness classes with the Active Living before arriving, since the classes starts before the autumn term at KI has ended, and some of them fill up when the term starts.

If you want to go outside of Calgary, UofC have their own Outdoor Centre where you could sign up for ski classes, or snowshoe hikes, kayak courses etc. and book yourself a space in the van taking you straight to the Rocky Mountains. If you rent your own car, or want to go with friends, you could also rent everything from raincoats to rafts at the outdoor centre, of course discounted as a student. 

Also the ISS arranged tours and trips for exchange students (as mentioned before) to go to all the scenic places around the Rocky Mountains and other cities around. And also as mentioned before, the resident houses have their own team of students arranging both larger events with the other houses or smaller ones in the lounges in the house. There was definitely more to do than what I had spare time for, and that's just on campus,

Conclusion

I learned a lot in Calgary about projects and research, the importance of good strong data and how to present it. I appreciate the support I was given from my professor, as well as from others around the labs. The environment was positive and focused on real progress and development for students to be able to achieve something on their own. It gave me confidence to pursue research in the future and made me feel that I can be competent enough. Personally I’m already familiar with living abroad and surrounded by people from other cultures and places, but it still made me grow a bit more with regards to managing on my own, every experience is unique on its own.