To go on exchange is
a great opportunity to get vital life experience, get acquainted with other
universities and laboratories, and to experience how science is conducted in
other countries. I applied for exchange studies at Osaka University in Japan
mainly due to its great reputation in the field of Immunology. Another reason
for choosing Japan was my fascination with the country due to its quite
peculiar cultural traits. Japanese culture is very old and its historical and
cultural marks are very preserved.
After the nomination, I received a contact
person at Osaka University. This person helped me with most things regarding the
exchange such as administration, accommodation and course accreditation after
the exchange. A few things to consider prior to your departure, is to send in the application to Osaka University in good time, as the papers required for
your student visa application will not be provided until you are accepted. After your acceptance, the university will provide you with information
regarding how to apply for student visa. The student visa application may take
some time so remember to have your papers in order some time in advance. To
receive the Visa you first need to fill out a specific web-survey. The ministry
of migration then needs to accept your application which takes about a month.
Once accepted you will receive a certificate from the Japanese ministry of
migration. Bring this certificate with your passport to the Japanese embassy
and the Visa will (in most cases) be issued within 2 weeks. The ministry of
migration in Japan requires that you can provide evidence that you have/ will
have sufficient finances for your stay in Japan. For Swedish students, who
acquire CSN, this can easily be solved. Simply call CSN and ask for a letter of
certification that you are entitled to the specific sum in question.
Furthermore, it is vital that you acquire a credit card prior to your
departure. Most shops do not accept debit and thus if you wish to pay by card,
credit is a requirement. Most ATMS in my experience, however, allow you to take
out cash using you debit card and conveniently all shops accept cash. Still it
is my recommendation to bring both a credit and a debit card. Regarding flight, I booked a roundtrip for 7100 kr with Finnair. The flight was very convenient as it only required a short stop in Helsinki before flying straight to Osaka.
When travelling within Asia or to the
countryside of Japan, it’s good to get vaccinated against Japanese
Encephalitis. I booked an appointment with Cityakuten for my vaccination (http://www.cityakuten.se/CityAkuten/Stockholm/Vaccination/) More information
regarding areas of risk for Japanese Encephalitis can be found here:
http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/japanese-encephalitis