Why did I choose to go on exchange?
After being a student at Karolinska Institutet (KI) for 4 years ( BSc and first year of MSc), I really felt like I wanted to experience living and studying in a different country and university. A great way to do that is by performing your thesis at one of KI's partner universities. The master students in Biomedicine can choose between 25 partner universities located in 5 different continents! Going on exchange is a great way to develop both as a person and as a professional, by exploring a new city, making new friends, expanding your network and gaining scientific mobility. For all these reasons I decided to go on exchange at the 4th semester of my master's programme to perform my master thesis project at ETH in Zürich, Switzerland.
Why ETH?
The collaboration of KI with the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at ETH was one of the reasons why I chose ETH, as my main scientific interest at the time was pharmacology. Moreover, being one of the world's leading universities in science and technology coupled with the highly science-driven environment at ETH and its strong connection to the pharmaceutical industry, identified it as an ideal choice for me. Having visited Switzerland in the past, I was really excited to experience living in such a beautiful, alpine country for a semester.
Study abroad information provided by KI and ETH
After getting the nomination confirmation by KI, it is time to apply for exchange at ETH. It is important to mention that although you have been nominated by KI, you still have to make a separate application to ETH and get accepted by them as well in order to begin your exchange. Once I was nominated by KI, I received a detailed and informative document by the international coordinator, explaining all the steps that I had to complete before starting my exchange, as well as useful information about finance and insurance. I found that all the information provided by KI was very clear and I always received help when I needed it during my preparation for exchange. Similarly, the student exchange office at ETH was very helpful and provided me with all the information needed in order to make my move to Switzerland and start at ETH as smooth as possible. Overall, I experienced that I was well informed by both my home and host university before and during my exchange.
Required vaccinations and certificates to enter Switzerland and Covid-19 restrictions
In order to enter Switzerland in January 2022, I was required to have a valid passport and provide proof of vaccination, recovery from COVID-19 or a negative test result. During my exchange some COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were still in place in Zürich, such as that it was mandatory to wear a face mask to enter shops and restaurants, in public transport and in the workplace. Coming from Sweden, where wearing mask was just recommendation it was a bit difficult at first to get used to wearing face masks almost everywhere, but that is something that you get used to eventually. I also made sure to bring my European Health Insurance card as it is needed in order to have health insurance in Switzerland as an EU citizen. It is mandatory to have health insurance in Switzerland and the country's health insurance plans can be very pricey! As an exchange student, you are also provided by KI with a health insurance card through Kammarkollegiet. In this way, you are not required to pay for any insurance plan in Switzerland. More information about health insurance in Switzerland and how to apply for exemption can be found
here.