Exchange report - incoming students
Home university: Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa - Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa
Study programme: Biomedical Laboratory Science
Exchange programme: Erasmus
Semester: Spring semester 2011/2012
Name: Daniela Cristina Portugal Calisto
Email address: daniela_cportugal@hotmail.com

Arrival and registration

I sugest that KI shall have some kind of transport to get the new exchange students that don't know the city and let them at the respective accomodation. It is not easy to find our way from the airport (which is a little bit far away) to Stockholm, in a country that we don't know anything.
The introduction day is really a good idea, where students can know each other and interect on the first contact. It is also usefull to know Stockholm regarding what we shall expect from the city, the country and the swedes, and it is also a good way to know better the swedish culture.
The student health centre is important because we know a place to go in case of illness, but finding that center in the middle of Karolinska Solna is not an easy job. However, in my opinion the centre works well and people are very friendly.

Acommendation

I staied at Jägargatan residence, of UAC, and I am very glad for it. I lived in a great and friendly environment and I also made really good friends there. The bigger inconvenient is that wc is shared, but the friendship compensates the rest. If you look for a social and friendly environment, you are at the right place, with the benefit of being at the most central (and chepeast!) accommodation of UAC.

Leisure time and social activities

If you are comming to have classes, it will be easier to make swedish friends. If you'll do interships, you can think that swedes are not so open to outsiders, but when they give an opperture, you will see that Swedes are very kind, friendly and they are very concerned about our welfare. In any case it is more probable that you'll find friends from other countries that are in the same situation than you and it feels really good, because you become part of a new family.

There is a Karolinska students group to receive exchange students and provide some moments of fun and new experiences. However, that group is not very present and the activities appear only sometimes. So, my advice is: make your family and discover Stockholm together, doing your own plans, without expecting that someone bring them to you. There are a big variety of bars, coffeshops, "places-to-have-a-good-moment", with different concepts: for those who are crazier and for those we are calmer and like a good conversation. There are a lot of museums if you like to visit and some of them are for free at some specific days. I recommend Vasa Museum, Fotografiska Musuem (depending on the exhibition), Nobel Museum and Naturiska Museum. In wintertime, with snow, you can try skiing or ice skating and in the summer you can travel in the water channels on little boats and see the sunset from there. It's amazing!
There are also some cruizes with very atractive prices to Riga (Latvia) or Tallin (Estonia)  (don't forget to see the prices in swedish, because if you look for it in english, the price will be higher) that students do frequently to see the countries around Sweden. Copenhagen is another great option to visit: it is beautiful and you can easily go by train, with an acessible price as well.


Pre-departure

I choose to go on exchange because this is something that happens once in a lifetime. I wanted to live other culture different than mine. I choose KI because it seemed to be a great opportunity to develop my knowledge and capacities.
My mobility was very easy to me, thanks to the people who worked with my process in my home university and at KI. KI is a very organized institution, so I knew exactly what I should do and who I should contact. The only two things that I needed to do was my suitcase (with a lot of warm clothes) and a MRSA screening test when I arrived there.



Courses during the exchange period

1BA034 : Clinical course 3 - Clinical chemistry (Lab Med)
If you want some information, please contact me.
1BA039 : Clinical course 2 - Clinical Virology (Lab Med)
If you want some information, please contact me.
1EE039 : Pre-clinical course
If you want some information, please contact me.
H5XX02 : Clinical Course 2 for exchange students (Lab Med)
If you want some information, please contact me.
Campusområdet på San Borja

Summary

If you are looking for a beautiful plade with nice people you must go to Sweden and work at KI. You will feel very helped by your teachers, supervisors and collegues. Besides that, you can live the city during the day and the night, because there are a lot of things that you cannot miss. And don't be afraid of the cold: I found a dark Stockholm when I arrived, but I left a Stockholm with shining colors.

Language and Culture

I did some lessons of Swedish language course but in my opinion you must have lucky with your teacher. I chase to go only once per week, but it was not a good idea, because we are not so focused at the course and it is easier to forget the things we already learned. Besides that, we will do the course during almost your entire stay. For those reasons, I think that doing the course twice a week is a better choice. In the first month it could seem a little bit hard and time consumption, but it is easier to learn and you have more spared time to enjoy Stockholm when you finish the course. Whatever you decide, the course is very helpfull and learning the language is maybe the first step in order to get closer to the Swedes. They appreciate when we can talk some sentences on their language and so we can reach a special place in their heart.


Studies in general

I did my studies not at the university campus, but some internships at Huddinge and Solna Hospitals, which doesn't give me a true impression about the study environment. It seems that students live a good environment with respect to each other. The relationship between the supervisor and the student is very close and I can say very healthy. There is no barrier between them, so the student can easily comunicate with the supervisor about work aspects, but also personnal things that contribute to understand each other.

Sjukhushunden på San Borja