Exchange report - incoming teachers
Home university: Makerere University
Study programme: Occupational Therapy
Exchange programme: Linnaeus-Palme
Semester: Spring semester 2009/2010
Duration: 22
Name: kennedy Bamusubire
Email address: kebamu@yahoo.com

Accommendation

Accommodation was good and properly arranged. cost of living is high. costs can be kept down by reducing on the social walfare taxes subjected to us.

On the side of accommodation i suggest that more strictness be observed to ensure that keys for the rooms are put the rightful boxes which should rime with the box codes given to us before our arrival.

Language and Culture

Teaching was conducted in english. Most of the communication out side classes was in swedish. Computers are in swedish,this possed the greatest challenge. If possible some computers would be english oriented or both swedish and english. Culturural differences, mainly  is individualistic life for sweden and group oriented life style for uganda This is assimilated in the relationships and patient care. Families in sweden are smaller compared to uganda with fertility rate of 7 per woman on average. Family involvement in patient care in sweden is slimited in comparison with Uganda.

Leisure time

I enjoyed marason race and music entertainment. I also liked travelling to museaum, ice hotel and summer houses in the east. Needed more leisure activities, including rarest animals in their natural environment.

Miscellaneous

Generally good and fertile for teaching/learning experiences.It involves alot of knowlege sharing thus facilitating learning from different percepctives

Other activities

Other activities mainly included reseach contacts that exposed me to many reseach projects and open defence against reseach projects by PHD students. Future collaboration have strong foundation and bright direction. opportunities to enable  teachers from Uganda to up grade up to PHD level would make the collaboration more interesting.

Preparation

Got the opportunity through the agreement made between karolinska institute and my institution. preparation made for me was adequate in terms of materials and tools. Preparation regarding the language was not satisfactorily done.

Reflections

Personally it  was good to taste differences in culture and waether. It has been nice to taste the reality of teacher exchange by coming to sweden. AS a teacher, i have shared and enjoyed experiences in teaching methods,treatment modalities,reseach methodologies,technological differences,language differences,educational quality,heath care systems,educational systems.

Teaching

problem solving method is more emphasised compared to my university. Probably this could be due to KI beeing more fertile in academic resources.Power point is almost the exclusive method of presentation compared to uganda where several methods are used,like projector presentation,flip charts presentations and tutorials. Group discussions and  field visits are  the major similarities regarding  teaching methods. Taecher/ student relatoinship in KI just like Uganda is fine only that in sweden, students have more educational freedom compared to Ugandan students. Ugandan students do express more relationship toward patients than KI students probably because of group and individualistic cultural differences exhibited respectively. taeching/learnig environment in KI is more friendly. participation in course work/ lectures/seminars is uniform where students are encouraged to actively participate under teachers supervision.     

Teaching hours

I had fifteen teaching hours, 10 hrs for seminar,. and 8hrs for suprevision for a period of 3 weeks. Also spent 5 hrs in meetings discussing progress and way forward of CBR program plus leaning opportunities and academic programs offered at KI