Exchange report - incoming students
Etiopien 2012
Home university: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zürich)
Study programme: Biomedicine
Exchange programme: Erasmus
Semester: Spring semester 2013/2014

Arrival and registration

The arrival arrangements and the introduction day were great. I was picked up by a really nice and helpful student of KI which gave me a SIM-card and a few Stockholm related things right away and showed me the way to my hostel where I had to stay for one night before moving into my accomodation. 
I didn't have to have any contact with the student health centre.

Acommendation

I applied for housing through KI-housing right after I was accepted at KI. I got the confirmation for my first choice room approximately two months before starting the exchange. I was very pleased with how everything worked. It was really easy to apply and the house I lived at (Strix) was really good as well. The rooms were spacious and though the bathroom was quite tiny I had my own which was perfect. The kitchen was shared with about 10 floormates which were really nice and also our kitchen was big and clean.

Leisure time and social activities

Making swedish friends in my class took a little while because they were kind of hesitant about the new exchange students but after a while I became very good friends with some of the swedish students which is really nice! 
I also participated in some of the global friends activities which. They arrange a lot of activities like winter boat tours or ice skating at Kungsträdgârden! I would definitely join some of them, they are a good way to make friends and get to know stockholm!

Pre-departure

I always wanted to go on an exchange to see more of the world and to live in an other country for a longer period of time. For my field of study we couldn't choose a lot of universities to go on an exchange so I chose KI because I like Stockholm (went there in my summer break a year before my exchange) and because of the really good reputation of KI. 
The information on the websites of both my home university and KI were sometimes a little hard to find but the rest was really all fine! I didn't require to be vaccinated or bring any certain certificates.

Courses during the exchange period

BIOX07 : BACH - Neuroscience
The course was very good overall. I enjoyed the lectures and the laboratories and the examination was really fair. I liked the course very much and learned a lot.
BIOX09 : BACH - Pharmacology and Toxicology
I have nothing to complain about this course either. The organization was good, as well as the laboratories and the lectures! The examination was appropriate for the things we learned in the course and the supervisor of the course was really nice!
BIOX08 : BACH - Tissue Biology
The course was good though organization of the course could have been better. The question who had to be where and when came up a little too often. For me the examination would have been better without a lunch break in between.

Summary

I couldn't recommend an exchange at KI more! I had the best time! The university related things were really good, the city is amazing! 

Language and Culture

I participated in a swedish language course at the level A.2. 
The course was really really bad! Which was definitely the fault of the lecturer, which had no idea how to teach swedish or to teach in general! The level A.1 course had another teacher and was fine as I heard from other students so I would not recommend not to go to a class but just watch out for which teacher you have. 

Studies in general

The swedish study environment is really layed back and therefore really enjoyable! All of the teachers and course administrators were really friendly and most of them well organised. We had a good mixture of theoretical classes and labs that provided some experimental understanding of the topic that we just discussed. 
Compared to my home university we had a lot less courses and therefore a lot more free time for self studies or to explore stockholm which is nice if you are on an exchange! 
The way the courses are held in stockhom is really different to my home university where we have a few hours of each course every week. I found the system at KI really nice because one could concentrate on the topic and complete it after a few weeks with an exam. It was definitely really nice not to have all the exams in one go at the end of the year.