Exchange report - incoming students
Home university: The University of Newcastle
Study programme: Medicine
Exchange programme: INK
Semester: Spring semester 2014/2015

Arrival and registration

I asked for the MF pickup service - so someone met me at the central train station, to take me to my student accommodation. That was really handy, not only to help me find my way to the building, but also for the numerous little tips she had.
The introduction day at KI was good. They gave us a nice intro to all of the support services available (plenty!) and Sweden in general. Everyone tried to make things interesting and enjoyable - it was not the standard boring intro lectures.
Fossvogur sjukhuset strax utanför centrala Reykjavik

Acommendation

I applied through KI Housing and would definitely recommend the process again. The student accommodation was really easy to organise, and plenty of information on all the properties is available on the KI website (http://www.kihousing.se/). The flats themselves are somewhat basic, but much better than most student accommodation elsewhere. In addition, they're much cheaper than elsewhere in Stockholm or back home.
What they don't tell you on the website, is that loads of other exchange students live in these buildings too - which is great to make friends, and get together a group to go visiting places with. I would recommend Pax or Strix if you're at KI Solna campus - they are a short bus ride away, and the rooms are nicer.
Reyjkavik i skymningen

Leisure time and social activities

I went along to a lot of the Global Friends and MF activities - which were not only great fun and great ways to meet people, but also really cheap. I would definitely recommend coming to them, at least early on, so that you can meet some of the other exchange students.
Our course, as it was taken with the Swedish medical students, meant we were able to meet a lot more local students than most of the other exchange students - which was great, because the exchange students tended to clump together a little.
The KI Housing accommodation was also a great chance to meet other people - both local and exchange students - and was great for impromptu gatherings/activities.
Röntgen- och BMA-studenter

Pre-departure

I went on exchange because I wanted the chance to experience living and working in a different country for an extended period of time - something I haven't been able to do before. KI has a great reputation in the medical field, and is the only medical school in Stockholm, so it is the clear choice in Sweden. KI has lots of information on their website which is useful - almost all the processes you need to go through are explained there. Additionally a lot of preparatory stuff (from housing to social events) is on there. Things were fairly easy from Karolinska's end - they required some references (which I already had to apply at my own uni) and an academic transcript.
Information om utbytesstudier från Háskolí Íslands

Courses during the exchange period

2EE044 : Clinical rotation Obstetrics and gynaecology
Good course. Great clinical exposure to obstetrics and gynaecology. It is the same content as for the “Clinical Medicine - emphasis on reproduction and development” course, which we had already done, so I would not recommend doing both.
D10X01 : Clinical Medicine - emphasis on reproduction and development
Great course. You’re in with the local medical students, so you get the full range of lectures, tutorials and clinical teaching. Doctors were very willing to give impromptu teaching in the hospital. The paediatrics department really tried to conduct consults in English if possible. Less so in obstetrics/gynaecology.

Summary

The exchange at KI was amazing. I would love to come again!

Language and Culture

I took KI up on the offer of 10 free Swedish classes, and they were really good. They're run by an external language school, and had small classes with really good teachers. I found Swedish quite easy to pick up (as a native English speaker), and really enjoyed the chance to learn a bit more about the Swedish language and culture.
That said, you really don't need to learn Swedish to survive in the country - almost everyone speaks great English - but it can be handy for reading things, especially around the hospital.

Studies in general

KI had great teachers (better than back home!), which is all the more impressive when you realise they normally do their teaching in Swedish. My rotation was primarily clinical. The senior doctors were much more available, and much more willing to give us impromptu teaching than back home. They say Sweden has a flat society (where everyone is treated like equals), and it really was true - all the doctors treat you like a colleague, not a mere student - a welcome break from the hospitals back home. Clinical rotations were a bit hit and miss. Whilst doctors were very willing (and able) to talk in English one on one, they were more often than not unwilling to talk to patients in English, which limited the use of some of the clinical exposure.
MR-kameran i Hringbraut