I was provided assistance upon arrival. I was received by a student volunteer who not only helped me in reaching the accommodation but also provided new Swedish mobile phone number. I had reached Stockholm two days before the course started. They proved to be very helpful in getting adjusted to the new place. It was an international student housing. The environment, facilities and people were very supportive and friendly. However, because I had joined in the middle of the semester, there was no formal orientation of KI for me (about the university, department, courses, staff and of the hostel) but international coordinator provided me the necessary documents and a cash-loaded ATM card in the very first meeting. I didn't meet anyone from student health centre. 

I stayed at KI housing for international students at Varberg ( http://www.kihousing.se/?page_id=90 ) . It was very satisfactory. Despite being a little far from the institute, my stay there was very peaceful and pleasant. I would highly recommend Varberg for accommodation if one can manage one hour travelling to the institute which was not a problem for me. However, I had difficulty in paying the rent for the hostel as I had received the ATM card which didn’t support online transactions. I could only withdraw the cash and pay the rent through some shops on my behalf which used to charge commission also. I was not able to book tickets online with this card. Therefore, if possible, this ICA ATM card should be enabled for online transactions also. This will be very convenient for international students. I also acknowledge the cooperation of KI housing authorities throughout my stay there. They even agreed and facilitated the extension of my contract. In short, Varberg was not a cheap option but my stay at Varberg (pronunced as Varbre) was very good. 

I never felt lonely there, thanks to the amazing people at dorm, batch mates, colleagues and Global friends group. Global friends is student body at KI which organises events for international students. It is an organised group.  They announce events in advance and interested people can sign up for it. They have a Facebook page, too (https://www.facebook.com/GlobalFriendsKI/?fref=ts ) Another interesting thing was potluck dinners. It was a very nice concept of socialising where people share their cuisines with others. I contributed with Indian cuisines to these putlock dinners. Fika at workplace and even after work were of great interest. It was evitable to survive winter in Sweden.  I will cherish these great experiences in my life. Hostel-mates were also very active in sightseeing, hanging out around and outside Stockholm, having movie nights, cooking and eating together. Stockholm was fun. 

I was accepted at Karolinska Institutet as an exchange student through  Linnaeus-Palme programme from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. I applied for this exchange with the aim of achieving personal and professional growth. Karolinska and Sweden was the best place for it as my area of research is ageing and health. Sweden was one of the first countries to experience rapid population aging. Quality of life for a majority of older Swedes is high. Its model of housing and living arrangements, financial security, and social assistance for the vulnerable elderly, long term care system and gender scenario was worth understanding and learning. I was looking forward to visit and associate myself with Ageing Research Centre at KI.  I was fortunate enough to have been allowed to do my individual research project with the researcher at ARC along with one research methodology course with department of Global health. I would like extend my hearty thanks to KI and TISS for this opportunity. I also thank the international coordinators of both TISS and KI for the smooth functioning and process of this exchange. I received their cooperation and support from the very beginning. I was provided the acceptance letter, scholarship letter, insurance certificate, welcome booklet with necessary information and KI information in brief which proved to be very useful for getting visa. I had received housing insurance before I had arrived at KI. There was no requirement of any kind of vaccination or any other certificate.

My home university-Tata Institute of Social Sciences was very supported and efficient in guiding me in the whole process. They assisted me in each and every step of this exchange program. Soon after the selection, they had connected me to the international coordinator from KI which proved to be very positive start of the association with KI. International coordinators from both the universities were very supportive, understanding and frank.

It was a great exposure contributed to both personal and professional growth.  Apart from the taken courses, I attended many other educational events which were very useful. I kept an eye on the events happening at KI and participated which were relevant. I attended one seminar on preparing CV, one research paper writing workshop, a conference on Ageing( most useful  for my research), Ph.D. seminars at department of Global health etc. I also attended global health night which had speakers from across the globe. I explored Ageing research centres and utilized its resources in all possible manner considering the duration of the project.  I feel three months period is a little short to make most of this opportunity. The overall process of this exchange was very simple and hassle free.  I also wish I was given a card which could be used for online transactions as well.  I am grateful to both the universities KI and TISS for this opportunity. I could achieve the objectives set for this exchange program. 

Hey! ( Swedish hello) 

KI provides Swedish language course for the international students. I would have definitely joined the language course if I were there for a little longer period.  

 Tack! 

Studying at KI was a different experience altogether. However, the education system was not very different from my home university but the environment was more chill, interactive and practice based. I realized it was a good idea to have one intense course at one point time. Firstly, because it allows you to focus and secondly, probably that’s why I could attend the one full course in one month as the time in exchange program was limited. I feel three months are not sufficient for a good result.  It should be at least 4 months. I am thankful to KI and Global health department especially for the flexibility in deciding the work plan for this exchange. After a rigorous research, I decided to attend one methodology course and an individual work project which was based on my Ph.D. research. It proved to be the best possible way of making most of this exchange program. Teachers were very considerate and friendly. Impressively, there seemed no hierarchy between students and teachers. Ping Pong is also worth mentioning here. It was very efficient way of interacting and sharing notes online. However, due to some mismanagement, initially I missed some important notes and course related information because I was added very late to Ping Pong. Other professors, head of the department, fellow researchers and other staff were very supportive and friendly.