Exchange report - incoming students
Home university: University of Malawi
Study programme: Medicine
Exchange programme: Linnaeus-Palme
Semester: Autumn semester 2019/2020
Name: Yankho Solomon
Email address: yjsolomon@stud.medcol.mw

Arrival and registration

On my first day, I had a bit of difficulties to get to KI despite being given the map. This happened mainly because it was my first time traveling abroad and i was not very familiar with the Swedish transport  system. But after getting lost a couple of times and then asking around, i finally managed to get to Karolinska Institute - Solna Campus.
We were introduced to student health center by the KI Exchange Program coordinator. Communication with them was mostly via emails.We had to undergo screening for diseases such as TB since we were coming from a country which is one the high risk areas for TB.

Acommendation

I applied for accommodation through the University Accommodation Center. This was an online process. The standard of the accommodation was very good and the cost was fair enough. In the apartment building that i was staying in i had my own room which had with both toilet and bathroom but a shared kitchen. Apart from being close to the school, the apartment building was very close  to the stage hence it was very easy to get transport.

Leisure time and social activities

I participated in a lot of social events especially ones to do with sports like the KI Olympics where i even got a gold medal for first place in football. I was playing tennis and basketball at the courts in Solna campus and made a couple of Swedish friends.I went skating for the first time in my life at Kungstradgarden, had a couple of falls but it was fun. I attended almost all parties and events organized by Global Friends @ KI. Most information about social programmes is found on Facebook;and sometimes they were send us emails.

Pre-departure

I heard of  KI through my home school (University of Malawi- College of Medicine). They had put up an advert calling in for applicants who wanted to go to Sweden for an exchange program at Karolinska Institute. After doing my own research about KI on the internet, i found out that it was one of the best medical schools in the world. I was very impressed by its online review and  the pictures of its infrastructure that i saw on the internet were all amazing hence i decided to apply for the exchange program.
The study abroad-information given to me by my home University wasn't  too much, however, they linked me up with Exchange Program Coordinator at KI and she had all the necessary information.
I was not required to get any  vaccines before coming. However, upon arrival, i  had to undergo TB screening.

Courses during the exchange period

ELAX16 : Obstetrics and Gynaecology
I enyoyed this course and it was relevant to my degree. We had both theory and practical sessions and and the content was in depth. Our teachers and supervisors were excellent, full of knowledge and practical experience.
ELAXX6 : Surgery 1
The Surgery course was good. We had a chance to see some amazing procedures some that are not done in my home country Malawi and that made it eye opening. The supervisors were nice, friendly and eager to to teach.

Summary

In conclusion, I had a very nice time in Sweden. The Exchange Program is well organised and I could not ask for more. I hope that it continues and that others can benefit from this program. I definitely wish  to come back to Sweden and Karolinska Institute as a full time student for my masters studies. Thank you. 

Language and Culture

Coming to Sweden i thought i was going to struggle a lot with communication. However, it turns out that most of the people understand English hence it was easier to communicate.
I did attend a Swedish language course. I enjoyed the classes and at the end of the course i was able to speak and a understand a bit of Swedish. The  classes were fun, i attended  beginners classes hence it was nice to have fellow students around, who also did not know any Swedish and we had to go through the learning process together.

Studies in general

KI is indeed one of the best medical schools in the world. At KI you get the full package of both theory and clinical education. Our schedules were divided into days for classes(theory) and days for clinical education. The teachers were very professional, experienced,competent and good at keeping time. KI is quite similar to my home university because we also have a lot of hands on practical education. The other similarity is the emphasis of evidence based medicine that is taught at both schools. One notable difference between KI and my home university is the increased frequency of breaks between class sessions that you get at KI. This is very good because students get enough time to relax and are always fresh enough to pay attention in class.The learning environment at KI is very quiet and conducive for learning. Both  library and classes have all the necessary learning equipment.