Reserapport - KI-student
Lärosäte: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Utbildningsprogram: Biomedicin
Utbytesprogram: Erasmus
Termin: Vårtermin 13/14

Innan avresa

Since the medical research is global, my aim is to be able to work internationally and to function with different research groups’ regardless of nationality. That is why I applied for the exchange studies.Not only does it expand my view upon research but it will also make it easier to travel and collaborate more freely in my future career. I choosed to conduct my bachelor thesis project at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switerland. This choice was based upon my curiosity for the country and the good reputation that EPFL has. It turned out that a classmate and I were the first ones from the bachelor´s promgramme in biomedicine to travel to Switzerland for exchange studies. However, the communication between KI and EPFL worked well and the partner university was perceived as curious about us as KI-students. As a swedish citizen you do not need a visa for studies in Switzerland.

Ankomst och registrering


I arrived one week before i started on my bachelor thesis project at EPFL. I think that was a good descision because then I had a lot of time to explore Lausanne. The university offers courses in french. For more information visit. http://langues.epfl.ch/French-modules. 

Ekonomi

It is expensive to live in Switzerland. Therefore I recommend to save money before your trip. I worked occassionally during the fall term and managed to save about 30.000 sek, which allowed me take small trips and do other fun things.

Boende

All students are responsible for finding their own housing. Searching for accomodation in Lausanne is difficult because of housing shortage. Therefore it is important to start look for accomodation as soon as possible. Here are useful advice on how to approach your search for housing http://logement.epfl.ch/step-by-step. 

The student residences (http://logement.epfl.ch/op/edit/student-halls) have waiting list for students. However, the residences often have a short sign-up window and in my case, it was too late to sign up when I was notified that I would to exchange studies in Lausanne. Also, the demand for these student room and studios are higher than the availability. Therefore even if you sign you are not guaranteed housing.

My classmate and I  shared an apartment in Lausanne that we found via Lausanne Tourism.  Every month they publish an uppdated list of advertisements for rooms, apartments and houses to rent. http://lausanne-tourisme.ch/en/hebergement/appartements.html. Our experience with the landlord was very lucky. 

Studier allmänt

The bacelor thesis project involves a lot of practical work (20 weeks) in combination with theoretical, which is different from the other courses of the bachelor's programme in biomedeicin at KI.  I did my bachelor thesis project in a laboratory at the life science sector. The professor of the lab was my supervisor, who I met with when required. I was co-supervised on a daily basis by a post doc. 




Kurser under utbytet

Kurser motsvarande termin 6 på KI
As mentioned previously, I had daily contact with a post doc and met with the supervisor whenever I needed to. 
Early during my stay, I was asked to plan and research the introduction to my work and present it in a lab group meeting. This was good since I was early encouraged  to prepare my report and presentation at KI. I recommend everyone to start structure your report with headlines as soon as possible. The lab group met once or twice a week to discuss data and/or papers of interest. I presented my results during theese meetings, which was valuable since I received feedback and advice from other members of the lab. Discussions with the lab members forced me to crtically evaluate the data as the project progressed and prepare figures  with legends that I could use for my report and presentation at KI. During my presentations for the lab members, we also discussed presentation skills that I had a lot of use for the presentation at KI.

During my time in the lab I learned how to combine practical- and theoretical work. I also learned "laboratory common sense": organisation of my time, sound experimental design and logical analysis of data.

 



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Språk och kultur

Lausanne is a french-speaking district of Switzerland.  However, there was aboloutely no problem communicating in english at the university. It is a bit more tricky to communcate in english outside of EPFL, but it works! I don't speak french and I experienced that it worked well to speak english. As mentioned previously, french courses are offered by EPFL http://langues.epfl.ch/French-modules. 

Fritid och sociala aktivteter

I did not recieve any information about activities for exchange students. However, I didn't search for it either since I was so busy at the lab.  Different kinds of social events and seminars was frequently organized at EPFL so it is not difficult to meet new people.

Lausanne is a beutiful city with a lot to offer. Have a look at these websites for more description of the city and its places of interest http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-se/lausanne.html , http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/en/.

It is easy to travel around in Switzerland thanks to the extensive railway network. I highly recommend skiing in swiss alpes. 
Equipment can often be rented at the ski resort to an affordable price. Another must is to take the train to Grüyere and eat cheesefondue. The Chocolate factory Caliier is also an exciting experience. 

Sammanfattning

Don't hesitate to do exchange studies! It is such a rewarding experience that we are offered ! You definitely learn how other universites and countries work within the field of interest, which I believe is an important insight if one wants to work internationally in the future. Since the medical research is global, I think it is of great importance not to be narrow-minded. Exchange studies definitely widens your view, which I think is a merit  for the future career. 

If you have any questions-please send me an email : feliciarittemar757@hotmail.com