My accommodation was arranged by the Karolinska Housing. They had a list of choices but also mentioned that the time I had chosen to visit was a busy month in terms of international exchange and they will try to give me my choice. Luckily I got my choice and I really loved it.

It was perfect for me in terms of location, facilities and socialization.

My lectures were in English. I did not have any problems because I did not know Swedish, except in shops especially food shops where you did not know what each item was! People were very friendly and whenever I had difficult situations like finding a way to a particular place, I could get help in English. I found the place, transport and everything more organized and less chaotic. People follow rules all the time and that makes a lot of difference! 

All the necessary information about the tourist spots and what to do in Stockholm was given to me on my first day. I was able to visit all the places of interest in the city in my weekends. My weekends were for sight seeing and shopping! I really enjoyed the free walking tour of Stockholm - they also give a history of Sweden and Stockholm. Walking through the city was a memorable experience.

The KI group had arranged a dinner for us and we got a chance to taste good Swedish food and enjoyed the time together!

I also made friends at St.Immanuel's Kyrka and their Sunday services were really meaningful and very blessed one.

The host department and the people involved were very understanding and spent time with me for shopping and leisure activities and were very kind and helpful. Made me feel at home!

Overall it was a very useful and a productive experience.

It is an opportunity to see the other side and learn and experience broader way of life.

I got an opportunity to spend time in the research lab of Dr. Johanna at KI. I had a good experience and exposure. I also was able to perform some assays, visit the animal facility and be a part of their research group. And we have identified common areas of interest with Dr. Johanna and will try to work together.

I came to know of this teacher exchange program through our institutional notifications. I contacted two or three faculty members in Karolinska for a possible collaboration and visit. I got positive replies from two people and then I selected one based on the area of work.

Preparation for my visit:

Thanks to Anna (International Co-ordinator) who was very helpful. She made a clear roadmap and I just followed it. She had sent email links also through which I came to know of the lifestyle, weather and tourist places etc.

This is my first chance to stay in a country other than my own for a period of more than a week. The most important thing I learned after visiting Stockholm was to be calm and enjoy life. So many things were good - the weather, surroundings and the systems in place.

As for teaching, I learnt to face the unexpected. And also that students do listen and your motivation and encouragements work even though we do not see the effect instantly.

I had 2 hours of lecture for 1st year medical students, full class lecture of 120 students, in Hemoglobin synthesis and break down. It was like a lecture in auditorium. The facilities for teaching at KI were really good. The classrooms were spacious, clean and equipped with state of the art teaching aids. We have a much similar setup in my own institution but with less facilities. The students were relaxed and more open in asking questions.

I also had the opportunity to teach Student Elective Course (SVK student vald kurs): Blodsjukdomar - fran primarvard till universitetsklinik (Blood diseases from primary health care to university clinic), 5 week elective for 6th year medical students. 14 students attended the course and I was in involved in teaching Medical Science for 3 Days and how to do research in Hematology for these students, each group of 4-5 students for one full day. This included seminar and practical lab work teaching them how tumor cells in culture look, and how to do western blot, practical session. Each group had lectures between 9.00-15.00, that is 5 hours of teaching plus lunch, in total 15 hours of teaching. It is considered very important to include science and scientific questions and how to address them, into the medical education.

I also gave a seminar on Hematology in Vellore, explaining differences between Sweden and India, to these students (no slides, just talking and explaining, 1 hour), for these medical students.

Medical students - curricular courses:

Preparation time for classroom lectures: 24 hours

Classroom lectures: 2 hours (1st year students)

Medical students - electives:

Preparation time: 24 hours

Classes/Talks - 3 days

Practicals - 1 day

Informal discussions - 1 day

I had participated in discussions of research students in the host department, exchanging ideas, trouble shooting experimental  procedures and seminars.