For this exchange, I was in a bit of a unique situation since this was actually my second exchange to UPMC from KI. I went for my Bachelor's project as well and decided to come back for my Master's project at another lab. You can see my previous report (in Swedish) here: http://alhambra.it.ki.se/skuttenki/ReserapportStudUT_default.vns?repid=493

As a result, I had received suggestions from friends and colleagues on where to apply next, and decided to look for teams at l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, which is part of UPMC but located at a hospital site. This is a relatively new department with a lot of good facilities, but I perceived research teams to be less open to new students than when I applied at other departments two years ago. Nonetheless, I found a team working with neuroinflammation and that is where I finally wound up. I think I started sending letters in May and met with this team in August.

Paris is fairly similar to Stockholm in terms of rent and food. Going out is usually a bit cheaper since both drinks and dinner (not fast food, that is) can be found at a cheaper price - although you will still hear complaints from Germans, Polish etc complaining that the prices for drinks are way too high, haha. Food at the grocery store and rent I found to be roughly the same. However, since you will probably want to do more (and perhaps travel a bit), I would definitely plan for spending more money in Paris than Stockholm. However, most museums in Paris are free for EU citizens 26 and under, so considering that as well as all the sightseeing, there is a lot to do here on a budget as well.

I already knew where I would live a long time before moving since I moved in with my boyfriend, but while demands for accommodation are high in Paris, it's still a bit easier to find somewhere to live compared to Stockholm. There are no queues like SSSB or Stockholm bostadskö, but there are a lot of people looking for flat mates ("colocation") and a lot of students living at student residencies. Nearly all student residences are located at Cité Universitaire in the south of Paris (still within city limits). A lot of countries, including Sweden, have their own buildings to which exchange students from that country can apply. For Swedes, that would be through svenskastudenthemmet.com. To look for colocation, there are several sites such as appartager.com. You can also look for your own flats either through an agency (not that they will take a large fee, usually around one month's rent) or through a "Blocket"-like site such as pap.fr. Also, never underestimate the power of contacts. Most of us know someone who knows someone who knows someone in Paris - it's a pretty popular place. Let everyone know that you are moving and ask them to let you know if they know of any place. That's how I got a room to rent with a really nice family 2 years ago.

Note however that the state of apartments in Paris may not meet the standards that you are used to in Stockholm. The shower might be in the bedroom, the 8 story building may not have an elevator and there are a lot of studios with shared bathrooms. I haven't heard of anyone being tricked about stuff like this - it's standard in Paris so there is no real reason to hide it. If these things are a problem for you, make sure to check them early on.

It's hard to say anything specific about the studies here since I only did my Master's degree project here, and that was evaluated by KI. How the project itself is of course depends a lot on the supervisor and the particular project. I found that the expectations on Master students were fairly similar to what they are at KI, except that the Master students in France receive less practical training so there is a small risk for being treated as more of a "student" than you are used to. Other than that, the expectations in terms of extent of the project were quite similar.

Knowing basic French is quite important when studying in France, even if you do not take courses. Researchers here are of course at least decent in English, but other personnel such as administrative staff are not always able to communicate in English. However, I am by no means fluent in French and I still got along fine, so you don't have to be a native to get around.

If you are at a lab within the UPMC campus, I would recommend looking at the sports department as they have a lot of classes in a lot of sports for students, at a low price. I still haven't taken part of any of them since I've been at other sites, but I know that a lot of the French students attend them and are happy with them.

As I mentioned above, there used to be a group called "Les Internationaux de l'UPMC" which organized events and Thursday pubs. I didn't hear anything about them this time around but it may be that I just missed that information because of a late inscription. If you hear about them, I recommend going to a Thursday pub to meet some other exchange students.

It is also possible to meet exchange students through various groups on Facebook (just search for "Erasmus Paris"), as there are several groups organizing events for exchange students independent of which university they attend.

Exchange studies are a great way of networking, learning about other research culture and getting the chance to do something new. It is also a lot of fun and good for personal development. If you like Paris as a city (I know it's the kind of city that some people hate while others love), I think exchange studies are a great way of experiencing the city on a very personal level. There are a lot of great researchers in Paris and if you find a team which interests you I do think it might be worth your while to do a project with them.