Reserapport - KI-student
Lärosäte: Imperial College School of Science, Technology and Medicine
Utbildningsprogram: Biomedicin
Utbytesprogram: Erasmus
Termin: Vårtermin 14/15

Innan avresa

Pre-travel preparations:


If you are reading this report you are either considering applying to an exchange to Imperial college or have already done so. For me travelling to London and working in a lab was extremely rewarding while admittedly challenging at certain points, and without a doubt an experience I would recommend others. In order to make you journey as easy as possible, I have compiled a list of things which are good to know before travelling and a few tips which I wish I had known before I left.

Applying

The first step in applying to Imperial College is to apply for a nomination at KI. When this has been done and you have been nominated you should find out which labs at Imperial are available to take you (which can be done here) and contact the international coordinator at Imperial College, the international coordinator at KI can help you get in touch with him/her. Tell the international coordinator which research theme you find interesting in order for you to be placed in a lab working in a field that interests you. It is good to do this as soon as possible as it is my experience that the international coordinator at Imperial is not always the quickest to respond.


When you have received a lab and a PI, you can apply at Imperial College. Information about the application project for exchange students can be found here and the application form here.

Accommodation

Accommodation in London can be a bit tricky. While Imperial College does provide student accommodations, which can be applied for here, the student housing provided is however quite expensive. In my case I found a room in a flat through London Svenskar (a group on Facebook for Swedes living in London). Another option is Gumtree, which is the British equivalent to Blocket.se. I personally enden up in a flat in zone 2, which is rather central, but costed quite a bit. In retrospect I believe that it would have been smarter to rent a room further away from the center as public transport in London is very good and prices are significantly lower in zones further from the city center.



Getting there:

While you can in theory take the bus or train to London, the best option in my opinion (both in terms of cost and time) is flying. As soon as you have confirmed your position in a lab you may as well purchase a plane ticket, as the sonner it is done the cheaper it is. There are several airlines which fly directly form Stockholm or Gothenburg to London. Examples of such are Norwegian and SAS. 
 

Other:


While I do believe I have included all the most important things, you should always check the Imperial college and KI websites as what is required of you may change.

KI website for exchange students
IC website for prospective visiting students

Ankomst och registrering

Arrival:


If you are flying to the London there are several airports to which you can arrive. Heathrow is the largest and most famous and also the easiest to travel to Central London from, as the underground goes all the way to the airport. If you on the other hand are arriving at Gatwick or Stanstead you will have to take the train or bus to get to central London.

One thing to keep in mind is that London is rather big and travelling in the underground on your own, especially when you have just arrived and are carrying a ton of luggage, can be a bit confusing and tedious. If possible see if you can have someone meet you at a station or at least plan your journey to your destination carefully before travelling.

 At Imperial they have terms rather than semesters and there are three terms each year. You will be studying mainly during the second term, which starts in the beginning of January. This means that you will miss the end of the semester at KI, however usually this is not a problem. You might, however consider contacting your PI or the international coordinator in London and ask if you can start a bit later in order to conclude the semester in Sweden, as there is no real reason other than bureaucracy for you to arrive this early. There is no introduction course or anything of the sorts, so I can't see a reason to why one couldn't arrive in the middle of January rather than the beginning.

When you arrive make sure to receive your student card at the security center at IC (there opening hours are a bit strange, check them out here). Once you hace received this you can order a student discount travelcard, which gives you 30% off on public transport tickets. 





Ekonomi

Finances:

CSN:


When studying abroad you usually receive extra funds from CSN. Unfortunately, since the examination takes places at KI, the exchange does not entitle you to additional funds. This is somewhat of a shame as London can be quite expensive. You will of course receive the Erasmus scholarship of around 10000 SEK which comes in very handy.

Living in the London:


As already mentioned London can be quite expensive. The largest difference comes from rent being more expensive in London than in Stockholm, of course this depends on where in the City you live. Additionally the British pound has become increasingly expensive which has makes student life in London even more financially strenuous.

In order to keep expenditures down a piece of advice is going to food markets to buy food. Fresh produce and products such as bread, cheese and meat can usually be found in markets to a lower price as well as better quality. London has many such markets, but Borough Market is perhaps the most well known and one of the best ones in my opinion.

Boende

Accommodation:


As already mentioned, when looking for accommodation you should begin as early as possible. If you intend to get an room through IC, you should apply as soon as possible there are several different types/locations of housing and some are more appealing than others.

Other alternatives are applying looking for accommodation through London Svenskar or Gumtree. Again I would like to stress that while living centrally is nice, it is in no way a necessity as the public transport system in London is excellent and rent in zones further away from the city center are far cheaper.

The standard of living in London can be said to be a bit lower than that in Sweden which is something you should consider before leaving and almost regardless where you live you are likely to have to pay more in rent than in Sweden. I ended up living in a room in Camden town which I paid 450 £ per month for.

Studier allmänt

Studying in London

While I chose to take the 30 p course at KI, leaving no extra room for courses apart from my project work, there is also the option of taking the 22.5 p course and studying courses on the side. To find out what courses are suitable/available you should contact the international coordinatiors at KI and IC. English education is a bit more focused around oral exams, and are all graded. The graded system is also a bit different, and it should be noted that 70% is considered an excellent score, while 90% is virtually impossible to achieve.


Meanwhile your time in the lab will be more of a job than a course, meaning long days in the lab doing a lot of reading up on relevant literature during the first weeks and plenty of lab work later on (at least this was the case for me). Remember to start writing your report early on so you don't leave it all for the last minute!

Kurser under utbytet

Kurser motsvarande termin 1 på KI

Courses


As I mentioned previously there are surely courses available to you at IC, however since I did not attend any courses I suggest turning to the international coordinators at KI and IC to receive further information.

Språk och kultur

Language and Culture:

 
Since everyone speaks English in London (naturally), communicating is easy as long as you speak English at a sufficient language. While some accents are difficult to understand, my experience is that people working in labs and at the University speak in a clear and easily understandable way. The high level of English comes as an advantage for your report writing as well as your supervisor will easily give feedback on how you can improve your paper.

When it comes to British culture, the country shares many similarities as well as differences with Sweden, so you will almost definitely experience a few culture clashes (cars drive on the left, people aren't afraid to speak to people they don't know etc.). Overall, my impression of people in London is that they are very friendly and outgoing which makes life in the city a bit easier.

Fritid och sociala aktivteter

 Social activities and things to do in and around London

When it comes to activities and finding things to do in London, you probably won't need that much help. London is huge and its size is only matched by the number of things going on. Musicals, Theatre, Shopping and Concerts are just a few of the things you can fill your spare time with. I highly recommend asking people in your lab for advice when it comes to things, as locals will usually know whhat is going on and is good to do when you are visiting London.

While I do Believe you will be able to fill your free time in Londonon your own here is a short list of suggestions of things I thought were Worth checking out:


The markets of London have already been mentioned once in my report, but I Think they should be mentioned once again. Markets in London are huge and you can find a market for any of your needs, be it shopping for clothes, food or just miscellaneous items. I have already mentioned Borrough market, which is great for buying food, but other markets which are also great are Camden market, for pretty much everything with an especially great section with foreign food, and Brick Lane market, which has tons of second hand things. 



London is home to the Premier League and while people who aren't interested in football may be sceptical, I do Believe that going to a game is a quite an experience. The atmosphere in a classical British arena is great with lot's of chants and a great crowd. My suggestion is however to stay away from games where the top teams such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are playing as tickets can be ridiculously expensive. Instead I suggest going to games at Crystal Palace and West Ham (West Ham are notorious for selling tickets at low prices). Games can also be experienced at pubs which is also quite an experience, just make sure you are rooting for the right team before you enter a pub.


London is the home of the West End, where you can catch many Musicals. tickets for shows ranging from the Lion King to The Book of Mormon are available and I highly recommend going to at least one musical while in London as the quality and availability is difficult to match in Sweden.


London also has a famous Stand up scene, which is Worth checking out. Timeout lists all the great pubs and Comedy shows which are going on.



Sammanfattning

Summary

Overall I am extremely pleased with performing my thesis at Imperial College and would strongly recommend travelling to London to spend a semester abroad. I got to know a lot of great personalities as well as an opportunity to work at a highly esteemed international lab. Additionally, I feel that I was lucky to get a place in a lab were people were very kind and helpful, which facilitated my first experience in a lab. Outside of the lab, London is an Amazing city to live in with an almost infinite amount of possibilities when it comes to things to do and I can promise that you will never get bored living in London.