Reserapport - KI-student
Lärosäte: Universiteit Leiden
Utbildningsprogram: Biomedicin
Utbytesprogram: Erasmus
Termin: Vårtermin 14/15

Innan avresa

I became interested in going on an exchange to Leiden University after the third semester when the biomedical bachelor programme hosted a number of exchange students from Leiden. The language drew me in further. The information given given beforehand was thorough and everything about the exchange was clear. The communication with both KI and Leiden University went well. The plane ride takes about two hours. If you plan to travel ARN-AMS I would suggest going with SAS. KLM is high quality but tend to be expensive.

Ankomst och registrering

I arrived a week before starting. I was encouraged to attend a sort of kick-off for international students, I didn't attend however. Registering at the town hall is optional, if you were wondering.

Ekonomi

The cost of living is, coming from Sweden, noticeably lower. Food is quite a bit cheaper. The first time I went grocery shopping I was surprised how many bags I could fill without leaving a hole in my wallet. Alcohol is cheaper than Sweden and available in regular stores, which can't say I made use of.

The only obligatory fee I came across was a deposit for the access card at LUMC, which was around 20€.

Boende

There was an option to have housing arranged by a organization affiliated to Leiden University called DUWO. They have housing all around Leiden and also in the Hague. They are always able to offer you something. The rent is fairly high if you settle with them, however. I opted instead for the private housing market.

Unfortunately the renting market in the Netherlands I would describe as fairly predatory. For example, most renters insist on receiving a so called "finders fee" of a month's rent to sign the contract. This results in putting down three times the rent for one month when you sign a contract. One month's rent is as a deposit.

In some cases the "finder's fee" is acceptable, but far from all situations call for an administrative cost of that size, and the legal ground the practice is based on is shaky. I personally found a room in a nearby town that didn't require a fee. The town was just a train ride away, and the trains arrived on time a reasonable amount. The train card did cost about 100€ a month, so keep that in mind if you are looking for options in nearby towns like the Hague, Amsterdam or Utrecht.

Bottom line is that if you want to have an easy time finding a place to live, sign up for Leiden University's own service, in the end it's much less hassle. They take an adminstrative fee between 250 and 350 euros depending on how long you stay. If you still want to go with the private market, there are a lot of groups on facebook you can join, that's how I found my room.

Studier allmänt

I did a research project at the LUMC. My project was within the field of oncology and radiology. Most of the time, I was guided by a PhD candidate, which is usually the case at KI as well. He was very helpful, and introduced me to all the people in my group. I attended group meetings, which included project updates and presentations as well as a journal club every Monday. Most research groups have these kinds of meetings, so it is very similar to KI.

Kurser under utbytet

Kurser motsvarande termin 6 på KI
Research Project
The project is your bachelor thesis. The grade is based on the thesis you write and the presentation you give at the end of the course. Doing an exchange during this time is considered "gathering data", so you are formally examined by KI. It mostly consisted of doing practical work in a wet lab. My supervisor, a PhD student, was very helpful and the lab was of high quality. This will of course vary a great deal between lab groups and supervisors.

The project also entailed a lot of literature research to educate myself in the area I was studying. Everyone was very helpful in the lab and I learned a lot about cellular assays and cell culturing. I also had some time to write the thesis, but I spent most of my time in the lab even when I was supposed to write in order to gather more data. There never seems to be enough time to fully finish a project, there's always something more you can do. Overall the quality was very good and the examination appropriate.

Språk och kultur

I communicated with my co-workers in English. While it's not my actual native language, it's been the language of instruction at the biomedical programme for a while. Leiden University probably offered some sort of language course, which I wouldn't be interested in attending because of this. I am already comfortable with using English.

Sweden and the Netherlands are culturally very close. The only clash involves kisses on the cheek. Three kisses on the cheek as a gesture at special events. Swedes are very private about kisses, and I was very adverse to doing that at all. Some times I did though, and it felt weird.

The Dutch language is fairly interesting, and I would suggest spending some time to at least learn how to pronounce the language. Learning Dutch will make you have an easier time understanding German as well.
 

Fritid och sociala aktivteter

Leiden University and its student unions did arrange a multitude of social activities, none of which I ever attended. I did play tennis and go to the gym at the University Sports Center, which have a lot of other sports clubs to join.

You can pretty much do anything. There's a list on the USCLeiden website for sports and the Leiden University website has descriptions of all the clubs you can join.

Go to Belgium. I took a train ride down to Brussels and spent a weekend exploring the city with a friend. It's a beautiful and quirky town that have quite a lot of nice things to see. They also have waffles. Traveling to Paris is an option to continue on to, which I doubt I need to vouch for you to consider. I didn't go there however, I was busy in Brussels.


Sammanfattning

I learned a lot from this exchange, both professionally and personally. It did give me pointers on how to improve in the future which I will take with me. The exchange did give me an idea of what I would want to do in the future. The experience was fine, and I would recommend going on an exchange at least once during your studies.