Exchange Reports

CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

All courses at the same day with fixed on-site lecture, many small assignments and group works during the entire semester, students not very active in discussing.

Arrival, orientation and housing

3 days quarantine and many PCR and rapid tests in the beginning, a lot of welcome activities such as city tours, the accommodation is on campus for international students where you share your room with one other person. I was in United College with many locals. It was really fun and the common areas were clean.

Finances

Cheaper because accommodation was only the half in comparison to Gothenburg and food on campus within canteen about 3-4€/meal. I did not get CSN but if you stick to street food and campus food it is very affordable. Supermarket pricing is a little cheaper as in Sweden besides milk products.

Life in a new country/city/culture

University is located near Shatin and very outside but there is a train driving into the city center between 5.30 a.m. and 12.00 a.m. which takes approx 30 min. Campus is beautiful in the nature and you can do a lot of hiking/beach! For me it was perfect as the city is super crowded.

Overall exchange experience

The best place I have ever lived! I really recommend it to get out of your comfort zone and explore the nature, nightlife and the culture. Although many people speak very bad English it’s no problem you can always find a solution and people are very friendly.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Mandarin, Technology and Innovation, Bid Data Strategy in Marketing, Strategic Marketing

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Applied IT - Digital Leadership (M.Sc.)

 

 

FUDAN UNIVERSITY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2020/2021

Studies

In GU I have the courses already fixed but in Fudan we have to choose the courses we want in the beginning of the term, it is a lot about speed and luck. The courses were all pretty well structured and detailed. As for examinations, there were different types depending on what kind of course it was, f.ex. term papers, closed book exam or open book exam.
All my teachers were very kind, they get along with the students like friends and provide help whenever it's needed.

Arrival, orientation and housing

As it was a special case this semester due to the covid-19, I had to find housing on my own outside the campus but there was no problem with that as the school also provided some housing recommendation. We had the orientation a few days before the semester start and it was well organized with two teachers in charge. I was satisfied.

Finances

Here in Shanghai, China the living costs have been relatively lower than in Gothenburg, the cantine food in school provides a variety of different food but still being much cheaper than outside. There weren't any administrative fees at the university as I remember. Yes, CSN is totally enough to cover the costs.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The university is located at the southern area of Shanghai, it is located right beside an area called Wu Jiao Chang which is one of the most prosperous commercial centers of the southern area of Shanghai, so there is a lot to discover. There are various kinds of university
associations organized by the students at school, around 100 school clubs in total. I recommend exchange students to join university associations that interests you as it is a great chance to meet new friends while experiencing and enjoy the university life in a different way.

Overall exchange experience

It was a great experience studying in a totally different and new environment, meeting new situations and new friends. It was also a rather busy semester as in GU we study one course at a time and in Fudan it is multiple courses at the same time. Don't forget to check out
the city during the exchange, Shanghai itself is also a great place to travel!

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your
exchange

Nordic Cinema, Product Design and Development, Organizational Communication & its Social Context, Game Theory, British & American Suspense Short Stories

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg (GU)

Faculty of Humanities

How many semesters at GU have you studied before the exchange?
3

What are you studying at GU?

Medier, Estetik och Kulturellt Entreprenörskap

 

 

 

 

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG (HKU)

Name

Simon Berendes

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

Remarkable differences between master and bachelor courses (content, way of teaching, etc.)

• It's more about basics and you don't get as much depth as in master courses
• My master courses have been a lot about discussions among students while it was mainly the prof talking at HKU
• Considering the content, it wasn't really challenging for me as a master student, however, high workload (see next point)

High workload throughout the semester

• Various assignments like quizzes or writing papers during the semester
• Adds up to a constantly high workload
• Exam period is at the end of semester
• Personally didn't have to study a lot as I was already familiar with most of the content
• Final exams don't count as much (around 30/40%) while it's 100% for my courses at GU

Arrival, orientation and housing

The whole arrival process was quite messy due to the pandemic. I had to stay in a quarantine hotel for 3 nights, however, it was well managed at the airport. I also had to do a lot of COVID-tests during the first days, finding and going to the test centers and waiting there was sort of annoying. This is all obsolete nowadays, but better check the current situation before going.

I applied for student housing (would highly recommend) but didn't get a spot in the first round. After being notified that I was on the waiting list, I booked a refundable accommodation on booking.com. Luckily, I got admitted for a student hall a few weeks before leaving for HK and could cancel the booked accommodation. Try to connect to other students as early as possible, the easiest way is probably by joining Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Especially in the first weeks, I saw messages from fellows who were looking for roommates. But please be aware of scams, it's apparently a big thing in HK... Ah and you shouldn't be too picky: HK has been the "craziest" housing market for many years now, so be prepared for a different rent level as well as lower standards. HK is not Gothenburg.

Talking about the accommodation itself, it was a 15-floor-building with students only, mainly locals though. I had to share my small room with someone else, which was very exhausting. I got along pretty well with that guy but I never had time to actually rest because there was always someone in the room. Especially in a city like HK, where I needed the calm more than ever, I didn't get it. After 2 months, I went to the reception and asked for a single room because I had seen free rooms on the floor. That wasn't a problem at all, so I could stay in a single room for the last two months. That made the experience way better. I was lucky having many international exchange students on my floor, we became a cool community. I think it wouldn't have been that great of a experience in HK if I had stayed somewhere in a non-student accommodation. Overall, I'm really happy how it all went.

An orientation didn't really take place because of the pandemic. I just remember that there was a short welcome meeting and we were told some facts about HK and the uni/campus. It was cool to meet fellows there.

Finances

Beforehand, it completely depends on how you want to live there. I lived rather economically and thriftily. Since I was staying in a student hall (Morrison Hall), I could save money and didn't have to spend most of my budget for just paying rents. The rent was paid for the whole period (September, October, November, December) and was 9,233 HKD. Converting and breaking this down, it's 300€ a month which is pretty cheap. But it was also a shared room with a nasty bathroom...

Food is also fairly cheap. If you go to the right place, you can get a decent lunch (rice with two sides) for 30 HKD. It's uncommon in HK to cook food on your own, you usually eat at takeaways or restaurants. While eating out is definitely cheaper than in Gothenburg, prices for groceries are higher. Especially western food is pricy. There is by the way also a canteen on campus, offering menus ranging from 35 to 60 HKD. I think it's also a good option.

I didn't pay any administrative fees. I lived from my savings and was also supported by my parents.

Life in a new country/city/culture

HKU is located on HK island and quite close to the center. It also has its own subway station, so getting there should be no problem. I can give the tip to look out for sport associations, there's a lot of them. It's a hell of fun and easy to get to know new people. Hiking is also a big thing in HK and a great occasion to make new friends because it's often organized by individuals and not by fixed friendship groups where you're the "new one".
If you're not totally reserved (which I don't assume because you're already considering going on exchange in HK) it's easy to meet loads of new people!

Overall exchange experience

DO IT! Honestly, don't think too much about it because then the ungrounded doubts arise. Everything will work out for you. I'm very glad having taken the step and it was indeed an adventure. You need to pay a certain price in terms of inconvienience and going out of the comfort zone but it's so worth it. Living in a city like HK is not really describable but memorable. In combination with all the people I met there it was definitely a life-changing experience.

I actually did it to experience life somewhere completely else and not really because of academic reasons (although a semester at the University of Hong Kong boosts your CV as well). You also get the opportunity to travel around if you're there. Not only will you have a week off during the semester in October, but you can also visit other countries after your studies in December/January. I went to the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan and had an unforgettable time there.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Business Law
Digital Humanitarianism
Everyday Computing and the Internet
Management Information Systems
Principles of Management

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Master of Science - Digital Leadership

KOREA UNIVERSITY

Name

Mary Ohan

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The biggest difference is that you have to take 5 courses at once (corresponds to 30 hp) for a semester, but i found it okay since it reminded a lot of our gymnasium system. I was expecting the level of difficulty to be much higher because of the stereotypes of education in Asia, but it is more so a bigger workload rather than harder and it was pretty easy to pass since you only had midterms and finals (for most courses), which also is a bit different from our system here. I found it easy to have fun and have a lot of free time and manage school both at once, so don't worry about the difficulty.

Arrival, orientation and housing

For housing, I lived in the dorms on campus and had to apply a month or so before i left, but you have to be pretty fast with the application since it was first come first serve. I was pretty satisfied with the accomodation since i was in the international house, which is a fairly new building so the facility looked great, it had its ups and downs but so did most of the different accomodation types have (goshiwons etc) and it was pretty easy to make a lot of friends this way, so if you are worried about that, dormitory on campus is the way!
There were some recuirements for the dorms that you had to prepare but there was an info mail sent out about it so it was no issue.
The one thing a lot of people in previous reports mentioned was that the dorms were on a very annoying hill, which is mostly true, but it was not cruical for not living there, and it was quite the good exercize:)
The orientation was no problem and arriving wasn't either. They have the best metro system and going from the airport to the dorms was no problem, except for walking up the hill with all the luggage, so i would recommend to either take a taxi from the airport to the dorms (around 500-600kr) or if you want the cheaper way, the metro from the airport to Seoul station and take a taxi from there.
I would recommend everyone to go to the initial orientation, not only because its good to see all the facilities but you will also get to know a lot of people and you can settle in to the area together.

Finances

Most things in Korea are fairly cheap compared to Sweden (except for fruits..) so i would say that the CSN was enough. I ate out almost every day which is also a lot cheaper than cooking sometimes. The accomodation (or at least the dorms) were paid when getting the conformation of getting a room there and you pay around 15000 kr for the whole semester. I would recommend everyone, at least from the science faculty to apply for scholarships. I applied for Adlerbertska and also Donationsnämnden, which were both 15000kr each which is from where i paid my accomodation with and it made it even more "easy" to splurge on a lot of other things instead.

Life in a new country/city/culture

So, KU is located in Anam which is about 20-25 minutes from the city center, so a bit further than other universities, but since the metro and transportation overall is so sufficient, its really not that big of a deal. Anam is like a student area, so there are a lot of restaurants and bars there and the social life is really nice. I would definitely recommend everyone to go for an exchange semester, especially to a place that is so different from Sweden. Some tips if you are going to Korea: learn some easy words such as hi and thank you, and respect their culture. Koreans can be a little more conservative than we are used to and i think as a "foreigner" their standards should be respected even though we might disagree with some of them.

Overall exchange experience

My exchange semester has been one of the best experiences of my life and i think i have learnt lessons for life from this experience. It has broadened my vision, made me more independent and social and it has made me more confident and curious. I would definitely want to do this all over again. But the best part by far is all the friends I've made that I'm still in contact with from all over the world. So if anyone is hesitating or is too nervous, which i was as well even until my first week, its going to become one of the best experiences in your life!:)

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• English Reading and Discussion 1
• English in Media
• Introduction to Global Health
• Genetics
• Cancer Biology

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Bachelors in Chemistry

 

 

 

KOREA UNIVERSITY

Name

William Almèr

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The system is very different in Korea at Korea University compared to Sweden and Gothenburg University. The Korean school system is highly Americanized, hence during the semester there are a limited amount of assignments, however, there are two exam periods; mid-terms and finals. During these two exam periods, most of your grades will be decided. The exams however are, I would say, easier in Korea than in Sweden because many exams will be multiple-choice. Of course, the difficulty level varies a lot between different areas, but generally, a passing grade is quite easy to achieve. I think the academic level and quality of my courses were quite good, Korea University is one of the top 3 Universities in Korea and has very high standards. It was clear that the social sciences campus was quite old whereas the engineering & business campus was very new and luxurious. The teachers however were always very capable and professional.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I lived in a private dorm just outside of the main campus called "coco livingtel" which i can warmly recommend. This style of private dorm is called a "goshiwon" and can be found at various websites for example "goshipages" where I managed to find my room at Coco. The rooms in dorms are very small and you usually share kitchen and for some rooms als toilets and showers. At Coco I had private shower and toilet but shared the kitchen. The landlord Mr Kim was quite nice once you got to know him, he could definetely be a little bit grumpy but there was a lot of love in the end. There were about 30-40 rooms and the community was definitely the highlight of my stay in Korea. Some food such as rice, noodles, Kimchi, eggs and bread were also included in the living cost at Coco which was quite nice.

Finances

Living is probably similar or a little bit more expensive than Sweden, eating and drinking at restaurants is much cheaper if you go to "normal" places. It is a huge city and as such, it has all of the luxury stores, items and places if you want to pay for it but at normal Korean restaurants you can easily have dinner for around 50sek. Besides eating and drinking, other items one could need is usually much much cheaper than in Sweden. The grocery stores is probably the one place where it was not a whole lot cheaper than Sweden, probably on about the same level as in Sweden.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Korea University is located in an area called Anam which is a fairly calm and not very touristic area of Seoul. The Seoul metro is regarded as potentially the best public transportation city in the world, with which i do agree, and the metro can take you anywhere in town fairly quickly. For example, the metro to Itaewon from Anam takes about 10 minutes and does not require any changes. Hong-dae and Gangnam took about 25-30 minutes with bus or metro and required 1 change when taking the metro or a short walk.

Overall exchange experience

My experience in Seoul was amazing, after leaving Korea I have a new-found love for Korean food which is so flavorful and underrated. Living in a large city in East-Asia is a very different experience from northern Europe and I personally loved it. Besides the food and the lovely people I met, and the night life, my favorite part of living in Seoul is probably how safe it is. I never ever felt threatened in any way during my time in Korea. People will leave there computers, smartphones and designer bags on the table at bars, cafes and restaurants if they run an errand because stealing is out of the question (except perhaps in Itaewon). Another lovely perk of living in Korea is the proximity of other travel destinations such as Japan, Taiwan and China. I visited Japan and Thailand on my way back from Korea and I highly recommend visiting Japan during your stay in Korea, the flight is only 2 hours and you can usually find quite cheap alternatives. I personally opted ot visit Kyoto and Osaka and in these cities the housing prices are much lower than in Tokyo.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Beginners Korean, Academic English Writing for Sciences, Critical Thinking, Principles of economics 1, American/English dystopian literatures.

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Social Sciences

What are you studying at GU? 

Master of International Administration and Global Governance

 

 

 

YONSEI UNIVERSITY

Name

Viktor Kjellberg

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The quality of the courses was in general like the ones at GU. Though the quality of the courses I took was mixed. The courses that were made for international students seemed to be of a lower quality that the normal courses meant for non-exchange students, at least from my experience. All the courses also span over the whole semester, with a midterm exam and a final exam in the end. All the courses also have attendance as a part of the grade, and you are not allowed to miss more than a third of the lectures or you will automatically fail the course. The courses through KLI are stricter and you are not allowed to miss more than a fifth of the lectures. Which is good to know if you plan to travel around a bit.
There is a bigger emphasis on remembering facts than I was used to through GU. The exams consisted of a lot of multiple choice and fill in the blank questions. The exams were also a lot shorter and usually only lasted for 40 to 60 minutes.
The relationship between students and teachers was relaxed and similar to GU.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Arrival: It takes around an hour with taxi and between 1h 30min and 2h by public transport to get to the campus from the airport. If you don't have a sim card that works in Korea, they sell these at the airport, but I would recommend to not by one there, there are cheaper and more reliable options close to the campus. The sim card at the airport did not work for either me or the other exchange students I talked to.

Orientation: There where a short orientation of the dorm and a short orientation about the university, but with limited number of slots. So, expect to figure a lot of things out yourself together with the other exchange students. There were a few events hosted by the student union that were make for exchange students that I found useful.

Housing: I lived at sk-house which is one of the dorms for exchange students and are in general happy about my stay there. The dorm was fairly clean and cheap, but it had a lot of regulations, so I would recommend reading through the regulations before deciding if you want to stay here. Though, they did not seem to be as strict with all rules as it might seem. The most frustrating rule was that you are not allowed to be at the other genders floor after a certain and you are not allowed to enter the other genders room, which makes it a bit tricky if you have a friend group of mixed gender. But with that said, the pros are that it is located 10 min from the main part of campus, 15min to Sinchon which is the closest city center, there is a lot of cheap restaurants close by, it is close to both subway and bus and that you live close to a lot of other exchange students. The dorm also has a small gym that are included in the cost. So, all in all I was happy about my stay at the dorm.

Finances

The cost of living in Korea is fairly cheap, I paid around 20 000 SEK for the whole semester in rent for the dorm for a single room. But you could live cheaper if you instead choose to live in a double room with a roommate. Food is very affordable, and you can find a lot of cheap restaurants around the campus. I almost exclusively ate at restaurants because a cheap meal at one of the universities cafeterias or a close by restaurant usually cost around 4000 to 5000 won (30 to 40 SEK). There were no administrative fees for the university, but you need to pay for health insurance if you do not have your own, which cost around 400 SEK a month. Public transport is very cheap and convenient. I spent a fair amount on travel and other activities and my total spend exceeded CSN a bit but not that much. But this exclude the price for the flight tickets and the rent which needed to be paid in full for the whole semester in advanced. I would recommend having a bit of saved money, especially if you want to be able to travel around in Korea.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The location of the university is very good, with a 15 min walk to the closest city center and close to both subway and bus. Public transport is both cheap and convenient.

Korea is full of historical monuments and temples and there is a lot to experience. But there is a lot of things that is different in Korea compared to Sweden and it takes a while to get use to some of it, so I recommend going here with an open mind. One thing that is good to know is that the language barrier is big, and a lot of people do not speak English. You will do fine with English on the university but outside this, it can sometimes be hard to communicate.

Overall exchange experience

I am very happy that I did my exchange in Korea and I have a lot of good memories and experiences with me. I would absolutely recommend Korea if you want to experience something new, as long as you come here with an open mind.

Some practical tips:
Get the Naver Map app. Google maps works poorly in Korea, and you will probably use Naver a lot to find places and it is very useful for figuring out how to get to places with public transport.
Get Kakao talk. This is the main communication app that is used in Korea.
Have cash on you when you go places. Most places take card, but your card might not work in all stores and in all restaurants. You also need cash to recharge your T-money card, which is used for all forms of public transport.
I would not recommend taking the KLI (Korean Language Institute) courses, if you don't intend to keep learning Korean after you exchange, or if you are totally new to the Korean language. These courses are demanding, and you do not learn that much practical Korean. There are other courses in Korean given by the university outside KLI that are more focused on more practical day to day Korean.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Computer Vision
Brain, Cognition and Daily Life
Understanding of Digital Media
Intensive Korean Language( level 1)

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Applied Data Science

 

 

 

YONSEI UNIVERSITY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

It was a bit disappointing to find that the international students weren't taken that seriously by the school and Korean students and we were treated as if we didn't want to learn. While I was attracted to Yonsei due to the amount of English taught classes, I didn't expect that most of them belong to the 'international/exchange classes'. These classes are low in academic level and quality and it feels like the teachers are only there because they can speak English, not due to their competencies. Nevertheless, if you choose an entry course that you don't have any prior knowledge in or if you want to focus on an enjoyable time outside of university it is good enough. I highly recommend trying to get into classes that are also taught to Korean students, as the expectations are higher and it is more challenging, educational, and interesting.

There were midterms and final exams during which you don't have any class to focus on your studies so it is very doable. You can also gain information on what examinations the classes have prior to taking them so that you can easily organize and plan your time.

The relationship between students and teachers was quite interesting. Overall most of my teachers were very friendly and even critical regarding Korean society. A common thing is to offer students to go out for a coffee to talk about how they are doing in class and get to know them better.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I got a dorm spot in the international housing. It is really important to have a good internet connection during the registration, because it is very competitive. SKglobal has a lot of good aspects to it and is more comfortable, while you have to share bathrooms at international house, but ihouse has more of a community and it is easier to find people to do something with. Being in the dorms has a lot of pros, like being on campus, having a 'safe spot' and people/staff that you can ask for help, but it also makes you more dependent and comfortable, so some might prefer off-campus housing to be more independent? I am overall happy with Ihouse, as they organised thgings well, although mattresses are awful so I and some friends of mine ended up going to Ikea to buy another matress.

There was a small orientation for housing and a big assembly for university orientation, which was even a bit entertaining with performances etc.

Before my arrival I organized to meet up with some other exchange students that were to live at the dorms (Discord and kakao chat groups are of enormous help). I had no trouble taking the airport express and then the bus to the dorms BUT if you have a big bag or even two I recommend taking the airport express bus or share a cab!

Finances

I am an international student in Sweden, and I think the costs weren't too different, although it is way cheaper to dine out in Korea, food on campus and close to the dorms is around 50-60SK so its affordable. Unfortunately though, as the kitchen in the dorms only consisted of one heating plate and no (none) pots, pans or even cutlery, I ended up having to eat out every day, so it did accumulate to a bit.
Something that is new in Korea is that you have to OPT-OUT of insurance, as soon as you apply for the ARC (which is mandatory) they will provide you with insurance that you have to pay for if you cant show them that your personal one covers everything sufficiently.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Yonsei lies pretty nicely and relatively central, there werent any problems getting to places in under an hour with either bus or subway. The unniversity didnt do much for international students but I hope that was mainly due to Covid-19 still being an ongoing issue.
I highly recommend getting connected on discord and kakao and have a look out for activities that are being offered by the government. That way I ended up being able to go to a Kpop concert (with mamamoo and co.) costing only about 100SK.

Overall exchange experience

I enjoyed my experience due to getting to know friends and gaining an understanding of korean culture, society, and media. However, I was disappointed in the actual academic experience and highly recommend taking classes that are shared with korean students to actually learn something. It is very difficult to find korean friends and it is very uncommon to find them even, as there are no opportunities to really get closer to them besides joining a cult (and i am not joking :D ) and the korean students usually don't want to associate with international students as we have a relatively bad reputation (from what I heard?). If you want to go to korea for the culture, I recommend it, it is very interesting, and definitely worth an experience. If you want to come for education, I would think about it again (although this would be specific to Yonsei) and make sure to sign up for the classes that are also taught to the national students.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Advertising in Digital Age
• Media Communication in Korea
• International Business Communication
• Society and Human Behavior
• Understanding of Digital Media

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Communication

 

 

 

SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Name

Alva Markelius

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

The studies at Seoul National University were challenging but with an incredibly high quality and I feel like I developed so much academically and that the standard were on a complete
different level than at GU. I am still a bachelor student but decided to only study at graduate level at SNU because I was free to choose and those courses seemed much more
interesting. Even though I studied on a much higher level than GU I found it perfectly academically challenging. The quality of the courses were very high, and we had to actively take part in every session by discussions and seminars. There were many assignments throughout the semesters and many presentations we had to do alone in front of the class, which was a bit scary in the beginning but an incredibly good experience to have learned in the end (but be prepared to make many presentations!). It is different from GU because at
SNU you study all courses each semester simultaneously, but I soon got used to studying 4 courses at the same time.
Examinations are mainly split into midterms and finals, and those periods are usually intense with long hours at the library. Professors are usually helpful and gives advice, however they
feel more distant than at GU, and I felt I approached them in a much more formal way than my home-professors. As an exchange student I could pick courses from almost all different
department and colleges, and that gave me a very broad experience, ranging from Graduate School of Data Science, to International Studies to Architecture and Design. The students
and professors at the different departments are usually very welcoming even if you come from a different discipline or field of study, and encouraging of interdisciplinary interaction and exchange (as long as you follow the requirements of the course and actively take part of the learning).

Arrival, orientation and housing

When I arrived to South Korea there was still many restrictions due to the pandemic and I had to quarantine for 2 weeks, an experience I hope I don't have to do again (food was sometimes limited and the isolation was difficult). However, after quarantine it was a wonderful experience to settle in even though it was a lot of new things to get used to in a completely different and new culture and society.
Especially difficult was language, since few koreans speak English and it can be challenging to even order a coffee sometimes because of that. I took one intense 2 week korean course and learned the alphabet and some basic phrases which I am very grateful now that I did. I really recommend learning the basics, since it will make the entire stay so much more convenient. Registration at the university and in Korea in general required a lot of paper work and formalities, and the same with housing (which is actually very easy to find good and cheap in Seoul, reach out to me to get in touch.) I stayed at a small apartment close to SNU campus, only a 5 minute ride with the shuttlebus, and I enjoyed paying a bit more than the dorms since it allowed me to live more central and close to good restaurants etc.
Orientation at SNU was very good, there was an SNU Buddy event all fall that made it easy to connect with other international students (and a few koreans) and they organized many fun activities and events. SNU campus is huge, and right below some big mountains, making it difficult to find the way around unless having some guidance.

Finances

Even if Korea is much cheaper country to live in than Sweden I ended up having much higher living costs because of the many fun things always going on and happening that
cost money. Especially eating out was a habit I started doing every day (since one meal out usually is less than 10000 KRW, around 70 SEK), because it have been a part of the social experience and way of life here to always meeting up for dinner or lunch with other international or korean students. However, the lunch in the cafeteria at campus is only 1000 KRW, around 7 SEK and a great alternative to save money on food. I financed my exchange by taking the higher CSN for international studies, but there are many extra costs to take into consideration, for example insurance, visa, rent-deposit, metro card etc. I would say CSN is not enough if you want to fully travel around the country and do extra fun things, so I recommend having a small extra budget so you can do all the extra things.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Living in Korea is an amazing experience and one of the most fantastic and also challenging things I have done in my life. University is located in the south of Seoul, kind of remote because of the mountains around it (that however offer great hikes if you are into that). The university organizes many non-academic activities, such as big festivals, music events, sports events and also things like campus squid game etc. Many activities are only in Korean however and can therefore be difficult to attend without a korean guide or friend. However, there are so many things you can do on your own and here are some of my main recommendations:

• Travel to Jeju island (a tropical absolutely beautiful island only 1h cheap flight from Seoul with volcanos, beaches, palm trees tangerine gardens and green tea fields)
• Do a buddhist temple stay (live with the monks in the mountains a few days and learn to meditate, martial arts and sleep on traditional futon matresses)
• Hike the amazing mountains of Bukhansan, Gwanak-san, Hallasan etc, views are like nothing else
• Go to Busan and enjoy seafood, beaches and the incredible culture there
• Go to Jeonju and experience old traditional streets and culture, like travelling to a Ghibli-movie
• Other university festivals (during spring all big festivals are organized by big universities and artists like Psy and Aespa are performing at for example Hanyang Uni and KoreaUn

Overall exchange experience

This has been the most incredible and amazing time and journey of my life and I am so grateful both to GU and to SNU to make it possible. I have learned so much both about myself academically and personally but also about this culture, school and society in big. Please feel free to reach out to me on email alva.jamina@gmail.com if you want to ask anything or if I can give any advice. If you are considering applying for exchange studies and can warmly recommend SNU, it is not only one of  the best universities in the world, but  Korea is such a wonderful country with everything you can ask for a rewarding and life-changing exchange!

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Jobs in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
• Practical Skills for Brain and Cognitive Scientists
• Seminar in Applied Psychology: Human/AI interaction
• Special Topics in Data Science: Explainable AI
• Seminar in International Commerce
• AI in Urban Planning and Design
• Seminar in Applied Psychology: Affective Science

What are you studying at GU?

Bachelor in Cognitive Science

 

 

 

SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Name

Linn H

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

Since I choose to study completely different topics in Seoul than I do at my home university I can not compare the level of education really, however I can talk about the over all  approach. At SNU you take several courses along side each other compared to GU where I only take one course at the time. 2 of my courses was more discussion based and only had final essays as examination which meant I did not have to memorize things for all my classes. Also, some part of the grade is determent by participation. While many lectures at GU are optional there are a lot more focus on the students attending class at SNU. Some of my classes was as I said more focused on discussion while some were focused on memorisation and understanding but over all I feel like I was well prepared for the workload after studying at GU.

Arrival, orientation and housing

As I arrived during the pandemic I had to be in quarantine. I found a studio apartment for rent close to the subway station in Gwanak-gu (Seoul National University station). I was thinking of applying for the dormitory but when I found the flat I decided to go for it and I am very happy with my decition. It took me abour 30 min to get to campus and since I only had 6 min walk to the subway station it was easy to get to other places of the city too.
Also since I arrived during the pandemic and there still was a lot of restrictions we unfortunatly didn't have an orientation however the our contact person mr. Hong at SNU have been very helpful. I also had a lot of help from other students in the SNU international group chat (We had one groupchat at whatsapp and one at kakaotalk).

There was a lot of things to attend when arriving (extra because of the quarantine with PCR tests and vaccination certificats). One thing to keep in mind though is that you have to apply for a recidense card (ARC). SNU will do a group application which is connvenient, however it takes much more time so I recommend to book a time at the immigration office by yourself as soon after your arrival as possible. The slots fill up early though so check the website in time.
I found that I had a lot of support from day one though I already had contact with some friends in Korea and my landlord who were all very helpful. If you don't already have any contacts I recommend joining the studen group chatt I have had a lot off support from everyone there too.

Finances

Even though I lived alone in a studio appartment I fould CSN sufficient enough to get by. Public transportation is cheaper than in Sweden and depending on where you eat or if you cook by yourself you can keep the costs down. I payed 500 000 won/month for the appartment + utility fees. If you get a spot in the dormitories it's even cheaper. Then it all comes down to how much you want to spend extra, how much you want to travel and shopping and so on. I had saved up quite a lot to not have to worry but as I said, even if you want to travel CSN can be enough.

Life in a new country/city/culture

I loved my life in South Korea, Seoul is a great city with a lot to experience and the people are amazing. SNU is located a bit off from the city but I did't find it inconvenient. There are free shuttlebusses operating between SNU and SNU station.
A tip is to join the SNU Buddy program. You pay a small application fee but it is def worth it. You get to meet a lot of people from all over the world and you ofcourse also get to meet Korean students that will help you and make your life in Korea much more fun. That said I actually only met with my personal Korean buddy once but I made contact with other
buddies. examples of what to do: exploring cafes, hiking, visiting temples or exhibitions. Have a picknick at Han river, enjoy karaoke singing at a noraebang. Try a lot of delicious food or go outside of Seoul exploring other cities.

Overall exchange experience

I had a lot of luck during my exchange and I can't really say that I had even one bad experience. I found a lot of good friends. The classes was interesting and the professors was good. I have had good support throughout my whole stay both from SNU, from GU and from other students and friends.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Korean History
• Understanding asian philosophy
• Life in contemporary Korea
• Introduction to Korean music culture
• Korean Language and culture
• Korean lv. 1

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg (GU)

Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU?

Chemistry Kandidat

 

 

 

 

SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Name

Emelie Karlsson

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

Due to the pandemic, the classes I took were online based throughout the entire semester. It was a bummer, because I did not get the full university experience, but I am grateful for being able to go to South Korea and study here. I have had a good time and I will take a lot with me home from this experience. Both academically and culturally.
When it comes to differences, what I noticed was the amount of courses. I think the pace in Sweden is slower and more managable, but I managed to combine the five classes I took at SNU, even though it could feel overwhelming. From my experience during the first year at the Culture program, we had one course at the time.
The examinations and learning methods was similar, more there's a huge emphasize on abscent. It was calculated into the grade and was about 20 per cent of the grade itself. Abscent was crucial I would say.
Examinations I had in only two of the classes, and we had to take it online while being present on zoom. There was no difficulties at all. It went smooth in my opinion.
There is a enormour respect for the professors here, and you address them formally. It's part of the korean culture to be polite to your elders and in certain professions, or in a university enviroment.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I arrived at august 1st, went through all the quarantine steps at the airport before collecting my luggage and went on to my airbnb where I did my two week quarantine. It was and is still mandatory. After my two week quarantine I moved to my long-term stay at one of the houses run by Borderless House. It's a share house and so far I have enjoyed it.
When looking for housing, I was familiar with Borderless House since early 2020 and decided to reach out again because it seemed like my best option and there was no issue getting a room here.
I stay near Korea University, the area is called Jegi Dong. Closest subway stations are either Anam or Jegi-Dong, but close to severals bus stops as well.
The rent is about 600.000 won a month (in swedish currency it's about 4800 kr). I find it to be a reasonable price.
I would say that I am satisfied with my choice of housing because my housemates are quite friendly and everyone get along so well. Couldn't ask for better housemates! We are a mix of international students and koreans.

Finances

I financed by exchange with CSN but also with my savings. I think the expenses are similar to how it is in Sweden. The rent is a little higher but it is doable. However, groceries I found to be expensive, when it comes to fruits and vegetables. I would say that you will get around
with CSN. It definitely covers most of the costs, but it is of course good to have some money in a savings account if you would like to travel around in Korea or if there are any unexpected expenses.
I rarely buy groceries since it's more affordable to dine at local resturants. I found a good food service called Sprout that I use occasionally when I want vegan meals. That was a happy discovery!
When it comes to public transportation, it is so effiecent. It's something I will miss when being back In Gothenburg. It is always on time. It is also quite afforable. You use a card called T Money Card, refill it every once in a while. I usually recharge it with 50.000 won (~380kr) at the time (because I did not commute to SNU at all, I think I saved a lot of
money compared to if I had to go to campus every day for the lectures). It lasts me quite sometime. I haven't heard or know if it is possible to do a monthly card as we are
used to in Sweden, so in the end the monthly cost could be the same, or less/more depending on how much you use the transportation system daily.
Taxi is also very affordable and I have taken the taxi quite a lot. However because of the traffic, it is not the most efficient options.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The location of Seoul National University is quite off, especially from my location. It is up in the Gwanaksan Mountain. You can walk there, which I haven't tried. The few times I visited campus I either took a shuttle bus (free) or a regular bus near Seoul National University station, or the taxi. From my location (Anam) it takes approximately one hour and a half. You
have to transfer two or three times when taking the subway.
SNU had a buddy program, which I did not sign up for. It is optional but because of the studies I did not think I would have time for the activities and such. It allows exchange students to become more familiar with korean students, and the korean culture.
If I have any tips, or suggestions for future students it would be: living closer to the university you will attend. I wish I experience the seasonal changed there and met up with classmates to study there. That might be my only regret actually. Living on the same side of SNU would make it a whole lot easier. Especially if there are classes on campus. During the
time I have been here, as I mentioned, it was just online and we had the lectures over zoom, it was not completely necessary for me to go all the way to SNU.

Overall exchange experience

South Korea is a beautiful country, with such friendly and kind humans, but it isn't what you see in Korean Dramas. When I came here, I had little expecations. If you are interested in coming to Korea, it would be important to know the basic formilarities and a few phrases in the Korean language. Koreans are very respectful to each other and feel very proud
of their culture.
They truly appreciate if you know how to say Thank You 감사합니다 (kamsahamnida) and Hello 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo). It is also a common courtesy in Korean culture, to bow, or slightly nodding with your head when saying Hello. On youtube there are a handful of useful videos that can help you masters important phrases in Korean, but also give a great insight in Korean culture. I highly recommend doing some light research before
travelling. It will decrease the culture shock, a bit at least, Wherever you end up going on an exchange semester, I hope you will enjoy every second of it. Study well because that's partly what you are there for but do not forget to experience the place you're in. Go café/resturant hopping if that is your thing. If you are in Korea, sing our heart out in the singings rooms. Make friends and valueable connections.

Explore and visit important landmarks. I wish you have the best time!

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Advanced English: Culture & Aociety
• Advanced English: Literature
• Feminism Aesthetics & Arts
• Introduction to film art
• Modern Sociery & Global Language

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

Faculty of Humanities

What are you studying at GU?

Culture

WASEDA UNIVERSITY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

Overall i felt that the experience were really great. One big difference between GU and Waseda is that in japan you usually take about 7 courses simultaneously over the whole period, while in Sweden we usually do 2 courses at a time over 2 months. The academic level was similar and the content of the courses (some of them i already did in sweden before I went) were very similar also, although we didnt really have räknestuga or räkneövningar, we only had lectures, weekly homework and examinations.

Arrival, orientation and housing

i arrived 2 weeks into the courses due to Covid but it all went fine. All the practical stuff like registration and housing went very well, there was no problems at all. The people who worked in my dormitary was very helpful and i really enjoyed it all

Finances

The rent was the largest part of the living costs and i felt that rent in tokyo is more expensive than gothenburg. But food, transportation, and basically everything else was much cheaper than sweden. For example transportation with subway would be about 10kr, while in sweden a regular ticket is 35kr.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Waseda is located in the center of Tokyo, very close to everything. There is even a subway station inside the school so it is all very convinient. i Dont have alot of experience with activities organized by the university but there is always some activity going on in the dormitary.

Overall exchange experience

The exchange to Tokyo was definitely the best thing i ever did so far in my life. It was so good experience that im even planning to move there permanently after my studies in Sweden.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Solid state physics, thermal physics, quantum physics, electromagnetism,, History of contemporary japan, history of China, ethics

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Fysikprogrammet

 

 

 

KEIO UNIVERSITY

Name

Linus Liljeqvist

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

7 courses equals 30 hp at GU. The courses have different forms of grading. Attendance, participation, presentations among other things can have a significance for your grades. The tempo varies significantly between different courses. Some have 3 presentations and two exams whilst other courses only have a report. The level and quality also varies. Some teachers english isn't that great. There is little interaction during classes.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Everything was very smooth and you were well informed upon arrival. You will get detailed guides and two days where they go through all details. I have lived at Omori student dormitory. It's the closest dorm to Mita campus but it's a bit far from the other student dorms.

Finances

It is about 68000 YEN per month. Breakfast and dinner included. They have their own onsen/bath. There are some fees, e.g. healthcare is a must and costs about 1200 YEN per month. Commuting is about same prices as Sweden. I have had extended CSN and it has been sufficient. Have been digging in to my own savings at points in time though. Be early with applying for scholarships.

Life in a new country/city/culture

There are a vast amount of clubs of different kinds. Soccer, go, pingis, dancing, debate, camping... Most costs a little bit, but most are reasonably priced for covering essentials. They also organize a lot of parties and have Japanese sessions etc. If you want you can be at student activities most days of the week.

Overall exchange experience

It has been great. I would suggest studying in Tokyo from what I've heard from other students. The city has a lot to offer and never gets boring. It also has a lot of stuff in the proximity of 2 hours. Hiking, beaches etc. If you want to know about areas I enjoyed or specific restaurants just give me a call. Linus.Liljeqvist@gmail.com

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Economic history of Japan A/B; Consumer psychology; E-marketing; Japanese Economy; Domestic Tax Law; Managerial Economics; Essential Japanese 1-ma1/1-ma2.

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

Schoool of Business, Economics and Law

What are you studying at GU? 

MSc Management

 

 

 

SOPHIA UNIVERSITY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The Japanese class was taught differently compared to Sweden. We had obligatory homework everyday and class participation as well as attendance were included in the final grade. Other courses given by English speaking professors were similar to GU classes.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I chose to live alone in an apartment due to partner and friends visiting. The registration was slightly complicated since there was a lot to think about, but in the end everything worked out. I'm very happy with the exchange semester.

Finances

There were transportation fees going back and forth to the university. And every citizen has to sign up for national health insurance which is a smaller fee every month. Otherwise no fees at the university. Since I chose to live in Central Tokyo and in my own apartment, my accommodation was higher than others living in a dorm. I didn't get to meet as many new people everyday but I enjoyed having private space. CSN was not enough to cover the costs but I also had scholarship so the economic was no problem at all.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The university is in Tokyo which means there are new things to do every single day. Even the university had lots of activities like school festival, after school club, sightseeing and so on

Overall exchange experience

I completely loved living in Tokyo. The academics are not harder than in Sweden and there is lots of free time to explore. I recommend future students to explore different parts of Tokyo or Japan as a whole. But please remember that you are in a different country with different culture so please please respect their rules and regulations.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Introduction to philosophy
Asian texts
Representation of Japan
Japanese 1

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Humanities

What are you studying at GU? 

Literature

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS)

Name

Irina Levkovets

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

It was quite challenging to transition into computer science coming from a software engineering background. The assignments for computer science courses were of a normal level, they were not too difficult and not too easy. However, the learning curve for the math course that I took was incredibly steep for me. It took us almost no time to get from functions and limits to multivariable calculus and differential equations. The final exam only asked questions about multivariable calculus.

The teaching methods were roughly the same as in GU: lectures, tutorials and assignments. There were also consultation sessions and it was always possible to ask questions. I took 4 courses in parallel and had 4 exams at the end of the semester. The exams are 2 hours as opposed to 4 hour exams at GU.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I lived in LightHouse at PGPR (Prince George's Park Residences). Campus itself is very modern and there are many sports facilities that students can use for free (including badminton and basketball courts, gyms and two swimming pools). I lived in a single air conditioned room with common corridor. The bathroom was in the corridor and it was regularly cleaned. There was also a shared kitchen. I was very satisfied with the accommodation. If you are staying in a room on campus, keep in mind that you need to bring your own bedding set as they only provide you with a mattress. Also, bring along a travel adapter.

The housing was in short supply and many people had to look for a place to stay outside campus.

Finances

Cost of living in Singapore is roughly the same as in Sweden, but food is cheaper on average. I was eating at PGPR food court most of the time where an average meal will cost about 5 SGD which is about 40 SEK. There was a miscellaneous fee and a hostel application fee that I needed to pay. I did not use CSN to cover my costs.

In Singapore QR code payment is used very often. PayLah is a common payment method that is similar to Swish. Some places only accept QR code payment or cash. Therefore, you will have to either create a bank account (which is what I did) or use cash.

Life in a new country/city/culture

It was relatively easy to get used to a new life in Singapore. People are very nice and I found a good friend right away. You will settle in faster if you have a local friend that can show you around. Singapore is a clean and safe modern city with lots of delicious food and things to see.

There are also many things that you can do on campus, you can join different clubs and do sports. There are many events organized by houses of residence: movie nights, barbecues and parties. Also, LightHouse organized a formal night at the end of the semester which was a lot of fun.

Overall exchange experience

Overall, being an exchange student in Singapore was a challenging but hugely rewarding experience. I met many inspiring people, both local and from other countries. The island has a very cosmopolitan vibe and it is definitely a destination worth considering for your exchange semester.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

1. Calculus for Computing MA 1521
2. Programming Language Concepts CS 2104
3. Introduction to Information Security CS 2107
4. Introduction to Computational Biology CS 2220

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Software Engineering and Management

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

Name

Tom Berg

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The academic level is very different, not when it comes to course literature, but when it comes down to what is being taught at the lectures and the speed of the learning process amongst the students. The examinations is quite different since UCC rely much on quizzes with correct or incorrect answers and not much work on essays as it is in GU. In UCC although, the relationship between teachers and students are much closer and directed than it is in GU.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I got to share a dorm room with another Swedish fellow and it worked very well, the administration and the people at campus were very helpful to help with any trouble. The orientation was very inviting and made sure to give information to every arriving student. I was very satisfied with how the housing were handled and how the people at UCC made sure that everything worked out smoothly.

Finances

There were large fees for administration and housing but as long as you state that to CSN they will help you with those fees. The monthly CSN income was enough, with comfort room, and I never experienced stress regarding the financials during my stay.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The campus of UCC is located very near the lovely beach and the campus is suited to embrace the nature. The university organises many activities outside the classroom and it was always a blast to attend. My tip for future exchange students that arrives at UCC is to not only make friends of the other exchange student but also to befriend the locals since they are very nice and open and you get to learn more about the local culture.

Overall exchange experience

My whole experience at UCC was fantastic and an experience I'll never forget. Although it was infuriating at times with how unorganised the academic part of the semester was, the culture and people more than outweighs those troubles.
I plan on visiting UCC and the friends I made there in the near future :)

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Introduction to Anthropology
• CONTEMPORARY THEORIES IN ANTHROPOLOGY
• RESEARCH METHODS
• GLOBALISATION AND THE CULTURE OF CAPITALISM
• INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS (PRAD)

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Social Sciences

What are you studying at GU? 

Global Studies

NORTHEASTEN UNIVERSITY

Name

Ananymous

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

The main difference between Sweden and the US, in terms of studying, is the fact that you will take several classes simultaneously in the US. I did four classes at Northeastern and I am very happy about the quality of the classes. Taking several classes at the same time is a big change and can feel a little stressful at first. However, it is profitable because you get the opportunity to connect what you learn and look at different phenomena from different theoretical angles.

The pace is relatively high at Northeastern University, but there are many resources in place to facilitate the studies. For example, it is common for students to use office hours. During office hours you can meet one on one with the professors to discuss difficulties in terms of assignments for example. Examinations vary greatly. In the classes I took at Northeastern, it has been everything from small assignments and essays to presentations and tests with multiple-choice questions. Another difference is that you have midterms and finals as well. During midterms and finals you are tested cumulatively on what you have learned in. your classes – first after half the semester and then at the end of the semester.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Due to me having covid in the beginning of January, I unfortunately missed orientation. However, I will try my best to put into words what I know about it. Northeastern university has an orientation week for exchange students. During orientation you get settled in and you get to know exchange counselors and other students.

You will go on tours around campus as well as a trolley tour around Boston. The exchange office will probably also arrange different type of fun activities for the students. When you arrive to campus you will go and get your husky card set up. The Husky card is your student id and it works as a key to the library for example, you will use it for printing and it will also be your pass for the gyms etc. You will register for classes online and I had no problems doing that. Northeastern has a lot of resources for basically everything so I could always find someone to help me with whatever I was struggling with during the first couple weeks.

I lived off campus but very close by and I loved it. I found my accommodation on a facebook page where people post ads for sublets near the school. It's called "Northeastern University Apartment Finder". I know that some other exchange students choose to stay in either a hotel or airbnb  throughout the semester (can be an option if you budget for it). One tip is to line up at Lightview. It is fresh and is located across the street from campus.

Finances

In my experience, students in Boston pay more for their housing than in Gothenburg. So, if you do not find a real catch, you can simply count on increased housing costs! For my room I paid 1170 USD + utilities (electricity and wifi used to be about 100 USD / month). I think the rooms at Lightview are about equally expensive. If you look at accommodations in Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain, you can probably find cheaper accommodations. Many students live there and it is within a reasonable distance from the school!

Without writing out exact numbers, I would say that I spent more in Boston than at home. How much it will cost probably depends on what you want to do while you are in the States. Many exchange students travel to other cities which is super fun but can be expensive. For me, CSN was not enough to cover living costs

Life in a new country/city/culture

Living in the States is very different in terms of culture. Some differences are good and some are bad. There is a warmth that I have experienced since while living in the states.

For example, people will not hesitate to stop you in the street to tell you that you have a great outfit. However, there are many problems in the United States in terms of welfare and safety nets for vulnerable groups such as the homeless. Northeastern university is located in the central parts of the city close the the south end. It is a great location and you can basically go anywhere with the T in about 20 minutes. It is also possible to walk basically anywhere. The university is great at arranging non-academic activities on and off campus. One thing that I really enjoyed were the concerts that were held at school.

Concerts with students, local and national artists. Exchange students also got free tickets to different sporting events such as the Boston Red Sox. There is a lot to see in Boston but I would definitely recommend visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum.

Overall exchange experience

I recommend everyone to do a semester abroad. Northeastern university is a particularly good school and Boston is a great place for students. It is very difficult to sum up the entire experience but I will say this; 1. Be aware of the fact that Boston is an expensive place to live., 2. Just go, it will be worth it

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• ANTH1101 38866 Peoples and Cultures
• POLS1150 24469 American Government
• PSYC1101 35088 Foundations of Psychology
• SOCL1101 34480 Introduction to Sociology

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

Faculty of Social Sciences

What are you studying at GU? 

Statsvetarprogrammet

 

 

 

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

The main difference in my regards is that you take all your courses for the semester at the same time, that means that I had 4 courses simultaneously when I am used to take one course at the time. The academic level is definitely not higher than my courses at home but the workload is much more. In my courses I always hade some project/paper/quiz due each week. These often overlapped sometimes so I could easily have several assignments due on the same day. Your where also graded constantly, every thing u did in class did count for your final grade. The layout is often 30% midterm, 35% Final Exam, 20% Homework, 10% Participation and 5% attendance. in other this means that you are graded on how much you participate in class and also if you show up to class or not. It is expected that you show up to every class and email the teacher if you for some reason can not attend. This also means that you build a relationship with your professor then what you would do back in Sweden.

Arrival, orientation and housing

The search for classes was a struggle for me because the person that I was assigned only allowed me chose from a very short list when I applied for my finance courses. This meant that I did not get the most interesting and fun classes. I lived on campus so everything went very smoothly for me, i was assigned a room with 3 other people. I was very satisfied how the school organized everything, they really took care of me.

Finances

The cost in Boston is much higher than in Gothenburg. I lived on campus and shared a bedroom with one person and an apartment with two other people. The rent for this was 5500 USD and I stayed there from early September until 17 of December. I was also forced to buy a meal plan that enabled me to eat in their cafeteria seven times a week for 2200 USD. The books was also quite expensive, I think they where around 100-200 USD if wanted a hard copy. There was also often an option to buy an e-book for a bit less. I most most people domino always buy the books in Sweden but here you are forced to because the homework is often on the books website or through their systems. I financed my exchanges semester through CSN and a loan from my parents. CSN is not even close to cover the cost. The problem was also that they asked you to pay all the fees upfront, like two days after we moved in. There was a rumor that you could apply for some kind of payment plan but I did not explore that option. I tried to not spend that much money on leisure but it is hard when you are trying to explore a city and have fun with your friends. I would estimate that the whole exchange semester everything included costed me about 11 000 USD.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The location was perfect, it took us 20 minutes to get to downtown with the metro. There where sum non-academic activities organized by the school for exchange student. Because the US is much better with organizing student life there was always something that happened. A lot of events and games.

Overall exchange experience

I had a blast, I definitely recommend people to go! Tips should be:

It is going to cost, I could have done more to save money but you shouldn't try to much to me cheap. I was not informed or did not my own research so I was a bit surprised. Try to be open in the beginning and say yes to almost everting;) Try not to think so much about classes but instead try to meet new friends and explore. The friends you make during this semester are the people who is going to make your trip worth it. I was lucky to find a group of other exchange students from all over the world. I did not have the most interesting classes but the friends I made and the time we spent together is something I will never forget. So I emphasize on getting good friends. If you are worried that you will not make friends, don't be! It will definitely happen, everyone in the beginning are looking for friends so you will definitely make some. I do recommend to find people that is also on the exchange program. Because the US students already have their friends group and are outgoing but only to be polite. I would focus on making connection with people that is also new to the city and university.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Financial reporting and analysis
• International Economics
• International Business Management and Environment
• Applied Econometrics

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

School of Business, Economics and Law

What are you studying at GU? 

Ekonomiekandidatprogramet inriktning finans

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The studies are a lot more structured than in Sweden. There are homework, hand-ins and readings that are due before class and the attendance is mandatory and are counted toward your grade. I was surprised at how much work we were meant to do, even for the “basic” courses. There were essays, midterms and more essays and then finals, in addition to the weekly homework we always had to do.

The professors would often do the lectures and then their teacher’s assistants (TA) would hold recitation, what we would call seminarium. The professors were much more respected and were called “professor Smith”, rather than by their first names like we do in Sweden. But they were very friendly and appreciated questions and liked it when you showed an interest in their subject.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Registration for classes was a bit different than in Sweden. I had applied to five courses back in Sweden when registration opened, and then I add-and-dropped two classes during the first week. You fight digitally for the spots available and also can contact the teacher to ask them to let you in. It’s very strange.

I got to Chapel Hill a few days before orientation and explored the town a bit. Move-in was on Saturday, orientation held by International Centre was on Sunday and classes began on Monday, so everything went rather fast. I had applied for a dorm room back home in Sweden, so I just said my name and got my keys. Overall my accommodation was good. I had a dorm room for two, but I didn’t get a roommate so I had the room to myself. I stayed in Connor on North Campus, but it felt very central. I was very close to the gym, cafeteria and several libraries.

Finances

I think it was a bit expensive. My accommodation was about $3,800, the unlimited meal plan about $2,700, insurance about $1,500 and an admin fee of $100. You can also have a cheaper limited meal plan, or skip it and use the dorm kitchens. I thought the unlimited meal plan was worth it, because I ate there all the time, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had Pluswipes as well, here is a link (https://dining.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PLUS-2022-2023.pdf) Just be aware that you can only use one pluswipe per 4 hours (I think it was 4), so if you eat breakfast then you have to wait until lunch before you can use it again. Also, make sure you double check which items on the menu are Pluswipe, otherwise you’ll have to pay for it as normal.

I got an extended CSN for about 70 000 SEK in total, and I got the Adlerbertska stipendium for 15 000 SEK. I didn’t keep the CSN and my personal savings separate, but I don’t think the CSN alone would have covered it. Especially not including travel costs. You can waive the insurance that the school wants you to get if you can show proof that your own insurance is equal.

Additional costs included buying stuff for my room. The room was really bare, just a bed, a desk and chair, a dresser and a built-in closet. I had to buy pillows, a cover and bedding. I think you might be able to rent some stuff, but I found out too late. I would recommend you buy or rent a minifridge. It will make your life much easier and more enjoyable even if you don’t cook. Look at Facebook marketplace, or see if you can rent one.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Chapel Hill is a small university town with one main street, called Franklin Street. On Franklin there are restaurants, bars and a few clubs. My favorites were a dancing club on Franklin called Stillife, and a bar called the Gathering Place just off Franklin, where you can play board games and sing karaoke. I highly recommend a restaurant called Pirate Captain has very good ramen. You can take the buses to Durham and Raleigh, two neighboring towns, or to out of town shopping centers, f.ex. South Point. The regional and local buses are free and there is a bus that goes to and from the airport at the start and the end of term that I think was free as well.

I would really recommend joining a club or something. I joined a gardening club (GAEA) about halfway through the semester and I wish I had done so earlier. On the website HeelLife (https://heellife.unc.edu) you can find upcoming events and fun stuff. I used to look through the events for about two weeks ahead, and by doing so I went ziplining, painted totebags and found GAEA and a bunch of other fun little things.

Also, UNC has two gyms freely available for students and two pools, one indoor and one outside. There is gym equipment and group training. I really liked CardioDance.

Here is a link to the schedule for classes

and to where you book the classes

Overall exchange experience

Overall, I really enjoyed my time at UNC. My best advice is to not get overwhelmed by the studies and take time to have fun as well. Time will fly by, so don’t spend all your time in the libraries. Also, make plans for spring break about a month in advance, especially if you want to go to Miami. Everything will get more expensive and sold out the closer you get.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• RELI 108 - Classical Jewish Texts
• RELI 125 - Heaven and Hell
• RELI 140 - Religion in America
• RELI 181 - Modern Muslim Societies
• RELI 232 - Shrines and Pilgrimages

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Humanities

What are you studying at GU? 

Ämneslärarprogrammet motGymnasiet (engelska och religion)

 

 

 

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SACRAMENTO

Name

Fabian

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

High quality courses, very skilled teachers. Easier studying that in Sweden, but a lot more grade anxiety and more tests in general. I would say it’s a bigger work load but the work is only small portions.

Arrival, orientation and housing

As you are aware, I had some issues with the registration, but my other experiences such as housing, introductions and orientation were very pleasant and very straightforward. The staff was kind and deserve a lot of praise

Finances

Living in California is very much more expensive than in Sweden. I found that the loans that CS and gave to me we’re not enough to cover any living expenses whatsoever and I had to go into personal debt to be able to afford anything.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Location of the University is good. You have easy access to public transportation, however, are visiting a grocery store. Anything of the sort without a car is very time consuming so often find myself having to borrow a car from a friend or from rental company. However, the campus at self is very nice with lots of cafes and activities to do.

Overall exchange experience

This experience has been one of the most interesting in my life and one I will treasure for the rest of my life. I’m also very happy that I learned a lot academically and I would highly recommend it to other students.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Enviromental toxicology, chem 31, chem 24, chem 161

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Education

What are you studying at GU? 

Ämneslärare gymnasiet, biologi och kemi.

DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY

Name

Jamie Ospina Ivarsson

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

At first it was very stressful having to keep up with all the different readings for the courses since I was accustomed to having one course at a time. The readings were sometimes hard, but usually, with some time to get used to, interesting. However, the readings were not always relevant to the subject of the week/exams, wich lead me to not read all of the material.
The exams differed depending on the course, some were essays, some were bubble sheets (multi choice). The bubble sheet exams were for the bigger classes (with more students), and they were sometimes focused on the details and facts of the readings and lectures, instead of the main arguments and concepts. In the end of the semester, there is a two week period of final exams.
The teachers were always very helpful and made sure to have office hours available every week for anyone wanting to discuss the readings or come with questions.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Housing was very hard to find, in the end I had to settle for an Airbnb, which was fairly expensive. Some other people that I talked to were sharing apartments or living in corridors.
The syllabi of the classes, containing all the information needed, were released very close to the start of the courses, wich caused quite some stress, and the organization was subpar. When having questions about practical matters, such as insurance and student fees, I found it hard to know where to turn to.

Finances

The housing was expensive and hard to find. On top of that, there were some administrative fees covering the gym, lunch, student insurance etc, that were either very hard, or even impossible to get out of. I had some financial help from my partner, who was living with me during my stay, as well as my parents, aside from CSN. I think that if I did not have that help it would have been much harder to finance everything.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The Dal campus looks pretty big on the map but you can usually get across in 10 minutes. I managed to explore the city by walking only, since the city centre is not so big. The city doesn't offer many places to explore, but if you get the chance to visit places outside of the city, do that, since it has been shown to be very popular.
The university has many clubs and societies you can join, and the International Centre organizes some activities for international and exchange students. There are also some possibilities to take part of/experience/learn about the indigenous culture on campus since there are a few courses lead by indigenous peoples.

Overall exchange experience

Over all I had a very stressful experience. Having to take so many courses (5) and doing all the readings, while getting accustomed to a new country and culture was very hard. Even though I learned a lot, and I found many courses to be interesting and informative, it was also one of the most stressful times I've experienced.
Since I did not have access to a car, nor a lot of time left over from my studies, I did not explore the outskirts of the city, or the country in general, as much as I would have liked.
I would highly recommend, to anyone doing an exchange at Dalhousie, to try to take at least one Indigenous course. This was very interesting!

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Intro to Gender and Women's studies
• Intro to Anthropology
• Making Gender
• Intercultural Communication
• Indigenous women and the state

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Humanities

What are you studying at GU? 

Kulturprogrammet

 

 

 

DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY

Name

Gry Paulsen

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The tempo was much higher. More assignments every week, a higher level for the courses. I studied a lot for my exams and therefore got a good grade. Canada has a D-A 1-100 % grade score which is easy to follow. The teachers were stricter and more dedicated to the work. The students really saw the teachers as authorities and treated them with a lot more respect and dedication to the work.

Arrival, orientation and housing

It was hard at first to find housing, but the school had good website to help you navigate on your own. I shared a house with two other exchange students, via Airbnb. It was very expensive but had everything you needed. The registration process was very confusing. There were no clear introductions as to how the school website works or how to register to pay for your exchange fees. I recieved very little support with this, and had to ask around a lot.

Finances

Canada is very expensive. My monthly rent was 9500 SEK and the term fee was 800 SEK. The fee however included public transport and access to a large student gym, which was really nice. CSN was barely enough so I had to take from my own money, mainly for the expensive travel costs (flights etc.) the extra loans for flights and insurance from CSN was needed.

Life in a new country/city/culture

I really liked Dalhousie. I joined a few non-academic activities but preferred to spend my free time outside of school with my roommates. The city of Halifax is not very impressive and if I would go to Canada again, I would choose Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver. I love the social culture in Canada, people were very friendly and chatty, which suits my personality well.

Overall exchange experience

I learned a lot at Dalhousie. I would choose a bigger city or warmer country next time. Also, be prepared to spend more money than usual. 3,5 months was just enough for me, I would not have wanted to travel longer. It felt important to establish a friend group in the beginning, if you can, to have support if you're travelling alone. If you study in Sweden: definitely try a new educational system abroad if you can and want to. I was surprised how much I could learn in just 3 months!

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Intercultural Communication, Intro to Social Anthropology, Early Modern Theatre and Literature: How it Works

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Humanities

What are you studying at GU? 

Media, aesthetics and cultural entrepreneurship (bachelor program)

 

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The biggest difference for me was how much the teachers from my exchange uni involved future careers and possibilities during the courses. For example speaking a lot of how this is in practice and how this will be a useful skill in the future career. That increased motivation and made the subject of public/global health more applicable.
Regarding the examination it was quiet similar, as I had written assignment in both universities during and at the end of the course.
I highly appriciated the quality of the health leadership course, the best university course I had so far. Some self studying with recorded lectures and the webinars to discuss the content. Relationship between student and teacher is in both universities similar in my experience.

Arrival, orientation and housing

It is quiet hard to find housing in Sydney. Student housing was already booked out when I could apply for it and other shared flats off campus where tricky to confirm from outside Australia, as most people wanted to have a in-person viewing.
I found mine on flatmate.com - I was really lucky, two days before my flight another girl confirmend the shared flat I lived the whole time (she was okay with a videocall)

Finances

Australia is more expensive than Sweden, but not too much more.
I am an international student in Sweden, therefore I do not get CSN. I used my savings from working before the masters and got support from my parents.
There were no administation fees at University

Life in a new country/city/culture

Uni life at UNSW was really nice, so many cool activities and events on campus.
Location of uni was nice

Overall exchange experience

I had an incredible time and would advice every person to take the opportunity to go on exchange. Especially Australia, come on - who could resist those beaches and the chill mentality?

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Creating Social Change
• Health Leadership
• Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health
• Clinical Governance and Risk Management

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Sahlgrenska Academy

What are you studying at GU? 

Master of Global Health

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE

Name

Emelie Medrala

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The Academic level was overall lower at the university in Australia. However, we had more assignments, mid-term (exams) and at the end of the semester we had exam week, so it was a bit intense. The biggest difference I'd say is that the quality of education is much better in Sweden because we study things more in-depth than in Australia, where we'd only be introduced to certain concepts and theories and then move on. Doing that having four courses at the same time, you do not learn as much in depth. The relationship between students and teachers is VERY mixed. It all depends on what kind of professor you have. I became good friends with one professor and had continuous meetings with her to discuss interesting topics, and then I had another professor who was stubborn and biased and whom I didn't get along with.

Arrival, orientation and housing

It is important to read all the emails so you find your way to the reception (cause I almost missed it, haha). But once I got in touch with people working on campus (almost immediately) everything went smoothly. The orientation was fun and the accommodation was good. I was satisfied. The only thing was that the rent was very high and the information about the prices weren't really up to date on their website. But I am glad it wasn't because then I might have applied for spot in the apartments instead of staying at the dorm, and the dorm was way better and more fun even though it was more expensive.

Finances

CSN is NOT enough to cover the costs. I can't stress this enough. If you don't have a scholarship or financially supporting relatives or a job, it will be very hard. Food is more expensive there than in Sweden, the accommodation covered the majority of the CSN support, you needed to buy your own plates, bowls, cutlery, sheet covers etc. for the accommodation. It is more than one would think. Besides, CSN give you 2000 kr more (loan) than you'd get in Sweden. And considering all the things that I mentioned, it isn't enough.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The university was pretty far away from the city centre but that wasn't really a problem. There were many buses going to, from and within the campus and there were also trains. It took about 30 min to get to the city and 40 to get to the coast. There were MANY on campus activities and it was so much fun. The students living in dorms would also create or host their own activities so there were always something going on and it was completely voluntary to join. My advice is to join different activities to find something new that you like and to make friends. I joined a weekly Salsa + Zouk class and turned out I loved it so much I now continue with Salsa + Bachata in Gothenburg, Sweden. I also signed up for a membership at the campus gym. Most activities were a "one time thing" (like pottery painting) but there were many different clubs to join. One of my closest friend that I made there, she joined a Diving club and they went scuba diving every second or third weekend on different trips. So there is a lot and you can hear more about them already on orientation week. The university also have many activities that are tradition (some official and some created by students) and many are about partying and drinking. (example: glow party, halloween parties, every Wednesday is one club and every Sunday is another etc).

Overall exchange experience

Sum: Expensive, and stressful, but it is the best thing I have done in my life.
The experience has given me so much that really has changed my life. I have learned so much about myself and I have learned so much from people from ALL walks of life. I am very passionate about connecting with people and learning about their experiences of this life that we are sharing. But really, I started out just wanting to study abroad and Australia was my dream. I got so much more than that. All the challenges have been blessings too in their own way.

My advice is: It is the people that make a place special. Of course, I was shy in the beginning as well but really challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone. Because when things get hard, complicated or challenging there are so many people that have so much experience with so many things that want to be there for you. Study and have fun. But you didn't apply to study abroad so you can just sit and study at a desk, did you? :)

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Introduction to Aboriginal Studies
• What is Anthropology?
• Introduction to Human Geography
• Environment and Society

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

Faculty of Social Sciences

What are you studying at GU? 

Global studies

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

I had a great experience studying at the UoN. The teachers were friendly and easy to approach. The differences from studying at GU were undertaking four courses parallel and not being part of a program. In my chosen subjects, examinations were exclusively assignment based.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Dealing with practical matters such as registration and course selection was made easy thanks to excellent student support at the university. I did not attend many of the arranged activities going on during orientation though there was a lot happening, especially at Callaghan University.

Since I traveled to Newcastle with my family (husband and daughter), the conditions for finding accommodation differed from those traveling solo. Staying at the university was not allowed and living in a shared house was not an option hence we ended up living in three different Air Bnb's which worked fine though it was expensive.

Finances

The cost of living in Newcastle (rent and food especially) was higher compared to Gothenburg. Since we ended up renting an Air BnB, the rent was 20.000 kr monthly though staying in a shared house/at the campus is much cheaper. There were no administrative fees at the university. I financed my exchange with CSN and savings. CSN might cover the costs if the accommodation is cheaper.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Newcastle is a nice place to live with a small city center and plenty of beautiful beaches nearby. The university is generous with arranging activities and parties for students and there are plenty of opportunities to be a part of a rich student life. When deciding what to study I recommend choosing one of the three locations where courses are offered and finding accommodation close by. Callaghan is located 30 minutes by bus from the city center. Callaghan is a very large campus and is responsible for arranging the majority of student activities and parties. NuSpapce is a smaller campus close to the city center and beaches responsible for courses within law and economics. Lastly, courses within the area of health are held at John Hunter Hospital, ca 20 minutes outside of the city center.

Overall exchange experience

In summary, I had a great experience in Newcastle and would definitely recommend coming here to study. It is a small city that offers plenty of opportunities for a great student experience and very nice places to swim, surf and hike.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• HPR06715 Foundations of health promotion
• MNGT1001 Introduction to Management
• PUBH6304 Global Health
• SOCA63010 Institutional Equity and Inclusion

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Sahlgrenska Academy

What are you studying at GU? 

Master in Global Health

 

 

 

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The studies at my exchange university were very similar to those at GU. Both the learning methods and examinations for the units I took were similar to what I'm used to at GU. The biggest difference was the fact that students at QUT take four units simultaneously instead of doing one at at time like at GU. It therefore seemed more stressful although I believe the workload was pretty much the same as at GU.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I arrived just in time for the orientation week that QUT arranges prior to the start of the semester. I think the orientation was very well made and I also met about half of my friends during that time. My enrollment and registration to my units were already done at the time (if I remember it correctly) but I received my student id-card and some other stuff during that first week. I had also organized accommodation prior to traveling to Australia so all of that was also done when I arrived.

Finances

I didn't have to pay any administrative fees at the university that I remember of but in general the living costs were higher than I was used to in Gothenburg. I stayed at a student accommodation (a room in a 5p apartment) but the rent was still about 9500 SEK. Food were also a bit expensive but it was getting more expensive in Sweden as well at the time. CSN was enough but i had to apply for the extended loan to be able to cover my living costs.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The location of the university was great being close to the city centre and also near the botanical gardens and the river. There're also tonnes of non-academic activities organized by student associations that you can take part in if you want.

My best tips for future students is to try and do as much as possible to get friends early on during the exchange.

Overall exchange experience

The study part of the exchange was great and it was also fun to get to see a different part of the world and get new friends but unfortunately my exchange experience didn't turn out as I had planned due to personal reasons. I think that you should be careful with going on an exchange if your not entirely sure about it because it can get both very lonely and tough.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• BVB204 Ecology
• BVB321 Invasion Ecology
• BVB313 Population Genetics and Molecular Ecology
• BVB304 Integrative Biology

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Miljövetenskap med naturvetenskaplig inriktning

 

 

 

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

A bit more formal at host university. More modern and structured but lacked a lot in personality compared to GU. Way more reports and texts as examination and way less exams in comparison to GU.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Everything went very smooth! Orientation was very informative and gave good opportunities for future studies and housing was easy to just check in

Finances

Accomodations was very expensive. Living costs a bit higher than at home but CSN with the extra exchange loan money was enough

Life in a new country/city/culture

Worked surprisingly well. Tips for future studies is to be very active in the start so you make new friends straight away, that will make the rest of your stay better! Also get active in a club/association at the uni, then you instantly get thrown into a friend group and have activities to do.

Overall exchange experience

It was great! Highly recommend it! My tip is to do a lot of things, make the most of it and do fun stuff!

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

BVB204
BVB321
BVB313
EVB304

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Dubbelkandidat i Miljövetenskap och Biologi

 

 

 

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Name

Stina Thulin

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

All the courses were at the same time instead of separate, with an exam week in the end of the semester. You have the same schedule every week with one workshop and one lecture in each subject. The level of information an academic level I would say are similar. Examinations I would say are easier in the courses I had. Examination was on paper and a lot of false or true questions or a question with multiple answers to choose from.

Arrival, orientation and housing

The university didn't have any campus so I booked a private student housing company called StudentOne. Registration and arrival was super easy. Was some questions during the stay and they were really strict with money and the registration during our leave, more than necessary. The oriantation from the school was awesome and I definitly recommend people going there. Got friends during the first day that I had for the rest of the semester. You just have to go up and talk to people, but everyone is in the same boat.

Finances

Overall the price in Australia is the same as in Sweden, some things were cheaper and some more expensive. The housing was the exception and was a lot more expensive, something I head from all my friends there. I payed around 9000 swedish krona and that was for a room with shared bathroom and kitchen.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The school organize a lot of events and most are super fun. It is also a perfect opportunity to meet more firends, and everyone that goes there are there to meet people so it is not weird to start talking with everytone. Don't be scared to talk with people, everyone is there for the same reason!

Overall exchange experience

It was truly amazing, can not recommend it enough to others. If you get the opportunity, please go! You will be grateful to yourself for doing it. Australia requires so much paperwork to be able to go, but it is so worth it.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

XNB151, Food and Nutrition. XNB176, Physical Activity and Health. XNB251, Nutrition Science. XNB252, Food and Nutrition Across the Lifecycle.

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Sahlgrenska Academy

What are you studying at GU? 

Dietistprogrammet

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

• Classroom experiences: The class size at Aarhus University was so much smaller than in my courses at GU, like 1/3. I think this would be very beneficial because you receive higher attention from the teachers and you can know your classmates better in such a short term. The dynamic in the classroom was also very casual, the teachers were approachable and supportive.
• Workload: I think the workload at AU is lower and I had a more relaxing examination requirement. I had two take-home exams, for which I had to prepare two portfolios containing group work, individual writing, and completing a quiz.
• Schedule: The best thing about studying at AU is the communication of the schedule and plans. The course syllabus was well prepared ahead of time and communicated clearly with the students. Changes were also communicated quickly.
• Learning methods: My courses focused a lot on group/pair discussion, which was very beneficial. Group work was also promoted.

Arrival, orientation and housing

• Housing: I lived in Aarhus, which I think finding student housing was not difficult at all. I signed up for AU Housing, which I was rejected. But then I signed up for Aarhus student housing website, I got an offer very quickly. The only downsize about Aarhus student housing is most of their accommodation are unfurnished, which is super inconvenient and challenging for short-term exchange students.
• Arrival: I took two trains from Gothenburg to Aarhus via Copenhagen. I didn't take the ferry as I didn't think it was any faster than the trains, since I would have to take another train from Frederikshavn to Aarhus.
• Orientation: The International Office at AU did an amazing job at welcoming exchange students. There was a week of introduction that they promoted meeting other students and taking part in a lot of activities. It was a bit too much for me, honestly.

Finances

I think Aarhus might be a little bit more expensive than Gothenburg. There was no administrative fees at AU. The cost of accommodation is also higher. I don't receive CSN, only the Erasmus scholarship, which was enough for the renting.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The university is in the city centre as Aarhus is relatively small. The winter in Aarhus is also less cold and more comfortable than in Gothenburg. It has very beautiful beaches as well. My tip is to live closer to the city centre and the university because the public transportation in Aarhus is not really good. Biking in Aarhus is also a good option because the city is very bicycle-friendly.

Overall exchange experience

I am happy with my exchange experiences. I learnt and gained more knowledge on the subjects of my interest. I am very glad that I went on exchange to learn in a different environment and meet with wonderful people.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Introduction to Cultural Data Science
• Philosophy of Social Minds

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 The Artistic Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Master in Communication

 

 

 

ROSKILDE UNIVERSITY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

I took a mix of both master and one bachelor level course (computer science semester project)
The structure was excellent at roskilde university in their project based learning. It was demanding, and I learned an enormous amount of practical knowledge and skills compared to the Gothenburg classes. Gothenburg is rigid in rules, and lacks practical and project based learning which is particularly frustrating for the program I am in, that is why I chose to study abroad at Roskilde where I knew I would have to make projects and learn skills like Object Oriented Programming. Examinations in Roskilde are more demanding with both papers and then an oral exam defending your paper for semester project module courses. This was good preparation for what will be the thesis structure for Gothenburg. The support from professors at roskilde was much stronger and I felt like this is something my program in Gothenburg again fails to provide. The hierarchy at Gothenburg hinders the learning process and makes a learning environment a monologue not a dialogue. Innovation is something the program at Gothenburg needs to reflect upon especially being in IT, they are far behind compared to roskilde university and this made me have to do a lot of extra studying to catch up to my danish colleagues. My professors at roskilde were truly experts in their fields.

Arrival, orientation and housing

the exchange coordinators and orientation program were excellent. I was offered housing options that were affordable and on campus. Orientation was a week long of meetings in the days at the university to help us with all practical matters and there was a buddy program as well. I was satisfied. They were great.

Finances

The housing costs at Roskilde were very reasonable; 4.000dkk for a single room on campus. I am not sure what it costs for Gothenburg student housing however. There were not any admin fees at roskilde. Healthcare was completely free and the only costs I had were train tickets as I lived in copenhagen and then malmö. CSN was not enough to even cover the student housing in denmark, nor the erasmus grant. Both need to be updated given inflation. I am lucky enough to have worked and lived off of my saving during my studies. Now I am working for region skåne which is a great relief.

Life in a new country/city/culture

take danish lessons, join the buddy program, and find an extracurricular activity like a sport with the uni to join. Roskilde was great and has all sorts of student clubs. I joined a club for students interested in starting their own businesses for example. I also joined and played some football (soccer) games with the student club also. Roskilde university has a beautiful campus with good nature, and they have many activities and student support.

Overall exchange experience

I would highly recommend any Gothenburg student to study abroad at roskilde univeristy or any other university in denmark. It is an innovative and student centered learning environment where you have great experts in the field that want you to succeed in an informal basis. Meeting for a beer and talking with some students and the professor after class is something that Danes are awesome for that Swedes dont do..but maybe they should :) Or at least fika.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• computer science project module
• trends in digital median and communication theory
• advanced user experience

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Education

What are you studying at GU? 

international masters program in IT & Learning

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

I would say that it's been less lectures in Copenhagen than in Gothenburg, but you have to put more time and effort into your school work in Copenhagen. The academic level have been the same in my opinon, but it's defenitely been harder to study in Copenhagen since everything is in english. There's also a big difference when it comes to examinations, since all exams are in the end of the course here. In Gothenburg we always did one course at a time so during a semester you had around 4 exams. But since I have been studying all courses at once here, it's a lot of exams during the same week.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I lived in an apartment with two other exchange students, which I found on Facebook. Everything has been quite easy since our landlord has been very available and always anwered our questions etc. I was very satisfied with my accomondation and arrival etc, but it definitely was not easy to find a place to stay in Copenhagen.

Finances

CSN is definitely not enough to cover the costs in Copenhagen. My accomondation (a small room) was 8000 SEK a month which left me with 3000 SEK left every month. Everything is twice as expensive here than in Sweden so I have had to use my saving to just be able to eat and live here. I've had a hard time financing my stay here and most of my friends had to take extra jobs, which was hard since you must have a CPR and a danish bankcard etc.

Life in a new country/city/culture

I would say that there's a lot to do that the univerity is organizing in Copenhagen. Especially during the first weeks, where there's a lot of welcome parties etc. I also joined a lot of Facebook groups, both the uni groups but also "find friends" groups where I met a lot of people. A tip for future students would be Studenterhuset, which is a cafe/bar owned by the univerity. You can buy very cheap drinks there and they have different activities every night. The whole place is full of students and it's also possible to volounteer there (and meet other volounteers).

Overall exchange experience

I have loved my exchange very much, and I feel like Copenhagen is a great city to do your exchange. The only thing I haven't liked is the finances since Copanhagen is the most expencive city in Europe. Not even in the school cafetera is it possible to find cheap food and coffe etc, which actually makes it hard to live here. But, other than that, Copenhagen is such a fun city with things happening around the city everyday. People are friendly and easy going, the night life is the best I've ever experienced and there is so much to learn about the culture and architecture etc.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Population and society, Sociological diagnosis of our times and Danish Film, Television & Streaming.

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Social Sciences

What are you studying at GU? 

Journalism at JMG (program, 180 hp)

NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, NTNU

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

I liked the courses a lot and found the topics and literature very interesting. The academic level was quite similar to GU but the tempo was a bit slower. Both my courses were 15hp but we only had about 1 lecture per week (for each course). The courses were taken at the same time. Throughout the semester there were a few mandatory group projects and essays, but the main exam was at the end of the semester for both courses. I had one home exam (large essay) and one exam at school (6 hr written exam).

Arrival, orientation and housing

NTNU organized a few orientation days for Erasmus students just before the semester started. I found them to be good and we were given a lot of practical information for university registration etc. These days were also good to meet other people, I met some of my best friends of the semester at these days :) I organized accommodation by myself through Hybel and lived with two Norwegian girls. Otherwise you can get accommodation through the university which is called SIT. However you found out very late if you would get SIT accommodation or not, which was the main reason I decided to find housing by myself. I was very happy with my housing and thought it was nice to live privately. I paid a bit more (around 6500 nok/month), SIT is cheaper but quite "unpersonal" and not always super nice, altough I knew a lot of people who stayed with SIT and really liked it :)

Finances

As I said I paid about 6500 nok/month for housing, but you can definitely get away cheaper. Overall I wouldn't say it isn't too much more expensive than Sweden, food stores maybe a little bit but not super much. There were no administrative fees at the university. I took full CSN and I got the Erasmus stipend. For Norway you get a bit more Erasmus money as well, so I think it was about 5000 sek/month. In addition I was granted Adlerbertska and Donationsnämnden stipend which added 25 000 sek. CSN and the Erasmus money is definitely enough to cover the costs.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The location of the University depends on what you study, but either way it was easy to get to all the different campus with bus. There was also something called Studentersamfundet which is a big building with several bars/restaurants/clubs open only for students which was a nice place to go for (fairly) cheap beers. At Studentersamfundet they also organized lots of events like concerts, debated and so on. Another nice thing with NTNU is NTNUI. In NTNUI there are super many different sports/activity organisations that you can become a member in (often for free or for a small sum). These organisations are run by students and they organize events/ trainings or trips for their sport, everything from soccer and dance to toptouring and diving. For example I went on a trip with the Surf group to Hoddevik which was amazing. Usually these trips are very good prices compared to if you would do the same thing by yourself.

Overall exchange experience

Overall I'm super happy with my exchange and don't regret it at all!! I'm very happy I chose Norway and Trondheim. Of course it's not the most crazy cultural difference from Sweden, but I was so happy with the experiences I had in Norway. My best memories are all the skitouring, outdoor climbing and cabin trips that me and my friends made there. One thing I would really recommend is to check out DNT, den norske turistföreningen. We stayed in their cabins so many times, they are super cheap and really good cabins. Another cool thing is BUA, who lends out all types of outdoor gear for free (!!). You can borrow cross country skis, slalom skis, tents, sleeping bags and so much more from them.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• GEOG2022, Globalisation and Sustainable Development in the South
• GEOG2023, Local and global perspectives on Environmental and Natural Resources Management

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Social Sciences

What are you studying at GU? 

Global Studies Bachelor

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN UiB

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

All the courses I took were at the bachelor level, so it was easy for me to pass them. Academic level was not too difficult.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I did not participate in orientation, and I rented an apartment on my own. So, I can not tell much about housing situation.

Finances

There is no administrative fees, but Norway is very very expensive! Most of the prises are double up. For me personally CSN was not enough.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Fun town, beautiful nature. Not sure if there was any activities organized by the university.

Overall exchange experience

Overall I would recommend Norway, especially if you want to take courses in Information technologies and media.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• MEVI224 Media Technology and Society
• DIKULT105 Web Design I

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Master in communication

 

 

 

UiT, THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The studies at UiT are increadibly similar to how the system works at GU. The main difference being the exams which were more often oral and had a someone from an outstanding university oversee the process and give the final grades. Teachers were nice and very passionate, their favourite method of learning being the seminars, which there were multiple every weak, not mandatory which ment most did not show, but the few who did learnt much more.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Registration for housing was a very confusing and frustrating experience since you had no idea if you were ever to be given an aparment till when you were. The housing agency (their version of SGS, "samskipnaden") where you make your application is confusing, the login terrible, and you are not able to pick the aparments in a good manner, you select your top 10 and hope for the best!

I was fortunate to recieve a 2 bedroom aparment which was at the bottom of my top 10 list, it included internet and electricity and you are able to select the heat (included, electric radiators) to your own comfort. For most aparments internet and electricity are included but you are not able to select how warm you want it. Fridge/Freezer as well as stove/oven was not included with the aparment and I had to purchase on my own. Most smaller aparments have shared kitchens, but since mine was 2 bedrooms it did not. It cost around 8200 SEK per month.

Finances

Since my aparment was quite expensive the cost of living was much higher than in Sweden. The food is also much more expensive but basic wares were sometimes cheaper (compared to sweden) if purchesed from the basic brands, e.g. flour, eggs, tomatosauce, pasta. Surprisingly, (e.g.) grapes, bananas, babytomatoes, and lettuce was much cheaper than in Sweden during times they were on discount, which was quite often. So it is possible to keep the food price down if you live on the basics. In the end my total expenses came to around 11500 SEK a month, a little over the CSN budget which was fine since i have a buffer.

Eating out was rare and probably impossible for most since a regular plain pizza cost 380 NOK. The bars were also very expensive and buying at the alcohol-store (vinmonopolet) is atleast twice as expensive.

I highly recommend applying for a grant if you can.

Life in a new country/city/culture

They send out activities (via email) for students to attend weekly, and is super helpful. There are sports and other wildlife activites and clubs you can join. City is small but cosy, but if you want a city life this is probably not the place. The culture is very similar to Sweden, (basically same as all the rest of Scandinavia).

Tromsö is for the nature lover mostly, you can easily take a buss out of the city and go into the "arctic" environment and climb mountains. I would recommend bringing a car or befriending someone with a car since the buses do not give you too many options or variation if you go out often.

Overall exchange experience

Overall exchange experience was good, if you are swedish they might think you're norweigan and you will have to learn all the different norweigan accents much faster than you would probably want (some are really difficuly and it varies a lot).

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• BIO-3009 Arctic Marine Pollution
• BIO-3015 Arctic Marine System Ecology and Climate Change
• BIO-3020 Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Marine Science, Master's Programme. Specialty: Biology

 

 

 

UiT, THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

At my home university, courses are generally focused on marine science. At the exchange, courses were directed towards general biology students, so there was some repetition, but after a few weeks all my courses went into a lot more detail and I learned a lot i hadn't done before. This semester was my first time having an oral exam, and one of the courses was examined through essays rather than a written or oral exam, which was also new for me. Other than that, the courses and practicalities were rather similar at both universities. The exchange university had a lot more facilities and activities for students than GU does, as well as better student infrastructure (more rooms, study places, etc.). I also got to participate in three research cruises, over several days each, while in Gothenburg we usually only go out on a ship for short periods of time.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I lived in student accommodation, which was easy to get and rather uncomplicated. Since my fall semester at GU and my spring semester at UiT overlapped, i was not able to take part in the welcoming week, and some things were therefore a bit challenging to figure out. Especially finding my way on campus took a while to master, and while most digital things (email, canvas, registration, etc) were rather accessible, the amount of things to do and respective deadlines were a bit hard to keep track of.

Finances

Norway has very high costs of living and I did use most of my Erasmus money to cover up for the extra expenses. Especially food was very costly, but also housing was more expensive than at home. For university, however, I did not have to pay any fees. Public transport was a lot cheaper than in Gothenburg, and there were a lot of student discounts available. I was able to cover all of my expenses, but did live a very economically modest lifestyle.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Tromsø is a rather small city, and the university is concentrated more or less to one large campus, about 20 minutes by bus from the city center. There are a lot of student clubs with many different activities, most of which are very cheap to join. There are also activities such as waffle fridays, fairs, etc organised by the university. There is an erasmus student coordinator sending out weekly emails about things to do, which is very helpful in the beginning when trying to figure out things to do and places to see. I would recommend joining student clubs, since there is something for everyone (choirs, many different types of sports and outdoor activities, board games, and much much more), and it's a great way to meet people.

Overall exchange experience

I really loved my exchange, especially because of the host university. My courses were super interesting and I got a lot of great experience, and was able to do a lot of practical work guided by very professional researchers. The university has a beautiful and spacious campus, and there are more opportunities for free time activities than you have time for. Be ready for the dark in the winter, and enjoy the snow!

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• BIO-2010 Marine Ecology
• BIO-2516 Ocean Climate
• BIO-2513 Marin Biodiversitet

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Marine Science, Bachelor's program (major in biology)

 

 

 

UNIS – UNIVERSITY CENTER IN SVALBARD

Name

Fabienne Mannherz

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The academic level and quality of the courses was comparable to GU (high standards). However, the relationship between teachers and students and learning methods were even more practical, hands-on and personal with very direct interactions between teachers and students, very flat hierachies. But this might also be due to the small campus and the very special kind of university in general. Also, during my studies at GU, we have a multitude of different teachers during each course vs. at UNIS, we would have 2-3 fix teachers throughout a single course which allowed for better relationship building. We also did quite a lot of practical field work and simulation exercises in class.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Everything was well organised regarding the one and only student accomodation available on Svalbard. It is a brand new student housing for 300-400 students operated by one of the Norwegian Student Wellfare organisations. I organised everything online before and my room was open and with the key inside on the day of my arrival. Only the practical information regarding university courses was a bit lacking due to the fact that UNIS cannot give access to Canvas prior to arrival - so we only would learn about schedule and activities on the first day of the semester. But we addressed this with UNIS study admin directly. I am super happy how everything was organised. Beside of the course-related introduction, there was a lot of orientation lectures and exercises dedicated to living (and surviving) on Svalbard including different Safety Training, Polar Bear protection training (learning how to shoot a rifle, getting a license to carry a gun), etc.

Finances

Living on Svalbard is expensive. The student accomodation price is comparable to renting a room in a shared flat in Gothenburg, but a bit higher to the single room appartment at SGS. But apart from this, everything is more expensive. Food, drinks, activities - let alone traveling to and from Svalbard and the new gear and equipment needed. I got ERASMUS funding and financed the rest by my savings.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Living in the Arctic itself is a once in a lifetime experience and living in a very small remote community is different in so many ways. There was always things to do and explore and each day was different depending on the weather, the surroundings, etc. The university, the student council, the student welfare organisation or simply the students themselves organise various things on a weekly base from gathering, game nights, quiz nights, knitting afternoons, movie nights, weekly hikes, etc. There is a sport facility close by, some cafes and bars. You can go sea-kayaking in the Arctic Fjords. There is even a current movie screened every week in the public community hall. In general, I was more than surprised how much you could do in such a small and remote location. Life is totally different - a bit like living in a bubble far away from anywhere else, where the most exciting news of the day could be that the cargo plane finally was able to land again and bring some mail and fresh fruits :)

Overall exchange experience

Incredible experience. Everyday there was something new to learn, see, feel, process. The course content mixed with directly living in the Arctic offered a unique learning experience since everything seemed interconnected - even with life outside the university. I cannot say how many times I went outside my comfort zone - during hikes, during sleeping in a remote cabin out in polar bear terrain, learning to shoot a rifle, interacting with so many interesting and different people and perspectives, learning which everyday things you take for granted - and which become much more valued by living in a remote and life-threatening environment like the Arctic. If you are interested in Arctic research, this is the place to be, learn and experience it first hand.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• AS-302 Safety Management in the Arctic (10 ECTS)
• AS-303 Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Arctic (10 ECTS)
• AS-304 Risk, Technology and Human Performance in Arctic Operations (10 ECTS)

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Master Sea & Society

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF AGDER

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

The overall experience was alot the same. Relationship between student and teachers was very similar to GU. Academic level and quality of course aswell. However, the schedule of the courses were not the same. At UIA we had a set schedule for the courses that repeated itself every week, whilst at GU the schedule is not set. I preferred the schedule at uia as it made routines and planning easier.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I enjoyed my housing alot. It was a shared kitchen with two other people. However, I would recommend future exchange student to get a shared bedroom instead as it is cheaper and alot of fun. My arrival was good, picked up the key and went to my room. The student arriving later than me had buddies come pick them up at various places. The orientation wad organised in buddy group, which was very nice as it made it easier to find friends.

Finances

Norway has higher prices when it comes to living, the food price us higher. I would say CSN could have covered the cost but I had saved money I could take from to finance my living there. No administrative fees.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Enjoyed living in Norway, I've always wanted to compare the culture to Sweden and it was an experience. Norway had a lot to offer through nature and the university student organisation organised alot of activities, for free, for students. Among other things, some friends and I went bungy jumping!

Overall exchange experience

I had a great tune in Norway and at UIA. I would really recommend future students going there. Both the academic and social life was amazing.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

UT-113 Introduction to development studies, UT-204 The political ecology of global environmental challenges, UT-115 Global development issues in a Latin American context

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Social Sciences

What are you studying at GU? 

Global studies

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF OSLO

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

There was an initial challenge with registering for my courses and I did not receive much support from both GU and UiO because of the summer holiday break (totally understandable :)). However, after several emails and redirection to different individuals, I was glad that was finally sorted out. The courses were comprehensive and interesting. They took a hybrid (online & on-campus) approach. They felt very relevant to what I had anticipated. The only downside was they used different programming software than what we use in GU; therefore, there was a really big learning curve. UiO had lots of great facilities for students like individual career advice meetings and funding opportunities for activities like podcasts or artsy events.

Arrival, orientation and housing

The arrival was great. The housing did not have a key pick up facility near my housing so I had to pick it up from school then go to the apartment. UiO had organized a lovely orientation week for the first years and exchange students so it was lovely meeting new people and having the chance to go sightseeing before the courses actually began. The housing was quite disappointing. I found out I paid approximately 1100 NOK more than my neighbours and wasn't sure why, the SiO housing was pretty worn down and they had to do a lot of repairs while I had already moved in. It didn't live up to the photos on their website but I made due.

Finances

The living costs were very high in Oslo which I had anticipated. It is undoubtedly much cheaper to study at GU and to live in Gothenburg. Before finally buying things to cook in, on the first days I spent 300 NOK a day on meals. The housing I received from SiO was 6,338 NOK for 14m2. There were no administrative fees at the university. I received the Nordlys scholarship. I didn't qualify for CSN.

Life in a new country/city/culture

I was glad to go to another Scandanavian country. There was not much of a cultural difference. It was, however, a larger city and was, therefore, more costly. It was super diverse and felt like a lovely melting pot of people put together. The school organized an orientation week and financed the non-academic activities. We had picnics, walking tours around Oslo, ferry rides to different archipelagos, Fika and a pub crawl.

Overall exchange experience

It was an amazing experience and a lovely chance to meet a lot of new people. The courses were also great. The downsides were the poor coordination since classes in UiO started in the second week of August but GU staff are still on break at this time. It would be nice to address this aspect because I did feel stranded at some point.

I would advise anyone who wanted to do an exchange to consider the initial miscellaneous costs that may arise. They should also take advantage of the first weeks to really move around and meet new people. There will be lots of you who are new and 'lost' so it's fun to do all that together. I would also advise them to look for people who are in the course already to sort of orient them better because had I known we were using a different programming system than what we use at GU, I likely would have opted for a different, more-aligning course. An important aspect to consider is also the logistics like travel and accommodation. It took some time for me to find someone to sublet my place to so it's never too early to start planning. At the time, Norway had strict COVID regulations like quarantine at a hotel for those who weren't fully vaccinated so this was an important thing to factor in. Overall, I would recommend an exchange to anyone, and I personally loved going to a bigger city because it offered a much 'richer' experience.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• HEVAL5140 21H Methods for effectiveness evaluations in health care
• HGOV4100 21H Fundamentals of Health Care Systems

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Sahlgrenska Academy

What are you studying at GU? 

Masters in Global Health

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF TROMSÖ

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2021/2022

Studies

Very nice teaching atmosphere where (almost) everyone felt comfortable to ask questions and discuss!
A lot of seminars/ discussion/group work to discuss different scenarios/the topics and think about the lectures

Relationship between teachers and students relaxed, nice and respectful

Arrival, orientation and housing

Very good organisation from the start to the end of my stay!
A lot of information mails before arrival with all needed information, weekly announcement mails about happenings, covid rules, activities... The housing result was quite late (4weeks before arrival) and as rooms in the students housing are not granted I got stressed but everything worked out in the end and you receive all needed information
The orientation was digital (due to covid) and worked well. We received the presentation later on as mail and during the session a lot of questions could be solved, not only university related but also about registration in Norway and working procedures

Finances

The accommodation was about 5000NOK, but as there are different student housings the rent differs...
I did not have to pay for the exchange.
I did not receive CSN (as I am from Germany and not a Swedish citizen) but got the “nordlys” grant. As this is not more than 2000SEK per month this was not enough to cover the costs, but even the Erasmus grant was not (as friends of mine got that).

Life in a new country/city/culture

Both the university of Tromsø and the student housing I stayed in where located at the island of Tromsø and sometimes I worked to uni (40min). There are students housings very close to the university but they are not as easy connected to the city centre as my student housing was...I really enjoyed walking to the centre within 12 minutes (4 minutes by bus) There are different groups for exchange students which organised a lot of different activities which are for free or at least cheaper that the original price! (Hikes, bbq, bus trip to rovaniemi, boat cruise, whale watching...)

There is also a weekly announcement mail from the university informing about things going on which could be all from movie nights, gingerbread house decoration, wird courses, knitting meetings... - you just have to choose there is always something going on for everyone!

Overall exchange experience

I have been and are still very satisfied with my exchange to Tromsø! It has been a great time up in the north in a beautiful arctic city that has everything you need, a very nice university with interesting courses and welcoming atmosphere from the first day!

As everything was well organised (housing, arrival, courses, university, information abut activities...) it was easy to feel comfortable and to meet new people and friends!
I was satisfied with the university system as well - the teaching atmosphere is friendly and you feel comfortable to ask questions/ discuss. The quality of teaching is high and as you “work” with your new knowledge you really understand and remember!

I can only recommend the exchange program to Tromsø!
It is a great opportunity for private and academic life and I am sure you will be as happy as I am!

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Arctic Marine Pollution
• Arctic Marine System Ecology and Climate Change

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Science

What are you studying at GU? 

Master program Ecotoxicology

 

 

AKUREYRI UNIVERSITY

Name

Heidi Hedman

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The biggest difference was how the planning of courses and credits. During my bachelor at GU, the semesters are divided into two periods and in those periods you never have more than two courses at a time and there's usually no breaks in between semesters. At UNAK, you have one semester with one period and you study 5 courses at the same time. You also end the last courses of the fall semester before Christmas and start the spring semester after New Years so you have the holidays off. At UNAK, you usually have smaller examinations more frequently in comparison to my studies at GU were we often have one or two bigger examinations.

UNAK is known for being a hybrid university so all classes, except the Icelandic language and culture one, was optional to join in on zoom or in class. There is a lot of students all over Iceland that attend UNAK with distance learning.

The classroom teaching is intimate and relaxed. In class, there's often not a lot of people so it is easy to get opportunities to get your voice heard and to start discussions. The teachers are nice and responsive.

Arrival, orientation and housing

I arrived 25th of august, the day before orientation. My landlord was very nice and picked me up from Akureyris airport. I lived with two other exchange students, in the bottom part of a house close to town centre. The landlords lived above us. They were very helpful. I was very grateful for my accommodation and for the roommates I had. We all communicated with each other and understood each other.

UNAK helped the exchange students find accommodation. And my rent was 70.000ISK, with a deposition of 70.000ISK before moving in.

The international office at UNAK helped with how to register for courses. The international office had time to help and were very responsive. Very kind people.

They orientation day started with all 40-50 exchange students in a classroom and us getting all information we needed by the international office. To get our log-in setup etc. Then the student union gave us information about the student activities. Then they served vegan burgers and hamburgers. After that we played a game, where we had to run around the town of Akureyri and do activities to collect points.

Finances

My rent was 70.000ISK per month. I had to pay 70.000ISK as a deposition too before moving in. This is around 5300SEK. In Gothenburg, I paid around 4900SEK for my student apartment. The only administrative fee at UNAK was to buy a "smartkey" for 1500ISK, which was a key to access the university any time 24/7. At the end of the semester you could return it and get the money back.

I financed my exchange with CSN and the Erasmus grant. It was enough for both the city life and travelling. Keep in mind Iceland is more expensive than Sweden but not that big of a difference. It also costs quite a lot if you want to travel around Iceland - renting a car, accommodation etc. But if you are more people you could split those payments and it would be less. And travelling was definitely worth it. I also worked on the side of my studies at GU and saved some money before going on the exchange to have more room to spend. Some other exchange students got part-time jobs at bars or cafés in Akureyri. They give out good salaries.

Life in a new country/city/culture

It was my first time moving outside of Sweden alone but I felt safe and supported every step of my exchange. Akureyri is a town with around 20.000 inhabitants. Akureyri has a lot of hills and UNAK is quite far up in the town. The view though is amazing from the university of the mountains.
The town also provides free bus transportation in-town.
The student union also provides a lot of activities during the semester, for example karaoke nights, pizza/study evenings etc.
Explore cafés, bars etc. Be open and start talking to people. Ask about their thoughts and experiences. Learn from each other. Akureyri has this cute botanical garden with a cute café called "Lyst". The whole vibe is very cozy. There's another café in town centre called "Bláa kannan", it has a very cozy vibe too.
The cheapest grocery store is called "Bónus".
Also, the weather can change very fast. From storm to a warm still day. Be prepared with the right types of clothing to be comfortable.

Overall exchange experience

I am very happy about my exchange to Akureyri, Iceland. This little town gave me experiences I will cherish for life. I met a lot of interesting and genuine kind people. It gave me new perspectives that made me question and reflect.

Most of the exchange students, including me, went to Iceland to explore the nature. On these roadtrips to experience powerful waterfalls, hike beautiful mountains etc. you get to spend time with people, a lot of time. Sometimes five people in a car for hours during weekends. You open yourself up to be heard, to listen and to connect. And now, I've made these connections with people from all around Europe and gotten new opportunities to visit their countries. My tip is to have an open and curious mind. And to give yourself a chance to experience good things. <3

And to greet someone they say "Góðan daginn", which means either good day or good morning. And to thank someone you say "Takk fyrir".

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Icelandic as a foreign language
• Icelandic Society, History and Culture
• History of Psychology
• Media History
• Modern Studies Seminar I

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Systemvetenskap

 

 

 

REYKJAVIK UNIVERSITY

Name

Sebastian Rundström Svedén

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The main difference was that multiple courses were read simultaneously instead of one at a time in Sweden. Another difference was that there were not that many lectures in the school, only a few at the start of the courses and then there were mostly pre-recorded lectures online. In some other courses, there were more practical learning opportunities such as observing coaches and having lectures in a sports hall. There was also a lot of work on your own in terms of writing reports and working on different projects. There also weren't any examinations in school like at GU, instead, exams were either online or you were graded on practical skills or on reports you handed in. The relationship with teachers was pretty much the same as in Sweden, being you mostly had contact with them by email if you had any questions or in connection with lectures.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Me and my girlfriend (who traveled and live in Iceland with me) received housing after putting up an ad on Facebook called provided by the hosting university for incoming students. It was a professor at the school who responded to our request and offered his basement floor to us. It was a three-room apartment that we shared with one more person, so we had our own bedroom and shared the kitchen, bathroom, and living room with the other tenant. The contract was signed upon arrival and one month of rent was paid as a deposition, which was paid back when we moved out. We were satisfied with the accommodation.

Finances

It was significantly more expensive to live and study in Iceland. The cost of food for me and my girlfriend was around 7500 SEK/month, and we stuck to pretty cheap groceries at their cheapest grocery shop. The cost of housing was also higher, being 10 500 SEK/month which me and my girlfriend shared. Although there were no administrative fees at the university, CSN was not enough to cover the cost of living there. Without the Erasmus scholarship of 510€/month and some financial support from family back home, it would not be possible to live there. I found it quite inconvenient that 30% of the Erasmus scholarship was paid after the semester since I would've needed it whilst I was actually living in Iceland.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The location of the university was 30 min away from the city center and 10 min away from our accommodation (walking time). Just outside the university, there were a thermoregulated lake and hot pools which were very nice. There were some non-academic activities organized by the university at the beginning and end of the semester, but not any for the most part during the middle of the semester. My tips for future students would be to engage in the activities that are organized by the school and try to make some friends/contacts there that you can spend time with later. In my experience, most exchange students were very included and open to making friends during their stay.

Overall exchange experience

It was an overall positive experience, mostly because of the fantastic nature and activities available in Iceland, but also because of the school. The university building was very nice and modern and had a coffee shop and a corner store in it, and it also had a beautiful location beside the ocean. I would say that the actual courses were at the same level as in Sweden in terms of quality, but they were a bit easier in terms of difficulty and getting good grades. Another big bonus is that I got plenty of good opportunities from teachers at the school to make contact with and learn from established coaches there during a course that had internships/observations in it (E-519-SIHT: Specialized sports- and health training).

A big downside was that I was the only exchange student who was in the sports science department, and parts of the courses + the whole learning platform were in Icelandic, requiring me to translate a lot of information, which led to some misunderstandings. Because I was the only exchange student, all classes and every student and teacher were talking in a language I didn't understand, making me sometimes feel a bit lonely and isolated. However, some students and teachers helped me with this and spoke English with me, but overall this was a frustrating experience. I also wasn't a big fan of the fact that multiple courses were brought out simultaneously because I found it hard to balance all courses and it was a lot to focus on at the same time, leading to some moments of academic stress when courses "collided".

My biggest advice when going to a country that speaks a language you don't understand would be to make sure that all courses are 100% in English and that there are other exchange students that are taking the courses with you. Another is to be very social at the beginning of the semester and participate in activities organized in the school to make contacts and people to hang with. I also wish I spent more time at school (even when I didn't have to) to meet and talk to other students.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• E-105-ECSC: Effective Coaching in Strength and Conditioning
• E-107-DVSP: Developing Strength & Power
• E-519-SIHT: Specialized sports- and health training
• E-207-HOKE: Team sports and pedagogy II
• E-513-RANN: Research

All 5 courses had 6 ECTS

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 Faculty of Education

What are you studying at GU? 

Sports Coaching / Bachelor in Sport Science

 

 

 

REYKJAVIK UNIVERSITY

Name

Fiona Wißmann

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The lectures for master programs in business at Reykjavik University are organized differently compared to GU. Depending on the module, you have one or two lecture blocks per module. A lecture block usually takes place between Thursday and Saturday (2,5 days). Between the individual blocks, various group work and/or independent tasks must be completed or materials prepared for the new lecture block.

Arrival, orientation and housing

Reykjavik University organized two arrival days for the exchange students. During these two days, for example, an Icelandic language course was offered and you learned a lot about Iceland and the university.
Regarding finding a place to stay, I had some initial problems. Unfortunately, I only found accommodation from the beginning of September, but the university already started in mid-August. For this reason, I had to live in a few different accommodations at the beginning. However, my final accommodation was directly in the city centre and I lived there together with three other students.

Finances

The expenses were definitely higher compared to living in Sweden. My accommodation in Iceland cost about twice as much compared to my accommodation in Sweden. Also, in general, life in Iceland is much more expensive than in Sweden, because most of the food has to be imported. Since I don't receive CSN, I financed my stay with the fund from Erasmus and the Adelbertska scholarship. I also got a job in Reykjavik and worked alongside my studies.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The university is located a little outside the city (about 30 minutes walk) and directly by the sea. In general, you are never far from the sea in Reykjavik, which I found super nice. The university organized some meetings in the university to get to know other students. But it is very easy to meet new people during the semester abroad anyway.

Overall exchange experience

I had a really great time in Reykjavik and would always go again. Iceland is a super beautiful country and the people are very friendly!
The only thing I would change if I went again would be to look for accommodation earlier.

Level of studies during exchange

Graduate (Master)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

Staffing: From Recruitment to Termination; Performance Management; Organizational Psychology; Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Field of knowledge & practice; Creative Approaches & Entrepreneurial Mindsets

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 IT-Faculty

What are you studying at GU? 

Master in Communication

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF ICELAND

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The biggest difference was that all the courses was teached during the whole semester, I am used with just reading one at a time. The way they graded was also different, here at my exchange university there were a lot of smaller assignments which all play part in my final grade, when at home i am used with one exam at the end of the course. But since i did all my courses over one semeter I found it easier to form a student/teacher relationship, at home we change teachers every month which makes it less personal in a way.

Arrival, orientation and housing

The university did help a bit with setteling in, there where some orientation days which could be usefull to some extent, and you could ask if you had any questions. I found my own accomodation close to school and i was very satisdfied with it.

Finances

The living costs are more expensive, both when it comes to rent and buying food. I managed to cover those costs with CSN and with ERASMUS, I did also apply for an other scholarship through my university which did help a lot aswell.

Life in a new country/city/culture

The university is close to the down town area where you can go shopping, go to cafes and bars, and everything you need is within a distance of 30-40 min walk. The university did organize some activities in the beginning of the semester, but not much more, but I didn't feel I needed more.

Overall exchange experience

The way of studying is different since all the courses are being taught at the same time and this made the studying more intense in way, and it was a lot to do at times and i felt a bit swamped. But I had a great time over all even though I had to study a lot, maybe more than I would have done at home, but in between the studies i had time to do trips and explore the country a bit.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Pedagogy
• Comparative and Internationa Education
• Icelandic nature and Cultural Legacy

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

Faculty of Education 

What are you studying at GU? 

The Preschool teacher programme

 

 

 

UNIVERSITY OF ICELAND

Name

Anonymous

Academic year

2022/2023

Studies

The biggest difference was we had all cources at the same time. We also had a set schedule so that the lectures were always the same every week. The classes were smaller with not as many students as I am used to. Therefore the relationship between students and teachers were better than at Gu in my opinion. The level of education was similar. In the classes I took, we had more smaller papers to hand in while at GU we often only have one big exam at the end. The grading system was also different. At my host university you could get a grade between 1-10.

Arrival, orientation and housing

My arrival went well. I rented through a private land lord and I am very pleased with where I lived. We had not received much information about the orientation days or regrestration before hand. As I remember it we got an email the day before about the first meeting. The only thing I can criticize is their mentor system. We were told that our mentors would be there for us during our whole stay and that the mentor groups would be a nice way to make new friends. However I only met with my mentor once. As far as I heard that was the case for many other exchange students as well.

Finances

Iceland was not expensive when it came to education. I did not pay anything to study there. However it is an expensive country to live in. I would say food and housing was a lot more pricy compaired to Gothenburg. CSN and my scholarship from Erasmus did cover some but not everything. I was lucky to get some other scholarships before I left.

Life in a new country/city/culture

Iceland is very similar to Sweden when it comes to cultural aspects. People were very open and friendly to exchange students. I think the orientation days could have been more. Two days was a bit to little when it came to making new friends. It was highly up to the new students to organize themselves. We only had one organized evening by the international committee. My best tip for future students is to plan trips before and during your stay. The nature in Iceland is one of a kind.

Overall exchange experience

I had a great time during my stay. I made new friends from all around the globe. I learned that an exchange is what you make it. Travel, meet people and try new things.

Level of studies during exchange

Undergraduate (Bachelor)

State the name of the courses you took during your exchange

• Sustainable Futures
• Environmental Planning
• Icelandic nature and culture legacy
• Conservation biology

Home faculty at the University of Gothenburg

 School of Business, Economics and Law

What are you studying at GU? 

Samhällsvetenskapligt miljövetarprogram