Exchange Report. Lund University, Sweden. Wendy, Wong Wing Lam Fall 2014 Exchange

Transcription

1 Exchange Report Lund University, Sweden Wendy, Wong Wing Lam Fall 2014 Exchange

2 Table of Content Part I Activity Log 3 Part II General Exchange Information 5 Part III Checklist.. 8

3 Part 1 - Monthly Activity Log August On the Arrival Day, officially there will be some student helpers from Lund University waiting at the airport to guide the exchange students how to get to the University. However, it seems that I arrived earlier than the time of the arrival of the student helpers, so I went to the school with my friends. There will be trains (SJ) for going to Lund C. We waited at there for the student helpers. After arriving at the school, there are several tasks we needed to finish. For example to buy the book for a Swedish course designed for exchange students, to join the activities organized by the Student Union, like Ikea tour, excursion, city tour, pub night. Also, students need to get the welcoming package, there will be a schedule listing the activities before school starts, map and asim card (you can finish setting the card at school; you don t need to go to the telephone store outside at first time. But after the first trial, you can top up your card at Telia ). Finally, students need to get the room key.after doing all these, there will be cars arranged by the school to send us back to our dormitory. Basically August was the time of activities before lessons; I have joined the Excursion, city tour and the pub night. If you are not interested, there are lots of things you can do at this beginning month, such as to buy a bike for saving the transportation cost or to walk around the Lund Central and find out where the supermarkets locate. I mainly went to supermarkets namely ICA, Willy s, Coop, Lidl and Sari Sari (an Asian store). September I have taken 4 courses and lessons started in September. My courses are called Business Policy, International Business and Multinational Enterprises, Global strategic marketing and Business to Business Marketing. Three of my courses started from September to October, one of them occurred from November to December. Students can check all the course lecture notes or grades on Lund. These courses have similar teaching style with those in HKUST, there are lectures, project presentation and exams. However, this was the first time I tried oral seminars for International Business and Multinational Enterprises and Global strategic marketing. Since there were some free time between my lessons, so I traveled to Copenhagen and Germany with some friends. Apart from visiting, I also went to Malmo to get my residence permit.

4 October During early October, I visited Norway with my friends because the workload was still not very heavy at that time. However, all the assignment, projects and exams were scheduled on the last week of October, so during the mid- October, I usually stayed in my room preparing and studying. After the exams, I visited Vienna by myself. This experience was great and this trip is still my favorite one because travelling on my own made me strong and independent. November Since I finished three courses during September and October, so I was pretty free during November and December. I visited London at the beginning of November and went to Prague, Budapest, Venice and Rome at mid- November. Lastly, I visited Lulea and Kiruna at the late November. December The courses ended on 18 th December, so this month was again another busy moment for preparing for the projects presentation and the reports. However after these tasks, this was the end of the school life of my exchange studies. Therefore, I decided to visit more places at Sweden before I went back to Hong Kong, such as Stockholm, Malmo, Helsingør and Helsingburg. Apart from visiting, I also attended the Christmas Eve Party organized by my friends; we made different dishes and had a great night together. After that night, Lund had the first snow fall on Christmas day! On the 31 st of December, I went to Copenhagen to count down with my friends. This is the first time for me to count down overseas, so I was really excited. However it was not that fun at all because there were lots of people and it was extremely crowded. Though, the fireworks are really nice and they were just above my head, this was really the first time that I watched the firework in such a short distance. January I went back to Hong Kong on the 1 st January.

5 Part 2 - General Exchange Information 1) Visa Procedures For applying the residence permit, you can go to this website. en.html. There is a section of How to apply teaching you the detailed procedures. After reading the information, you can apply the residence permit online through this website. den/universities-and-university-college/how-to-apply/apply-now.html All the documents needed, like the transcript, bank statement, ID card or Student card can be uploaded in pdf format. Please be reminded that the bank account must have the minimum stated amount to show that you have the financial ability to support your living in Sweden for 4 months. After filling all the information, you can submit your form and wait about 2 weeks to receive the approving that your application is successful. When you depart Hong Kong, remember to print your approval and bring it, as you will need to show it when you check in. 2) Orientation Activities On the Arrival Day, there will be student counters promoting all kinds of activities, such as Ikea tour, Excursion, city tour, pub night or Swedish dinner. I have joined the Excursion, city tour and the pub night. Basically, we went hiking during the Excursion but the hill paths are different from those in Hong Kong as they are more natural and difficult. So, if you are lacking of exercise habit, you may find it quite exhausted. The city tour was quite informational because the student helpers will bring us to walk around Lund to get familiar with the city that we needed to spend 4 months with. The pub night is a time for you to meet new friends and have some drinks. Apart from joining the activities, you will be given a form for checking whether your room has any problem at the time you arrive. You should check carefully to see whether anything is broken or missing. Since if you did not report it when you arrive, the school may charge you after your tenant ends. After the Arrival day, the orientation activities lasted for around ten days, if you have no interest to join any, you can make use of the time to get familiar with Lund and buy a bike. 3) Accommodations Students can check all the housing options from this

6 website. n/housing-options. Actually, you will be asked for three preferences, but the final choice is decided by the school. I lived in Östra Torn, it is a single room with a bedroom, kitchen and a bathroom. There will be all the utensils for the cooking, including an oven. You will need to bring the internet cable for your internet access. The time needed for going back to the Economic Building for my business courses is around 20 minutes with bicycle. It took me half an hour to get to the Lund Centual. If you want a more convenient dormitory, you may want to choose Sparta. 4) Courses Registration Lund University will provide a list of courses for students to choose. Although we need to choose four courses in advance, students are welcomed to change their courses before the start of September. For checking which courses from the Host University can transfer credit for home University, you can check the following website for the mapping. 5) Teaching & Assessment Methods The courses that I took have similar teaching style with those in HKUST; there are lectures, project presentation and exams. However, there were two courses that did not have any final examinations; instead there were three oral seminars. Oral seminars are like verbally answering the questions from the Professor instead of writing it down, so it should not be a problem if you revise well. 6) Cost/Expenses Airfare Accommodation HK$11312 Around HK$ (Östra Torn) Other Expense (please specify) Insurance HK$2500 Preparation for the exchange program (e.g. luggage, clothes and HK$2000 shoes for snowy Sweden) Around HK$ Daily expenses on food and transport, travelling expenses, air fare for trips during free time,entertainment

7 Total Expenses HK$ ) Food I nearly cooked for all meals when I stayed in Lund, because there are several supermarkets nearby, so it was so convenient to buy all the ingredients you need and it will be cheaper for cooking compare with eating at school canteen or eating out. Also, I found that cooking is really fun after the exchange. 8) Transportation I usually travel by my bike, but when the weather was bad I took the buses. Since the buses do not accept cash or seldom accept credit card, so students can buy the jojo card at the skanetrafiken office near the train station in Lund C. This is similar to the octopus card in Hong Kong, but each time you need to top up at minimum 200 sek. Apart from buses, you can travel by trains and taxi in Lund. Train tickets can be bought online or at the train station by credit card. 9) Climate The weather in August and September was quite sunny and a bit windy. It may felt like a bit cold compare with the weather in Hong Kong. So, it may be better to wear more, especially when you just depart Hong Kong and not get used to the cold weather in Sweden yet. It will be quite cold during the winter time as temperature will drop to single digit and it may also snow. 10) Cautionary measures There will be a talk several day after the Arrival Day which introduce the Police office and Fire Service Department in Lund for students. Each department will explain clearly what to beware of and provide the emergency number for students.

8 Part 3 - Items to Bring and Contacts - Letter of acceptance - Passport - HKID - Pillow - Bedsheet - Hairdryer - Towel - Slipper - Personal care items - Medicine - Clothes and shoes - Camera - Earphone - Makeup - Cooker (optional) - Food from home country (comforting home sick) - Credit card with oversea withdrawal functions - Cash - Laptop - Cable adapter - Backpack - Small bottles (for containing shower gel or shampoo for trips)