Exchange report. Lund University, Sweden

Transcription

1 Exchange report Lund University, Sweden Chim Hoi Ching, Matilda BBA (Finance and Marketing) Fall 2014 Exchange

2 PART 1- MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG August I arrived on the arrival day. As my friends and I couldn t find any mentors in the airport, we took train to Lund Central Station. There are two ways to buy train ticket purchase it in the middle vending machines using credit card(cash is not accepted), or buy it in the ticket counter(cash is accepted). You can have discount if you re travelling in pairs, you can just ask the staff there or purchase family tickets. When arrived Lund Central station, we waited on the benches (in the square between the central station and supermarket ICA) for quite a while. Mentors picked us up and drove us to AF Building (which is their student union building, looks like a castle) for all the registration (Dorm key collection/ lucky draw for a dorm if you didn t get one at first/ orientation week activities). Pillow and bed sheet set were sold right outside AF Building, I purchased that with around 500sek, which you could buy it under 200sek in IKEA. In terms of the orientation week, I would say it s a good chance to make friends. I like the excursion to national park the most, as the hiking experience is totally different when comparing to Hong Kong. You don t have to participate in every activity during the orientation week, for instance, you can skip the IKEA tour, as you need to go to Malmo for your resident permit, you can do you IKEA shopping on the same day (Malmo is the town next to Lund, which is bigger and more modern, the nearest IKEA to Lund is there, and you can only get your permit done there as well). During the orientation week, only the Swedish Course is mandatory if you take it, it will have exam (all multiple choice questions) as well, and you can drop this course in last minute, some of my friend dropped it one day before the exam. The Swedish introductory course 1 is not very useful, as I forgot almost everything after the exam. September As the class timetable was very scattered, I went my first trip to Germany, flying to Berlin by Easyjet from Copenhagen, travelling by bus to Hamburg from Berlin, then fly back by Easyjet to Copenhagen. Easyjet is very cheap, but have to be careful of their luggage system, as only one hand carry is allowed (common practice of budget airline). I also joined a Christian fellowship held by a Singaporean lady living in Lund, and I continued to participate whenever I am not travelling. October I went to Poland, Budapest and Stockholm in the beginning of the month. Hungarian airline Wizz air is super cheap flying to Poland or Budapest, but the luggage policy is

3 the strictest as well, they will ask you to put your luggage inside the checking cart before security check, if your luggage size is over the limit (which is super small), they will charge you extra fees. And as the semester in Sweden is divided into two parts, one of my courses was approaching to an end, so in the end of the month I have to rush my take home exam before I off to another trip. November Visited Paris, Cologne, Vienna and Prague. Vienna is a amazing place, Paris is a bit overrated for me, it isn t that romantic, and have to be careful for my belongings/ prevent people cheating me, it was just an bad experience in Paris. Started 2 other courses in the second half of the semester. There s an excursion to Copenhagen design museum organized by the Scandinavian Design course, quite interesting. Also went to Finland Lapland to see Northern light, it s cold but super worth it. Jumped into Arctic Ocean at -13 after sauna, it s crazy but super unforgettable. December The academic semester was approaching an end, went to Switzerland for paragliding and Christmas market. Prepared exam projects and take home exams (essays). Packed and cleaned the room. Off for my one month trip. January Went to Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxemburg, Cologne, Barcelona, Madrid, Venice, Florence, Rome, London, Wales and Manchester before coming back to Asia. Barcelona is very good! The seafood there is super fresh. And London is also amazing, watched lots of musicals and did lots of shopping there. Spent 3 days in Singapore before coming back to Hong Kong (as I was taking Singapore airline, I extended my layover time there), and I love the food there.

4 PART 2- GENERAL EXCHANGE INFORMATION 1) Visa Procedures Have to apply it online. Print the and bring it to the airport, as you may be asked to present it. 2) Orientation Activities Some of the activities are quite nice, the excursion as mentioned. But almost everything isn t compulsory, I have friends skipped these two weeks and went to travel. 3) International Services & Activities If you have any enquiries, you can send to their international office. This office organized the introduction day and some activities introducing Swedish culture. For instance, there s Lucia night the traditional way of Swedish celebrating Christmas. 4) Accommodations You better hand in the application form once the application start, as some of my friends didn t have accommodation offer and fell into big trouble. Sparta would be the nearest to Economic Building, and it s corridor room, cheaper and has more local students. I was being allocated to Ostra Torn, which is super far away from downtown. Therefore I have to cycle to everywhere. 5) Courses Registration You have to submit your course choices online. And it s not the finalized version, as you can still change or appeal to enroll in some courses on the registration day. 6) Teaching & Assessment Methods The teaching there tends to be more interactive, there re lots of discussions. And most of my assessments are take home exams (essays). The only sitting exam is the corporate finance, the duration is 4 hours, and you can bring food inside. 7) Sports & Recreation Facilities There re lots of gymnasiums, but you have to pay for it. And the school doesn t have free sport facilities. There s a bowling center as well. 8) Cost/Expenses Amount (~HKD) Return flight ticket 12,000 Visa 1,000 Accommodation 23,000 Daily expenses 7,000 Travel expenses 45,000 Total 88000

5 9) Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities They have lots of student nations for partying, but you have to join student Lund first. Beverages with more than 5% have to be purchased in Systembolaget, which is a store owned by government. As the drinks in clubs are not cheap, there usually have pre-drink parties. 10) Health & Safety Student insurance in Lund University can cover medical fee, but you have to pay by yourself first, keep the receipt and claim it back. Each visiting could cost you at least 1000sek. The dental service is not included in the insurance, and it s much more expensive than visiting a regular doctor. Lund is very safe, don t have to worry about your safety even if you go back home at 3am. Just have to beware of the broken glasses on the ground, as bicycle tires are super vulnerable to that. 11) Food Ingredients in super market could be cheap when they re on sale. And dinning outside just wouldn t worth the money, as the food isn t tasty, the portion is small and it s super expensive. Cheapest supermarket would be Lidl, but it has limited choices, and then is Willy s and ICA. You can apply for a ICA or Willy s card to enjoy special offers. 12) Transportation Lund only has buses and taxis. You need a JOJO (pronounced as yoyo) card in order to pay for your bus or train ride. Most of the time you can have discount purchasing by JOJO card instead of credit card of in the counters. You can only top it up in the counters. The bus fee is around 17-18sek/ride, and you can change unlimited time within 2 hours without extra charge. But the transportation is not that convenient, as it seldom offer point to point transport. It s very often that you have to walk more than 15 minutes to your destination after taking off the bus. Therefore buying a bicycle is a good option, just that it could rain suddenly and almost everywhere is outdoor. The cheapest way to have a bicycle is to buy a second hand one in buy/sell in Lund (a Facebook group). 13) Climate It s quite cooling during August to early October. The sun set at around 9pm in August, and always have blue sky during that period. But when winter comes, the sun goes away; it s always gloomy and rainy in winter. The temperature is not super low when compare to Stockholm. 14) Communication There s no router in the room, unless you live in the dorm behind economic building (the most expensive and newest one). There will be a SIM card in your welcome pack; you have to pay 50sek to activate it, each month you will have

6 500MB mobile data to use. If you are unhappy with that, you can pay extra for an upgrade. 15) Cautionary measures Don t get too drunk in the student nations, as there will be security guard inside, and they will kick you out if they presume you are too drunk according to their standard.

7 PART 3- THINGS TO BRING 1. Passport and ID card 2. Visa 3. Student ID card/ international student card 4. Acceptance letter 5. Clothing (down jacket), but don t have to bring too much, can buy from the outlet in Europe, much cheaper than in HK 6. Laptop and router(if you don t want to buy it in Lund) 7. Mobile phone 8. Credit card 9. Debit card with a Plus logo 10. Cash(SEK and Euro) 11. Financial calculator (if you re taking finance courses) 12. Medicines 13. Adaptors