I wanted to learn more about the famous Scandinavian business culture and marketing. Östersund was interesting because of the attractive Master’s programme and the unique possibility to live in a small, traditional and original Swedish town in the “North,” enclosed by beautiful nature. This is very special and when I am in working life it may not be possible anymore.
The campus is really nice, clearly arranged and small. I enjoy especially studying on a real campus where all the university buildings are located in one central place. In my home university the facilities are spread over the whole town.
I really enjoy studying here. The first week was an introduction week, well organised with a lot of activities. The classes are very small with 8-15 students; international and Swedish students study together.
The relationships are more informal here. The professors are very down to earth and can be called by their first names. But I am not satisfied with the fact that there are very few business professors and that we only had the choice of three professors for tutoring. A big difference is that I have classes only once or twice a week. Mostly the classes are not traditional lectures but rather seminars where the students present and discuss the works they prepared at home. Another difference is that about half of the assignments must be written in groups.
I spent a lot of time with the international students who make up something nearly every day: “fika,”* gaming nights, parties, excursions, etc. I do a lot of sports, mainly outdoor activities like skiing. I bought the seasonal skiing ticket at the university. You can also make bike excursions, go hiking, cross country skiing and ice gliding on the big lake. I took part in a free Swedish course in town three hours a week. I enjoy reading and cooking in my comfortable cottage. Sometimes there are nice parties organised by the University. Every week there is a soup night with live music. This is a good possibility of getting to know Swedish students.
Östersund is a small, nice, calm town 500 kilometers north of Stockholm. It is located in the biggest Swedish ski region and surrounded by beautiful nature, mountains and lakes. Most of the international students are living on a camping in small cottages, well equipped and comfortable, near a forest, but a bit far from the university. The “party possibilities” in Östersund are not that good.
The darkness in the winter months, the frostiness, the university system with a lot of home studying and not much instructions: we were thrown in at the deep end sometimes.
In winter the days are very short. The sun rises at 09.00 and sets at 14.00. And it is much colder. Swedes are very polite and nearly always helpful. They seem to be very balanced and calm. It is not that easy to get in deeper contact with the Swedes though, because there are not many possibilities to meet them.
I learned to organise my studies and became more effective. It is really nice to live in such a small town in Sweden, to learn Swedish and to get to know the Swedish culture.
Yes. It’s a unique possibility to study, good environment, small, very Swedish and original.
* Fika= Common name for a short "coffee break" at work or at school. Also a way of socialising (sometimes for several hours) at cafés or at home.