SEP Write-up

NUS SEP to KTH Sweden in 12/13 Sem 1

Before embarking on the exchange trip to KTH, I had some expectations set and goals/accomplishments to be completed. Overall, it has been a fulfilling exchange and the experience at KTH was a wonderful one.

My selection basis for university was primarily a country belonging to a different continent (different culture) and in descending order of importance safety, availability of modules not offered by NUS and wide variety of “mappable” modules. Cost was not included because before embarking on SEP, I believed that there isn’t much of a living cost to include and food prices can be overcome by cooking. Indeed, studying in Sweden for only 1 semester did not incur huge expenses on daily necessities. In total, I spent slightly less than $8000 SGD including lodging and needs, insurance, food and transport (both local and return air tickets), less than the projected amount of $12000. Knowing the cheaper options can save a lot and add more budget to enjoying/travelling during exchange. For example, lodging needs can be found in IKEA at a comparable price to Singapore and certain food products like salmon are cheaper than Singapore (SGD10/kg in Stockholm compared to SGD15-20/kg in Singapore).

My selection basis arrived me at 2 main options, Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan (KTH), that weren’t as popular choices as the other SEP universities. However, Stockholm was situated at a more convenient location for making short trips to other parts of Europe than Trondheim. KTH offered modules that NUS does not offer and I highly recommend (non core modules); Swedish History and Culture and The Nuclear Fuel Cycle were modules that exceeded my expectations and there will surely be no similar modules in NUS. Swedish History and Culture provided guided field trips to the city and the most prominent museums (Vasamuseet and Skansen) for free and is taken by only exchange students, hence an excellent chance to meet foreign students from around the world (although most students are from the Erasmus program, thus mainly Europeans).

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle is the most interesting module taken, as the name suggest it is not something found in Singapore. The module provides free guided field trips to nuclear plants, processing/enrichment plants and storage facilities. For my year, there was a 2-day field trip to La Hague, France and two other trips to other facilities in Sweden. There is no exam for this module but a case study report on the feasibility for construction of nuclear facility in a chosen country.

Stockholm is a clean, environmentally-friendly and safe city. The primary means of transport is by rail and there is much walking to be done, even around the huge KTH campus that does not have an internal shuttle bus service like NUS. The classroom and research facilities are modern, and the learning and assessment methods are slightly different from NUS. Much emphasis is placed on group work and there is cohesive learning, especially with the absence of the bell curve. Most, if not all homework, are done in groups. Presentations are common even for science modules. However, Swedish students are more reserved than expected. Questions asked in class by the lecturers seldom receive enthusiastic response.

Going on exchange to KTH in semester 1 will experience the end summer, autumn and winter seasons. The last picture above on was actually taken during a class 2 snowstorm. It is a great time to visit Sweden unless you are a fan of flowers, in which spring is a better season to come. Travelling in end summer to other countries like Italy and France is ideal for taking pictures while in autumn, trekking in the autumn forests in Germany’s Black Forest or Tyresta By in Stockholm are great. In winter, there is the aurora further North towards Kiruna (Albisko National Park) and skiing/snowboarding. The Eurail pass is a good way to travel out of Sweden by train while budget airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet (to Geneva only from Sweden) cost around SGD100 or less.

There is also no issue of language barrier as most Swedes speak fluent English. After my exchange, I did not feel any truly uniquely “Swedish” experiences that were truly memorable. Afterall, the Swedish identity was a created image (find out more from Swedish History and Culture module). Swedes are generally reserved and quiet in nature. Families are mostly segregated by generations as well due to the welfare scheme. If I would use one word to describe Stockholm after this exchange, “lonely” would be apt. However, this does not deter me to go to Stockholm for exchange if I were to re-choose my option. After this exchange, I realize and cherish Singapore’s institutional frameworks and culture more than ever before.