Name: Lauren Timp
E-mail: l.e.d.timp@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: Fall
Academic year: 2014-2015
Host university: Umeå University
Country: Sweden
Admission, arrival, housing
Upon arriving at Umeå airport you can either take a cab (around 15 euro’s) or the bus (around
7 euro’s). After arriving at the university, we had to wait for a few hours in order to get our key,
some information and, if you pre-ordered it, a welcome package. My tip: please order the
welcome package. It contains a duvet, a pillow, some more information and some food. I was
lucky that somebody left his/hers duvet and pillow in the room, I rented, because finding a duvet
and pillow can be pretty difficult. It is nice to receive this right away when you arrive. The
university offers you a cab to your accommodation but since the queue for that was an hour, we
decided to walk. The university provides for accommodations. Before your arrival you have to
pay the first installment after which you receive an e-mail with which you can log in and choose
from several areas, buildings and rooms. A Dutch friend and I choose to live in Alidhem, the
area where most students live. We choose to live in Pedaggogränd which turned out to be the
perfect location. It was located about two minutes from the main supermarkets, one of the most
attended pubs/clubs (Lokal) and the post-office and pharmacy. These are all located in Alidhem
centrum which furthermore contains an ATM and some fast food restaurants. By bike Alidhem
is located five minutes from the university and fifteen from the city centre. There are several
busses which leave from Alidhem centre to the city centre (line 5 and 8 to Vasaplan), so you
can either choose to go by bike or bus. The rooms are about 22 square meters and you have
your own bathroom. The room furthermore is already completely furnished and there are
several closets in which you can place your clothes. You share the kitchen and the living room
together with approximately eight other roommates. If there are any problems concerning your
bathroom, kitchen or living room you can call the caretaker that is assigned to your building.
Location of university/city
Umeå is a relatively small, cozy city with a lot of students living there. I think it can be
compared a bit to Groningen. The city centre is, as said, located fifteen minutes from the main
student areas and ten minutes from the university. You have to cross the main bridge in the city
in order to get from the university to the city centre. My advice would be to participate in the
orientation course that is offered at the beginning of the term since they will show you around
campus and the city centre. Umeå is, as said, not that big and the city center as well as the
campus is easy to find your way through. After a week you will know your way around. In town
there are several places where you go and have a Fika. Fika is a typical Swedish break where
the Swedish take some coffee (or tea) and something sweet (e.g. pie). A good place to go and
have dinner is the Italian restaurant, Vezzo. It is located in the middle of the city center and the
prices are (especially in Sweden) pretty good. Best places to go out would be Lokal (located in
Alidhem center), one of the student bars (located on the university campus) or Allstars and Rex
(in the city centre). The best place to do sports is definitely IKSU. IKSU is located a few minutes
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from the university campus and a few minutes from Alidhem centre. It offers all sorts of sport
courses, a huge gym, indoor beach volleyball courts, a swimming pool, saunas, a spa and so
much more. So no matter what kind of sport you are into, IKSU will probably offer it. IKSU
furthermore offers outdoors trips where you can go kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, etc.
Working out at IKSU will cost you around 200 euro’s (for about 4 months) but it is really worth
it.
Academics
I took Comparative Social Policy, Environmental Governance and Democracy, Gender and
Human Rights. The last one was an online course. I furthermore followed one course from
Tilburg University. All courses counted for 7,5 ects. I think all the courses were more interesting
than basically all courses I took before at Tilburg University. The level of studies is a little bit
lower than at Tilburg University. Normally, students take one course at a time, which they often
finish after one month. I however started off with three courses at the same time, which was not
a problem since two of them were online courses. The campus is a bit the same as the campus
in Tilburg, cozy, lots of nature and not too big. All the buildings are centered around the main
lake. Finding all the rooms therefore is relatively easy.
Social life
The social life in Umeå is absolutely great. The first weeks start off with the Orientation course
and the Buddy program where you will get to meet lots of new people. Your buddy group is
lead by around 5 Swedish buddies that each organize all sorts of activities for the buddy group.
The group also consists 35 people from all over the world. My advice is to participate in much
as possible, it is really fun to get to meet lots of new people! Besides the organized activities,
Lokal (the local bar) organizes several parties per week and karaoke at Thursday evening. Most
people who go on Erasmus are very willing to meet new people and to experience new things.
I therefore only met social, fun and friendly people. During my stay in Umeå, I travelled to
Norway, Swedish Lapland (a must!), went kayaking and hiking in Amsele (Sweden), to Riga,
Tallin and Stockholm.
Living costs
Before I left for Umeå, I saved 3000 euro’s myself. I furthermore received about 3000 euro’s
from the government (stufi, Erasmus and money from the OV). My parents also helped me out.
All in all I think the exchange will cost (including the money from the government) about 6000
up to 7000 euro’s. Living in Sweden is quite expensive, but I must say that I spend quite a lot
on partying and travelling. It is therefore up to yourself how much you spend. Living here will
cost you about 1800 euro’s for 5 months. I did not buy any books since all my books were either
available in the library or available online. Partying is quite expensive, most clubs ask for an
entry fee of 7 euro’s and the drinks are pretty expensive. The student bars are a fun and cheaper
option, they mostly do not charge entry and the drinks are less expensive.
Culture
I did not experience a culture shock on my exchange. I absolutely love the Swedish culture.
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People are very calm and very patient. They love standing in queue for everything. The pace in
the North is quite slow, so do not be surprised if you have to stand in the queues for quite a bit.
This sometimes annoyed me a bit, but the rest of the Swedish culture is absolutely great. People
are friendly, willing to help you and most of them speak very good English.
Personal development
I think an exchange is good for everyone. It broadens your horizon. You experience different
cultures (not the one from your host country) and learn about different worldviews. I would not
do anything different in my exchange, it could not have been better. My worst experience was
when my phone got stolen, so I think that says enough about how great it was. I have not felt
homesick during my stay. I had so many good experiences, that it is difficult to name one. But
I think the best part of it is the amazing people that I got to meet. The most important lesson I
probably learned is how small your own ‘world’ is and how big the real world is. Once you
know that, you want to see more of the world. For me, my home town/country will not be (big)
enough anymore.
Tips for future students
I would absolutely recommend an exchange on Umeå University. Like I said, I do not think
anything could have been any better. Some tips if you are thinking about exchange on Umeå
University:
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Start on time with searching for courses, might take a while before all your coordinators
have approved it.
Bring lots of warm (thermal) clothing. I was pretty lucky with the weather, it was not
that cold, but the winters here can be extremely cold.
Start looking for a bike (right away). I used mine throughout the whole exchange.
When making a budget for your exchange, keep in my the travelling that you will
probably do. I forgot that part.
Speaking of travelling, do lots of it! Especially the Lapland trip is amazing. IKSU
furthermore organizes several outdoor trips and there are several student trips organized
by organizations on which you can travel for a reasonable price.
Participate in as much activities as possible. The first few weeks are the most important.
That is, when you meet the most people, from which lots of them will turn into friends.
Really look into the location you are going to live. I recommend Pedaggogränd in
Alidhem, since this one was just perfect.
But photos often say more than a thousand words. Therefore, some photos from my exchange:
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