STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Uppsala University
Exchange semester: Fall, 2014
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
The info for application for the university as well as course application and application
for housing was sent to me in one package in March. In middle of May, a welcome
letter was sent out by the Uppsala’s international coordinator after my confirmation
letter was received with info for arrival and information of the introduction week.
Throughout Summer, there were occasional mails sent out by the coordinator for infos
about activities for the welcoming week as well as infos for the buddy program.
Travel
- I took the train to Uppsala from Oslo S, the travel time is approximately 7 hours not
including transit time in Stockholm. There was a power outage on the Norwegian
railroad that day and I ended up being on a train for more than 9 hours. If you decide
to take the plane, take a plane from Oslo Airport to Arlanda Airport. It takes approx.. 1
hour and from there, the cheapest way to get to Uppsala is to take UL bus 801 to
Uppsala and it will take about 40 minutes to arrive in Uppsala. Tickets for the bus can
be purchased at the information desk and will cost around 75 SEK, purchasing the
ticket on the bus (no cash!) will cost you around 90 SEK.
Depending on the time of your arrival, during the welcome reception weekend there
was a reception desk from Uppsala in one of the terminals, providing them with
shuttle buses to Uppsala and the nation where you can register for student accounts,
getting your house keys etc.
Housing
- Housing was not provided by the university per se but the housing office was
connected to the university. Thus, the link for the housing application was given by
the international coordinator.
For the Ekonomikum campus, the best place to live is at Rackarbergsgatan, which is
where I live. The place is close to the campus, about 2-3 minutes walk, and about 2km
away from the city centre. There are, however, various options to choose from.
Flogsta is one of the most popular place for party interested students, there is at least a
party everyday and has really high chances for you to meet new friends. There is a
downside to this though, as the noise level will be constant if you are planning to read
or study a lot, this might not be the place for you. In addition, it is about 2km or more
away from Ekonomikum and about 4km away from the city centre and the rest of the
nations, so living here will require you to plan your travel route etc.
Kantorsgatan is also a popular place for international students, though I do not know
about it as much as I should. It is, also about as far away from Ekonomikum as Flogsta
but on the opposite side of the city.
There are more student housing options but they are less attractive for the students at
the Ekonomikum campus.
STUDENT REPORT
The student housing mentioned here are the typical student housing where you share a
corridor with about 5-7 others. The kitchen is shared and for Rackarbergsgatan toilet
and shower is also shared, though we do have our own sink in the room for our
morning rituals. I’m not quite sure about Flogsta but at Kantorsgatan the shower and
kitchen is shared while you will have your own toilet. Depending on your luck you
will either get corridor mates who care about the cleanliness of the place or you will
get those who won’t be responsible to clean up after themselves.
Hotel Uppsala is also an attractive place for those who wants to live in the city centre.
This is, however studio apartments and not corridor rooms so you will live by yourself
with your own kitchen and bath etc. The rent is however much higher than those for
the corridors and it does not include free laundry. As for all student housings, the rent
includes electricity, heating, water and internet.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
3100
NOK/month
2500 NOK
900NOK/month
0 NOK
500 NOK
Culture and language
The staff and students are fluent in English and there is no difficulties in understanding
them. Most of them will also be able to understand you if you spoke Norwegian.
Uppsala is an old university city so there’s quite a lot of cultural aspects to this place,
in addition the student union will also arrange tours to other cities in Sweden so it is
fairly easy to experience Sweden.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
Though, the Ekonomikum campus is a little bit older than BI but it is fairly larger than
BI. The building comprises of lecture halls, classrooms, library, study places, staff
office, group rooms etc. In addition, with a key card you will also be able to have
access to the building during weekends and after hours.
The master courses was offered in packages of two. The first package will be taught in
the first period of the semester and the second package will be taught in the second
period of the semester. Subsequently, the exams will be held of each course endings
and before another course start. With packages of two courses, the examination will be
at end of each period. So there are two exam periods. The lecture and courses are more
intensive than what we are used to at BI, but it’s less stressful to read for exams this
way.
Course registration
STUDENT REPORT
-
The course registration was simultaneously with the application for exchange. There is
no add/drop period, so be careful with what you apply for and double check it so it
will give you an approved Learning Agreement as well.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
23.08.2014
01.09.2014
19. December
After course ending
until 18th January 2015
Christmas
Arrival
The introduction week was packed with activities provided by the 13 different nations
in order to promote their own nation as well as creating a place for international
students to meet. The different activities were pub crawls, parties, outdoor activities,
breakfasts/lunches/dinners, scavenger hunts, tours etc. There was also an information
day where there were lectures about the Swedish culture, how to get a tax number to
work at the nations, travel tips etc.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, the information I got was very informative and clear. The
international coordinator is also very nice, and is very willing to help. The opening
hours are, however, very limited. About 3 hours everyday except for Fridays, where
they are closed. For people who have classes that will clash with the opening hours it
might be difficult to get your paper signed, so take that into account.
Promoting BI and Norway
- There was unfortunately no activities that was aiming at promoting exchange to BI or
other schools. Thus, I was not able to promote our school.
Social activities
- I was assigned a buddy through the buddy system and he was very nice and helpful
during my first month here. However, I have had friends who have never met their
buddy etc. It is very easy to get know other exchange students due to the introduction
week, and by joining the nations you will also be able to get to know the Swedish
students.
- There are 13 student nations and each nation has their own activity clubs, bar, night
clubs etc. Being a member of one nation will also give you a small privilege in that
nation by for example cheaper entrance tickets for night clubs and gasque. The
tradition of gasque here is enormous, it’s like a formal dinner that requires a specific
dress code. In the beginning of the semester there will also be an International Gasque
especially for the exchange student, and tickets usually runs out fast. In addition,
there’s also a student organization for the business students. They have their own
building close to Ekonomikum and will often arrange coffee time, lunches, and
lectures from businesses.
III. ACADEMICS
STUDENT REPORT
In the classroom
- Depending on the course subject, the teaching style was both practical and theoretical.
In some courses, the lectures are student-based and followed by discussions of the
topics presented. There are guest lectures, in order to give a broader view of the
different types of leadership. Seminar groups (discussion) is also frequently used in
courses as well as case work.
- Some courses have a heavier workload than others and the level of teaching is quite
high. Due to the intensiveness of the course periods, most of the workload could be
considered as higher than BI’s.
Course materials
- The course materials used are consisted of books, articles, movies for analysis,
Powerpoints. Emphasis are made on academic papers and articles, thus, it was
important to read these in order to write the exam paper. All materials were in English.
Exams
- Exams were heavily based upon the course materials but lectures were as equally
important.
- How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
The courses I had did not require a written exam but an individual home
assignment that could accounts for about 60 % - 80 % of the grade
The rest were based on group assigments and presentations, activities during
seminar, weekly individual papers. Class participation and class attendance
was also important. Some professors will deduct points for absence, in the
Entrepreneurship class an absence of more than twice will automatically fail
you. So be careful of this, when planning your travels.
Library and technology
- The Ekonomikum building has a very good selection of books related to economics
and business. Just like BI, the librabry’s website will also allow you to find articles
and ebooks that available. In addition, the Carolina Rediviva library will also be
readily available as well as the libraries of the other campuses.
STUDENT REPORT
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange. Your comments are useful for
BI and for future exchange students, include information on the qacadmic level, challenges,
relevance to your studies, if the course was practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code & name
Master/
Bachelor
Master
Exam form
Prerequisites
Individual paper
None
Approved
as
Elective
2FE804
Management, Analysis
and Action
Master
Individual paper
None
Elective
2FE819 Leadership
Master
Individual paper
None
Elective
2FE870 Marketing
Strategy
Master
Individual paper
None
Elective
2FE623
Entrepreneurship,
Advanced Course D
Comments
Interesting
with really
good
aspects of
entrepreneu
rship.
Inspirationa
l
Heavy
workload.
Lectures
were not
that good,
professor
tends to go
off-topic
during
lecture.
Heavy
workload.
Studentbased
lectures
Practical.
Simulation
game, very
fun and
interesting!
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
- E.g. the experience from an academic, cultural and social point of
view, influences to your future career possibilities etc.
My exchange at Uppsala has given me more in-depth understanding of leadership and
management and decision making as well as giving me inspirations for the possibilities for
future start-up ventures. In addition, it has given me a better cultural understanding of Sweden
and the realization that not all Nordic countries are the same. Uppsala is a charming city,
though small but lively due to its majority of inhabitants being students. I would love to come
back in the future and would not mind working in Sweden.