Except for short travels, I have never been away from home for such a long time. I spent my last 20 years living in the same city in China. I must admit that moving to a completely new place brought more than just excitement. I moved to my new home university during COVID-19, so understandably I was also a little bit nervous. Nevertheless, here I am, landed and living in Sweden, attending one of the most prestigious technical institutions, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Sweden was a no-brainer choice for me. It is considered one of the most innovative countries in the world. In fact, many people refer to it as the Silicon Valley of Europe because it has the third highest startup rate in the world. In fact, it ranks second – only behind the famous U.S.A. region – for startups valued at above $1 billion per capita.
Of course, moving to a Nordic country also deserves a special mention about Aurora (the northern lights). Before I get completely carried away by this amazing experience, let me introduce myself – I am Yanshu Wei, a student of Master’s in Energy for Smart Cities.
If you are considering to study at one of EIT InnoEnergy’s partner universities, you may still be a little bit nervous (like I was) So, let me ease your concerns by sharing my student experience with you in this blog!
Life in Sweden
Despite my fears before arriving, life in Sweden has been pretty good; the famous subway stations, museums and palaces that are spectacular! There is also the nature, the rivers, the woods, the snow and the sun!
While studying in Sweden, you really experience all the seasons, the hottest of summers with water clean enough to swim in central (yes, central) Stockholm and the coldest of winters with a real winter fairytale! My teachers, classmates and the locals I have met have also been friendly and have made my experience a great one.
Location, location, location!
KTH Campus is situated in central Stockholm which means that a twenty-minute walk could bring me to the CBD in Stockholm, filled with shops, bars and restaurants. For me, hanging out with my friends at Hotorget, a big square with different markets depending on day of the week has become a weekly routine.
For those of you who are more into outdoor activities, you do not need to travel far to enjoy the nature! I jog in the park next to the campus, and sometimes if I get lucky, I will see a fox, a rabbit, or a squirrel.
Life here is also convenient; bus and metro stations are near KTH Entre (student reception area on campus), and food supermarkets located just in a short distance.
KTH is awesome!
From visa to housing, I would say that KTH is awesome; as an international student, you can simply follow the instructions on the Migrationsverket website to get your residence permit. There are no worries about living arrangements, as the accommodation offered by KTH is great and easy to apply for (KTH also offers insurance for students).
If you arrived on the enrollment day designated by KTH, what you only need to do is find the KTH bus and your seniors who meet you at the airport! Also, before you arrive in Stockholm, you will receive the invitation to your buddy group where the current students in KTH would help you to get familiar with your new home city. EIT InnoEnergy also has an additional group chat on WhatsApp and there is a Stockholm chapter of the CommUnity by EIT InnoEnergy – platform for students and alumni – which organises activities on a regular basis.
As a ‘newbie’ enrolled KTH student you will have lots of activities that you can sign up to explore. These are normally shared to all students by KTH before the beginning of the academic year. Even under this COVID-19, KTH made a real effort to welcome all students!
Studying Energy for Smart Cities at KTH
As an Energy for Smart Cities students, I have some compulsory courses such as Power System Analysis, Power Electronics and a project with fellow classmates on the smart cities strategies. Additionally, for the second term, I also follow courses on topics like system innovation and indoor climate.
But what I look forward the most is the first Innovation Journey in November. Unfortunately, we could not travel to Barcelona due to travel restrictions, so our programme organised immersive videos and distributed Google cardboard glasses for us to take part on a virtual “city tour”, company visits and more.
The main topic of the Innovation Journey is how to be innovative. We listened to industry professionals and applied our study skills to real life challenge. We also had to propose our own challenge and try to find a solution to it. A big challenge that I have enjoyed!
As you might have gathered, I love my life here at KTH and never regrated coming here to study. I cannot believe it that I was so nervous before arriving!
By Yanshu Wei, EIT InnoEnergy Master’s student