Student blogs

7 years ago, I received my one, good ol’ Bachelor of Pharmacy at Monash University in Australia. Now in 2020, here I am! Back at it again. In Sweden, with a backpack on, an apple in hand and a ginormous smile on my face. I am really enjoying my time studying at Karolinska Institutet (KI).

I’ve only studied at KI for one semester, so I can only speak of my experiences so far. I’ll admit, at the start I was really taken aback. My 17 years of studying was all about getting the best grades and constant repetition and rote learning. This is a bit different, and personally, I quite like it.  

Here’s why:

Take it one course at a time

During my Bachelor’s degree, I was studying 4 courses concurrently for 4 months. And I believe that’s the same for most other universities. But that’s not the case at KI. The Health Informatics Master’s programme is full time, which means that students need to put in about 40 hours of study a week. And in KI’s case, 40 hours of study on one or two courses. As I understand, the purpose is to focus. To fully divulge yourself in the course. There may not be 40 hours or lectures, maybe 15 hours at most so far for myself, but that doesn’t mean you should be taking on a full time job on the side. You are expected to be doing your own reading before and after each lectures. And if you don’t, you’ll probably feel the brunt of it all. Trust me, I would know. It all took me by surprise. I was getting through the course as if it were a side project, but then when it comes to the examinations, I was hit by a tonne of bricks. Let’s say there was a LOT of reading and catching up to do.  

Examinations are different at KI

The examination period at my old university, lasted about a month at the end of the semester. I remember eagerly awaiting the release of the examination dates and then planning my cram sessions. As you would expect, it’s a little bit different at KI. As mentioned before, at KI we study one, maybe two, courses at a time, and there aren’t necessarily ‘examinations’ at the end of the course as we know it. I, myself, haven’t had to sit on a single-sized table, in a great hall with teachers pacing between the aisles. Examinations at KI have been in 2 forms so far: group assignments and individual assignments. In the 2 courses that I’ve had at KI, the group assignments were presentations, graded as pass or fail, and individual assignments in essay form. The individual assignments have had much more weight in our final grade. The great thing about this is, the group assignments prepared you for your individual assignments! You are given the opportunity to discuss and work together on concepts, and then apply it again in a different context in your individual assignment. Another great thing about this is examination deadlines are posted 2 weeks before the course begins and thus, hopefully, deters cramming.

Last but not least, nurture your curiosity

I believe this is the most special aspect about KI. The programmes are designed to nurture your curiosity. So, instead of rote learning with the aim to pass an examination, the idea is to get you to read literature, listen to podcasts, and encourage discussions amongst each other. Before a lecture, you’re expected to have completed some prior reading and reflection. And during the lecture, is where the discussions take place, with the lecturer as the MC. As mentioned before, it’s not about cramming in as much as possible, or getting higher grades than your peers. As corny as this sounds, ‘we’re all in this together’.

Does this approach to learning suit you?

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at helen.nguyen@stud.ki.se or https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-nguyen-539782aa/