Student blogs

As you might have heard, Karolinska Institutet hosts the Nobel Assembly where the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is selected every year. It feels special to be so close to the Nobel prize, because not just at KI but in Stockholm in general, the week around the Nobel prize is a special time full of events. Today I’ll tell how the Nobel prize affects students at KI and what other events there are if you want to immerse more.

The Nobel prize featured in lectures

First something general that is not related to the Nobel week but happens throughout the year. Lecturers like mentioning the Nobel prize. Whenever a lecture covers something that has won the Nobel prize (or is somehow related to it), this will not go unnoticed. I like that, because it reminds you of the fact that everything we know (or believe to know) and learn today had to be discovered first. Besides lectures, I’ve also heard from several people that they’ve gotten to watch the Nobel prize announcements together in class. But while I’m writing this, I realize that mentioning the Nobel prize (or watching the stream) actually might not even be a KI-specific thing. Do lecturers at other universities do that too?

The Nobel lecture

There is a very special lecture at KI every year – the Nobel lecture. Every year during the Nobel week, the laureate(s) of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine hold(s) a lecture that is open to all students at KI. Understandably, it’s a very well-visited lecture, so if you’re interested in going, it’s good to prepare yourself for queuing.

The Nobel Week Lights

The Nobel Weeks Lights are my favourite thing about the Nobel week in Stockholm. It’s a light festival that consists of art installations around the city. They all have two things in common: they play with light – and with the themes of Nobel prizes. I love that week. It gives you a good reason to go outside even in the cold and dark season of the year. No costs or commitment, you just get to enjoy the beautiful light installations. Some of them are interactive, some meditative in a way, some just impressive.

Gather your friends and go to the city. You can either follow the map that lists all locations of the light installations, or you just walk wherever you want – because even without planning it, you will randomly bump into some of the installations on the way. And if you get too cold at some point, just stop by a café to warm up and enjoy a hot chocolate until you feel ready to continue the Stockholm stroll.

Usually during winter, it feels like main life in Stockholm moves to the indoors and the city can be quite empty. But during the week of the Nobel Lights, it feels like the city is alive again.

SNNC

I cannot write a blog post about the Nobel time in Stockholm without mentioning SNNC. SNNC (the Student Nobel Night Cap) is the afterparty for the Nobel Banquet, and special about it is that it’s fully organized by students. I know many people that are or have been part of organizing SNNC, and from what I’ve heard, it is a lot to do, but really rewarding and a fun way to engage in outside-of-studies activities and meet people from the other universities. If you’d like to read more about that, I can recommend Julia’s blog post.

While the party is of course organized for and attended by the Nobel laureates and many other important people, sometimes students can also sign up – and with some lottery luck receive one of the reserve tickets. I was lucky to receive a ticket one year and had a really good time at the party. But if you want to be on the safe side about taking part in SNNC, it’s better to join the planning team.

And so much more

The lights, lecture, and SNNC are the main Nobel activities for students that take place every year. But besides that, there might be surprises sometimes. This year, for example, the Secretary-General of the Nobel assembly gave a lunch lecture at KI about how it is behind the scenes of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine throughout the year. I’m already curious for next year’s Nobel week!