Student blogs

It’s time that I continue with my mission of introducing my classmates to you! Today, you get to meet my wonderful classmate Qingyan and her tips and highlights from being a student at KI. I had fun interviewing her, and hope you enjoy reading:

How old are you, where are you from and what led you to toxicology?

I’m 22 years old and come from China. I graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and majored in Biological Sciences. Someone I knew from my university went to KI for the Toxicology master’s two years ago, it was from her that I first heard about it. In the beginning, I didn’t really know yet what it is, but it seemed cool. When I went to look more into it, I found out that it’s a brand-new, interesting field that combines theory and practice. I like that the master’s opens many career pathways; I’m considering working in the industry rather than in research, and with this degree I think that will work well.

What have you enjoyed most about your studies here so far?

The best thing is being able to freely talk with the professors and mentors. In the beginning, I was still nervous to express my thoughts and questions, because I thought that “obviously, my questions are too stupid”. But I learned that they all listen with openness and patience and there is no judgement. And when they ask us questions during a journal club or presentation, I at first felt really bad when I didn’t know the answer. But I realized that they ask questions to help, not to embarrass us. And that it’s okay to not know all answers. That makes me much more relaxed.

Something else I’ve enjoyed here was the Nobel lecture. Such a highlight!

What’s your favourite thing to do in Stockholm?

City walks! Stockholm is a city that needs some time to explore, you can’t see it all in one go. Every time that I go on a walk through the city, I get surprised by things I hadn’t seen yet.

And same thing for museums; I’ve gone to many here, and even going more than once to the same one doesn’t get boring. For example, I’ve been twice in Nordiska Museet and the Nobel Prize Museum – and still learned new things.

What were the biggest surprises for you?

This one is a tricky one to answer, because I get to experience so many 1^st times here! The biggest surprise was probably that I got to see the northern lights, I never expected that. I saw them both here in Stockholm and on a trip to Norway – because another opportunity that I’m using in my time here is being in Europe. I’ve never travelled this much before in my life, and it’s so cool to be able to go on trips to other countries. I’ve gone on trips to Norway (for northern lights), Italy (for the Winter olympics) and the Netherlands (to see the tulips). It’s nice to travel around freely without visa efforts.

What advice would you give your past self?

Most importantly: don’t be too influenced by others – focus on yourself! Winter was a tough period for me, because many of my friends back in China had already found their internships and had busy and active lives. I didn’t have such clear plans and felt like I was lazy and not doing anything. It stressed me that I didn’t know what I want. And lab places for the summer were filling up quicker than I thought, I seemed to be late for everything. But I learned that everyone has their own pace, and it doesn’t make sense to look too much at what others do. And finally it actually worked out for me: I found an internship for the summer at a group that matches me well. So: don’t give up and follow your heart. (It sounds cheesy, I know.)

In a nutshell

Qingyan’s experiences are on hand similar to mine, and on the other hand she inspired me to look at things from a new angle. I think we can all relate to the nagging feeling that comes when we compare ourselves to others, especially in a context of studies and productivity. That’s why I take Qingyan’s answers as a reminder to also focus on fun things, explore places and take opportunities as they come.