Student blogs

I can hardly believe it’s already been a month since I arrived in Stockholm and started my Master’s programme in Public Health Sciences at KI! Moving abroad properly for the first time in my life, I spent a lot of time overthinking before this big new chapter began. Once I arrived though, everything happened very quickly and now it feels like I have been here for a much longer time. I’m super happy to look back at my first month and share with you 5 things I’ve learned in these weeks full-packed with emotions and activities!

1) Group work isn’t as bad as I thought

Having heard a lot about the importance of group work at KI, I wasn’t quite sure what to think about this in the beginning. My associations with group work weren’t the most invigorating ones to be honest. However, I can fairly say that this first month at KI shaped my view on group work in a very positive way. Approaching working in a group not from a quick-outcome perspective, but really learning from each one’s competence and sometimes also through the struggle of misunderstandings and annoyance by giving constructive feedback is highly encouraged in the KI-study-culture. And from a Master student’s perspective, I really get the point that this indeed prepares us in a very good way for our future work experience, which in most cases, will take place in a team.

2) Go for the challange – it’s worth it!

Applying to KI in January with some sort of “yolo-just-go-for it-mindset”, I never actually thought about the possibility of really getting accepted into the Master’s programme, once I heard about how few people will get selected. However, I still tried my best and, in the end, it really worked out!
Same thing happened to me applying for the job as a blogger for KI – and look who is super happy to post here regularly now (spoiler: me)!
I really want to encourage you to just try: because who never tries, will never know. Worst case, you learn something new.

3) I got used to studying in English faster than I thought

Studying in English for the first time in my life, I was a bit worried how I would keep up with everyone in the beginning, as during the past years, I lost some of my English skills due to a lack of practice. Being a bit intimidated at first about how I express myself in English in my first presentation and group discussions, I can only tell you that really I felt more and more comfortable every day studying at KI. The learning curve is quite steep and I feel like also in the study culture, one gets encouraged a lot to express own thoughts and opinions – regardless of perfect grammar. And without even noticing, things get easier every day…

4) Fika is a lifestly (and I love it)

What can I tell you about fika? Being a mystery looking at it from abroad, I feel like once you arrive in Sweden, all of a sudden, your eyes open and you understand what this great ★ fika ★ is about. Fika is more than just a cozy coffee / tea break with nice people and a sweet treat. It really is a lifestyle. A lifestyle, I am very happy to promote! Taking a step away from our driven hustle culture, that is so much about productivity, and just enjoying the moment. But reading about it isn’t enough: the only way to know, is to experience it yourself.

5) Embrace the highlights of everyday life

Ok, to be honest this is not a specific learning of this month, but it did come in handy to me many times during my first month in a new city with new people, as a fresh Master’s student. I am not lying to you, if I told you that this first month has been a lot of joy to me. But yes, there are also harder days, adapting to all the changes and being far away from your family and friends you know. Embracing the highlights of everyday life can help a lot, no matter where you are or what you do, not to forget about all the good and often little things that make life beautiful.