Student blogs

This summer, I was one of the 6 students from Karolinska Institutet who got to participate in the BalticSeaBioMed Summer School. It was a wonderful week: the days were filled with both interesting learning (data analysis, computational biology, planetary health, ethics) and free time activities (games, swimming, sauna).

The theme of the summer school was planetary and human health and how they are connected. We learned about planetary boundaries, about pharmaceuticals and other pollutants in the Baltic sea, and we discussed cases of ethical decision-making. All these themselves are already interesting topics, but they got amplified from the fact that we were on an island in the Baltic sea, surrounded by the things we were learning about. We saw them with your own eyes; be it through the microscope when looking at water samples, or in the datasets we analysed in our computers.

During many hours each day, we worked together in international (&inter-university) groups to solve our assignment. The assignment revolved around polychlorinated biphenyls in the Baltic sea and their effects on human health. In the project work, we gained a lot of hands-on experience in data analysis and computational methods. These, to be honest, are not really areas I feel most confidence in, which is why I especially appreciate the learning opportunity. Because, like most things, coding gets easier the more you practice it.

Other methods we used for learning were e.g. playing interactive games, gathering information in small groups and presenting it to each other, and taking part in interesting discussions. But, out of all, my personal favourite (and a unique Seili experience!) was to take water samples from the sea and analysing them under the microscope.

Besides all the measurable learnings and experience, this summer school especially emphasised one skill: working together. Group work is something that is also emphasised in my Master’s programme, so it’s no coincidence that I seek and like these kinds of experiences. I guess it is just even more validating to see that working together with people keeps being fun and fulfilling, and it’s impressive that it even works so well within a course of such a short time frame.

The best thing about this summer school were really the people. Everyone was very open, kind and genuinely interested. This made it a great community to learn with – and to have fun with during our free time activities. Our evenings were filled with sauna, swimming, playing games and just having good conversations. And the nature was beautiful, so during a moment of free time, many of us also enjoyed going for walks and feeling the breeze and the August sun.

In a nutshell, this week felt like a summer camp: you have busy fun days, learn a lot and come back home exhausted but with a long list of new contacts, ideas and inspirations. Our week on the beautiful island Seili in Finland’s archipelago was filled with learnings about pollution in the Baltic sea and its health effects for humans. I practiced my coding skills, learned from & with the new people I met there and got hands-on experience with sampling. I am really grateful for getting the opportunity to take part in this course, and for the things I learned. Thank you to everyone who made the Baltic Sea BioMed Summer School possible!