Student blogs

Welcome! I would like to dedicate this post to introducing you to the new cohort of students in the “SciLifeLab” Master’s programme. The junior class of the Molecular Techniques in Life Science Master’s started their degree on August 31^st, 2021. Their arrival at the Science for Life Laboratory on Karolinska Institutet’s campus was celebrated through a fika and mingle with the programme directors and staff involved with this Global Master’s.

Without further ado, here is the breakdown of this year’s MTLS junior class!

Nationalities

The world map below proves that the make up of our Master’s programme is incredibly international! Indeed, it is a Global Master’s. In total, the junior class cohort originates from 17 different countries! Some students even hold dual citizenship and others have a very mixed background.

Age Range

Out of everyone who filled out the cohort statistics survey I sent out this year, the majority of students are in the 22- to 23-years-old age range. This is a pretty typical distribution for our programme, since most students are coming directly from their undergraduate studies into the Master’s degree.

Educational Background

With everyone coming from different places and walks of life, this class cohort holds a wide variety of undergraduate degree backgrounds. Some came with a strong foundation in molecular biology and wet lab experience, while others have more technical backgrounds like bioengineering or biotech degrees. This diversity of knowledge and skills creates the perfect milieu for collaboration, as we can foster an environment where complementing each other’s skillsets is common practice. Sharing is caring y’all!

Languages

We are a very multilingual group! Of course, with English being the language of instruction for our Master’s programme, it comes as no surprise that it is the most commonly spoken tongue in our group. Notwithstanding, we have several speakers of Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Mandarin. I also know that many of our juniors are eager to learn or have already started on their journey to becoming proficient in svenska, so as to fit right into the culture and ways of Swedish people.

Finally, I asked our juniors to submit some “fun facts” about themselves so that we could get to know them a bit better. Here’s a filtered version of some of the responses I received:

• I did also a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz bass Performance
• I can take a nap anywhere, any time (yes, even in the middle of a party)
• I can ride a unicycle
• I love dancing and always ready for any sort of adventure
• I love gnocchi (don’t we all?? 😉 )

It has been a pleasure getting to know everyone in the junior class of my programme and I only hope that we will get many chances of celebrating our diverse educational, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds as we connect further in 2022!

Lastly, I would like to express a warm thank-you to every student who filled out this little class census. I really appreciate it!

Featured Image Credits: SciLifeLab