Student blogs

Hej all! It’s been summer break for Sweden and KI, during which time I said goodbye to Stockholm and moved back to the UK to continue with medical school. I had a wonderful year studying and living in Sweden (‘Thriving in Sweden’ would’ve been a better title for this blog), and I was very sad to leave, which was evidence by the amount of kanelbullar and other pastries I ate during my last week!

In my final blog, I thought I’d give my top 5 tips for the Global Health class of 24/25 – the final one year master’s course! It’s a fun year, which has its tough points, but also so many highs, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

1. Don’t – stress about the thesis on day one!

As this degree is just a year long, it can feel like you have to have the thesis topic and supervisor sorted as soon as you arrive – but this isn’t the case! Most supervisors aren’t expecting emails until October anyway, so whilst it’s good to be proactive and thinking about the topic you might like to study for the thesis, don’t worry about having the thesis fixed by the end of the first week! Take some time to settle in, understand the structure of the course and when the deadlines for the thesis are, and then plan accordingly. This actually ended up being one of my favourite aspects of the degree, and I’ve written other blogs about the thesis process which you can find here.

2. Do – enjoy the thesis period when you get to it

Thankfully, KI give you plenty of time to write your thesis (although if you are collecting or coding your own data, this will take more time so be aware of that). Use this time wisely! If you plan well, you can make good use of this time to travel, explore Stockholm, and take advantage of living in Europe or Scandinavia if you’re an international student like me. The thesis can be completed from anywhere, and most supervisors are happy to meet online, or you can plan in advance when to meet in person. I know that myself, and plenty of my classmates, wrote our theses whilst skiing, on beaches, or sightseeing!

3. Don’t – skip the guest lectures

KI is such a well-respected, and well-connected institution, that they are able to recruit amazing guest speakers to give lectures for the masters programme. We heard from an acting head of the WHO, an influential policy maker for Indonesia, individuals who work with the EU and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), and other lecturers from Uganda to Lebanon to the United States. It is fascinating to hear different perspectives on Global Health, and hear from real experts on their work and its real-world effects. Don’t miss this opportunity!

4. Do – take plenty of study breaks

The degree can be pretty intense at times – it can feel like there is class all day every day, and exams every other day. (This is not true by the way – they will be at least 2 weeks apart!). Nevertheless, it’s really important to take breaks and enjoy Stockholm, as it will allow you to keep working hard! We really enjoyed visiting cafés, trying new sports such as cross-country skiing, browsing in the shops and thrift stores, and exploring different islands in the city as ways to relax. Even just a 30-minute walk around Kungsholmen or Djurgarden can be so refreshing!

5. Final tip – it’s a group effort!

Finally, and what helped me to get through this degree, was working in collaboration with friends! Studying for the exams can feel a bit daunting at first, but the best way I found was to go to a coffee shop with friends and talk over the material. Everyone will take in the content slightly differently, so you can fill in the gaps for each other. I usually found that in the exams, I wasn’t remembering something I’d read on a screen, but my friend saying ‘Oh yeah, remember that SDG 10 is reduced inequalities!’. The collaborative nature of Global Health is one of the best parts of the degree, and definitely the reason I passed any of the exams!

Thanks for following along with my final blog! It has been a joy to be the DA for Global Health for the past year, and I look forward to seeing what this year’s DA does with the post! My thanks to all of my professors and lecturers at the Department of Global Public Health, and to the Digital Ambassador team and our fearless leaders Ulrica & Jenny! Good luck class of 24/25, and enjoy!