Hej på er!
Denna vecka har vi GDH-tema på bloggen! Just i detta inlägg kommer vi träffa två studenter från Botho University; Budani Bulayani och Dunja Stevanovic. De har båda varit på KTH som utbytesstudenter och har nu ställt upp på intervju för att berätta mer om sitt hem-universitet som ligger i staden Gaborone, Botswana. Där finns nämligen en möjlighet för KTH-studenter i årskurs 3/4 att genomföra ett utmaningsdrivet projekt om samhällsutmaningar i och omkring Gaborone. Klicka här för att läsa mer om termins-utbytet eller fortsätt läsa nedan om ni vill höra vad Budani och Dunja har att berätta!
How would you describe life as a student in Botswana?
Budani: ”School life here in Botswana isn’t hectic if you know how to manage your time. Sometimes you can have up to 3 classes with a maximum of 2hrs per lecture and sometimes no classes depending on the class schedule. This means you have flexible schedules and free time to do whatever you want. Botswana offers tuition-free education plus student allowances, with the condition that students focus only on their academics, not being given an opportunity to do side jobs. The university offers different curricular activities that students can participate in. Semester breaks gives the students the opportunity to travel back to the village away from the city life to be with their parents and relatives.”
Dunja: ”Life as a student can be quite demanding depending on the workload, but nothing that cannot be accomplished without hard work. The people you meet on campus are friendly and helpful, making fitting in easy and working together simpler. There are a number of tests and assignments during the course of the semester, and a final assessment for most modules which accounts for the majority of the overall grade. There are a variety of social and sports clubs to join, thus focusing not only on academics but creating students that are all-rounders. The main holiday is over December, as that is the summer period.”
What are the three main differences between KTH and Botho University?
Budani:
- Botho University offers more theory-based teaching while at KTH I got to be exposed to the industry experts to deliver on their expertise.
- KTH provides student-centered learning methods which allow the students to review and give feedback on every class, thus boosting their understanding.
- KTH has forged a good collaboration with industry stakeholders which gave us (the students) the to interact with different experts in different fields, thus exposing us to what the industry wants.
Dunja:
- KTH campus requires a map/Google Maps to find your way around as it extends on quite a large area, whereas Botho University campus is considerably smaller, and chances are you won’t get lost while looking for your class.
- Botho University campus is enclosed on one property with all facilities on site, while KTH is spread amongst numerous buildings and being open along a road and other buildings, almost like a small village.
- Botho University has approximately 1,800 students at their Gaborone campus, whilst KTH has approximately 13,500.
What are your favorite things with Gaborone/Botswana?
Budani: ”Gaborone is currently the epicenter of almost all the cool things. It is a vibrant city, with restaurants to eat out, big malls to shop at. My favorite thing about Gaborone is the Game viewing and drives in and around the city. It also presents a lot of artsy events ranging from poetry, art exhibitions, night markets, and music events. It is also pretty easy and cheaper to fly to Maun from Gaborone where a lot of Botswana’s wetlands and safaris are. One of my favorite things about Botswana is that it a small country where everyone knows everyone thus resulting in low crime rates being committed. Botswana’s fauna and flora act as a beacon one would be so glad to see and experience. ”
Dunja: ”I may be biased, but Botswana is awesome. Gaborone (the capital city) is home, the place I was born and grew up in. Botswana boasts a number of sites, such as Kgale Hill, the Okavango Delta, Makgadikgadi Pans, protected nature parks, safari excursion opportunities, camping areas, fishing spots, restaurants, shopping malls and so much more. The people are welcoming and kind, the lifestyle is pretty laidback overall, and there is always an adventure to be had! The fact that it is sunny and hot most of the year is another huge bonus! These are some of my favorite things!”
Vi tackar Budani och Dunja så hjärtligt för att de ställde upp och delade med sig av sina erfarenheter, tankar och favoritsaker! Vi avslutar med några bilder som Budani (rad1) och Dunja (rad2) valt att dela med sig av!
Hoppas ni lärt er något nytt och blivit inspirerade!
Ha det bra!
