Finding a closer connection to industry

Hi Sebastian, tell us some about yourself.

I am Sebastian, 25 years old from Germany. I started my Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 2011 at RWTH Aachen University and decided after two years to focus on Electrical Power Engineering. In the beginning of my Master’s studies I got to know about the T.I.M.E. programme, which led me to KTH. The programme is a double degree exchange programme which extends the two-year Master’s programme by one year. Half of the time is spent in Aachen and the other half at KTH. In the end, I will graduate with Master’s degrees from both universities.

Besides the nerdy stuff, I love doing sports and music. During my time in Aachen, I could combine these interests in ballroom dancing. When in Stockholm I started to sing in the THS choir Osqstämman. In addition to that, I sometimes dance Lindy Hop at the dance studio Chicago.

What made you choose KTH?

A group of friends and me went to Sweden to spend 2 weeks of hiking and canoeing in 2008, and I fell in love with the Swedish nature. Large, calm lakes surrounded by forest, coupled with the possibility to camp wherever one wants. I wanted to come back to see that again one day. The fact that KTH is widely known in the field of Electrical Engineering just played into my hands. KTH had to be the choice for my studies abroad.

What are your impressions of Stockholm and Sweden?

Over and over again friends told me about how beautiful Stockholm was, but I never expected this town to be so stunning! It is the mix of city life, green nature and water, which made me feel at home pretty soon after my arrival.

The knowledge of the Swedish language is in most circumstances not a requirement since almost all Swedes speak fluent English, but being able to speak Swedish makes life considerably easier. The year I spent here I learned to understand and speak Swedish, and I feel way more included into society as my Swedish skills reached an almost fluent level. It is not easy to get in close contact with Swedes, but my choir activity and my language knowledge helped me to overcome these boundaries. By now, people usually do not even consider me being German anymore when they meet me for the first time.

What do you like most about being here?

There are three things I like a lot. The first is the international community. There are many people from around the world I call friends now. It is so incredibly interesting and mind-opening to exchange opinions and attitudes towards life with people originating from such various backgrounds. In my opinion, the best framework for this kind of exchange is an international dinner. In the beginning of my time in Stockholm, I met a group of people (Canadian, Hungarian, Thai, Swiss, French, German, Swedish ...) for eating the Swedish delicacy Surströmming (fermented herring). This meeting turned into a tradition, as we gathered roughly once a month to cook food from around the world and have a wonderful time together.

The second thing I like about Sweden is the fika habit. It is a break that can take place basically any time a day, whenever you feel like. Even at companies it is an established habit to gather with colleagues once or twice a day besides the lunch break for fika. When I worked at ABB (I got the opportunity for the job because of good relations between the company and the Electrical Machines and Drives department of KTH) we even had 1 hour overhead every day. Overhead means a paid fika break which every employee is supposed to take. It is an important part of the daily work. Employees can refresh their brains during this time while sitting together, drinking coffee, talking and joking (very seldom the topics of the conversations were work-related) and, thus, getting more comfortable within their team and the working environment.

The third part of Sweden I like is, as I mentioned above, the nature and climate! Skinnarviksberget in the middle of the city centre is one of the best settings for watching beautiful sunsets after a long working day in Stockholm. Regarding the climate, I enjoy that the summer here is not as hot as in more southern regions on the planet. Sunny summer days with temperatures of maximum 25 degrees make life and work considerably more comfortable for me. Additionally, I love the cold and clear air in the winter.

What do you think are the differences between studying at KTH and RWTH Aachen University?

In contrast to 4 ECTS for a Master’s course at RWTH Aachen University you receive 7.5 ECTS for most of the Master’s courses at KTH. The majority of the courses at KTH comprise project works of which the results are required to be handed as scientific reports. Some of the Master’s courses are even examined in form of these projects only and do not require examinations in the end. In addition to a deeper understanding of the course content, one gains skills in scientific writing with these course works. This is a skill I would have lacked if I chose to study only at RWTH Aachen University.

As a student at KTH you have common access to a great IT infrastructure (PC pools) 24h a day, 7 days a week. This gives you the freedom to work whenever you prefer and it enables you to separate work and private life to which extent ever you like. I am a person who needs to have a fixed workplace somewhere different from the places I spend my leisure time at. Therefore I enjoy this freedom a lot.

Also, the teaching philosophy at KTH provides in my opinion a significantly better insight for how the course contents are connected to real problems solved in the 'real life', i.e. in the industry. I have the impression that the education at KTH is closer connected to industry and organisations unrelated to the university than at RWTH. I met at least three professors in the Electrical Machines and Drives department who work for a large company in the field of electrical power engineering. I took courses offered by all three of them. A fourth course I took was held by a professor working for the UN in the field of sustainable development.

What would you say to students thinking of choosing KTH for exchange studies?

If you want to study at KTH, you should know that many courses here require a lot of time already during the semester and not only right before the examinations. Especially for many German students this will be a new experience. However, it is a great opportunity to develop your team work skills as most of the projects can be performed in groups.

If you want to come to Stockholm, be prepared to pay a bit more for everything. Stockholm is a beautiful city, and this beauty has its price, not the least in terms of rent. If you want to live in Stockholm, make sure that you begin your research for a place to stay early enough. The housing situation in Stockholm is very difficult at the moment so patience is required. However, I do not know anyone who did not succeed in getting an accommodation in the end. It gets easier when you are already here and can attend personally for an application interview.

Taking all these challenges will definitely be rewarded! Stockholm is worth to live in. Despite all the obstacles, I promise you will have an unforgettable time here. My first year in Stockholm made me want to stay for a longer time.