Finn
Finn is twenty-five years old and comes from Bonn, Germany. He holds a bachelor’s degree from TU Berlin in physics and also started a master's in physics but changed then to the COSSE program. Besides his study's he likes to do sports, for most of his life he played football, he also spends a lot of time with friends in the nature as well as in pubs.
Why did you choose this master’s programme at KTH?
After my bachelor's I started my master's, also in physics, but at TU Berlin it's heavily theory-based, and I wanted to do something where I could see a real-world application, for example, I did my bachelor's thesis at the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in tsunami modeling. I wanted to do something like that again, and when a friend of mine told me about COSSE, it seemed like a perfect match. I still have a lot of mathematics but also applied discipline to have a real-world application of my mathematical knowledge. Also you have with this program the benefit of a double degree, you not only get academic knowledge from to different Universities, you also have the chance to life in two out of the three city's Stockholm, Berlin and Delft and you get to know a lot of different people from all over the word. This seems too fitting for me to not apply.
What are the best aspects of your programme?
The best aspects of COSSE are the combination of math and a lot of different applied disciplines. If you start your studies in Berlin, only the first 30 math credits are mandatory, for the rest, you can choose freely between a lot of different disciplines.
But COSSE is not only about academic growth but also about personal growth, because you get in contact with people with different academic and cultural backgrounds, the yearly COSSE workshop is the perfect time to get in touch with alumni and professors. Besides that, you have to move at least to one new city, and this will introduce you to different cultures and ways of thinking that will help you grow both academically and as an individual.
Also because the pogramme is so small and family like, every body helps each other, if you have questions in any direction you just can ask student or the professors and they will help you.
What are some of your favourite courses so far?
My favourite course so far is Project Numerical Analysis, it's a seminar at TU Berlin that is recommended to all COSSE students. In this class you choose your own project that has something to do with numerical analysis, if you don't have any ideas, the professor gives you possible projects that you could do. The nice thing about it is that you are really free in your choice and the times when you are working on it, and you can do it in a group or alone.
How is student life in Stockholm?
KTH is a really nice university to study at. In the first months THS, the student association organizes a lot of events where you get to know other students and the city. KTH and the city itselfe are really lovely and with COSSE you also have a high chance to get student housing by KTH that means you get to live on campus, so you have short ways to basically everything. Also, KTH has quarters, that means that you usually have two courses until mid-October and two after that. So far most of my classes are interactive, that means that we have a lot of discussion during the lectures, which makes the lectures much more interesting and active.
What would you like to say to students thinking of choosing KTH for master’s studies?
Apply. It’s a real good University not on only from a academic point of view also from a social point of view, and if you have the opportunity to get in to a double degree I can highly recommend that. Good luck with your application.