Ikhsan
Ikhsan comes from Indonesia. Before coming to Sweden, he completed his bachelor studies in Mechanical Engineering at Bandung Institute of Technology in 2021. His passion lies in the field of mechatronics, which is why, prior to joining KTH, he actively participated in various projects to develop products, including robots and medical tools. In his leisure time, he enjoys playing football and watching videos that explain fascinating technological advancements, such as rockets or robots.
Why did you choose this master’s programme at KTH?
The field of mechatronics is huge, it covers knowledge from mechanical, electrical, and software technology. However, based on my experiences during my bachelor's studies and involvement in mechatronics projects, I felt I still lacked practical knowledge, particularly in electrical and software applications. Therefore, I decided to pursue a master's degree at KTH because my programme offers numerous courses that can directly be applied to projects or study groups, which provide a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical aspects and their real-world implementation. Additionally, KTH stands out as one of the leading universities in robotics and mechatronics research, further solidifying my choice to study here.
What are the best aspects of your programme?
The best aspect of my programme is the cohesiveness and correlation between courses. During the first year, the student will be presented with mandatory courses that encompass essential technical skills for becoming proficient mechatronics engineers, such as electrical and circuit, control application, software and embedded technology. Towards the end of the first year before the master's thesis, the student will have a chance to do a real-world project collaborating with the researcher or company to develop and make the mechatronics products. This course setup is good as students can implement what they learn into an actual project. Furthermore, students have much flexibility to choose elective courses that complement and further enhance their understanding of the mandatory courses they have completed.
Have you chosen a specialisation track within the programme? If Yes, which track and why?
No, the mechatronics tracks have already been given when the students apply for the master's programme. Even though there is another track, machine design, it gives an entirely different mandatory course and focuses on learning objectives. The machine design tracks mainly focus on mechanical knowledge and design, whereas mechatronics tracks focus on electrical and software knowledge.
What are some of your favourite courses so far?
My favourite courses so far are the dynamic and motion control course and the mechatronics advanced course. Dynamic and motion control course learn about the control application and the implementation in real hardware. In this course, we are given a theory about controlling the actuator and implementing it in discrete time, which is really good since we can observe the effect of actual application vs the theory. In the mechatronics advance course, we formed a group to analyse and make the prototype of given problems which collaborated with the company or research groups. In this course, the student will learn project management and how to implement hard skills that they already have.
How do studies at KTH differ from your previous studies?
Studying at KTH and previous universities is entirely different. In KTH, the semester is divided into two periods in which we take a new course every 2.5 months, whereas, in my previous universities, students will take a new course every 6 months. This forces the students to learn faster in short periods to pass the course. Additionally, each course in the KTH is more compact and dense; therefore, the student needs to manage their time wisely to keep up with the pace.
How is student life in Stockholm?
In the first couple of weeks, it was pretty challenging as I did not had lot of information about Stockholm, especially where to buy the groceries and ingredients to cook Asian food. As time passed, and now I have more details about life in Stockholm, I realised that I could find almost anything here, which I think helps international students adapt well to a new country.
How would you describe your time at KTH so far?
Until now, my time in KTH is going well. I take many courses that are categorised as complicated, but it has gone well because I formed a study group to discuss the material or the problem that I still didnt understand. If our group cannot solve the problem that we have faced, we can quickly contact the teacher or professor, and they will always help us. This is one of the reasons why until now, everything has went well for me.
What would you like to say to students thinking of choosing KTH for master’s studies?
Don't be afraid to continue your study here. The professors and the teachers are very knowledgeable and will help you with any questions that you might ask. The course and programme also have been designed efficiently for the students to form groups and discuss with other students to solve the problems. And more importantly, your classmates also will be the best students from all over the world. Finally, if you have any questions about studies in the mechatronics programme or just general questions about life in Stockholm, don't hesitate to contact me. I will try to help answer your questions :)