"Like a true Italian guy, I love cooking and spreading the Italian culinary culture and techniques"
Andrea comes from Genoa, a beautiful city in the north-west part of Italy. He received his bachelor's degree at Politecnico di Milano. He likes hanging out with friends, meeting new people and practising sports, especially tennis and skiing.
What made you choose KTH and your programme?
I decided to do my master’s abroad since I wanted to have a longer experience than just an Erasmus exchange period. Then I had to determine which institutions to apply to. I intended to remain in Europe, and KTH is undeniably one of the top universities here.
Moreover, I wanted to keep studying engineering physics, but at the same time, I was looking for a programme giving me the opportunity to strongly customise my study plan. Then, I was curious to explore the northern parts of Europe, and Stockholm has always been appealing to me. Therefore I thought KTH was the right place to go.
What do you like most about KTH?
One of my favourite things at KTH is THS, which is the student union. In their building, you can find a place to study, and it turns into a party hall during the weekend. At the same time, you meet a lot of interesting people, being involved in a huge variety of activities. If you like brewing, you can join the brewing group, if you want to play sports, just join the team!
Another aspect I love about KTH, which is not about the quality of teaching (being excellent by the way), is the architecture of the buildings. You will realise it the first time you enter the main library or go around the AlbaNova campus. Moreover, by coming here, you will find an extremely friendly atmosphere, where the distance between student and professors is short.
What are your impressions of Stockholm and Sweden?
I will be honest, I haven’t yet seen many places in Sweden outside of Stockholm, probably because Stockholm is amazing! The city is perfectly neat in all its details. Public transportations are great, they are always on time and the subway works 24 hours during the weekend!
Moreover, you will find events of different kinds all over the city. Like always, there is the other side of the coin that is the housing situation (unless you are fee-paying and KTH provides you with it). It is very difficult to find a place to stay in the city centre. It becomes easier if you move further out from the city. I’m not saying it is impossible because, in the end, it all works it out. But be prepared for it and act in advance.
What do you like most about being here?
I like how my life has changed. The learning method is very different from the Italian one; the workload is spread all over the periods, so it is more evenly distributed. In this way, you gain more control of how to handle your time, and you can do other things rather than just studying.
What is your best memory so far from your time at KTH?
During the year I have spent here, I have collected a lot of wonderful memories. The most special one is most likely the first day I went around the KTH campus. My new life was about to begin, I was excited and full of expectations. As I told you, the KTH campus is amazing and it was in a perfect harmony with my feelings.
What do you think are the differences between studying at KTH and your home university?
The teaching method is radically different. Here you have fewer lecture hours, while you need to work more on your own. What you learn during a lecture is normally not enough to pass the exam, but with the assignments that you are given throughout the course, it helps you to understand what you need to study and focus on, and then you just use books and the internet to learn it. I think this method is very good since it requires a lot of personal responsibility that is useful to gain.
Another difference concerns the possibilities to customise your study plan. Obviously, as everywhere, there are mandatory courses, but you have the opportunity of personalising your study plan to a great extent. Not only are you allowed to take part in courses belonging to other master’s programmes, but you can also follow courses given at other universities have them recognised in your study plan, as long as they are relevant to your master’s.
What would you like to say to students thinking of choosing KTH for master’s studies?
I think it is an excellent choice, and you should not be scared to face it. Make sure to write a valuable motivational letter for your application, if required.
However, I think that if you are reading this, then it means that your commitment is strong enough. Try your best and work it out!