Carlos says that KTH has excellent opportunities for students to gain extracurricular experience in management, event-planning and more

What made you choose Sweden and KTH for your studies?

Once I decided to choose Sweden, I looked for all the universities and their programmes. Medical engineering was always a major interest of mine, so I decided to take this track. The programme, the campus, the number of international students, the number of courses that I could choose and the reputation of KTH and KI were the reasons why I decided to study at KTH.

When I finished my licentiate degree in Costa Rica, I started looking for universities, cities and countries to take my master's degree. I decided to study Medical Engineering, but I also wanted a country with tons of nature and international people. I wanted something different from what I was used to in Costa Rica. Sweden has amazing respect for nature, and there are really nice landscapes; you can see the Northern Lights here, and you can also experience the real winter.

What is special about your master's programme?

The programme offers different tracks, so you can choose which area is the best for you. From these tracks, you have some mandatory courses and a lot of elective courses that you can choose from, or you can take courses from other schools and programmes.

The professors are friendly to students, and when you have doubts, they always have some time to talk to you and answer your questions. As the programme is a joint programme between KI and KTH, some courses are more technical and others more theory-based.

You live and study in Flemingsberg, just south of Stockholm. What are your experiences of that?

As a non-EU student, KTH provided me with accommodation in Flemingsberg, just in front of our department. At night, there may not be a lot of things to do in Flemingsberg, but it is 20 minutes from Stockholm, so it is not a problem if you want to go out.

There are some beaches and lakes that are really nice for spending the day. I like to bike and, fortunately, there are plenty of places full of nature where you can go biking around here. Plus, we have the cheapest supermarket nearby.

What do you like most about KTH?

KTH is a very international university, and I have been able to meet people from a lot of different countries. The university has a lot of resources that can be noticed throughout the campuses.

Beyond the academic area, the university has a lot of groups and teams for students to join to be able to gain extracurricular experience in management, events-planning, sports and more.

What are your impressions of Stockholm and Sweden?

Sweden is a beautiful country; it has nice cities with amazing architecture and a lot of nature. It is very peaceful and safe, and I think the public transport is efficient.

Stockholm is great; there are a lot of activities in the city, and there are a lot of people from all around the world living here. In winter, all the lakes and part of the sea get frozen; there is a lot of snow everywhere, and you don't see the sun for some weeks, but it is still really nice.

What do you like most about being here?

I always wanted to take my master's degree in medical engineering, and it is a challenge to be in a country very different from what I am used to, so being here makes me feel that I am accomplishing something.

I really like that I get to go out and meet new people from different countries and cultures. I like the midnight sun and snowy days. I am very happy with the decision I made of choosing Sweden, KTH and Medical Engineering.

What is your best memory so far from your time at KTH?

In Costa Rica, we don't have winter, and I had never experienced what snow was. The first time I saw snow was in Sweden, and that day happened to be the day with the most snowfall in a single day in Stockholm for 111 years, so it was an amazing experience.

What do you think are the differences between studying at KTH and your home university?

Everything is different. The lectures and books are in English. There are two periods in every semester, each one of approximately two months in which you need to do all the assignments and exams (for most of the courses. There are also breaks of 15 minutes after every 45 minutes of lecture.

One other thing I like is the possibility of taking elective courses from other schools.

What would you like to say to students thinking of choosing KTH for master's studies?

For me, choosing this programme at KTH was the biggest and most important decision I have made; it is not easy to decide which country and university to go to, but I'm happy to say that I feel I made the right decision.

The country is nice; the university is excellent, and there are also a lot of startups and companies interested in talented people, so if you want to stay, there might be plenty of options here.