vivi kiukkanen, 482686 - aalto · vivi kiukkanen, 482686 firstly, i made an english advertisement...

ViviKiukkanen,482686

THE TRAVEL REPORT

LUND UNIVERSITY

AUTUMN 2016

1. Preparing for the exchange

Preparing for the exchange was easy. Lund University is very international university and it is

used to have students abroad. Thus, you will receive a lot of information before hand and

everything is very well organized. The university has its own pages for international students and

they are filled with useful information.

1.2. Application process

The application to Lund University happened via the Internet. I got good instructions, how to fill

the online application that consisted of three sections: personal information, required documents,

and course application.

The required documents for the online application were:

- An official transcript of all previous academic studies

- A list of ongoing courses

- A copy of your passport (photo page) or official EU Identity Card

The university also asked for “any other relevant documents to show you meet prerequisites not

listed on your transcript” but I found that I had none. I made the list of ongoing courses by

myself at Excel but I had to ask the international office to send me the official transcript of all

previous academic studies since you can’t get it from WebOodi.

1.3. Choosing the courses

In Lund University the Autumn semester consists of two study periods that add up to 30 credits.

This means two courses 7,5 credits each per study period. Although each course had 1,5 credits

more than the courses in Aalto University I did not notice any dramatic difference between the

workloads.


Every exchange student receives a list of business courses, which he or she can choose from. For

each course (1,2, 3 and 4) the applicant can pick three alternatives. Check that you meet the

prerequisites for each course and the courses are approved by Aalto University. While choosing

the courses, be aware that the courses are very popular so it very likely that you might not get

your first alternative. That also happened to me.

The course schedules might also be conflicting so you may have to make changes to them on

Registration Day. I was able to avoid course changes since I chose courses that had the same

prefix.

It might be possible to take courses from other faculties also but the university did not exactly

guide you to do that. I picked the easy way and selected only business courses. Yet, it might be

possible to study other subjects although you in principle are studying under the business faculty.

1.4. Accommodation

Lund University does not offer accommodation for students that come from Europe. Luckily,

there are multiple ways of finding a good place to stay. However, I met several people that had

trouble with finding a permanent place to stay so it is extremely important that you start looking

for accommodation early on. Commonly, people are living in corridors or shared apartments.

Only a few people had their own studio flat.

I would first recommend you to apply for LU accommodation. Do that as quickly as possible

since the university's apartments are very popular and hard to get. Yet, be aware that it is

possible that you don’t get an apartment from the school. Thus, start looking for other housing

options right away. I applied for LU accommodation but quite soon I received an email stating

that the Univerisity was not able to offer me an apartment so I started to look for an apartment

from alternative sources.


Firstly, I made an English advertisement to Bopoolen (www.bopoolen.nu), which is an apartment

search page run by Lund University student organization. Bopoolen is a place where people can

search tenants and rental apartments. I did not find an apartment from there and also found the

web page very messy and hard to use. There are a lot of scams in Lund so be careful.

The second thing what I did was an application to AF Bostäder that offers to housing to

University students. AF Bostäder organizes a housing lottery for all the applicants and it is held

on Registration day. Many students got their apartment this way. Yet, I personally found it

relieving that I had an apartment before I arrived in Lund.

Finally, I got my apartment was via Blocket.se which is a Swedish version of Tori.fi. I paid

approximately 15 euros for an advertisement and soon was contacted by a same-aged Swedish

girl that offered me a room in her apartment. The apartment located 2,5 kilometers from the

centrum and had good connections to public transport. The closest shop and pizzeria located 500

meters from my apartment. The room was approximately 15 square meters and was unfurnished.

The first-floor apartment had 2 bedrooms, small kitchen, big living room, bathroom, and

hallway. The laundry room located next door. I used Osuuspankki web bank for the rent

payments. My rent was 350 krona and it included everything.

Since my room was furniture I had to pay a visit to Ikea where I purchased a mattress and few

lights. Note that Lund is extremely international and people move constantly in and out so it pays

to sign in Facebook groups where people sell and buy stuff. I was a member of “Cyclar och

tillbehör köpes, bytes, säljas i Skåne” and “Sell and buy stuff in Lund” and found them very

useful. In Lund, you need to have a bike! I found mine from “Cyclar och tillbehör köpes, bytes,

säljas i Skåne”.

1.5. Traveling to the Host University, reception at the school

Traveling to the Host University is easy if you are flying to Copenhagen Airport. I arrived on the

official registration day, which is an approximately week before the school starts. I recommend

you to do the same since the Arrival Day is super well organized: There are many people helping


you at the Airport and in Lund. Exchange students and other International students are

transported to the AF-Borgen (the main building) by cars. You can leave your staff at AF-Borgen

and sign in to different events and get information. It is a great start and you will instantly meet

nice people, many of which are Finnish speaking.

2. Exchange studies

Arrival Day:

The autumn study period: the 31st of August 2016 – the 15th of January 2017

(Note: Exchange students’ courses end before Christmas)

2.1. Generally about the courses

I took only undergraduate business courses that were all organized at the School of Economics

and Management building plus one short Swedish course for exchange students. All the courses

were held in English and the teachers spoke very good English. It seems that Lund University

organizes separate courses for exchange students since almost all the participants were exchange

students. Yet, I think it is possible to take courses in Swedish but you have to see some extra

effort for that. Generally, the courses included a lot of group works and presentations, which are

very common teaching methods in Sweden. We also had to write a lot. In addition, the course

books had more importance than they do have in Aalto where you can often manage by reading

only the slides. In other words, make course book reservations early on (this is possible to do

online) or prepare to buy few course books. All the course information and material is available

on Liveatlund web page, which is quite similar to My courses.

First period

Svenska: Introduktionskurs för utbytesstudenter 2

This was a short 2 weeks Swedish course (3 ECTS) for exchange students held in the beginning

of the semester. I was in the “advanced” group but found the course very easy. I recommend this


course for all Finnish people since the course is basic Swedish. Yet, the course was very

beneficial in terms of meeting new people studying on other faculties.

FEKH91 Entrepreneurship

On the 30th of August till the 25th of 10 (?) 2016

Undergraduate course, 7,5 ECTS

The lecturer was Caroline Wigren. There were also few guest lecturers from local start-ups (i.e.

Christine Dahlman Jacobsen from Nattaro)

The content of the course:

The course had a multisided approach to the subject. We had to read 2-4 scholar articles for each

of the five lectures. The home-exam based on the guest lectures and the 15 scholar articles,

which we also had to use as a base of group work assignments. The group assignment was to

come up with a business idea and develop it on the online platform according to the theories

presented in the articles. The all groups met three different experts that briefly analyzed the

business idea and gave their recommendations. Moreover, we had to interview a real

entrepreneur and present our findings in three seminars. Finally, we had to pitch our business

idea to our peers. The grading was based on the entrepreneur interview essays, the home-exam,

and the business development process.

My personal comments:

The course was felt quite messy since there were many different tasks and the information was

not in one place. Thus, the idea of the course and its assignments was hard to understand. What

is more, I was not used to reading academic articles so I really struggled with them. Additionally,

our group consisted of 6 persons and sometimes it was quite difficult to divide the workload and

agree on the things we were doing. However, I found the research of entrepreneurship

fascinating and enjoyed both the lectures and the guest lectures. Also, the home-exam was a nice

experience.


FEKH61 Global Strategic Marketing

On the 30th of August till the 28th of (10) 2016


Lecturers: Jon Bertilsson, Markus Klasson, and Clarissa Sia-Ljungström

The content of the course:

The course covered general marketing topics such as market entry strategies and marketing mix

but regarded form the global perspective. The course consisted of 6 lectures and 3 seminars. The

course material was a course book and additional articles. We had to form groups of three and

solve 3 business cases. Each group had to present their solution once and give comments to

others. Moreover, we had to write a brief summary of each case and write a final essay (2500

words). The seminars were compulsory. The grading based on one multiple-choice quiz and

group works. The workload was average.

My personal comments

Marketing is my major so I was quite familiar with the topics. Thus, the course felt a bit basic for

me. Again I struggled with the “international coworking” since the Italian and French guys were

not used to write academic papers or in English. Hence, I had to almost write the papers alone in

order to get a good grade. I think the course was okay.

Second period

FEKH61 Management control

To the 31st of October till the 15th of December 2016


Lecturer: Gert Paulsson


Content of the course

The course had a very theoretical and philosophical approach to management control which

means all the actions and systems that help management to manage and control the company’s

operations according to the strategy. Given that the course was an accounting course there were

only little calculating. The course included three business cases that we had to solve in a group.

Further, we had to prepare a presentation about one of the course books chapters. The course

based strongly on the course book but we also had to read four articles. The exam was written

exam, where one had to understand the key concepts and challenges related to management

course.


Gert Paulsson is a good lecturer, which made the lectures interesting. I liked the course since

although I have not studied accounting so much I could participate the discussions and

understand the subject.

FEKH81 Corporate Finance (did not pass this one)

To the 28th of October till the 19th of December 2016


Lecturer: Susanne Arvidsson

Content of the course

The course was an introductory course to corporate finance and its content was broad. The

lectures based on the course book and were basically only calculating. We had one group case

assignment.



I did not like the lecturer’s style to present things as she went forward too fast and used the

overhead projector. During the lectures we went through exercises from the book but nobody of

us had time to calculate them before the lecture so basically we just wrote down things without

understanding anything. Moreover, the course book was extremely difficult to get since the

publisher had run out of them. I did not pass this course since I did not start studying early

enough. I do not recommend this course for you as the quality of it was bad.

3. Free time and other information

3.1. Good to know

Sweden is not so far away from Finland and part of EU so I did not have to stress about packing,

banks or visa. However, here is something you should consider before traveling to Lund.

Travel insurance:

Regular travel insurance usually covers up only two months time so I needed to extend the

insurance period.

Bank and bank card:

I have Visa Electron card and my bank is Osuuspankki. I managed the whole time with these.

Teleoperator and wifi:

Sonera has a great deal if you are going to Sweden and Denmark. They do not charge any extra

for calling and browsing inside the Nordic countries. Yet, remember to change your telephone

subscription early on. My Finnish friends and I had to survive quite a long time without wifi (and

Google Maps) since it takes quite a long time to change it.

Food


There are no student restaurants in Sweden so prepare to cook or buy food from restaurants.

Nations offer affordable lunch but I did not try the quality. The basic groceries cost

approximately the same than in Finland. Yet, some things like vegetables are a bit cheaper.

Sweden is all about organic food so I recommend you to take advantage of that. There are many

grocery stores (ICA and Coop) in Lund but also a cheese and meet shop.

The cafes and restaurants are awesome in Lund. The quality is better than great. My favorites

were Café d’Italia that has the best salads and Tanquerian that makes the best tacos. Klostergatan

is the place to go if you want to eat. Also, Saluhallen is good. “Falafelrulle” is the local treat and

it costs 3,5 krona.

Alcohol and parties

Sweden has a very strict alcohol policy. Systembolaget (Local Alko) is open until 8-9 pm during

the weekdays and until 3 pm on Saturdays. The drinks in local bars are at the same level than in

Finland. If you want to save money I recommend you to have your parties in nations and bring

few bottles from Copenhagen.

The dress code is more “fancier” than in Finland. So, take few party dresses and high heels or

suit with you. Swedish people are dressed up in bars and sitningar (sitsit) are significantly more

elegant.

Traveling

Buy a cycle! Just do it!

A One-way ticket from Lund to Copenhagen costs 15 euros (40 min) and to Malmö (10 min)

costs 5 euros.

Exercising


Lund has great exercising opportunities. There are many parks, gyms, yoga places, and sports

halls. In addition, people are very active and there are many informal football groups etc.

I bought a four-months gym membership to Actic (150 euros) and was very happy with that

since there were multiple gym locations and loads of services and equipment. Other gyms are

24seven and Gredahallen.

Weather

The weather in Lund is warmer than it is in Finland. In the beginning, it felt like as if the summer

would not end at all.

Student unions and nations in Sweden

Compared to Finland, the students are unionized a bit differently in Sweden. Yet, you have to

become part of Student organizations if you want to get most of your time in Lund.

Student Lund

The head student organization in which every student that has a membership belong to. Student

Lund represents students in Lund and promotes their rights. The organization also organizes

events and seminars etc.

Unions

Unions operate under Student Lund but they are concentrated on study subjects. If you are

studying in Business school, you can become member of Lunda economerna. Lunda economerna

organizes signingar, seminars and other events. You can participate in other unions events if you

want.

Nations

The concept of nations can feel a bit strange but basically, they are organizations run by students.

In Lund, there are 13 nations named by different regions in Sweden. The nations have a long


history that reaches back even to middle ages. Some of the nations have a specific orientation

and some do not. You can pick one nation but you participate in every nations party unless you

are a member of Smålands nation who are not part of Student Lund and who have s strong

political orientation. Nations are great places to meet people. You can work in parties, pubs, and

signingars and get free food and ticket to parties and after parties. The alcohol is cheaper in

Nations than in bars.

List of nations

Blegingska Nation – Music

Gothenburg Nation

Halland Nation

Helsigkrona Nation

Kalmar Nation

Kristianstads Nation

Lund Nation

Malmö Nation

Östgöta Nation

Sydskånska Nation – music

Västgöta Nation

Wermlands Nation

Smålands Nation – has a strong political ideology

More information: http://www.studentlund.se

4. Final Comments

Would you recommend the host university to other students?

Lund University is a great place to do student exchange. You actually experience three different

cities: Lund, Malmö, and Copenhagen. The university is appreciated and well known and the

quality of courses are good. Also the facilities are great. Sweden is the easy country to adapt


since the culture is close to Finnish culture. Moreover, you do not have to stress about packing

and traveling so much as you can easily travel pack to Finland to get things. Additionally, your

friends and family can come and meet you easily. The city is beautiful and cozy and it is full of

restaurants and cafes. As most of the inhabitants are students and come from outside of Lund,

you really get to know people. The weather is slightly warmer so your summer will continue

longer than it does in Finland.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were going to the same university for

another exchange?

I might start studying early on as now I did enjoy too much of the free time and was in trouble

when the exams started to come closer. I would also stress less since Lund is so easy going, safe

and easy to adapt. Further, I might do more tourist things than I did during my exchange.

What did you learn during your exchange?

During my exchange, I got really interested about entrepreneurship. Moreover, I learned how it

is like to work together with people that have a totally different cultural background that I have. I

also learned, how important it is to be able to give a good presentation. I feel like my English got

better and I now understand more Swedish.

What did you learn about yourself during the exchange?

I became more independent, responsible and open during my exchange. I also learned that I

enjoy spending time with people. Studying alone is not so much fun than studying together.

Gender and sexual equality are important subjects in Sweden and they are common discussion

topics among people. For instance, in Lund, many people are openly gays and lesbians. Thus, I

really don’t have so a black-and-white kind of perspective to gender. Another thing that I learned

was that how important my family is to me. In addition, I do love sauna, lakes and Karelian pies.

Guess I could say that my identity as a Finn came stronger. Yet, Swedish people’s positive

attitude and "fika" culture are something I will try to reinforce in my life.


PHOTOS

The Famous falafelrulle and Domskyrkan

Street views from Lund in the foggy morning on December


Malmö

Stadsparken (bets jogging place ever)


Lomma beach (10 km from Lund)

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