Lund University School Economics of Management

Lund, Sweden |Fall Exchange 2015|

Divya Vijaykumar SHETH (BBA Information Systems & Marketing)

Table of Contents

Part 1

Monthly Activity Log..………………………………………………….4

Part 2 General Exchange Information………………………………………… 5

Part 3 Checklist…………………………………………………………………7

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Part 1 – Monthly Activity Log

August 2015

I arrived on 20th August at Copenhagen Airport since that is closer to Lund. There were people from the university waiting for us at the departure terminal and they guided us to the trains for Lund. Within 30 to 45 minutes I reached Lund and the student guides took us to the registration desk. Following the arrival day, there was a week and half of orientation activities. During the orientation week period I met a lot of new friends and got to experience the Swedish culture first hand. One of the activities was to watch the laser show organized by the Physics Department and it was absolutely enthralling. Towards the end of August, I visited Copenhagen since it was a 30- minute train ride away. On my trip to Copenhagen I visited their Carlsberg brewery, had baked treats in one of their oldest bakeries and enjoyed walking around their streets and Palaces. Moreover during this month, I experienced my first Fika (Swedish coffee time) with Kanelbullar (Cinnamon rolls).

September 2015

School started from 1st of September and in LUSEM it is important to attend the first lecture or you are dropped out by default. A difference in the HKUST and Lund schooling system was that the class schedule was different every week. During the end of the first week of September my friends and I organized an impromptu trip to Stockholm. The spontaneity behind the trip made it so much more fun. We took a 5-hour train ride from Lund, which left at midnight and arrived at 7 in the morning to Stockholm. After that we took a canal tour around Stockholm, visited Gamla Stan (Old town), the city center and hung out at the Stockholm School of Economics. We left at night the same day and got back to Lund early in the morning.

Two weeks later we took a bus trip to Oslo, Norway since it was 7 hours away and it was super cheap to go by bus than plane. This was a 2 day, one night long trip where we visited the Noble Prize Museum, went to the Royal Palace, and also did a ferry tour to see the nearby fjords. Although these weren’t the same as the Bergen fjords, it was still fun to experience a change in scenery. Once back from these fun-filled travels it was exam season and I began to prepare for them.

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October 2015

Winter had begun; the days were becoming shorter and the nights colder. At the same time school was back in full force with frequent classes. I had joined the Lund University Debate Team since it is one of the well recognized societies in all of Europe and would spend my spare time hanging out and debating with the members. Apart from that we had group projects for my Information Systems class and exams for both courses. Therefore I stayed almost during the whole of October in Lund. In between preparations for exams and group projects, me and my friends took a trip to Copenhagen but this time it was so much more fun because the more the merrier.

November 2015

Towards the end of October/ beginning of November the second term begins. I now had two new courses and had passed the previous courses with flying colors. Since the new term had just begun I took the opportunity to travel around Europe. This time my parents were dropping by so we travelled to Paris, Amsterdam and Hamburg. It was beautiful to visit all of these cities and during my travels I experienced snowfall for the first time, which was absolutely fabulous. The days were much shorter now, when I first arrived I basked in over 12 hour sunlight and now the sun would only be up for 6-7 hours rising at 8 or 9 am and setting by 3 or 4pm.

December 2015

This was my last month in Lund, with time flying by, our moods started to somber up with the impending goodbyes from all the friends made during this lovely educational adventure. During this month I finally got to experience the Swedish traditional 3- called sittning. We also had a bye-bye dinner party at a friends place in order to celebrate our last few days together. After finishing final exams and projects, I bided farewell to the beautiful city I started to think of as a second home and came back to Hong Kong to celebrate Christmas.

4 Part 2 – General Exchange Information

1. Visa Procedure

Need to apply for Swedish Residence Permit. This costs around 1000 HKD and an applicant is required to maintain 8000 HKD in their bank account. A two month prior bank statement will be required for the Residence Permit application and also an insurance. In case you haven’t gotten an outside insurance, Lund’s Acceptance Letter can be given as an insurance proof because it states that the university will cover you in Lund.

2. Orientation Activities

The orientation activities ranged form IKEA tours to trips to excursion days and welcome parties. However it is recommended to get the tickets as soon as possible because quite a lot of them were sold out. It is recommended to attend the introductory Swedish language class, which occurs during orientation week (SUSA) since that is a great platform to meet new friends.

3. Accommodation

I lived in a studio apartment in Klostergarden, provided by the LU Accommodation. Although initially I was waitlisted, I eventually got this place. Therefore I recommend applicants to apply as soon as they get the accommodation link. It is a 20-minute walk to the city center and 35-minute walk to the Economics Building. Eventually I got a bike but since I am not a great cyclist it would take me 20/25 minutes to bike to the economics building but a maximum of 10 minutes to bike to the city center. I would highly recommend getting a bike.

4. Course Registration

I registered for courses before arriving Lund. A link will be sent a month prior to exchange date. I ended up enrolling into FEKH21 (International Business and Multinational Enterprise), FEKH 22 (Business to Business Marketing), INFC40 (Information Systems Security) and INFC50 (Content Management Systems). For the FEKH courses they predominantly focused on the managerial and marketing aspects but I felt the lectures were less interactive than those in HKUST.

However the Informatics (Information Systems) Department, which coordinated the INFC courses was much more interactive. It had guest lectures, site visits and in-class discussions as well as presentations.

5. Teaching & Assessment Methods

All of my courses except FEKH21 had take-home exam as the final assessment. A take-home exam is like an open book exam, we are usually given five days to complete and can refer to all the course materials. The INFC courses and FEKH21 also had group projects as a main component of their assessment.

6. Sports & Recreation Facilities

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The university has a gym called Gerdahallen however a membership fee is required. It is usually cheap if you are a student. However I feel if you get a bike, cycling for an hour around the city is a good enough cardio exercise.

7. Cost/ Expenses (in HKD)

The exchange rate is 1 HKD = 0.95 SEK but I would suggest you bring Euros and SEK with you before you leave Hong Kong. I got a round trip ticket from Emirates it was from Hong Kong to Copenhagen since Copenhagen is closer to Lund than Stockholm. This was approximately $9,800. The day after my arrival I opened a bank account in SEB Bank (in Sweden) they charge a minimal account opening fee and are one of the few banks in Lund which allow exchange students to open a bank account. I spent approximately $20,000 in , Leisure and Travelling Expenses. The rent of my studio flat was approximately $4,500 per month and since I stayed there for 4.5 month I paid around $20,250. So in total including other miscellaneous expenses I spent approximately $55,000.

8. Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities

There are student unions in Lund University called “nations”. You will need to apply for a nation card and will need to pick a specific nation which you want to be a part of. This is also a nice platform to meet new people. Whichever nation you choose will organize , , pub night and parties. If you partake in organizing any of these activities than it is a great way to meet new people. If you don’t want to organize it you can always just go and eat / party at these events by paying the event fee.

9. Health & Safety

It is recommended to get an international insurance when travelling on exchange. However Lund University will cover your medical fees if you get sick in Lund. I feel in terms of Safety, Lund is very safe, remember in case of emergency to dial 112 for help.

10. Food

Although a lot of people say that out in Lund is expensive, I don’t necessarily think so. It is important to find value for money during your stay in Lund. The kebabs are very cheap – only 35 SEK which is approximately 32 HKD at Lundafalafel. There is also a place called Lundakitchen, which serves salads, kebabs, pizzas and burgers. A big pizza is around 50/60 SEK which is approximately 47/57 HKD which I think is ridiculously cheap (according to HK pizza prices) and there is no way you can finish the whole pizza so you can always save half for /dinner. However there aren’t any good Chinese restaurants so I would recommend not trying them. If you do feel like having some Asian food, sushi is pretty decent and if you go during lunch it roughly costs 90/100 HKD for 14 pieces at some sushi restaurants in the city center. But keep in mind; just like western food tends to be expensive in Hong Kong, similarly Asian food is expensive in Lund. So the key is to try and eat their local food. Another key detail is that the fast-food chains are very expensive in

6 Sweden - eating out at Burger King costs around 90 HKD for a . For having a good-balanced meal I would recommend at home since the vegetables are very fresh and seasonal – cheaper to buy them at the open market in city center (near Nordea Bank). Also in terms of supermarkets Netto and Lidl are the cheapest whereas ICA and Coop are pricier but have more variety. I had a Coop and Netto right next to my building so it was very convenient.

Finally if you are tired of kebabs, pizzas and cooking at home, then give yourself a on weekends and drop by at a nation (I would highly recommend Ostgota Nation) for . It is all you can eat for only 50 SEK and has a variety of options. Some nations also have lunches for 30/40 SEK but there aren’t many close to the Economics Building so it is usually difficult to attend them.

11. Transportation

I recommend getting a bike because a single journey bus ride is 17.5 SEK, which I feel, is expensive. Also sadly, the bus took same time as it took me by walk to go from Klostegarden to Economics Building.

Part 3 – Checklist

• Laptop • 3 Adapters (Two pin plug) • Bed sheets and pillow covers • Wi-Fi Router • Warm clothes

Everything else can be bought in Lund J

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