Arrival of eighty new master’s students

“The availability of courses in English influenced my decision to come here,” admits YouJin Chong from Seoul, Korea, who is at Stockholm to take a Master’s in International and Comparative Education.  “But I also like that education is open to all students.”

For Chong, the cultural diversity is a big part of what makes Stockholm University the ideal place to continue her studies.  She is also looking forward to the experience of a new country and a new culture.  This is not YouJin’s first international experience.  “I taught high school English in Beijing,” she says, but today’s Orientation programme is a good introduction to how things work at SU. 

Each semester, the Orientation programme gives newly arrived international Master’s students a thorough overview of the services available, such as health care and IT and computer resources, as well as tips on ways to adjust to academic life at the University.  There is a show of happy faces among these new students; it appears that they appreciate the efforts made on their behalf.  
 
“It’s more personal here,” Sara Mehrabi says referring to the University’s friendly approach to students.  “Teachers are in touch with students,” she says.  Sara is from Iran, from the city of Mashhad which is the second largest city after Tehran.  She came to Sweden last fall and initially took courses at Uppsala University to prepare for a Master’s programme at Stockholm University on Experimental Plant Biology.  Her interests also include plant bio-diversity and genetics.

“My plan after graduation is to help my country,” says Yeneneh Haileselassie who is from Addis Ababa. Yeneneh explains that “there are a lot of health problems” in Ethiopia and he wants to help change the conditions.  He is taking his Master’s in Biology but will continue his studies with a focus on Immunology. His goal is to return to Ethiopia and contribute to improving health services there. 

Although most of the students don't speak Swedish that’s not a problem. This year Stockholm University is offering over 80 Master's programmes in English. Still, for those who want to learn the local language there are courses available.
www.su.se/english/study/courses/swedish_courses

As part of Stockholm University’s commitment to providing more information about what it means to be an international student at Stockholm, the team at www.su.se/english will be returning to talk to Yeneneh, Sara and YouJin to find out more about how they’re getting on later in the semester.

Text and interviews: Sarah Hollister