“Stockholm is an accessible city”

Neuro scientist Debora Masini is a guest researcher at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and a researcher at KTH. She moved from Brazil to Spain, to obtain her Master’s degree, at the University of Barcelona. She came to Sweden to complete her PhD at Karolinska Institutet, after which she did a postdoc at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Debora Masini chose Stockholm University because it is a diverse university, with all different fields of research in both natural sciences and the humanities. She hopes to find new ways of looking at her data, by sharing work place with researchers from other areas. And she has found interdisciplinary contacts at the university, in AI discussion groups and in Swedish learning seminars for international researchers. Debora Masini recommends attending groups and courses that the university organizes for international employees, as a way of establishing contacts with researchers from other fields.

"I found researchers from other disciplines in unexpected places!," she says.

Debora Masini finds Stockholm a more accessible city for international guest researchers, than many other cities. People here are fluent in English, which creates a welcoming atmosphere. And she thinks that the Swedish administration and paperwork, that comes with moving to another country, is streamlined and straight forward. But she advises researchers that are thinking about moving to Stockholm to find an accommodation in advance.

Debora Masini hopes to be able to continue staying in Stockholm after her guest researcher contract ends.

"I like it here. You grow fond of the culture and how things work. And if you can bare the weather, you are good!"

Fell in love with the library

Mariia Gvozdkova and Anastasia Panova are both from Russia, but from different cities. Anastasia came to Sweden from Moscow, and Mariia from St Petersburg. They are now doing their PhD studies in Linguistics at Stockholm university.

Anastasia Panova first came to Stockholm as an exchange student at the master’s level. She was interested in linguistic typology, and the Department of Linguistics at Stockholm University is one of the leading research environments in Europe within the field.

"When I came to Stockholm for the first time it was September and it was so beautiful on the Frescati campus. Although it was during covid, so there were not so many people around. I fell in love with the library. It was a very nice environment to work in, to focus on my writing and studying," Anastasia remembers.

After the exchange she wanted to come back as a researcher, so she applied for a PhD position, and got hired at the Department of Linguistics.

"Since I already knew that this was a good place, I was very happy to come here again," says Anastasia Panova.

A helpful atmosphere

Mariia Gvozdkova found her way to Stockholm University when she wanted to do a PhD, and a position in Slavic linguistics was announced. When Mariia got the PhD position she had never been to Stockholm before.

She says that she was impressed by the community and the place, with the surrounding nature, but also of the number of activities for new students and international researchers. Mariia thinks that this really helps getting acquainted with others, to network, learn Swedish, and getting to know the university.

"My first impression of Stockholm University was the people. I met so many people who were so helpful and open to me," says Mariia Gvozdkova, "they were ready to guide me everywhere and open for collaborations."

Anastasia Panova agrees.

"What I like most about Stockholm University is the people who work here," says Anastasia.

Anastasia adds that a lot of things that are related to her research are found nearby. For instance, Stockholm University is located closely to KTH, which means that it is easy to collaborate with the linguists at KTH. Mariia Gvozdkova has a similar experience, she finds that there is an easy access to all the infrastructure that she needs, to the library, and free working zones.