{"id":5397,"date":"2019-07-31T11:18:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T09:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/?p=5397"},"modified":"2020-07-06T21:39:43","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T19:39:43","slug":"thoko-at-the-university-of-lund-sweden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/2019\/07\/31\/thoko-at-the-university-of-lund-sweden\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoko at the University of Lund, Sweden"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just arrived from<\/span> an amazing semester exchange at<\/span> Lund School of Economics and Management in Sweden. I was enr<\/span>olled <\/span>at the prestigious department of economic history at Lund<\/span> University which<\/span> also happens to be one of the biggest economic history departments in the world! This wa<\/span>s a worthwhile <\/span>and\u00a0 <\/span>life<\/span>-changing experience for me both academically and in terms of personal growth. Here are some of my thoughts about this awesome e<\/span>xperience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pre-departure:<\/h5>\n

My decision to go to Lund was based on my interest in economic history. As such,\u00a0 applying to go to one of the biggest economic history <\/span>departments in the world was a suitable<\/span> fit. Right from the beginning of my application process<\/span> the international coordinators both at Stellenbosch University and Lund University gave me all the required assistance and provided me with the necessary information. <\/span>I also did a lot of research about Lund University through their website to help set the expectations of where I was going. The official arrival day for the spring semester was only less than 8 <\/span>weeks from<\/span> the time I got accepted. (<\/span>For those going for the autumn semester you may get your acceptance <\/span>letter <\/span>a bit earlier). This meant that I had to appl<\/span>y for the visa and get all the documents ready in a short period which can be a bit overwhelming.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The visa application to Sweden is not complicated at all. You simply submit all the necessary documents<\/span> online and pay the <\/span>application fee online. The only hi<\/span>ccup I had was getting my financial documents in one place. The visa office had to email me several times to resubmit the financial documents thus prolonging the application process. <\/span>Once the<\/span> financial documents were approved it only took a few days to get the decis<\/span>ion about the visa application. (<\/span>Please note that the Swedish Embassy is only in Pretoria, therefore, you will be asked to fly to thei<\/span>r office to get your biometrics). <\/span>Once your application process is approved the Swedish embassy gives you a temporary resident permit card which takes 4-8 weeks to process. However<\/span>, there is an option<\/span> to get a provisional<\/span> visa that <\/span>allow<\/span>s you to travel <\/span>while waiting for the resident permit card. But this visa comes at an additional cost.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Thoko
Thoko in Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The international coordinato<\/span>rs will assist you with all the othe<\/span>r information even though<\/span> it is<\/span> mostly your prerogative to make sure you are on top of things. Lund University website provides enough information and <\/span>it\u2019s<\/span> important to also utilize the help of your international <\/span>coordinator<\/span> at the host University. My international coordinator from Lund was super helpful making the process very smooth for me. I applied for accommodation online through Lund accommodation and I was offered a studio flat which <\/span>I liked very much because<\/span> of its privacy and quietness.<\/span> (<\/span>But if you wish to save a<\/span> bit more money and like living<\/span> in a shared spac<\/span>e then <\/span>opt for a corridor room instead). <\/span>To help with my travel plans and flight bookings I asked for <\/span>the <\/span>course schedule ahead of time to check the exam dates and timetable.\u00a0<\/span> I used the Lund<\/span> timeedit <\/span>system <\/span>which is an online service that <\/span>shows you the timetable for the courses<\/span> and important dates.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My experience at Lund University:
\n<\/span><\/h5>\n

I arrived in Lund on the official arrival day. I was welcomed by student mentors at the airport who assisted us to get to campus for arrival day activities after which they drove us to our respective housing areas. <\/span><\/p>\n

I experienced my first cultural shock that same day when I found out that almost everything in the grocery store was in Swedish. It is very easy to go to a shop and come out with yogurt instead of milk! Google translate will be your help in such times.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Academic Experience:<\/em>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Lund Universi<\/span>ty offers a selection of courses<\/span> t<\/span>o its<\/span> exchange st<\/span>udents. I had particular courses<\/span> that I was interested in at the department on economic history but they were not off<\/span>ered to <\/span>exchange<\/span> students. With the help o<\/span>f the international coordinator<\/span>, I <\/span>made<\/span> a separate request to be <\/span>accepted<\/span> to these courses<\/span>. <\/span>I <\/span>was registered in four courses<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Institutions<\/span><\/b>, <\/span><\/b>Economic <\/span><\/b>Growth and Equity<\/span><\/b>: This was my absolute favorite course. It included <\/span>a diverse of readings, seminars and a<\/span> final paper. It helped<\/span> me engage with some of the most influential<\/span> literature in economic history thereby giving <\/span>me an <\/span>in-depth<\/span> knowledge in the field of economic history.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Human capital in Historical Perspective<\/span><\/b>: This is also one of the more advanced courses in economic history offered at the department. <\/span>The syllabus included <\/span>a diversity of readings, seminars, a sit-<\/span>down quiz, and <\/span>a <\/span>final paper.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Swedish Economic Development<\/span><\/b>: This is one of the special courses that are specifically offered to exchange students. Apart from learning a lot about Sweden’s economic development from a historical perspective, I also learned <\/span>a lot about European economic history which is an <\/span>important part of the syllabus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Economic Change, Labour M<\/span><\/b>arket and the Population<\/span><\/b>: This is also one of the special courses offered to exc<\/span>hange students. This course g<\/span>ave me an in-dep<\/span>th knowledge of economic change particularly in the<\/span> labor market in the European context.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Thoko
Thoko in Amsterdam in front of a canal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are tw<\/span>o main differences I noted between<\/span> the academic <\/span>systems<\/span> here at Stellenbosch and Lund University. <\/span>First, there is a lot of group work in the form of seminars where students are required to discuss and pre<\/span>sent on a particular subject. For most of the courses, the final course grade is made up of participation in seminars, take-home exams and in some instances a sit-down exam. (If you do not prefer sit<\/span>–<\/span>down exams and are <\/span>more <\/span>comf<\/span>ortable with tak<\/span>e-<\/span>home exams and<\/span> seminars then you will fit right in<\/span>!<\/span>). The second difference is that the course wo<\/span>rk is split into two; you only study two courses <\/span>at\u00a0 a time in each term of the semester.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Travel Experience:
\n<\/span><\/h5>\n

I finished my coursewo<\/span>rk a month before the time I was meant to return to <\/span>Stellenbosch<\/span>. During the time before my departure, I managed to keep<\/span> busy by working<\/span> at the department of economic history where I was employed part-time as a research assistant. My sister also came to vi<\/span>sit me towards the end of my <\/span>exchange,<\/span> and we took a <\/span>mini <\/span>Europe<\/span> tour where we traveled to six countries in six days! <\/span>This was quite an adventure for both of us.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Return to Stellenbosch:
\n<\/span><\/h5>\n
\"Thoko
Thoko with her sister in Paris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leaving Sweden was such a bittersweet moment for me. I had become so <\/span>fond of living in such a quiet and cozy town. The realization of coming to a cold and rainy winter in <\/span>Cape Town<\/span> made leaving the <\/span>nice spring weather in Lund even more difficult.\u00a0 Coming back <\/span>home to friends and famil<\/span>y has been refreshing but a bit challenging at the same time.\u00a0 I was used to living alone and spent a lot of time by myself, therefore, <\/span>integrating<\/span> myself to a large<\/span>r space of people has been quite overwhelming. But <\/span>I am glad to be back in<\/span> Stellenbosch and <\/span>I am <\/span>looking forward to fini<\/span>shi<\/span>ng my masters.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, I would encourage <\/span>everyone to go on exchange if they have that opportunity.\u00a0<\/span> It <\/span>is <\/span>quite an adventure and it helps you grow as an individual in more ways than you can ever imagine. I will always remember Lund as the place I blossomed into a confident version of myself<\/span> that <\/span>I have come to love. I came back from Sweden more content and confident in myself <\/span>and <\/span>ready to take on the world!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just arrived from an amazing semester exchange at Lund School of Economics and Management in Sweden. I was enrolled … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9810,"featured_media":5400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31105,44432,55464],"tags":[44688,26654],"class_list":["post-5397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-of-economic-and-management-sciences","category-semester-exchange-postings","category-university-of-lund","tag-semester-exchange","tag-sweden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9810"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5397"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5412,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5397\/revisions\/5412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}