Step by step

Cherished moment – sakura blossoms in Stockholm. Now it feels that spring is on its way. Finally!

The exchange program

Hello dear readers

How are you? Hope everything’s well.

Things are running at full speed here. We have 2 courses that in the same period, lots of readings, group work and individual assignments.

But here is something extra that  I am preparing for: the exchange semester.

I did my research on the universities and the countries that I could chose from. So by mid March, I had to apply for an exchange through the Office of International Affairs at Stockholm University. I had to fill in a form including a list of 3 universities where I wanted to study, to have a list of my grades from the 1st semester, a letter of motivation and a photo. Stockholm University chose the students that will travel abroad according to the number of courses completed, grades and availability at the partner university.

A week after I applied I got the result. My biggest wish was to study in Iceland, at Reykjavik University and I got a placement there. The university has a high standard and, in my opinion, Iceland is one of the most amazing countries in the world.

Now I have been in contact with Reykjavik University and I sent my documents there. I will also have to get the list of courses approved, and I chose the business courses that I haven’t taken in Stockholm University yet.

I was also so excited to hear from my classmates who chose to study abroad. Some of them will travel to Grenoble, others to Prague, Paris, Hong Kong, Bangkok or Seoul.

Anyway, the exchange semester abroad is only one of the choices we had. My classmates staying in Stockholm might get an internship which can be related to a course and get 30 credits for it. Or  they can choose from very interesting courses at the School of Business.

So, what would be you choice?

Cheers,

Ana

New accomodations + Ranking

Good news about accommodations. SSCO started to build a new student house campus near our School – Albano, which will look like this – you can see our campus there on the right.

I hope this well help many students in the upcoming years to find a place to stay. However I don’t know when will this be ready. More info http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150673213903805&set=a.407533398804.183433.110141848804&type=1&permPage=1 (in Swedish).

Rankings

Ranking after Ranking we can see the School improving their places. It is definitely a goal from the board to meet the fierce competition around Europe. Rankings are not everything, but help when choosing a place and when one studies here. Second Best Business School in Sweden and Best Marketing program in the country (26th in Europe) are good indicators of the work that is being done so far. I hope the School continues to improve their standards and have an increasingly outstanding institution in Europe.

Facilities around campus at SUSB

Hi everyone,

As promised a long time ago (sad face), this post will try to help you find your way around the Stockholm University campus.

The first thing you need to know as a School of Business student is that you will always be on your way to and fro two distinct campuses. There is the main campus of SU – Frescati – where the majority of SU faculty buildings are located. Frescati is right next to the Universitet subway station. The other smaller campus, where the buildings of the School of Business are, is located in the beautiful Kräftriket area, about 10 minutes away from Frescati. Going from Frescati to Kräftriket, you can either walk for about 10-15 minutes, or ride the buss for 5 minutes. Very close to Frescati also lies the small student neighborhood Lappis (student flats, student dorms). You can find a map of the University area here http://www.su.se/english/about/campus/maps.

While in Kräftriket, we usually get a coffee, a sandwich or a salad at Cafe Prego http://www.hors.se/prego-kraftriket. They mostly have student prices, with a small coffee for 14 sek and a salad for about 50 sek. Also, if you use your student card to pay, you can get a small student discount. Located right in the faculty’s main building, this coffee shop is usually filled with people who have a fika or lunch, or just sit to read and study, or even meet to prepare group projects. If you bring a lunch box from home, there are several microwaves that you can use free of charge to warm up your food and serve it right there. During lunch hours (11-13) it can get a bit crowded, but Prego is a very warm and cozy place where you can get very good Swedish coffee. Not to mention that you have free wi-fi here, as well as everywhere in the school’s area.

Also in Kräftriket there a couple of computer and study rooms, yet I don’t know too many people who go there all the time. The majority goes to Frescati, probably because it is closer to the main university library and the Lantis restaurant.

Back to Frescati, you will find a bigger Cafe Prego, which runs the same prices, but has a wider product offer, including warm food for lunch. This one is located on the bottom floor in building C, right under the library. Some 50 meters away, in building E, there is Cafe Stories, which serves tasty soups, grilled sandwiches, quesadillas, pasta, meatballs and so on at quite decent prices http://www.cafestories.se/frescati.html. So if you feel like spending some 20 sek more than usual on your lunch, this is a good place to go, while on campus. Not to mention that the staff are very friendly and speak English, of course, as almost everywhere in Stockholm.

Right next to the Akademi Bokhandeln and Campus Butiken (or where we get our books from), there is the big computer room at Lantis. Here you have about 100 computers to use, places where you can plug your own laptop and work, 4 big printers and the university IT support office. You can access these services by using your university card and your university account, which you get right in the beginning of the school year, after you register. There are always people here, since this computer hall is open everyday (Mon-Fri 6.30-22.00, Sun-Sat 8.00-18.00), so you can easily find a free computer to work with whenever you need.

Right above the Lantis computer room is the Lantis restaurant and bistro http://www.hors.se/restaurang-lantis. This place is open every week day on lunch hours (in Sweden, that is usually between 11.00 and 14.00). Everyday you have 3 different menus to choose from: meat, fish or vegetarian. As a student, you can put money on your student card (on the internet or in the restaurant) and if you pay with it, you have a special student price of only 56 sek. The lunch includes salad (there is an open salad-bar) and drinks (coffee, water, tea, juice), which you can refill how many times you want, for free .  I, for one, come here very often, especially when I spend my whole day around campus, because, despite the cheap price, the lunch is pretty big and tasty, and I can always get my double dose of coffee for free. In the first two hours of serving, the place is quite packed with students and university staff, so make sure you come between 13h and 14h if you want to get a table right away. Once you’re done, you can always take your coffee outside and chill for a while on a bench or on the terrace. If it’s good weather, the ‘after lunch time’ can actually be the finest moment of the day. .

Another place that has opened quite recently on campus is Green Peas http://www.facebook.com/pages/GREEN-PEAS-Yummy-Multi-Ethnic-Organic-Vegetarian-Kitchen/108756759224298, located in the Gröna Villan, or the Green Building, very easy to spot from a distance. Although mainly a vegetarian restaurant, it also serves very very very tasty food for non-vegetarians as well. Open from 8.00 to 15.00, it serves breakfast and lunch, with prices ranging between 40 and 90 sek. Once again, lunch here also includes salad and coffee, a typically Swedish thing which I deeply enjoy. Their menu is very diversified, with foods from various cuisines, such as Japanese, Hungarian, African, Caribbean and so on. Though it may be a bit expensive, it pays to come here once in a while and serve something truly exotic and made with love.

On your way from the subway exit up into the heart of the campus, there are other smaller coffee shops and even a pizza- grill place.

Hopefully this post gave you an idea of how to get around the campus at SU, but if you have more specific questions, feel free to ask or comment below.

I’ll leave you with some photos that I took last fall. It was the beginning of September and yes, the weather was still wonderful! Enjoy!

Theresa: Reading, reading, reading – But What and Where?

Hej,

Most of us have stressed that nearly all courses require a lot to read. I thought it might be interesting for you to learn a bit more about what and where we are reading:

1. What do we read? The reading list usually consists of a few books and articles. Sometimes there is a course book included which helps you to get an overview of the relevant topic. As these books are designed for students, they are usually very well structured and easily understandable. The other books are academic research books written by scholars and usually take more time to read. They are much more theoretical and I sometimes must re-read passages to understand the described concepts. The same applies to articles, which stem from academic journals.

2. Where do we get the literature from? In general, it is your responsibility to get access to the literature; the course instructor won’t provide you with all of the material. All the articles can be found through the library’s online databases. This means, if you’re logged in your student account, you can access the articles for free.

To get the books you have several options: It can be very helpful to have some contacts to second year students – they might have some old copies or a scanned version. If not, there is still another “student-budget-friendly” possibility: The student union operates a second hand book shop on the main campus where you can find cheaper copies of nearly all books. However, there are limited numbers, so be sure to check in time! (Btw, you can also re-sell the books you do not want to keep, and get a bit of money back.) The last option is, of course, to buy a new version of the book. The prices of the books I bought ranged between 60 and 400kr. There is a “normal” book store on campus as well, which is super convenient when you are under time pressure. Otherwise, it might pay off to order them online.

3. Where do we read? Most of the times I start reading at home. After a certain time, I however need a change in my environment. Plus, home can be quite distracting (Oh, the computer. Oh, the fridge…). There are endless options on campus. There is the main library which has great study tables facing the nature (can be however very crowded), or you can visit libraries of specific institutes which are spread all over campus. In the school of business, the newly renovated study room is nice as well. Or you can sit in one of the several cafés. You will definitely find a place that fits your “reading needs”. Just explore the campus a bit and check out the less crowded places, too!

If you have any further questions – Just asked in the comments and we’ll be happy to give some more details.

Happy Easter everyone, or Glad Påsk how we say here in Sweden

Magic Lapland adventure

Hej hej,

Below are several photos I took during the trip to Lapland in the end of February. That was just fantastic: we had a combi tour on snowmobiles and dog sledge (husky are the cutest dogs ever!) and a 6km hike on the snowshoes in the national park Abisko. We also saw the Northern lights, fed reindeers and met local indigenous people Saami, visited the Ice hotel and Norwegian town Narvik as well as had a swim in an ice-hole in the frozen lake after sauna (fun!). 

Don’t miss a chance to experience the same next year, I totally recommend!

Cheers,

Elena

Application period open for students from EU

Hello dear readers

I just want to remind those of you from the EU, that the application period is now open again.If you think of applying, you can find more how to do so  here .

You can also check out how the School of Business is doing at master level and see the rankings.

And if you are in need of more practical information, you can find some either on this blog or on this link.Or just mail us your questions, and we’ll try to find out as much information as possible.

I wish all of you applying to the School of Business, good luck!

Cheers,

Ana