Spring is in the air in the Swedish university city of Lund. The center is swarming with bicycles and sun-starved students, and it’s not just the bright blue scillas that are in full bloom — research is, too.
More and more international students choose Sweden as a study destination. Photo: Mikael Risedal
Lund University has long been building on its international reputation, both for students and in terms of research facilities. It is the research side that has brought Conny Lenz from Germany for a four-year postgraduate studentship in Lund, where she is involved in an EU project focusing on the Baltic Sea. For the past two months, she has been working at the Department of Geology, just a stone’s throw from Lundagård — the hub of Lund’s student life.
“At university in Germany, I heard many good things about the professors and the department here in Lund,” Lenz says. “So I expect a lot from this research.”
An EU decision will soon be taken on where to build the new European Spallation Source (ESS) neutron research facility. Despite competition from British, Spanish, Hungarian and German rivals, there is much to suggest that Lund will be given the honor — and will reap the economic and scientific rewards that go with it. Also, Lund has been given the go-ahead for Max IV — a laboratory described as the next-generation synchotron radiation facility.
Well-reputed research and education a big attraction
Lund University was founded in 1666 and is one of Scandinavia’s largest institutions of research and higher education, with some 40 000 students and 70 Master’s study programs in English. Later this year, a dozen new Master’s programs are scheduled. It is perhaps not so strange that the university can count four Nobel laureates among the students it has trained over the years. The number of international students, too, has steadily increased in recent years and currently stands at more than 3 000.
Research facilities such as the Max-lab at Lund University is one reason behind Lund's international appeal. The Max-lab supports about 600 users from over 30 countries annually. Photo: Mikael Risedal
Lund has long attracted students both from Sweden and abroad. In the late 1990s, Kimiko Kondo from Japan was thinking about continuing her training in Britain, where she had studied before. But she then developed an interest in Lund University. Once she learned that the education was offered in English, her mind was made up.
“I knew I didn’t have to worry about going there, because the courses were in English and even without learning Swedish I knew I’d be able to make myself understood,” she says – in perfect Swedish. Kondo had planned to return home to Tokyo after obtaining her degree at the Department of Law, but never went. Instead, she and her boyfriend moved to the neighboring city of Malmö.
Nations and accommodation
During the 12 months or so that Kondo studied in Lund, she lived in the International Student House near the city center.
“Living with other foreign students was perfect for me,” she says. “Everyone was in the same boat so you quickly found new friends. The drawback, I suppose, was that you didn’t get to meet many Swedes.”
Most students, both Swedish and international, live in student rooms and Lenz likes this. It is relatively cheap and means she can get to know other students, not just foreign ones like herself.
As a new Lund resident, Lenz is looking forward to her first visit to a student nation. Following the example of the German universities’ Landsmannschaften, the Swedish students at Lund University early on organized themselves into nations, based on their geographical origins. Membership of a student nation has been compulsory ever since Lund University was founded. Lenz has heard much about the boisterous student nightlife at the nations but has not yet had a chance to experience it. As soon as her mentor, a Swedish postgraduate colleague, returns from her expedition to Svalbard, the two of them plan to venture out into Lund’s nightlife.
Kondo restricted herself largely to parties at the International Student House. “I went to the nations a few times but they weren’t really my cup of tea,” she says. “Also, law wasn’t my subject originally, so I had to spend most of my time studying. Except, of course, when there was a party in our corridor.”
Coffee breaks — as Swedish as it gets
Right now, Lenz is mainly concerned with sorting out her day-to-day life. Bit by bit, she is gradually becoming assimilated into university life in Sweden. She has, for instance, become a member of the Gerdahallen fitness center, a popular focus of leisure-time activity among students.
It is crucial to get the hang of fika to fully experience Sweden. Luckily for all the international students, it's a lot less demanding than the research that takes place on campus. Photo: Dyobmit
Before moving to Lund she knew little about the town. “I knew what ‘everyone’ knows about Sweden – that it’s clean and the people are friendly,” she says, adding with a laugh: “Although I’d checked it out to some extent on the net, I didn’t realize the town was so small. But apart from the size, Lund reminds me a lot of my home town, Leipzig – all the old buildings, the architecture, the atmosphere.”
She has also come to appreciate a classic Swedish pastime: the coffee break, or fika. Everyone in her department takes a daily break or two to talk and drink coffee in the break room.
“The fika is great. We had nothing like that where I studied before. Besides that, I’m hoping to make a lot of new friends — and to become really good at Swedish.”
Although it has been several years since Kondo lived in Lund, she still talks affectionately about the city: all the cafés and countless coffee breaks with friends and students that were a feature of everyday student life.
“Lund is a fantastic place to be in,” she says. “The town is full of people from all over Sweden and around the world.”
Lottie Sällström Randsalu
Lottie Sällström Randsalu is a freelance journalist based in southern Sweden. She gained a BS in political science and economics at Lund University but has since worked mainly as a cultural journalist and taught journalism in Lund. Lottie prefers to spend much of her free time performing with the Kraai vocal sextet and learning Estonian.
The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.
Classification: A298EN
Translated by Stephen Croall
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