"High grades are given only for creative ideas"
Karina Shirokikh, a master's student at Stockholm University:
"When I started studying Political Science, I was struck by how up-to-date education is here. For example, many issues, such as scheduling or ordering books from the library, are resolved online. During studies, students read the latest scientific articles and, unlike in our country, use modern textbooks. Additionally, every student has access to all international journals in electronic form, and in the library you can order textbooks from another university or country.
In many ways, the high quality of education is explained both by the efforts of the universities themselves and by the fact that in Sweden, to teach, it is not enough to have a PhD degree, that is, a candidate of sciences. One also needs to be a successful scientist who constantly publishes in well-known international journals and participates in research projects. That is, every lecturer here knows what is happening in his field from A to Z. However, there is also a downside to this: some are so busy with science that they do not particularly seek to communicate with students.
As for the organization of the educational process, for example, students do not take several subjects simultaneously, as in our country. Disciplines lasting 1-2 months are studied one after another (thanks to which they can be studied quite deeply). After each one, an exam is taken in the form of a written scientific paper. Moreover, to write it well, lecture material is not enough. Therefore, despite the free schedule (as a rule, one lecture and one seminar per week), you need to spend a lot of time in the library. And, by the way, if a student simply demonstrates a good knowledge of the read literature in their paper, the maximum they will get is a C, that is, a three. Moreover, this grade cannot be retaken (only F, a two, can be retaken). Well, to get a high score, the paper must show your understanding of the problem and propose your own creative ideas.
Among other features of studying: you can attend lectures of other faculties, not only at your own university but also at others. And if a student needs to conduct research abroad, specialized non-governmental organizations can allocate a grant of about €2500. Also, in Sweden there are many discounts of 10-20% for students. But housing here is not easy. To get a room in a dormitory, you often have to wait at least a year."
"Waited for a dormitory place for three years"
Maksym Girnyk, a PhD student at the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm):
"At first, studying was not easy for me due to a lack of up-to-date knowledge in my specialty, so in the first two years of my PhD I simply filled this gap. But then I got into the learning process, in which I like many things. For example, at the university's expense, PhD students can travel to scientific conferences.
Furthermore, the quality of education is constantly monitored: universities allocate money to create interesting courses, and those that are not popular among students are removed from the program. Also, Swedish universities have many elective subjects. And lectures on them are often given by practitioners, thanks to which you can not only gain up-to-date knowledge but also get an internship in their company. Preparing for classes is also very convenient: for example, the library has access to all scientific journals in electronic form. And if needed, you can book a room with a projector there for free.
Apart from studying, I also like daily life: for example, even pensioners and ordinary workers know English, many ride bicycles, and near every dormitory there is a gym. But there are difficulties too. For example, waiting for a dormitory place takes a long time: I waited three years. It is also not easy to get used to the Swedish mentality. Swedes themselves, although good people, love rules very much, so if a student needs something, they have to be assertive to get the issue resolved."
Lyudmila KOLB,
"Segodnya".