Person 33 Basic Information 1. Name Lisa Nordlund 2. E-mail address: officiellmaillisa@gmail.com 3. Exchange university Université Paris Sorbonne IV 4. City Paris 5. Country France 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish spring semester (VT 2016) 7. Academic year 2015/16 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? French and comparative litterature 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Law 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 3,5 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations... The main difference between Uppsala University and Sorbonne was the bureaucracy, the way to choose courses and the possibility to get hold of information. There was also a big difference between the level of the academic work. In Sweden, we tend to work with sourcing, with criticism of sources and we work in an independent way. The academic level at the Sorbonne is for me more comparable to our studies on gymnasium level, with less own-thinking. When you encountered a problem it was not always easy to get in touch with the person who had responsibility for the subject area and you would not get very helpful answers. There are more rules for example about writing emails and addressing your professor in a more polite way, which was not hard to understand. The teachers I had were mostly good, knew their subject very well and it was easy to get hold of them if I had any questions. Few of them, however, used powerpoints or other pedagogic tools, which would have made it easier to understand and follow the courses. I had one teacher who was very mean and not at all nice or open for discussion. I do not recommend her or the course she was in charge of the seminars at, which was Littérature et édition. The courses at the Sorbonne are smaller than courses in Sweden. You have to yourself make sure that your programme contains 30 credits by building your own semester. It had some positive and some negative sides. It was fun to be able to choose freely and combine the courses I found most interesting, but it was also stressful. The courses had one lecture scheduled each week (which were not mandatory but very good to keep up with studies) and one more seminarlike lecture scheduled each week and these could easily clash with the many courses you chose. The main problem according to me, however, was the fact that many of Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 102 av 440
the courses had the exams the same day, and there was no way to get information about that up front. I woud recommend the courses Enjeux du monde contemporain, Histoire Culturel du Net, Media et Communication and the FLE language course. I recommend them because the teachers were very pedagogique and the subjects were interesting. To conclude, I would recommend going to Sorbonne for the experience because it is really nice but the stressful make of choices, the way you don t really know what to do and the academic level, in general, makes it a bit harder. Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. It was three information meetings, where you also met the other Erasmus students. It was nice and you got a lot of information about after school projects and stuff but it was a bit hard to take in that you were in Paris and all the stuff you had to do. The courses had a drop on/drop of period so you could try out which you really wanted and that was a good system since it was quite hard to navigate the brochure. Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? I managed to get an apartment by using Blocket, and it was nice. Dealing with a Swedish family made me feel safer and also be able to speak Swedish and not have to deal with garant and a really big deposition. A bit expensive but anyway nice. Living costs in Paris are sky high so I would use Facebook, groups such as Svenskar i Paris and Boende i Paris to find roommates or others in the same situation. If one wants to live alone a studio is a nice suggestion, often a bit cheaper but quite small. The Cité Universitaire seems to have nice buildings as well, for example, The Danish House and the Italian House. However, standards in France differ from standards in Sweden which can be important to remember. Your finances 15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work in addition to your studies? The rent was high but I managed with CSN full-time and extra loans and with the Erasmus grant. In Sweden I pay much, much less but in Uppsala I live in a corridor so it is to be expected. Free time 16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on offer? In my free time, I took long walks along the Seine, visited many areas in Paris with newly found friends, went running, tried a lot of french cuisine, went to museums/concerts/happenings/galleries. Vintage shopping is one of my favorite things and Paris is a fantastic place for that. The exchange activities by the university were a few, and there was also a lot of French students who made events for the Erasmus students and they were nice but I wanted to experience Paris more on my own terms. What was really nice was that we were three swedes fro Uppsala so we actually had the ability to met prior to our Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 103 av 440
depart and to also stay in contact during the stay, to help each other out and support each other in a new environment. Your exchange on the whole 17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. My exchange experience was wonderful, hard, different in good and bad ways, interesting and shocking - all at once. There are many emotions and it is sometimes hard to just live in the moment, but it gets nice. To deal with a new school system was hard. I also had a whole new subject which was challenging but that also made it very interesting. Going to France, you need to work on patience and acceptance that sometimes things are not working for reasons that no one knows. I would very quickly get a french number working. For exchange in general, I would get into the Swedish community that is in many cities or countries where exchange can take you because chances are that if you encounter a problem someone else has encountered it before and may be able to help you. Facebook groups are a great sort of security line. However, I would also suggest hanging out as much as possible with locals and other Erasmus students to really practice the language and also experience the land you are coming to in a more profound way. I really want to underline the fact that an exchange is among the best things you can do for your education, your perspectives and for yourself. Approval 18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International Office and will be sent by email to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? - 20. Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. - 21. Publishing of pictures - Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 104 av 440
Person 100 Basic Information 1. Name Isabelle Skareng 2. E-mail address: isabelle.skareng@hotmail.com 3. Exchange university Paris-Sorbonne IV 4. City Paris 5. Country Frankrike 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish spring semester (VT 2016) 7. Academic year 2015/16 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? Litteratur 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Främst litteraturvetenskap och franska 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 3 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations... Studierna skiljer sig ganska mycket från i Sverige. Antalet lektionstimmar för studier i litteratur på Sorbonne i jämförelse med i Uppsala är ungefär det kvadrupla. Under föreläsningar såväl som under lektionerna (så kallade Travaux dirigés ) är det för det mesta enbart lärarna som pratar. Sekundärlitteratur existerar nästan inte, och den som existerar är inte obligatorisk. Det du behöver lära dig lär du dig från lärarnas föreläsningar, som sker utan mer än någon enstaka anteckning på tavlan, med Power Point i undantagsfall, som en monolog från katedern. Studierna var alltså mindre självständiga än i Sverige, då det alltid gäller att göra egna efterforskningar och att alltid referera till sekundärlitteratur från termin 1 på kandidatnivå. Jag upplever att det är fler uppgifter, arbeten och examinationer på Sorbonne än på Uppsala universitet, men att de inte är lika stora. Examinationsformerna var för det mesta salsprov, ibland kortare uppsatser eller muntliga presentationer. Det var väldigt viktiga att ta med sig egna dubbelsidiga A4-blad att skriva salsproven på - när vi inte hade dem blev vi kritiserade. Betygssystemet är väldigt annorlunda och räknas på 20. Antalet högskolepoäng, eller crédits, per kurs skiljer sig också. Det är även mycket större klasser på Sorbonne än på Uppsala universitet, vilket gör att det är svårare att få personlig hjälp eller interaktion med lärarna. Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 300 av 440
Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. Jag har varit helt fantastiskt nöjd med mitt boende i Paris, vilket gjorde att jag var nöjd från början och hade en massa kompisar direkt. Att börja studera kändes väldigt stressande och lite läskigt i början, då det var på ens tredje språket och utbildningssystemet var väldigt annorlunda. Som tur var hade jag två andra svenskar med mig från Uppsala universitet som studerade samma sak och därmed hade vi ett par kurser tillsammans och kunde dessutom utbyta erfarenheter och söka stöd från varandra. Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? Jag bodde i danska studenthemmet i Cité Universitaire och trivdes enormt bra. Jag bodde med en massa trevliga människor i ett trevligt område, mitt rum var jättefint och fräscht, allting var välordnat, hyran var väldigt bra för att vara Paris och för mig var transporterna till skolan väldigt smidiga. I Cité Universitaire kan kvalitén på boendet säkert bero på vilket hus man hamnar i, men området är väldigt mysigt och det finns en massa aktiviteter och faciliteter tillgängliga. Jag skulle rekommendera att söka boende där, även om en mer klassisk parisisk upplevelse kanske finns närmare takåsarna på högsta våningen i ett litet loft med snedtak någonstans. Your finances 15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work in addition to your studies? Enbart CSN-bidrag och -lån hade inte räckt till att leva och göra saker i Paris. Det beror på ens hyra också, men då min till och med var låg kan jag ändå konstatera att det hade inte gått utan Erasmusstipendiet. Med Erasmusstipendiet funkade det dock helt okej. Vill man passa på att resa lite i Frankrike eller på att shoppa mycket eller att äta ute mycket så kommer man behöva lite sparpengar också. Free time 16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on offer? Jag deltog knappt alls i några organiserade utbytesträffar. Jag fick direkt kompisar där jag bodde, jag lärde känna en del svenskar, jag lärde känna en del fransmän och sen lärde jag känna kompisars kompisar och träffade människor av slump och hittade på saker med dem. Det finns massor att göra i Paris, alltid någonting man ännu inte hunnit se, men jag föredrog att träffa människor och att sitta på uteserveringar och barer och att mest insupa atmosfären. Your exchange on the whole 17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. Jag är fantastiskt nöjd med att ha gjort det här utbytet. Det finns alltid perioder när det tar emot var man än är, och det krävs en hög grad av anpassning att flytta till en ny kultur, ett nytt språk och ett nytt Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 301 av 440
land, men det hjälper att umgås med människor i samma situation, och ibland måste man också inse att när saker och ting går fel så är det inte hela världen, och så lär man sig av det. Jag har för det mesta sett allting från den positiva sidan. Jag har utvecklats på så många plan. Vardagen är lika mycket missförstånd och skillnader som förståelse och likheter. Och det finns så många underbara människor at lära känna från olika hörn av världen. Approval 18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International Office and will be sent by email to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? http://doit.medfarm.uu.se/kurtattachment/1469278236381188962.jpg http://doit.medfarm.uu.se/kurtattachment/1469278236387869325.jpg http://doit.medfarm.uu.se/kurtattachment/14692782361881884607.jpg 20. Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. 1. Jag första dagen på Sorbonne. 2. Jag och boquinisterna längsmed Seine. En av mina favoritgrejer med Paris. 3. En klassisk vy. 21. Publishing of pictures I approve of my pictures being published and used in Uppsala University s marketing of international exchanges Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 302 av 440