Mail from … Lund Physics student Natalie Müller reports on her internship abroad in Sweden.

General Information

This is where I live at the moment:

I am currently living in Lund, a charming student city in the southern Swedish province of Skåne län (Skåne).

This is what I am doing in Lund:

I am completing a scientific internship at Lund University, specifically at the Faculty of Engineering. Here, I work in a team of researchers from the Division of Engineering Geology. We are involved in various projects, including the EU project “Blue Transition,” which aims to address the question: “How can my region become climate-resilient?”

At Lake Vomb, we are researching how clean and sustainable drinking water can be provided for the Skåne region in the future. Earlier this year, the team installed a monitoring system at the Vomb facility to observe the infiltration of lake water for drinking water production. Using geophysical methods, we analyze where, how, and how much water seeps in, and how this behaviour changes over time.

My stay will last a total of:

… four months. I independently applied for an Erasmus+ internship scholarship. I was able to establish contact with Lund University and the Division through one of my professors at TU Braunschweig.

That’s why I decided to go abroad:

I have wanted to do a semester abroad for a long time in order to gain new experiences, immerse myself in a different culture, and develop personally. Now, just before my graduation, I wanted to seize the opportunity before it might not arise again later. As I had already completed all the necessary lectures for my Master’s degree programme, an internship seemed to me to be the ideal opportunity to experience everyday scientific life at first hand.

Local life

Here’s how I live in Lund:

I have rented a room in the apartment of a very friendly woman. She lives alone and has been regularly renting out the spare room to female students and interns from abroad for the past three years. We share the entire apartment, and I have access to all the appliances in the kitchen, the washing machine, and similar facilities. We get along really well, which makes living together very pleasant. I appreciate the peace and quiet I have here, but I also value having someone to turn to for any questions I may have.

What distinguishes studying/researching in Sweden from that in Germany?

I can’t really comment on the research aspect, as my experience in Germany has primarily been with student life. However, I can share some insights about studying here: Out of interest, I attended a lecture by a staff member from my department. It was significantly more interactive than the lectures I am accustomed to in Germany. There were short group activities and smaller tasks incorporated, which were discussed together immediately afterward. This type of interaction is not something I am familiar with in my field in Germany.

Upon inquiring, I learned that lecturers here are required to complete mandatory pedagogical courses in order to be eligible to teach, which certainly influences the structure of the lectures.

Additionally, there are no 90-minute lectures held without breaks here. After about 45 minutes, there is always a 10 to 15-minute break to stand up and counteract emerging fatigue. I find this approach to be extremely pleasant.

Particularly typical of my host city is:

The cycle path to the university: Lund is a very bike- and pedestrian-friendly city. There are cycle paths and footpaths everywhere, running alongside the regular roads and crossing them through bridges and tunnels. I can reach all my destinations without the usual traffic stress I am familiar with in Germany.

Here are a few things I learned during my first three days:

There are several things that stood out to me. Firstly, most Swedes here speak English very well—whether at the university, in the supermarket, or in cafés and restaurants. I haven’t encountered any problems in this regard so far. Secondly, payments are almost exclusively made by card. In fact, I haven’t needed any cash yet.

The biggest challenge I’ve faced during my stay so far:

Everything has gone wonderfully during my stay. The biggest challenge was actually the time leading up to it—especially finding accommodation. Lund is a city where more than a third of the population are students. There are many dormitories and other housing options available for students, but one has to arrange this well in advance. The challenge was that I am not enrolled as a regular student at the university. Therefore, I couldn’t apply for dormitory places. After a long search, I finally found my current accommodation—and I was really lucky in the process.

I will keep telling this anecdote to my friends at home:

I had planned a trip to Ängelholm, a place on the Swedish Baltic coast, with a friend. We met at the station in Lund to take the train together. Unlike in Germany, there isn’t a large train company like Deutsche Bahn covering all regions here. Instead, there are many small train companies, and the tickets are only valid for the respective company.

Almost simultaneously with our planned train, a train from a different company arrived on the same platform, heading in the same direction. The announcements at the station confused us, and unfortunately, we got on the wrong train. We realised this fairly quickly, but it was already too late to get off. When the ticket inspector came round, of course, we both didn’t have a valid ticket for this train company. However, she was kind enough to issue us a penalty ticket for both of us together, which – even when split – was still quite expensive.

But that didn’t dampen our fun, and in hindsight, it’s a funny story. We eventually made it to Ängelholm and had a lovely day, without any issues on the way back. 😉

That’s what I will take home with me:

In addition to warm knitted gloves, I will definitely take a backpack full of cinnamon buns with me – they have truly become my favourite afternoon snack here. Perhaps I will even manage to get my hands on an authentic recipe!

Good to know

My top tip for anyone travelling to Lund:

Near Lund, there is the Skrylle Nature Reserve, which is easily accessible by bus (about a 30-minute journey) and is worth a visit at any time of the year. There are various marked walking and running paths, but you can also wander freely across the reserve. During my visit, I saw many runners using the trails for their training, some even travelling from Lund by bus specifically for this purpose. I personally took the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely winter walk in nature. It’s a truly wonderful place to unwind!

This is a local dish you definitely have to try:

You definitely should try Kanelbullar (cinnamon buns). During the Christmas season, Glögg is a must – a warm drink that is perfect for the cold weather outside. The great thing about it is that Glögg often comes in a non-alcoholic version, so everyone can have some. And of course, you can’t miss Pepparkakor (gingerbread cookies) during Christmas time. We always have some available in our office for snacking.

This is a tip I give to other students and researchers who want to go abroad:

If you’re considering studying or doing an internship abroad, definitely go for it! I have already learned a lot and developed on a personal level. Opportunities to live abroad for an extended period don’t come around very often after graduation. Moreover, the university often offers support in the form of Erasmus scholarships and other programmes. The bureaucratic and organisational effort, which can unfortunately be quite complicated at times, is definitely worth it.