A Test for Purpose

How many times do we start writing an article having our mind totally abundant with the idea of the topic. Like now, I am writing this piece of text only to test if this blogspot is still active for posting an article. It was not my curiosity to check for it, rather it was my friend Kamol -the Pioneer-Blogger- who restlessly pinged me on yahoo while I was sleeping with my woman, only to verify if this blogspot is still active. Seems like these days people are really getting fond of "Sour Grapes". It's quite a chilly day today; I just tried to open my window to check the weather outside and a gush of cold wind blew over my face and shoulders giving me goosebumps. Couldn't be any better setting to stay in bed and get cozy. I will now click the Publish Post button to see if this spot is active, I hope this 15 minutes of my "cozy time" was worthwhile.

The Million Dollar Question: Part I

Ever since I have come to Sweden, I have come across several "curious" questions from the people of different cultures. The most curious one being from the students of one of our neighboring nations - after knowing I am from Bangladesh - would ask me "Do you eat ONLY rice and fish all day??". Now, how would you answer to this question in the most non-offensive manner, in order to rate their curiosity above your SHOCK ?! However, you could be smart enough to put the ball back in the questioner's court by questioning him back, "Why, have my government stopped exporting HILSHA and RICE to your country??" or you can just put on a straight forward answer with, "No, actually in our breakfast we have Bread and Vegetable or Meat curry, in the lunch we usually have rice with some curry and at dinner we have either rice or bread with some more curry :)" - aaah that brings back sweet memories of back home :(.

Now, let us come to the question we encounter from the LOCAL(s) here, the question that has no straight forward answer and no escape through, "Why did you choose Linköping University for your higher education??" :s . Before letting you know about our REPLIES, I would like to ask the readers, what would be YOUR answer and how you think would reply with a plain and smiley face, showing no nerve at all !?? ......*think*think*think*
Let's check if your answers matches with ours; most of us would just "blah blah umm umm" for a while and come up with an answer like "Well, ummm, it's mostly because of free education and ummm I found the courses of the program quite interesting...and that's it" *phew*. The answers however, are never a convincing one. Regarding the fact that the Swedes are very shy in nature, the questioner had no other better way to start a conversation with a student from an alien cultural background.

The purpose of this post is to let the new comers know about Linköping and Linköping University as a whole. I will try my best to lay out the things as simple as possible.

After a dreadful 6-month long winter, the city of Linköping is alighted as Summer has arrived with full blaze. The Everest, North Face and Peak Performance(s) can now rest, it's time to rush in to Inter Sport, Stadium and Team Sportia to buy some summer outfits and hit the play grounds, swimming pools & beaches. During the summer it's only DAY all day long, we hardly have any complete darkness. I know it would be hard to believe for you, if I say, we start playing cricket at 7 pm and play till 10 pm, and we still have natural lights then.

By the time you will reach here, the air would still be warm during the day but would start to get colder during nights. The temperature varies a lot over a day (aprrox. 15 degrees Celsius). The student housings, usually managed by the Studentbostäder, are equipped with heaters so, it is not necessary to bring in thick blankets while migration, a thin one would do. However, for outdoor you will need to bring in the items I have mentioned in the previous post.

The grocery shop, Hemköp is a couple of hundred of meters from the housing, but the items are a little expensive down there. So, as a means of a better alternative we take the FREE bus to the outskirts of the city, Tornby. There we have several shops and malls for affordable-priced goods; starting from IKEA for household stuffs (anything you can possibly imagine), Coop-Forum and Willys or Willy:s for the bread and butter (Lätta), food ingredients to spices and cosmetics, etc.

Sweden is not an ideal place to buy electronic goods from, because of the high tax rate. However, if you need any urgent or "I can't live without" things you can always visit Elgiganten, OnOff, Experts, Siba (all located at Tornby) and last but not the least the online shops Tradera, Dustin Home and lot many I can't recall.

I hope you are getting quite familiar with the life and surroundings of Linköping; I will get back to you with the second half of this mini series, "Linköping University life" in a few days time.

Till then stay healthy and have a great time with your family and friends.

-Zobi

Things you need to know before coming to Linköping

This post is for the prospective and newly admitted students of Linköping University. There are certain questions which comes to one's mind before migrating to a new land. I would try giving as many basic and relevant information as possible about Life and Living in Linköping, which I hope would reduce your fear and anxiety of migration. :D

The basics::

1. Food & Living expenses: SEK 2000.00 (maximum)

2. Transportation expense: NIL. Everyone rides a bicycle over here.

3. University fee(s): SEK 400.00 (approx.) per semester.

**Jobs: Not many available, but everyone manages in finding one. And, yes, you can support your living with it. Expenses immediately upon landing and arrival at Linköping::

1. SIM card: SEK 50.00
2. Bus fare [Flygbuss] (Arlanda to Stockholm Central Station): SEK 100.00
3. Bus fare [Swebus] (Stockholm Centr. Station to Linköping): SEK 180.00
4. Bicycle (2nd hand) : SEK 500.00 (approx.)
5. Some basic food: SEK 100.00 - 150.00
6. House (single/shared room) rent: SEK 800.00 - 1500.00
7. Student Union Fee: SEK 300.00

Things to bring from your home country::

1. Good quality and nice looking T-Shirts [10 would be sufficient]
2. Good quality Jeans [Please don't bring loose/baggy jeans with drawings]
3. Good quality Jackets[1 for Winter and 1 for Summer]
4. Leather gloves and mufflers (scarfs) and warm inner wears
5. Sweaters or Pullovers [2 would be sufficient]
6. Cigarettes [only if you are a smoker. They are very expensive here :( ]
7. Mobile phone [SIM is very cheap over here]
8. A bag with laptop compartment. Please do not bring the one's that hangs over one shoulder, rather, bring one that is carried on your BACK.
9. USB Flash drive.
10. All the necessary items you can think of :D .

Last but not least, Linköping/Norrköping are two heavens on earth. You'll simply love this place, Trust Me.

Wish you all the best with your visa, ticket, shopping and packing. :D

Regards,
Zobi

Be aware of Facebook virus!!

Have your friend on Facebook posted a funny link? 'Watch out'- it could be about a virus that will infect your computer. Many students' PCs are becoming infected as they spend most of their free time in FB by watching out their friends' profile, video and pictures.

The infected computers automatically spread the virus using facebook. It hacks your Facebook password and shares the virus link to your friends. Experienced has suggested that if your PC is infected then change your FB pasword to prevent spreading.


NB: the photo used here is from today's SvD
reff> http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/it/facebook-virus-sprids-vidare_1982591.svd

Ever highest number of students signed up for the courses at Swedish University

Almost 300,000 students signed up for courses at Swedish universities in 2009 - the highest number ever, according to new statistics published on Monday.

Swedish institutions of higher education furthermore reported a record surplus of two billion kronor ($280 million) for 2009, according to the National Agency for Higher Education (Högskoleverket) report.

The agency has collated data from all of Sweden's state universities, as well as Chalmers University of Technology and Jönköping University, and found that student numbers have increased at almost all seats of learning.

"A large generation of school leavers and the difficult economic climate have probably had a significant impact on the substantial increase. This will probably hold even after this year," agency head Anders Flodström said in a statement.

Aside from the record student numbers, 2009 was also a bumper year in terms of financial performance for Sweden's universities. The sector reached the ceiling for state financing for the first time in several years, with research funding also outstripping cost rises.

The combined surplus came in at two billion kronor, with Lund University reporting the highest surplus of 450 million kronor. Several more universities reported surpluses of over 200 million kronor while Växjö and Halmstad were among those reporting a deficit.

(The Local news)

about 40 scholarships will be offered

The students who applied in the academic year of 2010/ 2011 in Sweden form Albania, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Kenya, Kosovo, Mali, Moçambique, Moldova, Rwanda, Serbia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia are eligible for the scholarship.

Only about 40 scholarships will be offered for the academic year 2010/2011. The quantity of giving scholarship is very poor in respect to the number of students applying for the study in Sweden from different countries. It seems to me a little drop of water in a desert. By the way, after a long pause Bangladeshi students are also included in this SI scholarship scheme.

The scholarship amount is SEK 8000 per month and the scholarship is only awarded for programs starting in fall semester 2010.

The on-line application form for scholarships is now available and will be open until March 11, 2010. Follow the link for more information.

No more free education in Sweden

Swedish news paper The Local reported that the foreign students, who will be introduced in the autumn 2011, will have to pay for their education. This is announced by Swedish government on 19th February in the morning.

According to that report, university and higher education minister Tobias Krantz says, the government will present its proposition to parliament later on Friday.

"We want to compete in the international education market on the quality of Sweden's education system, rather than simply because Sweden's education is free of charge," Krantz said.

"Sweden is one of the easiest countries in the world to apply for a university place, with a large number of foreign students and high number of online courses - but many of these don't complete their studies."

Krantz conceded that numbers may fall initially.

"In the short term it is reasonable to expect that numbers will fall, but Sweden is a knowledge nation, we have strong English skills and many courses are held in English; I am convinced that in the longer term we will continue to attract large numbers of foreign students to Sweden," Krantz said.

The minister confirmed that the government was not at this stage able to specify the level of the new fees but noted as a basic principle that the fees should cover the costs of education provision.

"We will come back with information over how high the charge will be, I can not state how high it is today. It will vary depending on education and place of learning," Krantz said.

According to The Local news last May, Anders Steinwall at the education ministry said each university would be able to decide its own fees, but added that the estimated average would amount to 70,000 to 80,000 kronor ($9,500 to $11,000) per year.

In the contrary, government also announced that two scholarship systems will be introduced.

The first scholarship system, worth 30 million kronor ($4 million) per annum, will be directed at students in the 12 countries with which Sweden holds long-term aid agreements.

The second, amount to 60 million kronor per annum from 2012, will be available for exceptional students.

The fees will be introduced for students from countries outside of the EU/EEA area.