By: Parth Pundalik Pai Semester: 6th Semester, Spring 2024

application process:

I started mapping my courses in the beginning of August 2024, got it signed from the professors and subsequently applied for the universities by mid August, amid the intern season. While applying, i got the applications signed for all universities and gave it to International Relations (IR) office before the deadline. There was no SOP involved anywhere. Except for ETH Zurich which needed a CV (I gave them internship resume only). I don’t remember how many got selected but I do know that many of them, who gave sensible preference got selected for semex.

Why this particular university/program?

I gave my preferences for NUS, ETH Zurich, EPFL, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Denmark Technical University. I got my allotment of university from IR office within 7-10 days after the deadline. I ended up getting KTH University. I had applied for ITM (Industrial, Technical and Management) department in KTH and completed some of my Department and Open electives there. I chose the universities based on the rankings (mainly) and based on the experience of seniors in these universities. I ultimately wanted to also pursue some projects here in the university.

Was there a stipend or scholarship involved?

No

What expenses were covered?

Expenses covered: Travel and Visa - was covered by IITB Health Insurance - was covered by KTH university only (mentioned in their acceptance letter)

Expenses NOT covered: Tution - I had to pay iitb fees (not exchange university fees obviously) Accomodation - I had to pay rent for my accomodation Food - I had to pay for my groceries as well.

Did you live on-campus or off-campus?:

On-campus

How were courses different from IITB?

The courses were not as difficult as IITB ones. The structure was actually spread out across the semester. The courses that I took had more assignments and projects along with Mid-term and End-term. They didn’t really have quizzes, although some of them might have it. Grading was slightly on the difficult side. It was pretty difficult to get A’s and B’s with the kind of last minute preparation (one day before exam type) that we do in IITB.

What was the language of instruction – was it an issue? How was the academic pressure compared to home?

At KTH, all the Bachelors courses were in Swedish only, so I ended up mapping only masters courses which I could find in English. Hence language of instruction was not an issue to me. As mentioned earlier, academic pressure mainly consisted finishing assignments and projects on time, and also doing them ethically, which will take some time.

List of course mapping from host university to IITB:

Courses I mapped: ME415-Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer (IITB) - SG2212- Computational Fluid Dynamics (KTH) ME477-Introduction to Optimization (IITB) - SF1861- Optimization (KTH) ME613-Finite element and Boundary element methods (IITB) - AF2024- Finite element methods in Analysis and Design (KTH) ME800–Additive Manufacturing: Design, Processes and Inspection (IITB) - MG2044–Additive Manufacturing (KTH) BB601– Introduction to Bio-nanotechnology (IITB) - BB2400– Bio-nanotechnology (KTH) ME669-Design for Manufacturing (IITB) - MF2032- Eco Design (KTH) ME760Fuels and Combustion (IITB) - MH2601- Combustion in Industrial Processes (KTH) IE 503- Operations Management (IITB) - ME2054- Purchasing & Supply Chain Management (KTH) MG405- Project Management (IITB) - ME2016 Project Management: Leadership and Control (KTH)

Courses I ended up taking in KTH: ME2054, MG2044, BB2400, MH2601

Academics & Learning Style:

Firstly, all the courses were half semester ones, KTH runs based on periods, like period 1 and period 2 are two half semesters in Autumn with Period3, period 4 being the two half semesters in Spring. My 6 ECTS credit courses were like 4 hours of classes (2hr each class * 2 classes) per week along with some assignments and tutorials and stuff. So this would be equivalent to a 6 credit course at IITB. ME2054, MG2044 and MH2601 were 6 ECTS courses. My 7.5 ECTS credit courses were like 6 hrs of classes or 4 hrs of classes and a 2hr lab etc. So this would be more equivalent to a 8 credit course like Makerspace 101 in IITB, instead you have more lectures and less labs here. BB2400 was a 7.5 ECTS course. Almost all the lectures were interactive. Some classes were discussion based where one group had to present their idea and then there will be discussion based on the idea. Very few lectures were recorded ones, although most of the lectures were already recorded and can be found in their Canvas (equivalent of IITB’s moodle) The student-teacher relationship was also really good, Most of the courses I had registered had less than 40 students, leading to really good student-teacher ratio. There were a couple of industry visits and guest lectures organized as well. Some courses also had 2-3 lab sessions as a part of their course curriculum and they encouraged research opportunities for students.

Workload & Travel Balance:

I did not spend a lot of time per week on academics. One can consider maximum 10-12 hours of academic work other than classes per week. Mostly I was involved in the research projects under professors and not to mention, travelling as well :) I had enough time to travel to many european countries within the semester. There were many holidays in between the semester unlike IITB. I ended up travelling to 8 countries other than Sweden.

Campus Life & Cultural Experience:

Yes, the local students were very welcoming. Although KTH has a lot of international students in general, The local students also volunteered for welcoming the international students and conducting various other events including board games, saunas, osquik (freezing cold water bath) events and welcome party etc. There were buddies assigned to us including weekly or bi-weekly visits (Just like ISMP here) who helped us throughout to navigate across courses and tell information about different events etc. I did attend some of the cultural club events as well, although I did not participate much. Overall both the Swedish students and international students were very welcoming.

Personal & Career Growth:

I was pretty independent during the course of entire semester. There were resources available for any queries and Buddies were also very helpful (You can bug them whenever you want and ask any question). I could adjust very easily into a new place with new people, academics, cold weather etc. Particularly, I did not find any instances related to racism or any other culturally sensitive remarks on myself, It was pretty chill only, everyone respected each other equally. Regarding Academic and career benefit, I was indeed exposed to global education, how the courses are taught in a very international school and their resulting academic opportunities and career opportunities. There were a couple of career fests held in the institute which we could attend to get a knowledge about various different companies and other opportunities. Not to mention academic talks from different professors as well. Regarding finding new academic and professional interests, yeah I did involve in a project under a Professor which widened my research interests. Also got to know about the various lab facilities available in KTH. I am sure this will help me in further higher studies!