Joseph's Exchange to Malmö University | Sweden - Murdoch University Study Abroad and Exchange

A quaint student city in the South of Sweden quickly became a second home to me when studying abroad. I knew very little about Malmö nothing prior to arriving, little more than its carbon neutral status, and it being the hometown of Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but that all changed very quickly as I settled in to the student housing with hundreds of other students that in time would become a second family for me. Not knowing what to expect was a blessing as the student housing blew any fears I had away immediately, it was communal, comfortable and perfect!

My time in Malmö went by so quickly looking back, exchange truly is a once in a lifetime experience and there’s nothing like it! I had heard many stories and anecdotes myself and decided Sweden was the place for me. I knew Scandinavia was my destination and I was lucky enough in my time to visit Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland in the six months I was there. One of the major benefits of Europe is the price and convenience of travel that is simply impossible in Perth. From the warm summers to the truly perfect winter wonderlands that Scandinavia offered, it’s a perfect place to spend a semester, especially if you’re looking for a change of scenery.
Inside and outside of the classroom, Malmö offered plenty to do! I was able to study hard with the Swedish academic structure of taking one unit at a time, which allowed me more freedom to travel as I only had to concentrate on one subject. The university also assisted in this with a great introduction programme that allows students to form friendships and study groups to help out throughout the semester. The facilities and library were fantastic and offered everything students need to achieve their academic goals.

Malmö is situated in the South of Sweden, its location is incredible as it is a twenty-minute train ride from Copenhagen airport in Denmark, which gave me cheap and limitless access to all of Europe! Because of this I was able to travel to the U.K, Germany, Norway, Finland, Iceland, the Czech Republic and of course Denmark itself! If you can get by on hand luggage the flights are incredibly cheap and run daily so you can cater to your university schedule while enjoying a fulfilling travel experience

I’ll never forget the late nights and early mornings, all the travelling, parties and working hard together as a family with all the incredible people I met on student exchange. My trip to Norway was one of the major highlights, travelling with 4 friends on a bus that only cost $30 there and back from Sweden to Norway to spend one of the happiest weeks of my life. Walking all around the capital, Oslo. As well as taking a climbing-obstacle course 15 metres above the ground! We also saw a restaurant with half-price pizzas on our last night there, we thought about saving some money… but ended up eating two pizzas each. One of the best feeds I’ve ever had.

My second major trip was the ESN Sea Battle! A 3-day party boat cruise from Stockholm to Estonia! We boarded the boat at 1pm, partied until 4am- got 4 hours of sleep then set off on an 8-hour tour of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Estonia was a surprisingly beautiful country with incredible architecture and wonderful people who spoke fluent Estonian, Russian and English. It was an incredible place and one I never thought I would see which made it even more rewarding. Then it was back on the boat for 2 more nights of partying until sunrise on our way back to Stockholm! An experience that embodies the student exchange lifestyle.

I can also comfortably say that the most fun-filled week of my life was on exchange. Our week-long journey to Lapland in the north of Finland is an absolute must for any student travelling to Scandinavia. We went to Santa Claus Village and met the real Santa! Went on a Husky safari and got to pet their 71 Huskies at the park in -30 degree weather, as well as visiting a zoo with wolves and polar bears. We raced snow mobiles and hiked through the hills under the Northern Lights! On the final day we swam in the -2 degree Artic Ocean! We had a sauna sitting by the water, we spend 20 minutes in the 80-degree sauna, before sprinting to the ocean and diving in for a swim before sprinting back to the sauna once we began to feel the cold! (It’s more fun than it sounds, trust me!) Our week in Lapland was by far the best week of my life and an experience I will never forget, and hope to relive some-day.

I even got to spend Christmas with my extended family in the U.K. and go and see my hometown football team under an incredible evening sky, some of the other perks of Malmö’s close proximity to all of Europe!

It’s true what they say, you only regret the things in life that you DON’T do. The only thing I would ever change if I had the chance would be to go on the student union trip to Russia… Such a rare opportunity that I would definitely have taken if I knew I’d be coming home with money left over. That aside I can say everything I did I could not have enjoyed more, and I’d go back on student exchange in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

I was able to push myself far out of my comfort zone and really be myself in a new and exciting environment! Even managing to travel to Prague, Czech Republic for a 3-day trip by myself. I gained a new-found self-confidence and a million great stories to share with friends, family and co-workers. As well as the determination and on-the-fly thinking that employers love. I cannot stress enough how much it helped my independence too, from living at home not doing laundry and cooking when I felt like it, to being thrown in the deep-end and cooking, shopping and washing my clothes for myself was a minor but important learning experience that I handled far easier than I expected. I’ve definitely learned the jumping in the deep-end and just trying new things is never as scary as it seems and that I am better at dealing with life’s challenges than I imaged I would be. This has helped my confidence massively and readied me for the challenges I will face in my career ahead.