What Avelina says about the Bachelor's in Biomedicine
Introducing Avelina
Hi! My name is Avelina, and I'm the student ambassador for the Bachelor's programme in Biomedicine. I am happy to answer any questions you might have about the programme, courses, student life, and life in Lund and Sweden via the Unibuddy Platform, where you can chat with me (see below). Please note that I cannot answer questions about the application process, scholarships, or residence permits.
About the programme and the teaching style
How did you find out about Lund University and why did you choose this programme?
"I was mostly looking at what I wanted to study first. I knew that I wanted to do something in the direction of biology and chemistry, just the human body in general, and something that would get me into research. When I was in 10th grade, I got a big book on university study subjects, and this is how I came across Biomedicine.
The next step was to look at where I could study in Europe, because I did not necessarily want to stay in Germany. My options were the UK, which is really expensive and not part of the EU anymore, the Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden. I think I chose Lund in particular solely based on the pictures! The buildings were so pretty I was starting to fantasise about my student life here and that is why I chose it as my first option, and I am really happy that I got it!"
What do you think about your programme so far? Does it live up to your expectations?
"The mistake I made before coming here was that I did very little research about Lund and the Swedish higher education system. But I was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting an exam season and having a lot of different courses at the same time, which is not the case at all! Our courses are chronological and you only have one at a time – I have only had one exam so far and I'm in my second year! In terms of the themes, I think the first semester can be a bit tough because it really is just Cell Biology and Chemistry. I like to call it a “necessarily evil” because you need to know Chemistry in order to understand Biology, but it can be an initial challenge for students. But the good news is that it changes afterwards, the classes are less intense because they are a lot shorter, and they dive into different topics of Biomedicine. For example, I just finished my Neuroscience course, followed by my Immunology course and then I have Pathology. I think the way it is set up in different themes is very nice."
What is the best thing about your programme?
"It really is nice that it is such a small programme, only between 30 and 50 people in every cohort. In my class, I think we are around 35, and people tend to know each other across years. It also helps that we are the only international programme at the Faculty of Medicine for people to stick together, especially the international students. It creates a really nice community. But that's not to say that the Swedish students are doing something else, they are also involved. We have a lot of social events at the Faculty of Medicine. The introduction period, called the 'novish' period, is really special because for two weeks, all students take a fake identity and show the new students around. It was really fun for me in the first year and now there are other events every semester such as career fairs. The community was really nice!"
Why should prospective students choose this programme?
"If you are interested in the human body and how and why it works the way it does, how we can cure diseases, or just everything about health generally, then I think it would be a good programme to study. It is also a positive approach for people who do not like Chemistry as there is a lot less Chemistry than for example in Biochemistry or Molecular Biology. You do have the whole first semester of Chemistry, but after that, it becomes more focused on Biology.
While research is a primary career goal of the programme, a lot of people tend to specialise during their Master's. I know a lot of my friends are not planning on pursuing a Biomedicine Master's, precisely because it is so broad. Many people want to specialise in, for example, Pathology, Immunology or Neuroscience. Biomedicine is a good start to give you a base if you are interested in doing something in this direction, but are not entirely sure what is it you want to do yet."
What was your favourite course and why?
"Content-wise, it was probably Genealogy and Neuroscience, because they are quite versatile. I think they touch on topics that are quite popular among the public as well; ‘genes’ always make the headlines! I also liked my first course although it can be quite tough because it was a lot of Chemistry and Biology. But the professors are really nice and they do an excellent job of introducing you to Swedish culture and the pace of teaching at the university level when you have just finished high school. This really made me feel welcome."
Have you been able to gain any practical experience during your studies (so far)?
"We do not really have that many field trips or labs, but students usually organise career fairs. There are also some professors who invite companies from Copenhagen or the Lund area to introduce themselves and this is how people can get an opportunity to do an internship. I also think there are a lot of opportunities during the summer. We have a summer project where you are at a lab for around two to three months just doing lab work and then in the end you are presenting your final output to a board. You can even get a scholarship for that, though it can be competitive to receive.
Another good thing is that the professors are all researchers and if you are interested in looking behind the scenes, it is very easy to just approach them and show interest. For example, I asked one of my professors if I could shadow them in the lab during the summer and he said yes! It was unpaid, but I am still there and I think it is really nice to get a lot of experience. I think there are also some opportunities for student jobs and some companies around Lund that could use student assistants. The only downside is that you usually need to know Swedish. There are also opportunities in Copenhagen. Overall, it always depends on where and who you ask, but if you want to do something practical, it is possible."
What do you think of the teaching style?
"I think it is really nice! We have lectures most of the time and team-based learning (TBS), which is similar to a workshop where the class is split into groups to complete some exercises. It can be individual exercises or a case study where you get a case of a patient who is sick and has to figure out what is wrong with them and how to treat them. It can also be preparing a short presentation on a topic or a disease. I think these are nice to learn instead of having exams. This gives me time to focus on what I have learned without stressing for two weeks straight and then messing up because I am so stressed and make stupid mistakes.
We also have “readiness assessment tests”, a multiple-choice test that we have every one to two weeks about the topic we are currently studying. It might seem easy at first but if all of the answers are very similar and you did not study the topic that well, it can be quite challenging! These tests mostly help to keep you on track with this study pace. But it can also get overwhelming at times if you have a lecture on Monday and Tuesday, have Wednesday off and then have a test on Thursday, and this can be hard for some people. So I think being able to plan your studying hours and free time is a really big skill that you should have developed when coming out of the programme."
Thoughts on being an international student at Lund and future careers
What it is to be an international student at Lund University?
"I think being an international student in general is really nice because there are so many of us! Coming from a German perspective, it is rare to meet a group of international students without any of them being German. This explains why I have a lot of German friends in my programme, but I think that Lund and Sweden in general are very open to international students! I have been living here for more than a year and my Swedish is not that good, so it is really nice that a lot of Swedish people, especially the younger ones, are so good at English and are willing to just switch languages.
The student life in general is unique in some ways. From my experience, I know from France and Germany that students are at big universities and in big programmes where it is hard to get to know people. But in Lund, my programme is small enough to know each other! Student nations also offer a good way to meet new people. There are also a lot of events such as the language cafe for example or student unions where you can get involved socially and meet new people from all over the world."
What are you planning to do after your studies?
"After the Bachelor's, I am going to complete a Master’s. I’m thinking of going abroad and getting to know some other cultures. After my Master’s, I am probably going to do a PhD and then probably going into research. I do not know if I am going into academic research at the university or into the pharmaceutical industry yet, but I still have a long way to go and a couple of years ahead of me to think about it!"
To what extent does your degree programme prepare you for a career in your field?
"I think Biomedicine is a really good base where we get a lot of broad knowledge in the field. Again, a lot of people are not doing a Master's In Biomedicine, but they specialise in the career that they want to have instead. It gives you a good overview of what there is and what you can do. I think that when you are in a STEM-related field, just having a Bachelor's degree most of the time is not enough. You might have to do a Master's to get a job somewhere. But the Biomedicine programme is a good base that teaches you about a lot of things before you specialise in something else."
Have more questions for Avelina?
You can chat with her and other current students directly via Unibuddy by clicking the card below.