My Feeling about Chalmers and Sweden

My name is Ahmad Safarudin. I am a master student at Crop Estate Technology Faculty Agriculture Technology,Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. I enrolled as an exchange student in Autumn 2015 period doing my thesis work on biotechnology projects. I really interest in developing the waste materials to renewable energy. Then, it was that I have done the research in Chalmers, made biogas from waste.

I worked my lab work at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Chalmers through Linnaeus Palme program. I did the lab work about developing lignocelluloses waste to produce biogas. I don’t take the wrong option choosing Chalmers as the place to work my thesis. The place was a comfortable area for doing my lab work. I have the very kind supervisor and people in this department was so friendly. It is easy to obtain chemicals and use lab instruments who I can not get in Indonesia as easy as in Chalmers. The department provided me superb facilities that I need to do my thesis work.

I found the interesting atmosphere for studying, especially in Chalmers whether the distance between lecturers and students are close. Lecturers are so attentive and friendly towards students. This makes an effective learning environment and warm. Finally, although only five months, I got not only can learn from the experts about my research but also making friends around the world. To be in Chalmers was very unforgettable.

During finishing my lab work, I did not suppose if I could meet a variety of researchers with different backgrounds, different countries. It was so memorable in my mind. They have lots of story for me to learn, their experience of research which inspire me. The professors and PhD students were so friendly and easy for me to take discussions. Moreover, research at Chalmers developing really up to date issues which be really interesting to be explored. Especially about energy area.

Life in Sweden, especially Gothenburg was comfortable. The air is fresh and clean. The city is pretty awesome. Very conservative about the environmental problem. It can be looked from processing wastes and its energy development of the city. Drinking straight from the tap is the norm in Sweden. The water is clean, so I can save both money and the environment by not buying bottled water. Swedish work culture is also interesting to observe. There is a special time to take a coffee break, called “Fika”. It is perfect to me considering I am a coffee addict. Behind the enjoyment of coffee, there will create social interaction to get closer to each other. I also appreciate the transportation in Sweden, most people also prefer to use public transport to go to work than a private vehicle. And the public transport was so easy to get, on time and also comfortable. Finally, living abroad in Sweden was a wonderful experience for me.