“I had heard that Sweden was beautiful, and had never been there. So I decided to take a summer course there,” says Kosin Tan from Singapore, a mechanical engineering student from the National University of Singapore.This is the third and final year that LiU is holding a Summer Academy on a project basis. From next year it will be part of the regular student exchange system. The courses are offered to students at LiU’s partner universities around the world. This year, course participants are from countries including Japan, Argentina, Australia and Singapore.
Therese Lindkvist, project manager Summer Academy“The aim is to improve our exchange relationships and the balance in our exchange agreements. The idea is that the students will learn a lot from each other in the classroom, and one of the larger goals is to ignite their interest in eventually returning to Sweden, for instance to study an international programme at Linköping University,” says Therese Lindkvist, project manager.As in previous years, six courses are offered, and for the students there are no prerequisites. We visited the workshop which is part of the course “Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Implementation for Improved Health Care”, where the students, starting from specific preconditions, are to build a prototype of a tool that can facilitate healthcare. To help them in their work, they have paper, pens, straws, glue and toilet paper rolls.
“Sometimes the students wonder what this exercise is supposed to lead to, but when we summarise it together, we see clearly that they have learned to collaborate, work to a tight schedule, be flexible and focus on solutions,” says Charlotte Norrman, who leads the workshop.
During the course, the students also discuss the differences between healthcare in different countries.
Kosin Tan“In Singapore for instance, healthcare is expensive, which means that many people seek help as a preventive measure, because they are afraid of getting sick. Here in Sweden the attitude to healthcare seems more relaxed. So who knows, maybe I’ll move here when I retire,” says Kosin Tan, and laughs.The Summer Academy’s courses are held at the Linköping University Hospital, and the students stay in student housing for their four weeks. In addition to the academic exchange, Swedish student hosts organised a large number of social activities.
The courses in the 2018 Summer Academy were:
Exploring Sweden, the Anthropological Way
Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Implementation for Improved Health Care
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in a Swedish Context
Leadership and Organisational Behaviour in Contemporary Organisations
Nanotechnology – Sustainable Challenges and Social Impact
The Use (and Abuse) of Culture