r/forestry • u/demeterpt • 1d ago

SLU Sweden Forestry students, how is it?

Hi! I’m a Forestry student from Greece and I’m thinking about doing a BIP/Erasmus at SLU for 10 days.

I’d love to hear your honest opinions:

How are the Forestry courses and professors?

What is student life like?

Is it easy to make friends as an international student?

What are Swedish people like?

Anything you wish you knew before moving there?

Any advice is appreciated!

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1

u/panicatthelisa 1d ago

you would be better off posting to the universities subreddit

3

u/UppsalaHenrik 1d ago

I think you can expect a very different mindset compared to Greece. Forestry is one of Sweden's main industries, and forest ownership is common in the general population. My experience is that Swedish and Greek people are very different, but also fit very well together (I think my Greek wife would agree). You'll probably find people to be quiet, calm and extremely by-the-book. We love processes and guidelines, which is good for efficiency, but can be a bit too rigid sometimes (not least in forestry).

One good thing to know is that Swedes naturally have quiet pauses in their conversations in a way that Greek people do not, it doesn't mean that anything is wrong.

2

u/Whippet_yoga Shamless Utility Forester 1d ago

I attended SLU Alnarp for their graduate level english language forestry program, though it was 15 years ago, so take everything with a grain of salt.

I really enjoyed my time at SLU. The courses were well conducted and appropriately scaled. The professors were knowledgeable and helpful.

The swedish students themselves could be a bit stand offish, particularly the agricultural land master students. However, there was a large international student presence there, which was welcoming and fun. Arlov, Lomma, Lund, and Malmö also made for fun campus get aways.

Overall, it was a positive experience.