Days of my life: I am riding a roller coaster that somehow entered into a washing machine

Luleå Diary: Day 27. 2 p.m.

I am riding an academic roller coaster nowadays and the roller coaster somehow entered inside a running washing machine. So on the whole I am continuously moving with sharp falls and steep climbs in both right and left directions.

After deciding to do my master's in Sweden, I asked my contacts with a degree from Scandinavian countries about the pressure I might face. I got a sense from them that there is enormous pressure in the first year and by the time second year starts, the mind gets ready to get used to the pressure.

So I knew what I was getting myself into but when the classes started on 2 September, I actually realised what they meant by the word ‘pressure’. The word has a different meaning to me now.

Here is Sweden, universities separate each semester into two quarters. In each quarters, there are two courses, each consisting 7.5 credit points. The university expects students give 20 hours a week to each of the two courses. That's 40 hours a week. No wonder I feel like I am doing a full time job.

Swedish masters' programmes demand a related and relevant bachelor's degree, preferably on the same subject. Meaning an accounting graduate can’t get enrolled in the economics department or an economics graduate can’t get enrolled in the accounting department. Courses taken in the bachelor's need to sync with the program. My two previous masters in development studies and business administration were not counted. They only looked into my bachelor’s program. While applying, I was wondering why are they so strict on this. Well now I know! The lecturers expect the students to have the academic knowledge on the subjects so that the classes can be more of a discussion oriented sessions. They highlight on journals and contemporary case studies instead. And the case studies require full understanding of the text books. 

Class participation is must and carries a considerable weight. No one can play around the bush, precise inputs are demanded. To hang tight, I am going through rigorous and painstaking readings at the moment. Reading is not a problem for me, keeping my focus is. I anticipated it will not be a piece of cake but now it is costing me an arm and a leg.

Then there are presentations every week which require analytical inputs. The board expects that the presenters hit the nail on the head. To do that, students require having all information stored in the head. Presentation also means preparing contents and slides. To spice things up, the board tries to off guard with out of the box questions. Most of the presentations are done in groups and group work is given huge importance. In one of the groups, we are five members from five countries. All my group members have sound academic base. They all are top of their game. And then there is me, the mediocre guy trying to cope with the geniuses. I am in addition struggling to deal with with the cultural antiquities so that I don't offend them with my extra-raw-&-loud behavior.

‘Hit the books’ is what they suggested so I am trying to hit the books really hard. Luleå University of Technology is basically a science and technology based academia. The library is rich but the business section is still not world class. A good share of my time goes browsing relevant books and reading the applicable chapters. To my fellow classmates and friends, I am a very serious learner but in reality what I am doing is trying to muddle through with the pace of the roller coaster I am riding which somehow entered into a washing machine.