Exchange Students Series: An Interview with Emm Nilsson

Valeria Morelli

Emm is an exchange student from Sweden. She is in the first year of her master’s degree in computer science, but she is also studying Italian and French in the School of Languages and Linguistics.

Valeria interviewed Emm about her experience in Melbourne, her language studies and her plans after graduation.

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Hi Emm, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. To start off, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your studies?

I’m an exchange student from Sweden and I’m here in Melbourne for one semester. I’m doing a master’s in computer science and I’m in my first year.

What are you studying here in Melbourne?

Here it is a bit mixed because I have electives, so I’m doing one computer science course, then one design course and then two language courses.

Why did you choose to do this exchange?

Before I started my studies, I was thinking about maybe just going to Melbourne and studying there without doing anything in Sweden. But then I decided that I would study in Sweden and I saw that my uni had an exchange program with UniMelb, so I was like, “Ok, that is my goal. I want to get into UniMelb for my exchange.” That was grade based, so best grade gets their first choice. UniMelb was my first choice and I’m really happy I got in.

That’s a great achievement, congratulations! How is your experience going so far? What are you enjoying the most?

I think it’s going OK, I like it. I really like Australia, it’s such a cool country and there’s so much to do. I think it’s nice to just experience something else. What I enjoy the most is just exploring things. I went to the Great Ocean Road and Brisbane and that’s been really nice and seeing different beaches, I think that’s really cool. Also, the brunch scene here in Melbourne is really nice, and meeting new people from all over the world. I don’t hang out with any Swedish people here, mostly Germans and Italians.

Great to hear you’re making the most out of it!

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You mentioned that you’re taking two language courses. What languages are you studying?

I’m doing Italian and French. I chose to study languages because I wanted a break from the computer science courses and do something else. I studied languages previously during high school and middle school and I thought it was fun. Then I saw that they have language courses here. They kind of have that back at my uni, but not really like here, because you’d have to commit to an entire program, and I didn’t want to do that. So I thought, “Here is perfect.”

I know you are part of the Italian peer mentoring program.

Yeah, I’m participating in the peer mentoring program both in Italian and French. It works that you have a mentor and then you meet like once every week. You talk about the culture of the country or if you have any questions about the language. You get some extra help and it’s nice to meet someone new.

Are you part of any other clubs or student associations?

I’d like to, I just don’t feel I have the time. I’ve joined the diving club and I got my diving certificate here. And then I also joined the surf club and went to a surf camp. I’d like to join others, but there’s just so much happening outside of school. Studies take time and then I travel or just hang out with my friends and then I don’t really have time to join the uni activities.

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The study-life balance can be tricky indeed. Any advice for fellow students?

I guess you have to prioritise and focus. That might be difficult for some people because maybe their grades matter a lot and they have difficult subjects and then of course they need to take a lot of time to study. But yeah, I guess, prioritise and make lists and maybe you see that it’s not as much as you actually think it is when you put it down on paper. If you know other people that study the same subjects, study with them because that definitely helps a lot.

I think that’s great advice, it can help you put things into perspective.
Do you have any advice for students who’d like to participate in an exchange program?

Yeah, I guess the first step is finding out where you want to go and do some research about it. Then keep track of all the deadlines that the uni has, which can be a lot, but then most of it works out. To find accommodation go to Facebook groups or maybe the university has accommodations as well. I don’t know if they have it here, but my uni had stories from people that have previously been to different universities in different countries. That was actually very nice, kind of like a diary, and they explained stuff about the country and the school and things to do.

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You’re flying back to Sweden at the beginning of July…

Sooner than I’m ready for. Time moves so fast. It feels like I haven’t been here for that long and now I’m almost leaving again. So that’s kind of crazy.

What plans do you have after graduation?

So first, I think I’ll just start working as a developer and so, coding. Since I’m doing computer science, I want to use my degree. But then I would like to go more towards like project manager or tech lead, so more management and not only coding. I would really like to travel and work abroad as well. I don’t know where or when or how, maybe here, or maybe France or Italy since I’m studying languages.

Sounds like a terrific plan! Emm, is there anything you’d like to add or finish with?

Go on an exchange, it’s really fun!

…and learn new languages, it opens your mind!

That is true!

Thank you, Emm, for your time today. It was lovely speaking with you and all the best with your studies!

Thank you, Valeria.