It’s been a little over two months now since I’ve started my master program in Ecology and the Environment at LiU, and I thought I could give you a little recount on how things have been going so far! This will probably mostly be interesting for people that are thinking of applying to the same program, or  maybe also if you would like to know what studying at LiU generally could be like.

First of all, I have to say that studying at LiU is very different from what I was used to in my bachelor program (Biology) in Austria. All throughout September I had only one course called  methods in ecology. Every week I had a different professor that would cover a different topic within Methods in Ecology. Truth be told, I don’t think I have ever worked so efficiently and around the clock in order to be able to finish my assignments. I had to hand in an assignments every week, and sometimes even two, coupled with oral presentations. This was super overwhelming at first, and pretty stressful. The topics we covered however, where really interesting and I felt like a learned a lot in a very short amount of time. The month included assignments where we had to read lots of papers, practice scientific writing, do lab work (computer exercises in RStudio) and learn how to make our own Infographics. We also had a field trip that we, as a class, had to plan ourselves. This was admittedly more challenging and more exhausting than I imagined, but also thought me a lot!

All throughout October I had the course Population Ecology. This course was structured the same each week. So every week we had lectures, labs, self-study time and seminars. Each week we learned about something new in population ecology, that would build upon the knowledge of the previous week. We then had labs where we would practice how to model simulations in RAMAS EcoLab and RStudio and eventually write a report about one of these exercises each week. My self-study time I always spent in the library (at Studenthuset), where I would seek out the quite area to write my reports. The assignments always had to be handed in before the seminar, where we would discuss questions and the topics we had learned about. This was a very interactive process of learning and helped to clear any leftover confusion :D. Since the structure of this course was the same for the whole month, it was easier to manage the workload and plan out my week.

Sometimes lectures included dice games and candy!

Overall I’ve realised that the program is mostly based around problem solved learning, rather than studying and knowing things by heart. Even though I think the courses and topics have really been challenging so far, I also feel like I am collecting very useful knowledge and skills from my courses. I really enjoy working together with my classmates, that are all very kind, and fun to suffer through assignments with (lol).

So, after my two months of studying I do feel like I made the right choice in coming to LiU to further my education, and I am excited to see how what my next courses look like. Anyways, I might do this again after two more months of studying and give you another update then, also you can always leave comments below if you have some questions.

As always, take care, and talk to you soon. // M

Studenthuset (library) in the evening. My favourite place to work on assignments

 

 


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