Is this programme right for you?

Name: Joel Samuelsson
From: Gothenburg, Sweden

We’ve had projects with big companies such as Unilever and L’Oréal where we’ve gotten to apply our theoretical knowledge on practical cases. It shows that Uppsala University is a renowned university with a great network of contacts in the industry.

How did you choose your programme?
– I applied to this programme to broaden my knowledge in marketing and to strengthen my CV, and visit a new city. Before I started studying at Uppsala University, I was a student at Lunds University where I did a Bachelor’s in economics and a year of freestanding courses in other subjects that interested me.

What is the best thing about studying at Uppsala University?
– The best thing, I think, has been the opportunities to get in contact with the industry. In some courses, we’ve had projects with big companies such as Unilever and L’Oréal where we’ve gotten to apply our theoretical knowledge on practical cases. It shows that Uppsala University is a renowned university with a great network of contacts in the industry.

What has been most challenging?
– I’ve found that the most challenging is to, during a short period, tackle all the literature for every course. The solution has been to learn how to structure your studies. To learn what tricks works for you in terms of how to get through a lot of articles during a short amount of time, and to work with your course mates. Often, we worked together to read articles and summarise and analyse them together. It gave us different perspectives and angles of approaches to the problems.

Describe the student life!
– I am and have been active in the student life during all my semesters as a student, both in Uppsala and in Lund, and that’s because I find it so incredibly fun and rewarding in so many ways! You get to do so much fun stuff, get friends for life, and gain so much useful knowledge that just can’t be learned at a desk. I think being active in the student life improves your studies and gives you an advantage when entering work life, in regards to having a wide network and practical experience.

What is your ultimate goal with your studies?
– My goal is to gain even more knowledge and experience within business studies in general and specifically marketing. Hopefully, it is something that will give me competitiveness when I start to apply for jobs. The third semester during the programme has really with that, as I got the opportunity to do a very rewarding internship.

Do you have any tips for future students?
– Firstly, Uppsala is an incredibly fun city to be a student in! It’s cosy, offering great education and fun student life. Although, you have to be prepared for a different pace when studying at the Master’s level. With that said, I advise you to plan your days for when you’re supposed to study and what time to allocate the different projects. During a lot of courses you have to do multiple projects at the same time, which takes good planning and structure. If you do it right you’ll have time over to enjoy student life and, maybe, even work a little.

Three quick questions:
What is your favourite place in Uppsala?
– As I’m from the west coast, the Fyris river is as close to a sea view as I’ll get.

What is your favourite student tradition at Uppsala University?
– The Walpurgis weekend!

Where is the best place to study?
– The absolute best, is the dark room at Campus Ekonomikum! Especially when the fire is lit. A lot of hours have also been spent in the quiet room at Campus Gamla Torget.

Autumn 2021.