Faculty of Pharmacy widening the window to Europe

Every year, more than 25,000 students travel from Sweden to universities and colleges across the world. Here they discover new environments and cultures, bringing back experiences and friends for life. At the Faculty of Pharmacy, international collaboration is a prioritized activity and now, European exchanges are climbing yet another step on the agenda.

“Broadening your personal and professional horizons is invaluable in our increasingly globalized world. For students, this is an opportunity to gain new knowledge and perspectives, not to mention, doing so with people from a completely different background. That is why we are now strengthening our organization to give even more people the opportunity to take part in everything that the Faculty of Pharmacy's international network offers,” states Senior lecturer Christina Wedén.

The Faculty's students choose between various options: Many travel on exchanges. Others conduct degree projects, internships and study visits abroad. Among the faculty's nine partner universities, Barcelona, ​​Paris and Rome are popular destinations. The top list also includes classic university cities such as Leuven and Leiden, but nothing prevents students from designing their own journey.

“I chose to do my degree project in Pharmacognosy, which opened the door to the University of Aberdeen's Institute of Medical Sciences. During three months in Scotland, I met so many amazing people and experienced so much that what I above all bring with me, in addition to all my new biotech knowledge, is the insight to dare to take the chance when I have it,” says pharmacy student Paloma van Setten.

Faculty employees also have plenty of opportunities to broaden their pharmaceutical horizons. Teachers at Uppsala University can apply for Erasmus funding to visit teaching colleagues in a number of countries. For PhD students, summer schools and conferences are arranged within the ULLA consortium, where Uppsala, together with nine European universities, work to increase cooperation within the pharmaceutical sciences.

“Our partnership agreements hold such great potential that the faculty is currently recruiting two coordinators who, together with program representatives, the Student union and Study advisers, will provide students and colleagues with optimal conditions for rewarding exchanges. Something we hope will generate added value when travelers return to Uppsala with new experiences that contribute to the further development of our international operations,” says Christina Wedén.

Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o