Internship at Lund University, Sweden

Aitor, an international master degree student at VGTU is sharing his internship story at Lund University, Sweden.

Aitor Sauca Rodriguez, Civil Engineering student

As a Spanish student who has lived in different countries and who decided to study his Civil engineering Master’s degree in VGTU, the challenge of discovering a new country is nothing unheard of. This time, I wanted to feel the last adventure of my study period, so in the 4^th and last semester of my Master’s I set up for Lund, a lovely little students’ town in southern Sweden.

Lund University: old (main) building

New: LTH (Faculty of Engineering)

From the first day, some of the things there reminded me of my beloved Lithuania: the dreadful but beautiful winter weather, the typical northern European food, the well-known tallness and blondeness of people... This time, however, something was different: I found myself in one of the most advanced and developed countries on Earth, where excellence is the rule. At my internship position in the state-of-the-art Traffic and Road department of the Faculty of Engineering, I was surrounded by some amazing professionals who turned out to be extraordinarily friendly and welcoming colleagues as well – for instance, my mentor and my supervisor took me to all the exotic restaurants in Lund during the 2-month period I worked with them – and it turns out there was quite a bunch of them!

My name in the office: I was now working for Lund University!

Due to accommodation shortages in Lund (so many students!), I found a place to live at the international university dormitory in Malmö, a big and busy city which is conveniently located just a 20-minute bus ride away from Lund. There, I lived together with many other Erasmus students from all over Europe and beyond, as far as Canada or Australia, and the experience was truly unforgettable. The more you learn from other people and other cultures and ways of life, the more you want to expand your horizons and discover the world. In the end, we formed one big family where borders and prejudices didn’t exist anymore. It was not my first experience abroad, but it was definitely one of the most satisfactory.

My cosy new room

and lovely international family

So, as a conclusion, I return from Sweden with a deeper knowledge of my study field, some beautiful memories and amazing friends, and with the certainty that this will not be the end of my European journey.