Not all Brits want to stay at home to study

George Leech is helping to dispel the myth about ‘stay-at-home’ British students. For he spent a year at Reims in France on an European Erasmus exchange while studying History at Leicester University. Now, he’s on the move again and has just completed his first semester of a two-year master’s degree in International and European Relations at Linköping University (LiU) in Sweden.

The 22-year-old from Lancaster is part of a new trend of British students raising their horizons when looking at where to get their higher education. But he’s still part of a tiny minority. So what motivates people like George? The cost of a master’s degree is rising sharply at UK universities following the hike in undergraduate fees and postgraduates must pay as they study unlike undergraduates who can take out low-interest loans and pay tuition fees after graduation. “That’s certainly part of the reason I choose Linköping for my master’s. In Sweden all university education is free for all European Union citizens - and that includes us British!

Getting international in Linköping

“But there were other factors. I wanted to study international relations and when I ‘googled’ it, Linköping University came up. “I picked Linköping as it was the only one that offered a European theme and the people in the international office were very positive. I also liked the town. It was a bit small, but it had a nice feel and I thought I could easily settle in”, said George.

Now he is enjoying being the only Brit in a class full of international and Swedish students. “We’ve got a good mix, with students from Iran, Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Turkey and Latvia as well as Sweden. Everything is in English - all the lectures and reading, so my advice to British students worrying about going to a country like Sweden is - don’t worry! You’ll actually be at an advantage being a native English-speaker.”

Why Sweden

George has some tips for anyone considering following his footsteps to Sweden. “You are obviously going to a different country to live and study and things are done differently. Just accept that and you’ll be fine. My advice is if things don’t work at your first attempt, they will if you try again. Just don’t panic.”

“And while everyone speaks perfect English, it is only polite to try to speak a little Swedish. It goes down very well with the locals and that’s why I’m taking advantage of the free Swedish classes as part of my course.”

As to why you should choose Sweden, George says that Swedish higher education is like the British one, with a similar approach to relations with lecturers. “It is not too formal. Lecturers want to help you learn rather than just teach you and they will recommend authors for you to go away and read and then come back with your opinions.”

George also says he feels very safe in Sweden. “I’ve never felt threatened and will happily walk home through a forest in the dark and talk on my mobile phone. You just wouldn’t do that back in England.”