Studies

The mechanical engineering program entailed 2 first years of study at Mälardalens Högskola, Västerås, then moving to the Royal Technical Institute in Stockholm (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan) for studying the rest of the master program, topped with the master thesis.

Studying wasn’t exactly always a breeze but it was fun and interesting. I was almost always the oldest in my class and the only one who had been admitted to the program after two and a half years in Sweden, so I was, to say at the least, not the normal variety.

Being social and fearless of other opinions, I was perhaps not strange per se but very different, when compared to the young, just-finished-high-school majority. All these funny "initiation" rituals of ridiculing the new students and partying were a joke to me, who had seen similar rituals in the army, 10 years prior, like children having a role play, with some more alcohol drinking than necessary.

The student buddies were young but some of them got quickly on track, after partying too much at first, and we became quite a functional study group, even more serious towards 2nd year.

My plan, as the unicorn, totally Non-Swede, was trying to safeguard me from failing, so grades were not exceptional but very good, certainly above the average. And no failed exams, ever. Getting good grades gave me the choice of taking the mechatronics major at KTH, which was a very good fit for my view of the future of mechanical engineering, a very easy decision.