Lösnummer - Student guide - Autumn term 2016 - English edition

STUDENT

GUIDE ENGLISH EDITION

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BY L SNUMMER

AN’T WE C

WAIT

welcome TO ÖREBRO UNIVERSITY

A new chapter of your life starts here. Whether you are here for a short period of time or staying for longer, we are sure that your time in Sweden and at Örebro university will be fantastic.

Though you are here to study – primarily - our campuses and the city of Örebro has a lot more to offer than seminars and lectures. Our lovely city and all of the marvellous people surrounding you here provides a unique opportunity to learn about Sweden, about life and about yourself – as well as about the subject you are studying!

This guide will help you find your way around student life in Örebro. It contains all you need to know about student club’s that you can join to make new friends, tips and tricks to make your first weeks run smoothly, useful Swedish words and phrases, and an introduction to some of the weird (and mostly wonderful) traits of the Swedish people that might surprise you. There’s so much to learn and explore, so let’s get into it!

And once again, welcome to Örebro university, we’re so happy to have you here and hope to see you around! /Lösnummer, the student magazine

CONTENT 4

LÖSNUMMER - WHO ARE WE? What is Lösnummer?

Who are the editoral crew?

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THE UNI RACE The student life can sometimes feel like a marathon!

6

ÖREBRO STUDENTKÅR What is Örebro studentkår?

What do they work with?

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JOIN A CLUB Joining a student club is an excellent way to get into the student life quickly!

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ÖREBRO KÅRHUS Örebro Kårhus, the place to be on campus!

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BEING SWEDISH 101 There’s a few things about Swedish culture that makes us stand out.

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A TO DO-LIST FOR STUDENTS There are many things to fix when you are a new student at Örebro university!

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ÖREBRO - MORE THAN CAMPUS Welcome to Örebro! A lovely city with both the “big city feeling” and closeness to nature.

TO SE E WH AT YO U

ACHIEV

CAN

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| STUDENTGUIDE 2016

ö L SNUMMER

WHO ARE WE? LOSNUMMER.SE

We are Lösnummer, the newspaper for all students at Örebro university.

We are an autonomous section of Örebro student union, and our vision is to be Sweden’s most innovative student newspaper! You can find us wherever you are – on the web, on all your social media, in podcasts, on web-TV and of course in our magazines that are placed all over campus.

We monitor all aspects of student life, reporting news on everything from Örebro’s nightlife to how to live according to your student budget to the rest of the university world.

MMER

@LOSNU

LOSNUMMER.SE

THE EDITORIAL CREW Lösnummer’s crew is made up of voluntary “eldsjälar” and creatives from all corners of the university.

Together we inspire each other and drive Lösnummer towards becoming Sweden’s most innovative student paper. We are always on the lookout for new writers, fotographers, illustrators, marketing geniuses and general ideas cannons!

TIP US OFF! We strive to be your platform of choice for both news and entertainment when it comes to life as a student in Örebro, and we would love to hear from you if you have any ideas on what you would like to read about, listen to, or watch.

DISCUSSION & INVESTIGATION We also offer a platform on campus for discussion and debate. We objectively scrutinize and investigate both the university and the student union. Have some opinions on anything related to student life?

Use our channels to reach others!

THIS GUIDE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Malin Glimstedt, Maya Larsson, Jelda Danho, Manja Bååt, Emma Möller, Nathalie Larsson, Sophie Homer

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ÖREBRO

STUDENTKÅR

Örebrodagen HT15 Foto: Andreas Lundgren

What is Örebro studentkår?

Ö

rebro studentkår is our nine kårsektioner.

We are the ones who make the student life so much more than just studying. We are faddrar, board members in our kårsektioner and members in the kårsektioners committees. We are Örebro studentkår.

We are the ones who fight for our rights to get the education we have been promised. We are the ones who make sure we don’t get treated unfairly or wrong when it comes to our education.

We are Örebro studentkår.

We are the ones who influent housing companies and municipality so that every student should have a good place to live during their studies.

We are Örebro studentkår.

Together we are Örebro University united student voice, and the more we are, the stronger we become.

ÖREBRO KÅRHUS The natural meeting place for Örebro students!

Café During daytime, you can study in a quiet environment with campus best price on coffee and lunch.

Timebeer Timebeer is our popular Thursday Pub where beer and cider costs as same as the clock shows. We also have a pub menu with lots of delicious meals and snacks.

Nightclub Our nightclub is open every Friday. Here you start every weekend with dance and have many unforgettable nights!

BY STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS! Come work with us!

It’s easy to get involved in Örebro Kårhus, all students are welcome to work with us and be part of our team. The best thing about working at Örebro Kårhus is that we work with each other, for each other.

You need no prior experience to work with us. We teach you everything you need to know. The only thing you need is a positive attitude and we will have a great time together!

Read more at: orebrokarhus.se

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A TO DO-LIST FOR STUDENTS FIRST WEEK Join the Facebook group ”Dom kallar oss studenter” (Swedish for ”they call us students”). This is a group for everyone studying at Örebro university.

Get your ”Universitetskort” in Studentcentrum. This card gets you into classrooms, allow you to use the university’s printers and is also your library card.

In case you can’t get a hold of a specific book for your course, the library on campus has at least one copy of all course books available for 1-day loans. These are called course reference books and you find them in a special room behind the reception desk . This means you can borrow any book for a day and return it before the library closes!

psst

Buy a bus card to get you into the swedish public transportation spirit in no time (you can get these at Pressbyrån, for example).

DOM

OSS ST KALLAR UDEN TER

FEEL AT HOME

Try out our own campus gym for free! For one week, between the 29th of August and the 4th of September, you can try out all of the gym’s facilities and classes without a gym card.

psst

Have you moved into a student corridor? Make sure to bond with you neighbours, they might turn out to be your new best friends!

(And even if they don’t, it’s nice to be on good terms with the people sharing your fridge.)

Do you like working out? Check out the gym ÖUIF on campus!

Do you need to furnish your new home? You guessed it!

IKEA is our top choice! To

LOSNUMMER.SE

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HANG OUT WITH YOUR FRIENDS Rent a place where you can fit all of your friends for a smashing uni party.

You can also rent the student pub ”Bryggan” with your classmates! Hang out, drink cheap beer and play board games right on campus!

Or why not bring your best study buddies to work behind the bar in Örebro Kårhus on a Friday?

Let one of your Örebro native classmates give you a private tour of the city and show you the best place to have a real swedish fika!

TIME FOR EXAMS Download the Office package for free from www.oru.se Don’t forget to sign up for each exam in exam halls beforehand, otherwise you will be refused to take the exam. The same thing applies if you don’t bring your ID. If you’re writing a take-home exam, our best tip is to schedule your time wisely to avoid the stress of writing your summary five minutes before deadline.

psst

!

You need to send your take-home exam digitally to the anti-plagiarism service called Urkund before handing it in. It might take a while (sometimes 30 minutes or longer) to get a confirmation by e-mail, so make sure to send your text to Urkund in time!

THE UNI

RACE

The student life can sometimes feel like a marathon. There’s exams to be written, presentations to be held and at the same time there’s a social life to be taken care of, not to mention your own mental and physical health! We’ve collected some of the best tips from experienced Örebro students for getting through your own uni race with great results!

START

Engage in non-profit organization such as the student union and student clubs! It’s a great way to make friends and addi some extra lines to your resume.

Seize the day! The student life is a relatively short period of time, especially if you’re just staying in Örebro for a semester or two.

Make sure to make the most of it and seize every opportunity to learn something new or get to know a new person! You won’t regret it!

Don’t hesitate to contact your International coordinator with questions about your studies!

They’re here for you!

You can do it!

LOSNUMMER.SE

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Go go go!

When studying for your exams, start by reading the summaries to each chapter of the book, and then read it from start to finish.

In that way you will get a deeper understanding of the content.

Don’t study at home! Most of us will find a hundred excuses not to study when there’s TV to watch, dishes to wash, plants to water and beds to take 20-minute-which-turninto-2-hour-naps in.

If you have Timebeer plans and your seminar starts at 8.15 the next morning – just stay until the music quiz is finished, then go home! Missing out on a seminar is all work and no fun, trust me!

Use the library’s drop-in counselling in ”Röda rummet”. They will help you with your academic writing!

JOIN A CLUB

Joining a student club is an excellent way to get into the student life quickly! It will help you to get to know a bunch of cool people that is interested in the same things as you. Here you can read about a few of the student clubs here in Örebro that might interest you!

skåne nation skåne nation örebro This club runs Publicum - located on Studentgatan 26 - where there’s after parties held every friday.

BÄRSEBACK BÄRSEBACK Barsebäck is a student club located at Studentgatan 6 where students can party and hang out on friday nights.

ÖREBREW ÖREBREW

Örebrew is a students travelling club that goes to different universitys and collages around Sweden to meet and have fun with other students. The club is known for its members characteristic overalls, but you don’t have to wear overalls to join the fun!

ÖREBRO

BEERPONGSÄLLSKAP beerpongsallskapet.se This club arranges tournaments and beer pong nights for everyone that enjoys the game! This is also where you can rent beer pong tables.

UTRIKESPOLITISKA

FÖRENINGEN uforebro.se

The name translates to ”the club for foreign affairs”. The club invites politicians and organizations to speak at the university. They also arrange trips, courses and pub nights for students who are interested in foreign policy.

ELSA elsasweden.org/orebro This is a club for law students with focus on international law and human rights. The club is part of the network ELSA International.

örebro spelförening

Örebro universitets spelförening Örebro gaming club arranges meetings where the players hang out and play lots of different games together.

BELLA

feministföreningen bella Bella is a club for feminist students. They arrange events where students that are interested in feminism can meet and learn from eachother.

LOSNUMMER.SE

THE ERASMUS

STUDENT NETWORK The Erasmus student network (ESN) is a voluntary student network created “by students for students”. It started as a simple idea by students who had completed their exchange term and decided to help other exchange students arriving at their university. This idea spread all over Europe to hundreds of universities and developed into what ESN is today, with local boards in each city, a national board for each country and an international board at the head of it all.

ESN Örebro is the local ESN section, for Örebro university, that accommodates to approximately 200 exchange students a semester. Together with the university and the other sections we have been able to create a great introduction month for each and every student so that they have time to find new friends and settle in properly for the coming term/year. Our board works throughout the year to make every students’ exchange term the best they could possibly have both academically and socially, this could not be done without the help of our amazing Fadders who work side by side with us the whole time. We value long lasting friendships and therefore we encourage our Fadders to spend at least one day a month with their exchange student groups even after the introduction is over. We also do our best to always be there for the students and focus on giving them the best semester/year of their academic lives. In other words your Fadders will to help you settle in to your new home during the introduction and once you’ve settled in they will still be there to help you find the best place to study for the exam and then the best place to celebrate once the exam is over.

ESN works closely with the international office, and upon completion of the term, Fadders earn points towards their own exchange term, increasing the likelihood of admission to the university and country of your choice. This becomes very important as most of our Fadders who work with us either already know they want to do an exchange term or decide they want to do one during their time as a Fadder. The people you meet and connections you make are priceless and long lasting and we can gladly boast that we have one of the best introductions of the whole university.

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BEING SWEDISH 101 The swedes are very much like any other people. But there’s a few things about Swedish culture that makes us stand out. When you are new in Sweden these phenomenon and behaviours may be a bit hard to grasp and embrace. So here’s Lösnummers crash course in being Swedish, where we walk you through the most important steps to becoming a true Swede!

Attention! This text is written tounge-in-cheek and is not meant to be taken too seriously. Each lesson has some truth to it, of course, but it’s all based on generalisations and stereotypes. Every Swede is, obviously, different! We hope you will get some useful tips and some good laughs from it!

#LESSON 1: WE’RE NOT AS HOSTILE AS WE SEEM (But don’t sit next to us on the bus unless you’re pregnant or elderly) Though it’s hard to admit, Swedes in general aren’t the most social people. At least not when interacting with strangers. If you smile at us on the street for no reason, we will emediately start wondering if we know you or wether you were flirting with us or if our hair looks funny. And you’ve probably heard before that Swedes rather stand than sit on empty seats next to strangers on the bus. We’re not hostile or unfriendly, it just takes a while to earn our trust. With that being said, there are always exceptions! And students are one group that really stand out from the crowd in this sense. Swedish students (especially Örebro students, if you ask us) are very friendly, helpful, open-minded and curious! As for the non-student population in Sweden, they could all need a bit more spontaneous socialisation, smiles from strangers on the street and people sitting next to them on the bus. So go out there and warm them up, we promise they won’t bite!

LOSNUMMER.SE

#LESSON 2: JANTELAGEN - THE LAW OF NOT THINKING TOO MUCH OF ONESELF Swedes DO NOT brag. It’s simply impossible for us to speak overly positively about our own accomplishments and ourselves. This unwritten law is so deeply rooted in Swedish society, that it has even got it’s own name: ”Jantelagen” (The jante law) . When people break Jantelagen in front of us we will get extremely uncomfortable. In a university context, this is well illustrated by the way you NEVER tell your classmates that you got the highest score on an exam or that a teacher had only positive comments on your paper. It’s simply considered rude. If you did get a high score on your exam and get the dreaded question from a classmate, make sure to sugar coat your answer as much as possible. ”I got the highest score, yay, I’m the best” is a great example of a Jantelagen-breaking display of self-admiration, a big NO-NO. ”Well, I did get quite a high score, but it was pure luck!” is more like it! If this just doesn’t work for you, breaking Jantelagen won’t get you into any actual legal trouble, but do it at your own risk of social alienation!

#LESSON 3: FIKA Swede’s take our ”fika” (a cup of coffee with something sweet like a cinnamon bun to go with it) very seriously. In every work place there’s fika-breaks and fika-rooms, we catch up with our friends over fika and fika works great as a first date activity! And if you’re wondering why there’s so many pauses in our lecturers and seminars at uni, their sole purpose is to give both students and teachers the time to go satisfy our fika-cravings that’s been built up over the last hour or so. Simply put: when in Sweden, you can go fika or you can go home.

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#LESSON 4: THE SWEDISH OBSESSION WITH WEATHER Before you decided to come here, you were probably informed (and maybe even warned) about Sweden’s rough climate. And living in a country so hard-hit by mother nature’s most extreme weather conditions, we have all developed an obsession with weather. You will notice this on social media as soon as the first snowflake falls in November. Instagram-photos, Facebook-statuses, Tweets, they will all be dedicated to this one snowflake as if it’s Gustaf Skarsgård fallen from the sky. And then you will notice it even more in March when the first warm rays of sun hit the outside-benches on campus. Students will crowd every elevated horizontal surface from Musikhögskolan to Novahuset to try and soak up some sunshine, even though the snow goes up to the windowsills and the air is absolutely freezing. A few weeks later (it’s still freezing) people will start showing up in light jackets, Converse, in some cases even shorts, to greet the oncoming spring! Weather changes in general just makes us go crazy.

#LESSON 5: LAGOM Lagom is a Swedish word, but it is also a huge part of the Swedish identity. Lagom could be translated into something like: ”Just the right amount of something, not too much and not too little”.

It’s a very commonly used word, maybe because it’s so useful, but maybe even more because it so perfectly describes the Swedish ideal about almost everything: Things should be just lagom. Not extraordinary, but not boring. Not super expensive, but not cheap. Not tremendously successful, but not a failure. It might seem hard to fit into this quite narrow definition of lagom, but don’t worry. What’s lagom for one person might not be lagom for someone else. And again, there are always exceptions. Most Swedes love to step out of the lagom-zone every once in a while. Just not too often. And not too far. Lagom.

LOSNUMMER.SE

OTHER GOOD-TO-KNOW THINGS ABOUT SWEDES - We will charge you for your plastic bags in the grocery store.

- We can speak English really well. Since English is a mandatory subject in our schools you won’t have any problem communicating with us until your Swedish is steady. You will even be able to talk to 10-year-olds.

- You can only buy alcohol at Systembolaget, a state owned company which has monopoly on alcoholic beverages over 3,5%.

- The clubs in Örebro closes at 02.00.

- If there’s an unexpected snowfall, prepare yourself for complete traffic chaos. The buses will be off time, the trains will stop going completely and cars will crash due to the slippery roads. (Yes, we may be exaggerating a little, but not as much as it sounds).

- We will look at you funny if you don’t take off your shoes when entering our home.

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Örebro

MORE THAN CAMPUS Welcome to Örebro! A lovely city with both the “big city feeling” and closeness to nature. Here there is always something to do. There’s plenty os shopping streets and malls, a big range of entertainment with everything from arcades, movie theathers, a soccer team in the swedish Allsvenskan, tons of restaurans, coffee shops, bars and night clubs. It’s easy to make yourself at home in this lovely town. But as a newcomer to Örebro it can be a bit hard to know where to go or what to do.

PHOTO: GUNN-VIOL KATTILAKOSKI

LOSNUMMER.SE

See & do

Eat & drink

In Örebro there is plenty of things to pass time with. Take your friends on a picnic in Stadsparken, take a sunday walk through Oset or a guided tour through Örebro castle. Are you more pumped for adventure? Then there is Gustavsvik, Scandinavia’s biggest adventure waterpark, and Boda Borg in Karlskoga where you can go to challenge your friends. We also want to recomend Videobiljarden on Järntorget where you can play a movie quiz, pool or rent one of their 15 000 movies. Tired of the mainstream movies that are showen at the SF cinema?

Then the movie theater Roxy is the place for you!

Örebro has a rich range of resturants, many of them even matches the student wallet. What about tapas at Pinchos? Or Örebros best sushi at East West, that also have ”eat two for one” for students the first tuesday every month? Or how about nutellapizza at Fratellis? We also want to recommend Saluhallen on Kungsgatan, where Zao Street Kitchen offers authentic aisan street food in a very instagram­friendly environment.

Shopping In the centre of the city you can find almost everyhing. Here you can take a stroll on the shoppingstreets Köpmansgatan and Drottninggatan but also in the malls Vågen and Krämaren. About one mil south of the city you’ll find Örebro’s biggest mall Marieberg and to get there you can take the city bus 1 going to Mosås.

Nightlife Örebro Kårhus is the place to be, in our opinion, but there is actually a nightlife in the city as well.

Strömpis is almost mandatory on wednesdays with half price in the bar until twelve and free busrides from and to campus. Ritz with its iconic chandelier often has concerts and is the place to be that night when you want that little extra. Satin is a small club with a big personality. Satin’s outdoor seating is the most popular place to be in the summer. On Hamngatan there is Harry’s that arranges music quizes on wednesdays and transforms in to a nightclub at the weekends. One friday every month club Nattvard invites to theme partys on Harrys top floor.

We love taking our books with us to the city and change the studies up a bit from campus to a coffee shop. Why not start the studying session with a breakfast buffet at Café Java? Bara Vara on Köpmangatan offers not only a classic café environment but is also s perfect spot for group essagiments.

On Engelbrektsgatan you will find Hälls that has an amazing brunch buffet on the weekends. We also want to recommend Rosengrens Skafferi, that also is on Engelbrektsgatan, witch recived Örebro county environent prize 2015. Who can say no to an organic vegan lunchbuffé? Rosengrens Skafferi also offers vegetarian cocking classes.

If you are in the mood for a chill hangout in a bar we recommend a copule of drinks at Stora Örebro, hang out at Örebro’s coziest pub Stalllycktan and try some new beer at Örebro Ölcafé. Are you looking for a place that combines a pub with that little extra fun? At Pitchers you can challenge your friends in a game of bowling or pentathlon.

GOOD TO KNOW The easiest way to get to campus from Örebro Resecentrum is with the city buses 2, 3 and 9.

SF, the cinema on Drottninggatan, offers student movies monday to thursday where you can see selected movies for only 60 kr.

Ica Maxi Universitetet has student wednesdays. That means that students gets 10% off on every buy.

With Taxi 24/7 (019­-247247) you can go from campus to town for only 100 kronor.

Get a bike! Örebro is a full on bike city, and sometimes it’s faster to go by bike than by car. Örebro is full of different gyms­ and exercisesfacilities. Read our gym guide at losnummer.se

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USEFUL SWEDISH

WORDS AND PHRASES HEJ Hi

Jag älskar Örebro!

I love Örebro!

HUR ÄR DET? How are you?

Lycka till på tentan!

Good luck with the exam!

DET ÄR BRA, HUR ÄR DET MED DIG? I’m fine, how are you?

Lagom Just the right amount of something, not too much and not too little

JA Yes NEJ Nej JAG VET INTE I don’t know Var kommer du ifrån?

Where are you from?

Var bor du?

Where do you live?

Vad pluggar du?

What are you studying?

En kopp kaffe, tack!

One cup of coffee!

Tentaångest The anxiety you can feel efore exams Timebeer The pub in Örebro Kårhus where the beer costs what the clock shows. You read it, 16.00 the beer costs 16 kronor. Don’t you just love student life?

Studentforum/centrum/city Studentforum. Studentcentrum. Studentcity.

Even the most experienced Örebro university student somethimes has a hard time distinguishing between these words. Let’s make it clear once and for all!

Studentforum - The universtity’s internet platform where you can find your schedule, your grades, course plans and much more!

Hur mycket kostar det?

How much is it?

Studentcentrum - The desk just inside the big entrance in Långhuset, where you hand in your take-home exams and manage other student-related bussiness.

Vill du gå på Timebeer med mig?

Do you want to go to Timebeer with me?

Studentcity - The student apartment buildning on Rudbecksgatan close to the city centre!

Vill du lära mig lite svenska?

Do you want to teach me some swedish?