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– The information we have been given says that an employee at the University was acting inappropriate during a dinner where both students and staff were present. Therefore the person was suspended, says the president of Örebro Student Union, Jacob Höglund.

An investigation has now been started by the University. The student union considers the reaction from the University quick and adequate.
– They have shown that the matter is taken seriously. The dinner was on a Thursday evening and the employee was suspended the next day, Höglund says.

The student union is now following the development of the situation.

Vampire. Last year’s Örebrospexet was about Dracula. Photo: Archive/Elin Atterstig

The show is called Wilhelm Tell or All you need fits in a barrel. The story is set in Europe in the end of the 13th century. Two brothers return to their home village after the crusades. They find that nothing is the same as they left it in the village.

The show will be played until March 10. The language is Swedish, but as the practice of student farces offers, the audience can always call out for chosen scenes to be played in English. Or in Swahili.

Photo: Martin Jonsson

Ahmad Shekho from the Master in Molecular Medical Biology e-mailed to his teacher after looking at the diploma of a senior, which was issued under the title of “Master of Science” with the explanation – ”Main field of study: Biology” instead of “Main field of study: Molecular Medical Biology” which is the program’s name.

Ahmad Shekho. Photo: Martin Jonsson

According to Ahmad, the different name can affect up to 40 students’ future careers.
– The title “Master of Science in the field of Biology” means nothing and it ruins my whole plan regarding future studies. When you apply for a PhD, other universities may only accept the title Molecular Medical Biology, Ahmad says.

His classmate Parisa Rabiei Far shares the same concerns as Ahmad. She says that she was shocked when first looking at the certificate.
– The title that I will be graduated in is the most important issue that affects laboth my career and starting a PhD later on.
She continues.
– My program’s name is the first thing why my PI considered to me for this project. Whenever I’m applying for a job, I mention my education in Molecular Medical Biology, Parisa says and she worries that employers will doubt the reliability of her CV when her diploma says different.

Shikha Acharya, who is trying her best to look for a job, says that the more specific their degree is, the easier it is finding a job.
– It would be a problem in a sense that it is a competitive world. While applying for the job, people tend to take employees with much specified qualification rather than mere biology.

Small letters
Ahmad’s e-mail and the concern of these students have been sent to the program’s representatives. In the response Ulla Stenlund, the student councellor from the School of Science and Technology writes:
– According to the Higher Education Ordinance as well as the Local Requirements for General Qualifications at Örebro University, the diploma will be named as ”Master of Science” and the additional smaller letters ”Main field of study: Biology”.

She also suggests that the detail transcript of the course and the program syllabus that more clearly explain the education can be attached with the certificate.
”It would be nice”

Asking the question to the responsible staff of the program, Lösnummer gets an answer from Professor Per-Erik Olsson the Vice-Dean of Faculty of Business Science and Engineering.
– The name on the diploma is a consequence of local regulations at Örebro university and not something that I can change. However, I do agree that it would be nice if the program name was on the diploma. We give the students a certificate that explains the program so that they can use it in their future career, Per-Erik says.

However, many students from the program says that they are still looking forward to a change that is more convenient to students.

“I really appreciate the open-mindedness”

The one who detected the most differences between the university system in Sweden and his home country is Larry Synclair, a 51-year old experienced journalist and university teacher from the United States who decided to take part in the global journalism Masters Programme.

– Apart from a different grading and rating system you have to submit papers on time in the US. Otherwise they are either not accepted by the professors or they are downgraded. In Sweden you normally do not have to fear consequences if you hand in a paper later.

With regard to the Swedish culture Larry actually sees more similarities than differences. This may be the reason why he felt at home very fast when he came to Sweden.

– I really appreciate the open-mindedness of the Swedes. Only at the beginning they can sometimes seem a bit reserved. They do not tell you everything about themselves or invite you to dinner straight away like an US-American would often do. But once they get to know you they are very friendly and cooperative.

Can Sweden learn something from the US regarding its university system? Actually, Larry has one proposal with regard to his Masters programme.

– I think there should be a greater focus on hands-on journalism than is actually the case. In the US we have more facilities like for example a radio-station where students can practice how journalism works in reality, Larry says.

“You should always be on time”

In Marcelo Cebukin’s case it was not just the beautiful Swedish nature or its culture that made him come from Brazil to Sweden.

– I am a music student. This year three other Brazilians and I took part in a special music partnership programme between my home university and Örebro University. I do not regret my choice because Sweden is a nice place.

When it comes to the Swedish university system Marcelo sees one main advantage:

– Here at Örebro University we have smaller classes and shorter lessons which I personally prefer. This may also be the reason why lessons in Sweden are usually more focused. We have two hour lessons in very big groups in Brazil, instead.

Furthermore, Marcelo likes the well-equipped practice rooms you cannot find to this degree in Brazil. But he can also see similarities between the two countries.

– For example the relationship between students and teachers is very similar: The mode of interaction is informal, the teachers are very open towards students.

Even if Marcelo did not have any experiences that were completely different to the Brazilian culture he had to get used to two things:

– I have noticed that Swedish people do not like it at all when you are late so you should always be on time. That is different in Brazil because there people arrive late for classes all the time. But perhaps that is due to longer lessons.

The second difference lies in the way people interact. Brazilians kiss each other for a greeting and they also tend to speak louder than the Swedes.

– In the beginning I felt a bit strange when I noticed that Swedish people have another behaviour in this respect. On the other hand, Swedish students told me to be myself and that it is interesting to get to know people from other cultures so I feel perfectly comfortable now.

“They often wear strange outfits”

When the private-law student Philippine Detournay from Belgium came to Örebro University last August she was positively surprised about the university’s organization.

– If you need information from the student secretariat you get an answer immediately. Instead at my home university you are often sent from one place to another with no one feeling responsible for your requests. Furthermore, we do not have such a well-organized orientation programme for exchange students as Örebro University has.

Like a lot of people from other European countries Philippine did not know the system of having one course that you finish during five weeks before starting a new one.

– In Belgium you have courses of different subjects starting during the same week. In the end, you have to write all the exams within one month. The way courses are taught is also different. I think the Belgian courses offer a clearer framework when it comes to what should be included in papers or the main goals students should know after a course.

On the other hand, Philippine appreciates the way physically impaired people are integrated into the Swedish university system:

– For example, you can see a lot of deaf people studying at Örebro University. At my home university I can only remember one blind male student who attends courses or seminars.

Despite all this, Philippine was far from getting a cultural shock when she came to Sweden.

Yet she detected subtle cultural differences: They reach from different creams in tubes Swedes put on their breads even in the morning to the way girls dress up for parties in the evening.

– In comparison to Belgium, Swedish girls tend to show more skin. In my opinion they also often wear strange outfits like for example a transparent black dress with orange underwear.

“People use far more gestures”

Coming more than 8000 kilometres from Japan to Sweden, Shogo Nakai has detected other differences:

– People use far more gestures and the way they speak is often very uncommon for Japanese people. In Sweden people try to discuss things when they do not agree on something. In Japan people tend to let the person decide who commands the greatest respect. If you start to argue that is regarded as impolite because you could destroy the group atmosphere.

Shogo also had to get used to questions of personal opinion as Japanese professors mainly ask comprehension questions to which you reply with a simple yes or no.

Furthermore, he was puzzled when a lady already working was sitting in one of his classes:

– In Japan it would be regarded as strange when a person older than 25 years would attend a university course. Everyone would think: What is he or she doing here? Why is he or she not working?

To the last question in which areas Japan can perhaps learn from Sweden, Shogo has a direct answer:

– I think it would be better if you got some money back when you recycle plastic bottles. That would raise the benefit to actually behave in an environmental friendly manner and not to simply throw bottles away.

As one of two programs having the priority of the university, Global Journalism program will have the extension in 2012.

– We will have one-year intensive program named Journalism Connected besides the current two-year one. The program is designed for students with different backgrounds who want to transfer to journalistic career, Peter Berglez, who is also in charge of the one-year program, shares with Lösnummer.

Peter Berglez. Photo: Archive/Veronica Svensson

According to Berglez, the one-year program will provide students the practical approach to journalism with global perspectives.

Strengthen cooperations

Not having many changes in academic curriculum, the Economics and Applied Statistics programs will strengthen the cooperation between universities, especially in China where a large proportion of their current students come from.

– These universities have had relationships with us for years and choose students not only from their universities but also from the rest of China, Anders Edfeldt, the program coordinator, says.

Open-day for visits

A PR campaign has run for the upcoming year in Robotics and Intelligent System. According to Federico Pecora, the program coordinator, the information about the program will be sent to both universities in Sweden, other EU’s countries and companies throughout some mailing lists in Internet.

An open-day for Swedish students to visit labs, and meet lectures, will be held to support them to choose the program for their higher education. Parallelly, some changes in curriculum are applied to meet students’ needs.

– The Probablistic Robotics, which studies how to make robots sense the environment, will be added. Moreover, some subjects will be re-arranged among semesters.

INTERVIEW. Last week the 22 years old Hamdija Begovic debuted with his novel Barira. The book is about how drama and love is dealt with in a muslim society in Sweden. It’s probably just the sort of story that is not in many of the literature shelves in the libraries. And it was at the library of Örebro university where Hamdija sat and wrote his great work, slowly but surely. Last week he did his first interview.

Photo: Rebecka Boman

Lösnummer meets the young student and writer one early afternoon at the Krakafoajé right after lunch. The sun is shining outside the building, but it is still chilly. Hamdija Begovic greets us with a warm smile and a quick handshake, and then sits down in the comfortable sofa.
– I have always liked to read, but I never had the ambition to start writing myself, he tells us and looks thoughtful.
It was right after graduation that he started to write the book. Then he was just 19 years old. That was when he realised something was missing. He gesticulates while he continues.
– I discovered that there was not that many muslim surroundings in the literature, even though I would have liked to read books like that. I could either wait for someone to write about it, or write my own book. Nowadays there is much talk about muslims, so I felt that it was time for such a book to be released.

Hamdija Begovic. Photo: Rebecka Boman

There seemed to be a public interest for precisely that subject amongst the publishers. The first draft of the script Hamdija sent to Bonniers and got a positive response.
– They thought it was good, but not ready yet. I agreed with them since I was in quite a rush when I wrote it. I sent the second draft to several publishers and Notis was very quick to respond and contact me. Everything went very smoothly.
The interest that Notis förlag showed for the script was something special. Usually it takes longer time to get your book published, but Hamdija’s skillfull way of writing and the public interest in the subject caught the attention. Just a year after the novel was finished he makes his debut.
– Naturally it feels fun to be a debutant. When you start to write you don’t think that it will lead anywhere. But during the time, I have gotten used to the thought that it is actually happening, he says and smiles a little.

There was a lot of inspiration for him because he had grown up in such surroundings in Örebro that his book describes. He gladly shares his thoughts on the subject and you can see that he is really passionate about it.
– I wanted to write about muslim surroundings. But the question was, how? How could I depict the Swedish muslims society? The solution was through drama and love.
Hamdija studies sociology in the university and have also read a course in scientific literature that helped him with his writing.
– I came in contact with different kinds of books and writers. That way I gathered a lot of knowledge and experience that helped me a lot when I was writing.

If you read about the book on the publishers homepage, you get the feeling that it could be a best-seller. Hamdija though does not believe that he will be famous.
– Sure it would be fun, but it is nothing I am expecting exactly. I will write more in the future, but the most important thing for the moment is that I am done with my degree. I want to be a social scientist.

Translation: Mathias Hallgren

Foto: Jonatan Elsgard

– People do not close the freezer properly so the food goes bad. They also leave rotten milk in the fridge. The oven is covered with burnt food and indefinable liquids, says a Polish exchange student about her kitchen.
For a lot of people these circumstances would suffice to get annoyed but actually the situation for Dorottya Losonczy is even worse:
– I had food stolen from my freezer twice. Furthermore, some people do not clean the kitchen even if it is their turn. If you put up notes and ask them to fulfil their cleaning duties the notes are simply ignored.

The situation has improved
Even if not many complaints are made to Öbo they have some measures to deal with these problems.
– First we send out messages and ask the people to keep the kitchen clean. If this does not help, we arrange a corridor meeting to talk about the problem. The very last step would be the cancellation of the apartment contract, says Mattias Looström, Öbo district chief for Brickebacken and Studentgatan. Although he can understand people are annoyed with the kitchen problems he thinks the situation has improved.
– In 2000 we made an agreement with the students that they clean their kitchens instead of sending a cleaning company every week. Actually, that makes them feel more responsible.
It seems like one has to hope for a sense of social behaviour in every person living together with others in a corridor.

Foto: Jonatan Elsgard

The interview is on sa Friday in the Bärseback bar. It is 5 pm and there are not many people in the bar, but I can see beer, or “öl”. Beer on signs over the walls, beer on the tables and in the hands of the overallare. Colorful overalls and beer make the scenery in Bärseback on all Friday nights.

Mathias Hallgren started wearing the overall six years ago. Like other technical and mechanical section students, he wears the purple one.
– As far as I know, the overall appeared in the 1950’s. There are many theories about it but we cannot know the true story, says Mathias.
The purple is one of five colors selected to represent different academic sections in the university.
– I began my studies at the university in 2007 and I joined Overallare in 2008 when I started as a ”fadder”, a senior student helping a freshman. Most of the fadder crew have their overalls, Niklas Hammarström, another mechanical student, tells Lösnummer. He, today, owns a purple overall with about 200 patches from sections, or friends.
One year later than Niklas, Andreas Karlsson, started collecting patches and up to now he has 130. His costume is unique with colorful patches, badges, key rings and even a tiny teddy bear.
– I thought it was fun and I had to have it, Andreas explains his outfit.
Natalie Kinnunen, who is a psychology student, personalizes her red overall with lace and her name stitched with pink polka dotted fabric. She has worn an overall since this February and gathered approximately 20 patches, among which there are some patches from her summer vacation at Visingsö.

Cultural. Lösnummer’s reporter tries the purple overall. The outfit is pretty heavy although there are not too many patches and badges on it. Foto: Jonatan Elsgard

A basic overall without patches costs 450 SEK and each patch costs 20 SEK. Technical students in purple overalls also have purple velvet hats, which costs 450 SEK. The hats have a tail with knots, which reveal academic level. It can also show if someone has an elected position in the section, and belong to the administration board. Students, who want to join the Overallare, can order an overall via the section and evenually pick it up at the section office. Patches are sold by sections and made by students.
– I designed one and sent the design to a company named Patches-Atmax to make it, says Niklas and points to a Halloween patch on his overall.
According to Mathias and Niklas, hundreds of students at Örebro University have an overall although not all of them are active in the group. They associate with a large number of other overall groups around Sweden.

The overall members are easily recognized among other students and look mysterious to international students. With the overall comes many myths.
Is it true that you never wash an overall?
– We are not allowed to wash the overall like other clothes. However, you can wash it only when you take a shower with it, Mathias shares.
He also confesses that his mother washed it once and he has not informed anyone about it. Although patches seem to be arranged randomly on the overall, there is a basic order. Placing on the overall can actually tell you more about the wearer than you could expect.
– My nickname is stitched on the back, the section logo is above the pocket on the right and the programme patch is on the left, Niklas says while we “read” the overall. This position, however, is set in Örebro University only. The rules may differ between universities.

Apart from common patches, some of them can even show achivements of the owner. Mathias proudly shows two yellow-white patches with a logo of a cup of beer.
– To get one of these patches, you have to drink three beers in 15 minutes. If you can drink four beers in 15 minutes, you can get the second patch. I got two and I will try to drink six beers in 15 minutes to get the third one, he says.
The overall may also have some parts in different colors. If you have a overallare ”sambo”, a cohabitant partner, you would swap collars. If you just change a part of sleeves into another color, it will be interpreted as you kissed with a member of that color group.

Like a patch on an overall, the Bärseback bar and overallare friends have colored the campus and inspired the college life.
– International students are welcome to visit the bar and, of course, to wear the overall if they like to. We have one exchange student wearing it now, Mathias says.
And let’s imagine how an overall can contribute to your Swedish college experience.

Facts

• Colors of overalls vary with each section and they may be changed over time. It is black for law students, red for social science students, blue for the nursing students and grey for the students of economy.
• Bärseback, which used to be a bike garage, opened for overallare in 1993. Bärse in Bärseback means beer.
• All couches in Bärseback, except the blue corner one, were donated by overall friends.
• The weekly party starts at 5 pm on Fridays. Free entrance.

Moved. Cornelia Liebl returned to Sweden after her semester as an exchange student at Örebro University. Photo: Private

It was about two years ago when Cornelia decided to leave the mountaineous country of Austria in order to return to the flat landscape of Örebro.
– I wanted to go back to Sweden where I had spent a fantastic year as an exchange student, the young woman explains her decision and continues:
– Furthermore, I really like the Swedish way of working and I love the culture.

Apart from the famous “fika-break”, it’s primarily the way people treat each other Cornelia appreciates:
– People take more time to exchange views and information. The working atmosphere is more relaxed and open.
Cornelia first worked with a research project at the University. Thanks to her language skills in German, English and Swedish, she later got a fulltime job as an interpreter at a company in Sweden. There, she now also takes over other responsibilities such as the coordination of projects and insurances.
– However, I’m still doing some voluntary work for the sports association at the University, adds Cornelia with a smile.
She likes the dynamic atmosphere of this place.
– When I studied here, I appreciated the personal contact between teachers and students whereby I could develop my personality further.

Despite her positive experiences, Cornelia does not believe that a lot of exchange students try to find a job in Sweden after their studies.
– Firstly, it’s harder for immigrants because they naturally do not master the Swedish language as well as a native speaker. Furthermore, unemployment rates among young Swedish people are relatively high. Thus, the competition for jobs is fierce.
That Cornelia found a job is also due to the fact that she knew the language.
– I could already speak Swedish very well and I had the right qualifications at the right time when I returned to Örebro.
Instead, the common perception among foreigners that it takes a bit longer to establish friendships in Sweden did not discourage Cornelia in her decision.
– I know that some people say that Swedes seem a bit reserved, at least when you meet them for the first time. But once a Swedish person lets you in, it’s normally forever.

Atmosphere. The working atmosphere in Sweden is more relaxed and open according to Cornelia. Illustration: Marcus Johansson

So, exchange students or immigrants might just need some patience in establishing lifelong relationships with Swedes. To the question if she would recommend working or studying abroad she has a definite answer:
– Of course, I would advice it to other students. It is the best way to learn some new things about yourself and to become more confident. I also recognized that I was more mature when I went back to Austria to finish my studies.

What the future will bring? Cornelia does not know for sure. For the moment she does not intend to return to Austria, also because she admires the Swedish culture and the landscape.
– I love to do sports in the often untouched nature and I love to experience the seasons here: The long white winters, the lush green spring, the light summers or the colourful autumns. They are simply breathtaking.

And with Cornelia talking so enthusiastically about her new second home country you can understand that she does not want to leave it.