What do our students think?

What's it like to study at the Department of Applied Information Technology? Hopefully some of our students can provide you with an answer.

Taiwo

Software Engineering and Management, Bachelor's Programme
 

My name is Taiwo and I am an international student from Nigeria studying at the IT University of Gothenburg. I stumbled into the IT University through a link on the Gothenburg University home page. I chose to start studying at the IT University because the school had my dream programme: Software Engineering and Management. I became convinced I had made the right choice when I saw the quality of students studying there.

My programme at the IT University is unique compared to similar programmes because you do not only get theoretical knowledge from doing school assignments, but also industrial experience from doing industrial related projects every semester.

In my first semester, together with five project group members, we developed a Dental Communication System. In my second semester, I was part of a group that developed a Leasing Management System for the IT University of Gothenburg. In this current semester, I am playing the role of the software architect in a project group where we develop an educational game for Göteborgs stad. Apart from the professional experience one get from studying in project groups, you also get to socialize with other students from a variety of different cultural backgrounds. The thing I find most unique and positive about the university as a whole, is the close relationship with industries and the quality of teachers, most of which have industrial experience.

I would recommend the IT University to anyone who is really interested in IT.

April

Software Engineering and Management, Bachelor's Programme

Youcan call me April, and I am a Chinese student studying SE&M programme at the IT University.

I started to study Computer Science in Denmark in 2004 and got a diploma degree. I heard about the IT University from one of my friends, who is studying at the same programme. I find the Software Engineering and Management programme very interersting, and Sweden is quite similar to Denmark which made it possible for me to get acclimatized fast. I had no experience of university studies before I came to Scandinavia. However, I may introduce more of my experience of studying here instead.

Our programme covers quite a wide area. We have courses in programming languages, logical theory, management, etc. Both in Denmark and Sweden we focus on working in groups, as in a real project, to practice our knowledge. Since a lot of non-European students come here for the first time, they may not really know how to participate in the groups. The more you communicate and share with each other, the more you gain. The IT University is growing steadily and more international students have been interested in coming here. The IT University has quite good facilities for students. Students are even free to choose courses from either the University of Gothenburg or Chalmers University of Technology. I know the IT University is trying it's best to evaluate and modify courses every year.

I am asked to give some recommendations to the future international students: If you want to apply for the IT University, you should be good at communication and make sure you are well prepared to work in a group. At my first day at the IT University the introducer said "university is not equal to school". Make sure you are able to plan and control your time of studying.

Best regards to everybody. We are waiting for you guys coming and enjoy life at the IT University.

Masur

Software Engineering and Management, Bachelor's Programme
 

I came to know about the IT University through Internet, and also through friends. I was a student of computer science in my country but I found my interest in software development and management field, I like to study in the professional way developing software, working with people. When I looked for higher education in Sweden, I was very much interested in Göteborg, Why Göteborg? Göteborg hosts many great companies like Volvo, Ericsson, Saab, etc., with many opportunities. The IT University is a collaboration of University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology with a good infrastructure and experienced talented professors. So, a student like me who aspires to pursue a successful career in the field of IT will naturally choose the university without any second thought.

My programme is Bachelor of Software Engineering and Management. We are taught about all the essential stages of a project and the various possible means of accomplishing those stages. We are also trained in project management, so that we can solve all sorts of problems which may arise during real time projects in the future.

We are assigned one project every term and the projects are done in groups of six or seven people. Each project has a theme which helps us to get varied knowledge, due to the face that we are employed in different real time projects. Some people find this system difficult because of lack of knowledge in the programming field. But with the help of the supervisors one can overcome that problem. The only thing that is needed is to focus and put in a great effort. Working in a real time project is fun, working in a group means friendship and sharing of knowledge.

In my home country, students do a single project at the end of their programme. This will never help them in real time projects, because, doing a project for six months will never earn the right essential knowledge of projects. So they have to undergo project training for six after finishing the education, before they can be assigned in projects. The IT University teaches and trains us in doing projects efficiently, so when we finish our programme we can enter the market directly. I think this is the right way to educate students. The idea of the free coffee is also good. The IT University campus is to me an example of modern study environment.

Giuseppe

Artificial Intelligence
 

Hi, my name is Giuseppe and I'm Italian. I arrived in Göteborg in August 2007 as an Erasmus Student at Chalmers University of Technology (Erasmus is a European Exchange Program). I was in my last year of the Computer Engineering Master Programme and as an Erasmus student I was able to attend courses in different Master programmes here in Göteborg. One course (Artificial Intelligence) was at the IT-University.

So my discovery of the IT University happened by chance. But it was very soon "love" and I felt myself at ease. In fact I decided to extend my exchange period from 5 months to 10 months to do my Master Thesis here! The professors were very friendly; the atmosphere very international, there were many facilities for students and the interior design was very accurate!

For me it was a new world when I felt that here in Sweden universities are "for students" and not only attended by students. Another new thing for me was the close relationship between the IT University and all the companies located here in Göteborg and the surrounding regions. During my education I was able to see in practice how the subjects I studied were applied in the real world, speaking with people from industry and from academia.

So, if you are thinking about studying here in Sweden, what I can say to you is that I am very happy to have chosen Sweden to conclude my study!

Christopher

Software Engineering and Management, Bachelor's Programme

I am Christopher, an international student from Cameroon studying Software Engineering and Management (International) at the IT University of Göteborg. I found out about the IT University through one of my former lecturers back home in Cameroon, who had been studying at Uppsala University - and also from and a friend, who was studying at Chalmers University of Technology. I equally got information from the IT University web site.

Some people ask me why I chose to study IT and second why I chose the IT University. Firstly, the IT University of Göteborg has a strong and internationally distinguished position as one of Sweden's best IT-universities. It keeps up high academic standards in international education and research activities, with English as language of instruction at the programmes. Secondly, there is no tuition fee at the university, which makes studying not so expensive. Lastly, but not the least, I do generally admire the hospitality of the Swedish people and the good teaching methods at the universities.

What do we do during project work? How do studies at the IT University differ from studies in my home country? During project work we work in groups and try to develop innovative ideas on real industrial problems in say distributive and embedded systems, developing our managerial as well as technical skills. The main difference between studies in my home country and at the IT University is that the studies here are goal-oriented. Each semester has a project theme which is very vital in shaping the students career choice and undoubtedly the development of their personal skills. This is quite different from the corresponding system of studies in my home country where project works are mainly carried out in the final year.

What is so unique and positive about IT University? The university has a fast expanding network of contacts with local and international research centers and industrial partners like Volvo, Ericsson, Semcon, Telca and Epsilon. This ensures that the training programmes are modern and offer excellent opportunity for practical experiences. The excellent student's facilities and a modern working environment with the wireless network and laptops cannot be left out. I would say students should choose to come to the IT University because of its goal and market-oriented study programmes, excellent student facilities, its multicultural and friendly university community and above all its highly qualified and industrially experienced lecturers who are very approachable.

I would recommend future students who plan to study at the IT University to study subjects that meet the admission criteria, have some basic programming skills and above all have an innovative mind and be prepared to work and exchange ideas with students from different countries, cultures and academic backgrounds.