Amarildo is a 25-year-old computer science graduate going to Sweden to pursue his Master’s degree in User Experience Design and IT Architecture at the jönköping university. He got a fully sponsored scholarship from the Swedish Institute. We talk to Amarildo to learn more about his expectations on Sweden.
How did you find out about the scholarship?
My friend and I listed all the countries that we wanted to visit. We then narrowed them down and searched the internet for scholarship opportunities in those countries. In the case of Sweden, I searched web portals like Sweden.se, universityadmission.se and the Sweden institute scholarship. I visited Sweden for a day when I participated on a 3-month exchange program to Finland during my undergraduate years.
How easy was the process of applying to the scholarship?
It is an easy process because all the information is readily available and well explained. The process, however, took us a year because of the time needed to gather all the documents, in particular documents that must be provided by third parties.
Why Sweden?
I appreciate Sweden because I am in the ICT field and I know that they have a great ICT ecosystem in Sweden. It is a country that promotes innovation and creativity. Sweden has a lot of incubation and acceleration programmes in which young people can work on their ideas and create products that can benefit society. It is a great place to learn about how innovation can take place, how you can grow your idea and make it work in the market.
So tell us more about your Master’s Degree?
I am going to pursue a Masters Degree in User Experience Design and IT Architecture. It is about how people interact with every kind of ICT solution and how to make ICT solutions more user friendly. It is also about developing ICT solutions that meet the goals of the organization.
What would you recommend to future applicants?
Start by looking at the website early to check if there are any changes to the requirements. Secondly, check your English, get the English language certificate as it is a crucial requirement and they make this very clear on the website. Thirdly, gather the required documents in time. Finally, make sure that you have a leadership spirit which can be proven, through a reference letter, by someone that has worked with you in an organisation, association of in the community for instance.
What three words pop up when you think of Sweden?
Snow (a LOT of snow), peace and innovation.
