Housing queue for new students

Just do as they say, and do it today

Don’t camp – apply for housing queues.

It’s complicated and it’s not: if you are new to Lund and want to have a chance at a cheap student room as offered by the student association housing agency (AFB), apply for the lottery (!) that will give you a better chance at a better room.

This is especially important if you haven’t gotten a room through the International Office. (Even if you have been offered a place through IHO, you can always apply anyway – it’s nice to have options.)

So click here and follow the instructions!

If it doesn’t work out, other housing venues are explained here – and don’t forget the Blocket boards, and be open to finding a place in nearby cities like big sister Malmö and little sister Dalby. Just watch out for scams!

Buying and selling in Lund

New page – trial run!

You too could be selling your wares! (Oil on canvas by Frederick Millard - 'Selling his Wares')

International students are special – they arrive with just a suitcase or two to try and have a somewhat normal life for a predetermined period of time. This means a lot of things need acquiring that will only be used for a few months or a couple of years, tops…

But then when it comes to finding stuff, Ikea is far, second-hand shops are hit-and-miss, Blocket is all in Swedish… And then comes time for selling, and Blocket costs sellers, papers fall/get ripped off/get covered by other ads when you post them on community boards, like at ICA or the AF building…

So why not set up a simple system for the direct exchange of stuff? The idea is just to have a place where people can let others know they want something or have something! This might make it easier, especially for those students leaving after one term to get in touch with those arriving in January! It doesn’t count a single krona to post or buy – you arrange directly between yourselves. Plus it keeps perfectly usable stuff from ending in the rubbish! That’s why The Dynamo created this Facebook page, and will just try and keep an eye out for spam and porn ads to keep things clean. The rest is up to everyone! 🙂

So start selling, buying, trading or giving away! 😀

Cheaper bus fares

Prices go… down?!

So our Swedish isn’t great, and you can’t trust Google translate, but it seems Skånetrafiken is giving us all a break?!

Figure it out for yourself here at Sydsvenskan!

 

Tuition fees for non-EU full-time students

“Tuition fee fallout”?

That’s what it says in the title of this article by The Local!

Less diversity, lower student quality due to fewer applications… If we believe this article, more bad than good is expected?

Time will tell! In any case, one quoted Lund student echoes what we’d concluded in our editorial in the October issue: “I understand why they are introducing the fees, but it’s really sad”…

New issue is out!

October Dynamo – soon all around Lund!

It’s here! The hot-of-the-press issue of The Dynamo is now out, thanks to the hard work and perseverance of an ever-growing team of volunteers and supporters!

Hard copies will be distributed in town, both on and off campus. If you’d like a sneak peak, you can find The Dynamo – Vol 2 Issue 4 right here in PDF form.

Change to Swedish monetary system

Take a good look, this has just become a collector's item!

The öre has retired?!

The Swedish 50 öre coin is officially no longer valid tender in Sweden as of, well, today.

Worth half a Swedish krona (so 1/2 SEK), the decision to stop producing it was made in 2008, with September 30th, 2010, marked as the last day on which the coin would be valid.

If you’re stuck with rolls and rolls of the coins, note you can exchange them at banks until March 31st, 2011.

In case you’re thinking this is a joke, it appears on the official Riksbank (the world’s oldest central bank) website. The Local has a detailed article complete with official yet humorous video commercials made by the Riksbank about the ‘retirement’ of the coin.

Sweden introduces tuition fees for non-EU students

Lund University one of the most expensive?

 

Swedish tuition fees will apparently be above the Continental European average, but perhaps more in line with Northern European countries'? Source: http://www.mastersportal.eu - Average international tuition fee for post-graduate eduation at the TIMES Higher Education Top 100 univerisities 2008, by region. Based on the exchange rate of 07/02/2009.

 

There are different hopes and fears at Lund University in view of the coming change in tuition fees for international (non-EU, Swiss, or Icelandic?) students wishing to come study in Sweden.

Some of these wishful or fearful views regard the relatively high fees set by Lund University, which surpass those decided upon by other Swedish universities such as Uppsala.

There’s an article (with the latest money figures by program or faculty) about this issue here, which features a few articles in prevision of the 2011 tuition change.

You can also find out a bit more in our previous posts on the matter, like this one or this one!
🙂

Housing crisis update

All is not well

There have been promises for future housing, but for now some are still desperate for a place to live.

With elections in Sweden this fall, local issues are becoming more and more political. Solutions and projects to alleviate problems such as the student housing crisis in Lund are being promised for the coming years (read here in Sydsvenskan, for example – yes, Google translated). And some are taking action in order to attract more attention (and quicker response) to things they feel are important: Skånskan reports that a dozen students barricaded themselves in a Salvation Army building (translated here), but that eventually the squatters left so as to not confront police (read here).

In their monthly newsletter for September, the Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor have reiterated Lund University’s intention to be able to promise housing to all accepted students, by building housing and having the right to rent to Swedish students starting January (full newsletter with this and other news in English here).

Unfortunately, not many long-term solutions are being provided for students currently in trouble.

Newsweek’s World Ratings

Sweden #3 overall

Happy to know you’re living in one of the best? Read all about it here.