Exchange Report: Stockholm School of Economics · Topics includes regression, panel data, event...
Transcript of Exchange Report: Stockholm School of Economics · Topics includes regression, panel data, event...
Part1–MonthlyActivityLog(excludingschoolactivity)
January
ArrivingStockholm
Exploringtheneighborhood
Attendingorientationactivities
Semesterbegins
February
TriptoUppsala,Lapland
March
1stperiodexam
April
TriptoBelgium,Netherland,Germany
May
TriptoGothenburg
June
TriptoItaly
2ndperiodexam
ReturningHongKong
Part2–GeneralExchangeInformation
VisaProcedures
StudentshavetoapplyforresidentpermittostayinSweden.Youcaneasilydoitonline.
1. Visitthewebsite:https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/Startpage.html
2. Applyforapermitforstudy
3. Fillintheapplicationformandsubmitrequireddocuments,suchasacceptanceletter,
insurancecertificate,bankstatement,copyofpersonalinformationpageinpassport.
4. Paytheapplicationfee(SEK1000).
5. Waitforanemailreply.
6. VisittheembassyinWanChaitotakeaphotoandscanthefingerprint.
7. Gototheembassyagaintopickupthepermit.
OrientationActivities
Before the semester begins, SSE organizes twodays for orientation activities. You should
make sure youarrivebefore theorientation.During theorientation, youwill be givenan
introductiononSwedenandSSE.YouwillhaveabustourtotravelaroundStockholm.Inthe
welcomingpack,youcanhaveaprepaidsimcardwhichyoucantopupanduseinSweden.
There will also be a pub night as orientation and you canmake new friends during the
orientation.
Accommodations
SSEprovidestwochoicesforstudentaccommodation:SaltisandLappis.
Saltis Lappis
Cost SEK4200amonthfordoubleroom
SEK6000amonthforsingleroom
SEK4000amonthforsingleroom
Location NearmetrostationRådmansgatan
2-minutewalktoschool
Bus:Line50fromStora
lappkärrsbergettoschool.
Metro: 10-minute walk to station
Universitetet
Facilities A small cooking area inside the
dorm, including a sink and a hot
plate.
Acommonroomon5/F
Acommonkitchensharewithother
students
Saltis:https://www.hhs.se/en/education/study-at-sse/housing/saltmatargatan/
Lappis:https://www.hhs.se/en/Education/study-at-sse/housing/lappkarrsberget/
CourseRegistration
Courseregistrationisdoneonlinebeforesemesterbegins(Youwillreceiveanemailwithlogin
information to SSE portal). Exchange students are allowed to choose amaximum of two
coursesandonelanguagecourseeachperiod(twoperiodscombineasasemester).Make
sureyouhavecheckedthecredittransferdatabasebeforeyouregisteracourse.Forfinance
students,youcanrequestUSTtoregisteryouasamasterexchangestudentinordertohave
morechoicesofcredittransfercourses(mostbachelorfinancecoursesarenoteligiblefor
credittransferinUST).Youcanalwayschangeyourcoursechoicebeforetheadd/dropperiod.
CoursesprovidedbySSE:
Bachelorcourses
https://www.hhs.se/en/Education/global-opportunities/student-exchange/exchange-bsc/
Mastercourses
https://www.hhs.se/en/Education/global-opportunities/student-exchange/exchange-msc/
Teaching&AssessmentMethods
TheteachingandgradingstyleissimilartoUST.Apartfromregularlectures,somecourses
alsorequirestudentstoattendseminarwhichisusuallyforfurtherpractice.Gradingconsist
of class participation, assignments, group projects, final exams. Re-exam is allowed for
studentswhofailthemainexams.
Personally,Itookthefollowingcourses.
1stperiodinspringsemester
4306–InternationalFinancialManagement
Itisamasterfinancialcoursediscussinginternationalfinancialtopicssuchasexchange
rate,measuringexchangerateexposureandhowtohedgetheexposure,riskinvolving
inforeigninvestments.Gradingonthecourseiscompletelybasedona3-hourfinal
exam.Classparticipationisonlyforgradeadjustment(Professorpromiseusinactive
classparticipationwillnotresultinlowergrade).
Ilovetheinteractiveteachingatmosphereofthiscourse.ProfessorisanItaliansoit
takesme some time tounderstandher accent. Sheuses case study togetherwith
discussionstobringupherideas.Studentshavetopreparethecasebeforegoingto
lectures.Otherwise,youcanfeelcompletelylossduringthelecture.Besides,jotting
notesduringclassiscrucialforexams.Sinceshediscusseswithstudenttocomeup
withtheexplanationtocases,shedoesnotpreparedetaillecturenotes.
4320–QuantitativeMethodsinCorporateFinance
Amasterfinancialcourseconsistsoftwodifferentpartsconductedbytwodifferent
professors.Part1isaboutcarryingoutMonteCarlosimulationinExcels.Youwilllearn
about determining project value under different condition and the value of real
options.Part2isaboutfindingcausalrelationsinafirm-leveldatawithRwhichyou
alsoneedsimulationtechniques.Topicsincludesregression,paneldata,eventstudies.
This is the most challenging course throughout my exchange but also the most
meaningfulone.
Youwillneedtocompleteintotalfourassignments(twoforeachpart)withapartner.
There isonlyone labsessionforeachassignmentsodonotmisstheseminar.You
havetoprepareyourquestionstoaskTAintheseminarsinceTAisnotgoingtogive
anylecture.Heistheretoanswerstudents’questionsonly.
2ndperiodinspringsemester
314–FinanceII:CorporateFinance
Thisisabachelorfinancecoursemostlyaboutcalculationtopics,suchascorporate
capitalstructure,payoutpolicy,firmvaluationwithleverage,mergersandacquisition.
ThecourseisrelativelyeasyforstudentsmajoringinFinance.Youcanunderstandthe
topicsbyreadinglecturenotesyourselves.SeminarsareconductedbyTAtodiscuss
exercisesgivenbyprofessor.Thegradeofthiscourseiscompletelybasedonathree-
hourexamwithmainlyquantitativequestionandafewqualitativeone.
743–QuantitativeMethodsforEconomicAnalysis
It isabachelorfinancecoursewithtwoparts:computerpartandmathpart.Tobe
honest,IthinkIdonotgetmuchoutofthiscourse.Mosttopicsarecoveredinthe
past during HKDSE and year one in UST. For the computer part, all lectures are
conducted inPC labs.Topics includepivottable,charts,sensitivity testandwhat-if
analysisinExcels.Youwillneedtobuyabookoflecturenotes.Theexamisfour-hour
computerexamwhichyouwillhaveplentyoftimetocompleteit.Forthemathpart,
topicscoveredaredifferentialequations,definiteintegrals,matrixes.Thecourseaims
tohelpstudentsapplycalculationstomodelfinancialmarketsbutprofessordidnot
connectthecalculationtothegoalthroughoutthecourse.Onlyprocedurestosolve
mathproblemsarecoveredinthecourse.
Sports&RecreationFacilities
Thereisnosportsfacilityinsidethecampusbutthereisagymnearby.Thestudentassociation
(SASSE)willorganizeregularpracticeforvarioussports.Youcancheckitoutontheirwebsite
andjointheactivitiesthatyouareinterestin.
SASSEwebsite:www.sasse.se
FinanceandBanking
Exchangestudentsstayinglessthanoneyeararenotallowedtocreatealocalbankaccount
soyouwillnotgetadebitcardformlocalbanks.
ElectronicpaymentisthemainpaymentmethodinSweden.Allshopacceptscardsbutnot
everyshopacceptscash.Hence,youwilluseyourcardextensively.Ifyouwanttowithdraw
moneyfromATM,makesureyouactivatetheforeignwithdrawalfunctionbeforeyoustart
yourtripandmakesureallyourcardsareattachedwith‘VISA’or‘PLUS’logo.
SocialClubsandNetworkingOpportunities
Again,thestudentassociation(SASSE)willorganizeeventsopentoallSSEstudents,suchas
seminarfromdifferentspeakers.Youcansignupfortheseeventsontheirwebsite.Amore
importantplace for exchange students to look for activitieswill be Facebookpageof the
Exchange Committee. They will organize welcoming and farewell banquet for exchange
students. You can definitely meet other exchange students there. They also organize
travellingactivitiesforexchangestudents.TherewillbeatriptoLaplandfornorthernlights
and other sightseeing tour to different countries. Youwill want to stay tunedwith their
updatesonFacebook.
Food
DiningoutinSwedenisexpensiveasyoumayhaveexpected.Yet,cookingyourselfdoesnot
costmuch.Personally,Ibuygroceriesfromsupermarket(Coop,Lidl)andcookinmydorm.
TherearesomeAsiansupermarketsnearstationHötorgetstation(oneinsidethestationand
twooutside).YoucanwalktothisstationfromSaltiswithin15minutes.
EvendiningoutisexpensivebutyoucanfindcountlessdeliciousrestaurantsinStockholm.
TheysellhighqualityfoodthatIthinkyouwillwanttogiveitatry,forexample,fishsoupin
KajsasFisk,roastedreindeerinKaffegillet,RolsKökrecommendedbytheMichelinguide.For
therest,Iamleavingthemforyoutodiscover.
Transportation
Airport
ArlandaAirport–YouwilllandStockholminthisairport.
To/Fromairport
1) ArlandaExpress:Thisisthefastestway(20minutes)totravelbetweenStockholm
centralandArlandaairport.ItwillcostyouSEK150forasinglejourney.
2) Bus: A cheaper way to go to Stockholm central but also slower than Arlanda
Express
SkavstaAirport–ThisairportspecializesinbudgetairlinelikeRyanair.
To/Fromairport
1) Bus:ThisistheonlywaytotravelbetweenSkavstaairportandStockholmcentral.
Itwilltakeyou80minutestoarrivethedestinationwhichcostyouSEK139.
WithinStockholm
Metroandbus:Youcanfindarouteplannerinhttps://sl.se/en/.
Climate
IfyouaregoingStockholminspringsemester,Januaryisthecoldestmonthinayear.Itcan
beaslowas-20°C.ItwillstarttogetwarmerinApril.Ifyouaregoingtoseethenorthern
lights,youshouldexpectanevenlowertemperature.
Communication
Duringorientationdays,SSEwilldistributeaprepaidsimcardwithnomoneyinit.Youcan
activatethesimcardbytoppingupyourcard.Ipersonallydidnotusethisprepaidsimcard.
Instead,IboughtasimcardinanothercountrytohaveEuropeandataplan(Vodafone).
InStockholm,youcanhaveWi-Ficonnectioneasily,likeinany7-eleven.InSSE,youcanaccess
to‘eduroam’.
Part3–Itemstobring
ü Residentpermit
ü Passport
ü Cashandcreditcard
ü Thickclothes
ü Adaptors
ü Businesssuit(forbanquets)
ü Laptopandchargers
ü Camera
ü Medicine
Finally,IenjoymyexchangetimeinStockholm.Ihopethisreportcanprovideyouwithmore
informationaboutSSEandStockholm.Ifyouareinterestedingoingthereandwantfurther
information,[email protected].