Welcome Letter
Congratulations on your admission and welcome to Sweden, Lund and to the guild of Industrial Engineering and Management, the I-guild!
When you arrive you will get the opportunity to be a part of something called Nollningen! This introduction gives an insight into everything the guild has to offer. In this introduction you will get to know people at the I-guild and the other international students. Hopefully you will make friends for life!
Our lovely guild is run year after year by more than two hundred active students who ensure that the I-guild offers a top-class student life. The I-guild is one of the eleven guilds that together create the Student Union at LTH, Teknologkåren (TLTH). Our guild has about 25 different committees that plan events and offers everything from weekly sports activities to sittings (festive dinners), pubs, case competitions, company visits and much more. We also have one committee that plans events specifically for you, the international committee. They want to give you the best possible experience of our guild and Lund’s student life. We understand that this could be a lot of information but don’t worry, everything will make sense when you arrive. You will get an introduction to the school on “Registration Day”. If you have any questions about how the guild works or anything else regarding the student life, feel free to contact our so called World Master Julia Rosvall through vm@isek.se.
We look forward to meeting you this fall! Until then, have a lovely summer :)
The Explorers will be the name of your Phaddergroup for half of the introduction. Make sure to spend time with them, as they’ve been waiting all year to welcome you to Lund!
Hej! From one international student to another, welcome to Lund!
I know there is a lot going on right now, you might still be looking for housing, trying to make friends, figuring out how things work in Sweden. It might even feel a bit overwhelming, but from experience I can tell you, it will work out, and your time here will fly by, so don’t forget to take the time to enjoy all of it.
To try to make your adaptation a bit easier (more specifically about the welcome weeks at LTH-”Nollning”) let me tell you a bit about my experience: “In August 2021 I came to Lund as an exchange student. I had no idea what to expect. In most places in the world, lectures were through Zoom and there was not much student life going on. But Lund made the effort to be different (like it does every year).
I went to the LTH welcome meeting. At the end they introduced us to a student of I-sek who invited us to take part in something called the “Nollning”. To be honest with you, I had no clue what that meant.
They said it included a lot of welcome activities for the Freshmen and that it was a part of Swedish tradition. Part of me immediately thought: I have done that back home. It’s fun but I don’t need to be a Freshman again. Later when it was getting close to the time to meet for the welcome BBQ they had invited us to, I thought, what do I have to lose? I don’t know anyone here, at least this way I will meet people studying similar things. I might find friends. Let’s risk it and if I don’t like it I don’t sign up for the rest of the days.”
Well, after that first BBQ there was no question left; I was going to take part in the entire nollning. Everyone there was in the same position as me, all new to the city, wanting to make friends. And then the mentors are there, ready to welcome you to the place they already call home. It was so great that I would even end up coming back in 2024 as a masters student.
You might still be wondering what this “Nollning” is. So, let me give you a small perspective of it:
The Nollning is a Swedish tradition organised by the mysterious group of people called the Phøs (don’t expect them to be the most talkative). Its purpose is to welcome the Freshman, the Nollas (Zeros) as they call them. It’s the opportunity for people to meet the other students in their program. Well, lucky for us, they have adapted this experience to include an international group where we get to partake in this whole tradition.
You will be in a group with all of the other international students registered at I-Sek (some are exchange students, some are masters students). You will have mentors allocated to your group. Who are these mentors? They are other students that have already done their nollning (which can consist of a mix of Swedish students and some international master students).
During this time, you as a nolla don’t have to worry about much. You show up and each day there are different activities planned for the group. It might be games, cozy dinners, fancy dinner parties or themed events. The mentors take care of it. You just show up and have fun with the Nollas and with the mentors which quite fast end up being your friends.
It’s an amazing opportunity to experience Sweden as any Swedish university student. And let’s be honest it’s rare as an international student to have the chance to be a part of the university traditions and day to day life of the locals. It’s the time where you will make friendships, share laughs, and make incredible memories of your time in Lund. It is such a special time that I ended up doing it 3 times, and every time it was worth it. This whole experience is unique. The people make the difference and every year, both as a nolla as well as when I was a mentor, I ended up making new friendships that became a big part of my life in Lund.
My recommendation is simple: take the risk, even if it feels a bit overwhelming at first and then decide how involved you want to be. No matter if you are here for a semester or for two years, welcome to your new Swedish home. I hope it will be as incredible for you as it was for me.
Best wishes,
Daniel Freire
INUTI - THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE
Welcome to Lund, and welcome to the I-guild! My name is Sebastian and I’m head of the International Committee at the I-guild, also called InUtI. Me and the rest of the committee are very excited that you all are coming!
InUtI arranges several international related events throughout the year and most importantly we have a lot of fun doing it. Every year we organize a student trip to a secret destination and we also handle the relations with the European student network ESTIEM. During your time in Lund we will arrange activities for you and of course we will make sure you get to experience Swedish traditions such as crayfish party (”kräftskiva”) and the famous sport ”ölkubb”.
We are looking forward to meeting you and will do our best to make you feel at home in Lund.
See you soon!
Sebastian Janson
HEJ!
To participate in events arranged by the Student Union (TLTH) you need to
become a member of the Student Union. It's a one time fee and costs around 100 SEK.
Good Things to Know
Studentlund - Since LTH is only one part of Lund University, becoming a
member of Studentlund will give you a lot of opportunities to discover the
student life in Lund outside of LTH.
Transportation - In Lund most people get around everywhere by bike, you
can get used ones cheaply either around Lund or in the nearby city Malmö.
Course Literature - The books needed for your courses can be bought on the
campus bookstore, from an older student or by borrowing from one of the
libraries.
Payments – Most places in Sweden are cash-free, so if possible, make sure to bring a debit or credit card. We also recommend downloading PayPal or Revolut to make it easy to transfer money between each other when sharing expenses.
Clothing - Bring clothes for all weathers. The weather of Lund ranges
between freezing and a bit of snow (winter) to 30°C and sun (summer).
Communication - Most of us will use Whatsapp to communicate. If you don’t have it yet, it's recommended that you download it before arrival.
Useful Words
Nation - A student union not connected to a specific faculty. Anyone who is
a student at Lund University and a member of Studentlund can join.
Nollning - The introduction, a four week period of different events.
Nolla - A student being introduced during the first few weeks.
Ouvve - The overalls used by the students, mostly during introduction.
Every guild has its own colored overalls. We are bordeaux colored.
The International Committee - The committee that plans events for you ♥
World Master - International Coordinator. Each guild at LTH has one.