If you happen to be one of the lucky ones accepted into KTH, chances are that you’ll be travelling into Stockholm in August. If you can, it’s best to come on the Arrival Days. This year, that means arriving on the 20th or 21st of August. KTH organises these days every year to make the first day as easy and nice as possible for international students. If you do arrive on one of the Arrival Days in August, here’s what to expect…
On my Arrival Day in 2020, I met my friend in Dublin Airport and we flew to Amsterdam first, where we started to see a lot of students gathering around. On the way to Stockholm we were sure that most of the people on the flight were new KTH students. There was a real excitement at Arlanda Airport, with so many students from all over the world flying in to start their new life at KTH. After living at home for so long, I was so happy to be meeting new people again, hearing about their homes and their travels.
At the airport we found the big blue KTH sign and found some friendly students there to welcome us. Buses travelled every hour to take students directly to the university campus. On the way, everyone had their noses pressed to the windows to catch their first glimpse of this new city.
I recognised the campus straight away from the photos on the website. When we arrived, all our worries and nerves were blown away. There was party music playing, free fika (the traditional coffee and cinnamon bun) and there were loads of KTH students around to help settle us in. The mood was good and everyone was happy to leave their luggage at the free storage space and start meeting some new friends.
After the coffees and snacks and chats, it was time to line up to register for your KTH Account and get your Access Card. This is all very easy to do on the Arrival Day, we could just follow the other students at the Entré and it only takes a few minutes. If you are staying at KTH accommodation, you can pick up your keys there too.
After all the travelling and meeting new people, I remember being so tired, but luckily Stockholm is beautifully sunny in August, so we could just lay down in a park and rest a while, before going off to find our accommodation and start nesting in to our new lives.
Check out the KTH website for more Arrival & Introduction information!
And the International Reception will also be starting earlier in August, so make sure to sign up for that if you want to get the very best welcome to Stockholm student life.
~ Declan