Hello everybody and welcome to this new post! Today, I want to introduce you to KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden’s largest technical university and one of Europe’s top technical universities!
What is KTH?
KTH (Kungliga Tekniska högskolan) is a Swedish university specialised in technical subjects like Engineering Sciences, IT, Architecture and Communication. It is the Swedish largest technical university, counting around 13.000 full-time students, 1500 PhD students and 600 professors from an incredible variety of backgrounds and scientific fields. KTH is ranked 24th in Europe and 73rd in the world according to QS World Rankings 2024, and 33rd in Europe and 97th in the world according to Times Higher Education Ranking.
KTH has five main campus, spread in and around Stockholm, and the main campus is located just outside of the city centre. Stockholm is an incredible city, a European capital with all the services, culture and entertainment, but surrounded by endless nature and water. It is full of internationals and it’s almost easier to hear English rather than Swedish when walking in its streets. You can read more about it in Sai’s last post on five facts about Stockholm!
What can you study at KTH?
KTH offers 63 Master’s programmes in all scientific fields: Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Communication, Architecture and Built Environment… everything revolving around science and innovation has a place at KTH. In particular, KTH research focuses mostly around sustainability. The university was ranked 46th in the world in THE Impact, a global ranking that assesses universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainability is also one of the key pillars of Sweden as a nation, and tons of resources and attention are addressed every year towards fighting climate change and developing new, cleaner technologies. Sai talked about KTH research and labs a couple of weeks ago on the blog! Also, almost all KTH programmes offer you the possibility of talking to a student and ask her/him questions about the programme and life in Stockholm.
All of KTH Master’s programmes are taught in English, as well as one Bachelor’s programme in Information and Communication Technology. In general, Swedish people speak really good English, so knowing Swedish is not a requirement when moving to Sweden – this doesn’t mean that it’s not fun to try and learn it!
For studies starting in Autumn 2024, applications to KTH are open until January 15, 2024.
KTH lifestyle
At KTH, and in general in Sweden, work-life balance is really important. A great emphasis is put on the individual, and no emphasis is put on competitivity and rankings, but rather on collaboration and teamworking, which are essential for a university that relies so heavily on project-based learning. Also, student life is really valued at KTH, with tons of student clubs, events and places to hang out with your fellow students, helping you to bond and create a network of awesome people around you!
Communication with the professors is honest and open, and they are considered your peers – you even call them by their first name! They are always ready to answer your doubts and questions, and are top-tier researchers in their field. This means, for instance, that if you wanted to collaborate with them on some projects and gain hands-on experience you can simply contact them and they will be able to help you out and maybe make you join their research group! This contributes to a great sense of community that characterises KTH.
We have written a lot of blog posts on academic and student life on this blog, and I invite you to browse it using the “Categories” tab on your right to find out more. Cost of life, student clubs, a typical semester… whatever your doubt, we have you covered!
This is all for today. In the next few weeks KTH will organise many webinars, focused on the different KTH Schools and programmes. You can read about the next upcoming webinars here, and you can watch the recording of “This is KTH” webinar on Youtube. Also, you can check out my previous post on why I think KTH webinars are great!
Before leaving, don’t forget to check out Sam’s post on how to choose the best Master’s programme for you – I am sure you will find it useful since KTH applications are open!
Have a great week!
// Lorenzo