Chieh-Ju
Chieh-Ju comes from Taiwan. He did his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a minor degree in Economics at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in Taiwan. His hobbies are tennis, biking, hiking - outdoor events.
What are the best aspects of your programme?
There are two aspects that I enjoyed a lot in my programme:
The first aspect is the three main elements in every Mechatronics course – labs, final project, and exam. With the plethora of hands-on opportunities, students have the chance to solve real-life problems with the theory taught in the courses, which further reinforce students learning outcomes.
The second aspect is the freedom of choice for elective courses. Besides mandatory courses, each student has 28.5 credits for free elective courses, which is about four to five courses. This grants the students the ability to customise their learning process and build up their most suitable and unique learning focus.
How do studies at KTH differ from your previous studies?
In my opinion, there are three main differences in terms of studies:
In Mechatronics, the programme has close connections and collaborations with the industries, which provides students with much more practical knowledge when learning as compared to my previous experiences.
At KTH, we do not dive deep into complicated problems or exceptions as compared to Taiwan. Most courses mainly touch upon the core concepts, while the main learning process comes from ourselves when we students solve lab assignments and final projects.
How is student life in Stockholm?
Besides study, I would say Stockholm is a suitable city for students to live in. One can easily access any part of Stockholm via public transportation - schools, shopping centres, cinemas, hospitals, tourist spots, etc. If one desires nature and tranquillity, one can easily find a place to hike in a forest, sunbathing on a beach, or kayaking on a lake. In winter, the snow decorates the city in a breath-taking way that one should never miss in their life.
How would you describe your time at KTH so far?
My time at KTH has been splendid. I have really expanded my knowledge in control theory, electronics, and machine learning for my study. The choice of being a KTH student is one of the best decisions in my life.
What do you want to do after graduating?
My short-term plan is to go back into Fortune 500 industries and work as a technical consultant upon graduation in Stockholm. Interacting with people and help them to identify and solve their problems has always brought me the most joy. My long-term plan is to become a project manager, utilise the experiences from the earlier years of my career, and lead my team to success.
What would you like to say to students thinking of choosing KTH for master's studies?
To the prospective students, I want to tell you that it is okay to feel nervous and uncertain during the application process. I have been there. The key is to focus only on the things you have complete control of, such as writing your CV and motivation letter and making sure that you don't miss anything at every step of the application process. Take advantage of the services that KTH provides, such as asking student ambassadors and programme coordinators. As a very important professor in my life once said "門不敲不會開", which means the door will only open if you knock on it. Once you have made your decision, you should put 100% effort into your application preparation.