The Cusp

For those who may not know, Sweden had been offering to qualified students free education till 2011. Students that were accepted before fall of 2011 could have been from any part of the world as long as they fulfilled the criteria- proficient in English (as most program offered here were in English) and have a degree of merit in their chosen field of science. Free education meaning that there was no tuition fee, library fee or the microscopic texts along with it, the reason why Sweden has one of the most diverse student culture in all of Europe. Since 2011 some things had changed, for better.

Free education came with the modern flexibility then- being able to opt a parallel course alongside to what was a persons expertise & being able to take courses in any university in Sweden as long as you had the pre-requisites. I was one of the students that managed to get the foot in through the door to a room that was last free. The first term, I could have applied for any course, anywhere in Sweden.  Bear in mind, the only cost to be born by a student would then be travel and living. After the end of first term, a law was passed that students have to continue acquiring credits in the university that they initially accepted to. They were however lenient to the courses that they could apply to outside of their program. For a masters student, 120 credits were the end mark of his degree and if one chose to get credits more than 120, he/she would have to bear the tuition fee, which, mind you, is not nominal.

I would consider myself a  Zodiacal Cusp in this case who just managed to push through all the elastic obstacles while changing the program from Masters in Biotechnology to Biology. One could ask, " Whats the bloody difference!". Atleast, I did, only to realize that its only bureaucratic palaver. Oh yeah, the Swedes are notorious for their unconditional love to follow the rules. The actual problem came when I was looking to choose my final thesis project work to find out that I had registered for courses more than 120 credit mark, creating a notion whether I dropped out of certain courses or whether I was abusing the legislation. Also, the topic that I had chosen was in the Food science department and could be classed either under a major in Biology or Food science. Major in Biology was only available option for persons belonging to that region in between "free and fee". It was more than just a difference in one alphabet, I tell you. It takes time, but the Swedes are always just and benevolent.

Since last week I have started my thesis work in the same field as planned earlier, under the same Supervisor as agreed and its going swell! The preliminary title is, Evaluation of Beta-Glucans and Fructans in extruded bran from Wheat and Rye.  As confusing/far fetched as it may sound, its not, not when you have great support and confidence from the Food science team at SLU. You will hear more as the magic happens.