Robin Herbert
ImagePrivateA summer vacation! In August 2016, I travelled from Germany to Nordkapp in Norway by motorcycle, through Norway on the way up and through Finland and Sweden on the way down. I stayed one night in Umeå on the way down, so I actually came to Umeå from the North the first time I was here. This vacation was probably the best vacation of my life and I literally fell in love with Scandinavia just because of the landscape and nature. After I got home, I just decided to apply to several study programs all over Norway and Sweden and it just happened that I got accepted in Umeå.
Correct, at the time I was about to finish my bachelor studies at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. It was quite clear to me that I wanted to continue with a master program, so I applied for different master programs that were in the field of my specialization – innovation management. The master program in business development and internationalisation at USBE was therefore a good fit for me.
There was not one big reason but it was a combination of different reasons. The first reason was probably that I got an insight into who works and how people work at USBE. These aspects were simply a million times better than at any other university I had seen before. Especially the working conditions and the independence of PhD students.
Another reason was that I had always been interested in conducting research myself, but not at any price. In other words, I wouldn’t have applied at any university, but as soon as I saw the job opening at USBE, it was clear to me that this is my chance. Another reason was that I have had the time of my life in Umeå as a master student and I just didn’t want to leave that life, that feeling behind.
It’s very hard to name a single thing, but I’d probably say it’s the fact that the population density is so low in Umeå. In other words, I always have the possibility to be alone, wherever I go. I just need to run 3km away from my apartment to Grössjön, and I feel like I am the only person on the whole planet. There really is pure wilderness just outside the city. On the other hand if I want to be around people, there are also many possibilities. But to be able to choose between social life and being alone is an incredible luxury. Where I grew up in Germany, it is basically impossible to be alone outside the house, even in nature, because the population is so dense.
No, Swedish was super easy to learn for me. That has to do with the fact that it is a Germanic language, so it’s like a cousin to German and English. Sometimes it is really just a mix of English and German, with a different pronunciation. The other reason why it was easy for me to learn Swedish is because I speak many languages, and the more languages a person has learned before, the easier it is to learn a new one. But even without a language background, I think Swedish is easy to learn, there are no conjugations or special declinations. Sometimes the pronunciation can be a bit tricky, ever been to Växjö?
The first time I moved to Umeå was in August 2018, so more than four years ago. But I moved away and back several times, so within those four years I have been here for about two years in sum.
You like winter? You’ll love Umeå. You like winter sports? You’ll love Umeå. You like the bike as your main means of transport? You’ll love Umeå. You like nature and remoteness? You’ll love Umeå.
Umeå also is a special place in the sense that it is unknown outside the country, it is kind of adventurous to say that I live in a place nobody has ever heard of. I still feel like moving to Umeå, moving to the unknown, was an adventure, and it was a great one. I would also like to add that USBE is a very international place where you meet people from all around the world, so moving to Umeå is the opposite of isolating yourself, even though one may think so initially. In the end, the most important advice to young international students from me is to dare and to try.
The world is out there and it’s out there for you, and you will never find out how it is unless you go and discover it.