Master of Science / Umeå universitet
At the beginning of my Master, I decided to study abroad with Erasmus. I decided in favour of Umeå University in Sweden.
I am generally quite fond of winter, which is why I felt very comfortable in the snow that was there from November onwards. Otherwise, I would describe Umeå as a city that actually offers you everything, but doesn't feel like a big city, as you can get out into nature quite quickly.
The university receives a lot of exchange students and has very good support. As an Erasmus student, you can easily get a room in various university dorms. This way you can get to know the Swedish students who live in the dorms, but also many other exchange students.
There is also a buddy programme in which you are assigned to a group of exchange students and several Swedish or international "buddies". The buddies organise a few events (1-2 per week) and are also the people to talk to if you have any questions. This helps you to make friends quickly.
The Master courses are offered in English and are easy to complete. The lecturers were very friendly, always helpful and took into account that you have different levels of prior knowledge. My exams were all written and fair.
I took a language course from the TU before and during my stay; the university also offers language courses for exchange students. Of course, it's great to be able to speak Swedish, but I never found myself in a situation where I couldn't be understood in English.
The best way to get around Umeå (in my opinion, even in winter) is by bike (only 5 short trips). As a lot of students come and go, there is a large bicycle market. There are lots of cycle paths, which are also maintained in winter.
There is a fitness centre called IKSU relatively close to the university and most of the student dorms, which offers almost everything you can imagine. It's worth spending time there, especially in winter when it's dark outside all the time.
The autumn semester (as it is called in Sweden) starts at the end of August, when it is still quite summery. But then winter comes quite quickly. It was very cool to walk across the snow-covered and frozen lake where we were still swimming in August.
If you're lucky, you can watch the Northern Lights in Umeå, but you should always dress warmly enough.