International Student Reception – What a Whirlwind!

By: Tetiana Poliakova

This year, a crisp and sunny Sunday afternoon in mid-October brought us little more than just perfect weather for a walk and gorgeous scenery for Instagram-worthy pictures. October 13th was a special day with an incredible afternoon full of new faces, fun speeches, tasty fika and plenty of exploring. But wait, what is this grand event that I’m talking about?

Every fall, the City of Stockholm hosts an event to welcome all international students to their new student city. 2019’s event was not an exception, and we had such a blast.

Quick facts:

Tickets are distributed for free on a first-come, first-served basis. Look out for more information from your university when the time comes!
The event is held annually at the Stockholm City Hall, which normally only can be visited by booking a guided tour.
Around 500 international students are invited to the International Student Reception each year.
Includes fika and mingle in the Golden Hall.
Followed by a pub evening at the Nobel Prize Museum.

The pub evening is something I would like to reiterate about because it was absolutely fantastic. The fun event started with all of us walking cheerfully to the Nobel Prize Museum. Can you imagine having the whole museum all to yourself and your friends? I definitely felt like a VIP entering the museum from the back, being greeted by welcoming museum staff, as well as being offered a complimentary drink and a delicious slice of pizza.

There were a couple of entertainment options during the evening:

On the way to Pub evening, we passed by the beautiful Riddarholmen Church.

A mingle session with your old and new friends! I don't think this one requires any more commentary.

Explore the Nobel Prize Museum for free! Usually, you would have to pay 80 SEK as a student for a visit.

A chance to win a gold medal... made of chocolate! We filled out a quiz given by the museum staff, and got a treat!

Participated in a creative workshop making ducks out of Lego. Everyone had a very unique masterpiece in the end, despite having same goal in mind!

Finally, a unique opportunity to be involved in a Q&A session with Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly and Nobel Committee at Karolinska Institutet - the same committee that decides on the Nobel Laureate in Medicine & Physiology every year!

If you are one of the students who visited the International Student Reception, I hope you enjoyed it! If you are a prospective student, we hope to see you there next year!