Gao Yuan, exchange Master's student

"What I like about tourism is the opportunity to experience different cultures"

New perspectives on leadership, more developed critical thinking and the experience of a whole new culture. These are just a few examples of what Gao Yuan gained from her time as an international student at Lund University’s Campus Helsingborg.

Gao Yuan swapped the intensive big city life of Beijing for the quiet, small town atmosphere of picturesque Helsingborg, to do the Master's Programme in Service Management, Tourism at Campus Helsingborg.

– My first thought when I got here was how small it was in comparison to Beijing! But I soon began to appreciate it. It was quiet and safe. Not at all like the hectic and stressful pace of life that you find in big cities, she says.

Gao Yuan tells us that the experiences she gained in Sweden is an incredibly good investment. Thanks to courses that tackle tourism management from the perspective of sociology or social anthropology, for example, she acquired a new and broader view.

– My attention was drawn to aspects which I previously didn't consider a part of tourism management. I gained a whole new perspective on leadership.

Besides traditional lectures and essays, her studies included a lot of discussion and group work - something that Gao Yuan had not experienced before.

– On one of our first days at the university, a lecturer told us that half the knowledge we would acquire would come from our fellow students.

Besides talks by visiting lecturers, Gao Yuan and her fellow students went on a three day excursion to the county of Småland. They visited the headquarters of the famous IKEA, as well as the so-called Kingdom of Crystal, the glass-producing district in Sweden with Orrefors and Kosta Boda at its centre.

– This gave me an insight into Swedish tourism and trade. I also got the opportunity to get to know my fellow students and lecturers properly.

• Master of Science Programme in Service Management, Tourism