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Michigan State University
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East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: 517-355-4720
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Summer 2006 Study Abroad: Biobased Renewable Energy Systems in Sweden
By: Joy Wang, graduate student, biosystems and agricultural engineering
This summer was the first year the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering offered the Biobased Renewable Energy Systems study abroad program in Sweden. It was not a difficult decision to attend the program with my interests in environmental sustainability. The application process was easy and with the availability of scholarships through the College of Engineering, the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, and the Study Abroad Office, there was little reason not to go.
Arriving at Simrishamn , Sweden with luggage in tow. (click to enlarge)
The program began once everyone gathered in Stockholm, Sweden. We quickly oriented ourselves to the city and began taking classes at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH).
Through the classes, we learned about various renewable energy systems, including biobased energy. Lecturers from the university taught us about the history, culture, and policies of Sweden that allowed it to heavily promote renewable energy. Others gave us a broad view of energy sustainability, applied not only to Sweden and Europe, but the world. Since Sweden supplies a substantial amount of its energy from biomass, there were many opportunities for field trips to sites where the technologies were being used.
Field Trip to Hammerby Sjöstad - Explaining the greenroof. (click to enlarge)
After two weeks in Stockholm listening to lecturers at KTH, the program took us southward. There, the frequency of field trips increased as we visited biomass power plants, specialized farms of fast growing genetically modified willows, and other real life applications that we had learned of at KTH. It also provided us an opportunity to speak with the individuals running the systems and to obtain their viewpoints of the technologies. During that time, we also visited white sand beaches and old stone castles, stood mesmerized by the Baltic Sea, and stared in awe at trailing sunsets lasting long into the night. During that last week, Dr. Srivastava and Ms. Elaine Johnson did a terrific job of incorporating cultural trips into our excursions, making the trip all the more enjoyable.
The study abroad trip was an amazing opportunity to better understand an area of the world that I had little previous knowledge. Instead of being just tourists, the program gave us the opportunity to truly live in Sweden, if only for a short three weeks. There, we shopped in the grocery store with locals and took the subway with the daily commuter crowd. We were surrounded by a different language, even though English was widely spoken, and we saw a truly different way of doing things.
The program challenged us to further our global understanding. Canadian students and another student from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania joined students from MSU. At KTH, we took classes with a group from Palestine and another from Moldova. During breaks and bus rides, we had the opportunity to chat with them and learn of their world views. During the weekends, many of them joined us for cultural activities and exploration of Stockholm. Many friendships were formed during the program, many of which carry on.
Though I learned much about sustainable energy systems from the program, the memories that come to me first are about not KTH lectures, but about the cultural immersion and the great people met along the way.
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