What Nino says about the Master's in Music, Piano

Nino  from Georgia

You can learn about Nino's experiences in the video below and by reading the interview. Note that these testimonials cover different topics so we encourage you to check out both. 

About the programme and the teaching style 

How did you find out about Lund University/this programme? 

"I found out about Lund University three years ago when I was studying my first year of Master's. I wanted to do an Erasmus programme and I found a list of the universities which we could choose from. This is when I saw Lund University and Malmö Academy of Music, and I saw some reviews and pictures. When I wanted to apply, they were not accepting applications from Georgia. I applied for another academy and I studied at the Latvian Academy of Music for one year. Then I still wanted to study outside my country, so I decided to apply to other academies and applied to Lund University."

What do you think about your programme so far? 

"I had some difficulties with my visa at the beginning, but I really liked my professor here and the atmosphere, that was the thing which made me survive!"

What is the best thing about your programme?  

"I have a lot of opportunities. We can play with the orchestra, have master classes, and we have a guest Professor from Finland. My professor is also very nice and I can get a lot of help from her."

What is your favourite course and why? 

"The programme focuses more on our practice time and developing as a pianist, so we do not have a lot of extra courses. I would say that my piano solo is my favourite thing."

Have you been able to gain any practical experience during your studies (so far)?  

"We did concert tours and I played with the orchestra. We had our first concert here in Malmö and then we went to Växjö, which is two and a half hours away from Lund. I also started to give solo concerts in different churches. Since there is a really big choir culture in Sweden, and especially in Lund, I play with choirs quite often."

What do you think of the teaching style at Lund? 

"It is absolutely different from where I come from. It is so interesting to see how another country works with teaching. First of all, everything is digital and you need to be busy also with the computer, email and Canvas in order to not miss anything. If you don't want to study, nobody will force you. In my country, it was not like that. I had lessons three times per week. But when you know that you have one hour-long lesson per week or every two or three weeks, you are more focused to take as much as you can from this hour and then you focus on how to develop yourself more and not how can you use each word that you get from the specific lesson."

How international is your programme?  

"Our Academy is not very big, but there are quite many international students. Everybody speaks English but now I'm getting to start learning Swedish!"

Thoughts on being an international student at Lund, spare time and tips for prospective students 

What it is to be an international student at Lund University? 

"It's fun because everybody is so interested in where you are from! I guess that Georgia is not as common as Italy or France, so everybody has more questions about it and its tradition and culture."

What do you do in your spare time? Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? 

"Not so much, because when we finish practice, we just want to go home and sleep! But it depends, not everybody is like this of course and when you want to do something there is always something happening, especially when it's good weather! Right now, you can just go near the water and just walk, run, enjoy nature and have some parties."

Do you have any advice for other students who are considering coming to Lund? 

"I would recommend going to all the activities which the university offers to meet people. An apartment in a student dormitory is a really nice option to socialise. I also suggest going to libraries, because Lund has really nice ones!"

What surprised you the most about Sweden/Swedes? 

"Before I came here, everybody was telling me that Scandinavian people are a bit reserved, but it was absolutely different once I reached here! Everyone is so helpful, they are ready to give you all the information they have."

To what extent does your degree programme prepare you for a career in your field? 

"Absolutely yes! My teacher shares a lot of her experience, and she gives us information and advice to be ready for our future."