Written by Hamzah Dzikri Fadliansyah
In this digitalized era, everything is handy. You just need to click and scroll everything through your mobile phone to operate everything. Some essential things can be done remotely by using your smartphone. Speaking of which, Sweden is one of many countries where everything is all digitalized. As international students living in Sweden, this fact may surprise you. Fear not! I will tell you 11 mobile apps international students in Sweden must have, which can let you immerse with the lifestyle of this digital society.
Canvas
First of all, as you are studying here, the mobile app that should be downloaded first is Canvas. Although some universities have their own online platform, Canvas is widely used by most universities in Sweden. At least, at my university, we use Canvas to access all the school materials and course resources. With this app, you can check our schedule, the venues, lecture notes, video tutorials, and many other things. In Canvas, you can also submit assignments and receive your grades. Sometimes, in addition to email, the faculty also send us announcement and messages through Canvas.
Zoom
Since the pandemic started, everything has been conducted remotely, including teaching-learning activities. Therefore, the universities provide students with a free premium Zoom account to accommodate this. We mainly use the Zoom platform at my campus for attending lectures, presentations, webinars, and many academic activities. Just log in with your university account, and voila! You can use it as much as you want. You can also use Zoom for other purposes, such as group work with your peers. However, you should also note that maybe some universities have different platforms similar to Zoom for teaching-learning activities.
Studenkortet & Mecenat
When you join a university nation, you will receive both digital and physical cards from the student organization. These cards will enable you to get student discounts and access student events. In the app called Studentkortet, you just need to register to one of the student nations at your university. You will then be asked to login into the Studenkortet app. Once the digital card is ready in the app, you can check all of the student discounts there, including clothes, sports equipment, flight ticket, and of course, food!
Another mobile app international students in Sweden must have similar to Studentkortet is Mecenat. If Studenkortet asks you to register to a student nation at your university, Mecenat does not need that. You just need to register yourself and put your personal details there. It is free, and you can also access some student discounts!
Facebook is starting to lose its users in my country, especially for young people. However, in Sweden, Facebook is one of the important mobile apps international students in Sweden must have. Most of the students in Sweden use Facebook to communicate with each other. They also hold some events through Facebook. For example, my classmates coordinate a Facebook group for our program. They share a lot of information there. So, if you do not want to be left out, you should install the Facebook app and its Messenger on your phone.
Moreover, you can also check out the other Facebook groups or marketplace in your city. Some people post good kinds of stuff there and sell them at a very good price. It is a very great deal for students of course.
Tiendeo
Next, you should also install Tiendeo. With this app, you can browse different catalogues for ongoing discounts at varied shops in Sweden. The catalogues are updated frequently. You can check a wide range of products from all types of stores, such as clothing shops, book stores, and grocery stores. As international students or students in general, who does not love discounts? We tend to save money as much as possible, and this is our chance to get things we want at a low price.
Karma & Too Good To Go
Speaking of food, the next mobile apps international students in Sweden must have are Karma and Too Good To Go. Those two apps are mobile platforms that help grocery stores, restaurants, and cafés sell food at discounted rates. This is done to reduce food waste! So, instead of throwing away the surplus food, the restaurants sell it through the apps. You can buy the food directly via mobile apps as a takeaway. By doing this, you also contribute to a sustainable way of living. It also enables us to eat good food at an affordable price eventually.
Swish
As I mentioned before, everything in Sweden is digitalized, including its payment method. Many stores use Swish as a payment method. Swish is a useful mobile app for making online payments. This app is fast, secure, and widely used in many stores in Sweden as a local alternative to card payments. To use Swish, you should have a Swedish BankID first. How to open a Swedish BankID? Check this article to find out the way!
Transport Apps
Transportation is an important part of living in Sweden. Swedish people tend to use public transportation for mobility. Thus, there are a lot of mobile apps to accommodate your travel around the country. Different provinces in Sweden have their own public transportation mobile apps. For example, Skånetrafiken in Skåne, SL in Stockholm area, Västtrafik in Västra Götaland, and so on and so forth. Many of those apps offer daily to monthly tickets. You can access train, bus, ferry, or other modes of vehicles using the apps within the same ticket. Just check the regulation of the ticket to make sure! Other than those apps, you can also use the SJ application. SJ allows you to purchase tickets to travel for long-distance trips.
Duolingo
The last mobile app I would like to recommend to international students in Sweden is Duolingo. Living in a country where you do not speak their language is challenging. So, you need to adapt by learning their language as well. Duolingo is a suitable app for learning Swedish. In fact, Swedish is the language most learned in Sweden on the Duolingo app. It is because foreigners, immigrants, expatriates, and international students mainly use the app to learn Swedish.
Those are 11 mobile apps international students in Sweden must have. For your information, some of the apps I mentioned before do not have the English version. So, you need to know some Swedish terms. In that case, if you want to take a Swedish course, The Newbie Guide to Sweden offers different Swedish Learning Options to understand how to accelerate your Swedish skills. So, what are the mobile apps international students in Sweden must have that you already installed on your smartphone? Let’s share them with others in the comment section below!
About the Author
Hejsan! My name is Hamzah, an Indonesian student studying in a Master of Science program in Media and Communication Studies at Lund University. While I enjoy binge-watching movies and TV series, talking with friends, and everything involving food, now I have found traveling as a new hobby. Before going back to my home country in the middle of 2022, I want to share my stories about my life as an international student in Sweden with you.
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