Dwarfed at Monash University – experiences from a research exchange

As a new PhD student at Luleå University of Technology, at the division of Architecture and Water, I got the opportunity to visit Monash University, Melbourne for a one month long research exchange. I have travelled before and both worked and lived for longer periods abroad, but still Melbourne and Monash managed to surprise me, by the sheer size of both the city and the university!

Melbourne feels like a city without limits, the suburbs just go on and on and car is unconquered king. To get to Monash University each morning, I  had to cross an intersection where two highways meet,  Princes hwy and North road/Wellington road, both roads have 4 lanes in each direction, which meant that I had to traverse 16 lanes altogether to get to the campus side.

Monash University is equally vast, with 65 000 students, large campuses and impressive buildings. The Robert Menzies building where I spent most of my days is a 10 stories high behemoth of a building that could easily contain the whole of Luleå University of Technology and that was just one building!

In my home research group of urban water engineering at Luleå University of Technology, I’m somewhat of an odd bird as I’m the only one studying social and organizational aspects of urban storm water management.

At Monash University, I felt at home and was able to meet, interact and have discussions with several other PhD students studying different social and organizational aspects of water management, which was very rewarding.

The great flow of students every day, the multicultural aspect of Monash University, the large buildings and the big bunch of like-minded PhD students, all made for a one month long, truly great experience.