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Impressed with master's in biomedical sciences

A chewing gum paper brought his attention to Norway. Now Nelson is a master’s student in biomedical sciences in Bergen.

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The facilities at the university are wonderful. The hospital and the faculty have all kinds of equipment that are unique to the different research fields.

Nelson is just finishing his master’s degree at UiB in Biomedical Sciences with a specialisation in neuro science and is now looking to progress on and do a PhD in the same subject.
 

Informal learning environment

One of the things Nelson likes best about studying biomedicine in Norway, is how approachable everyone is.

“In the lab meetings for instance, I meet various researchers with diverse competence. We ask each other questions and bring a variety of perspectives to the table”.

Nelson tells that he has learned a lot from this collaborative way of working, which he thinks is typical for Scandinavia, he says and explains:

“This helps me see a scientific problem from different angles. Often this results in coming up with new and surprising solutions to the issues we are facing”.


Modern facilities

Most of his time as a master’s student is spent at the Neurological department at Haukeland University Hospital, whicht is one of the most modern of its kind in Northern Europe.

“The facilities at the university are wonderful. The hospital and the faculty have all kinds of equipment that are unique to the different research fields”, he says.

As a master’s student you have access to these facilities and can use all the equipments even outside of regular office hours.

Nelson’s master’s project is connected to the Translational Science in Neurodegeneration and aging group, more precisely Parkinson’s disease. The master’s student is looking at, and trying to localise some of the proteins that have been implicated with the disease.

"I’m looking at five proteins in the study, and one important question is remained unanswered, namely which of these proteins that contributes to disease progression", tells Osuagwu.


Drawn to a smaller city

Originally from Nigeria  he first considered studying in the UK, but coming from a country with a large population, the idea of living in a less populated city became very appealing.

"The noisy life back home tired me, and I was captured by the Scandinavian countries with its lovely nature and small cities", he says.

He had heard many stories about the rain in Bergen: "My first time here it really poured down, but still, the rain did not detain me from coming", says Nelson.

Actually, it was a childhood memory that helped the master’s student to opt for Norway as his destination. He was accepted into a master’s degree in Finland at the same time, but was never in doubt which country to go for.

"When I was a kid, Norway was my favourite country. We used to buy chewing gums at the store, and when we opened the gum, you could see a country flag. The Norwegian flag was just so pretty", says Nelson.

And when he was admitted in Norway, his whole childhood fantasy came back to him again.


A warm welcome

The international student’s first week at UiB started with a Welcome programme for the new international students.  During the first week, Nelson and his fellow students received a lot of information from both university employees and student mentors. The welcome programme aims to give new students the best possible way to start their studies at UiB by providing them with practical information and entertaining lectures:

"The university could not have done more for us".

 

NELSON'S TOP FIVE SPOTS IN BERGEN

  1. Mount Fløyen: When you go to Mount Fløyen, both summer and winter, I always think about how beautiful the city is. You can see all the mountains surrounding Bergen, and the city centre with all the buildings and the parks.
  2. Nordnesparken: A lovely park, furthest at the Nordnes point.
  3. Bergen Aquarium: Norway’s largest aquarium with sea lions, crocodiles and penguins, among others.
  4. Fantoft: The largest student hostel in Bergen with students from a lot of different nationalities.
  5. Salt International: An international church, gathering at the bar “Ricks” in Bergen.