Student portrait - Amrita Namasivayam
Master's programme: Global Health
Country of residence: Singapore
Year of birth: 1985
After acquiring a Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical Science at the National University of Singapore, Amrita Namasivayam landed a job as a medical writer at a communication agency, where she worked for almost two years.
'It was a great job at a global office with colleagues from all over the world, but I felt the need to work more with people and to help develop healthcare services in resource limited settings, which is a challenging task', she says.
There are several reasons behind Amrita Namasivayam's decision to choose Sweden and Karolinska Institutet (KI) where she decided to pursue a master's degree:
'First of all, the university has a world class reputation when it comes to its courses. I also enjoy the international environment with students from all over the world. Another reason for choosing KI was that I had lived in Uppsala as a child while my father was attending Uppsala University to take his PhD, and I wanted to re-visit and live in Sweden. Unfortunately I have forgotten all the Swedish I learned then but it still feels like I'm at "home" when I come to Sweden.'
Amrita Namasivayam would like to work in a medical clinic or at a NGO in the future. As soon as she finishes her studies at KI she is planning on returning to Singapore but will probably end up working in Sri Lanka or another low or middle income country in the future.
It's easy moving and travelling around the world today. I would like to work in several different countries during my career', she says.
One thing she will always remember from her stay in Sweden is the scenery and how the seasons affect people:
'The four seasons are really exciting to experience, especially if you're a photography buff. After a long winter people are much happier when spring and the sun comes along. The museum of Photography, Fotografiska Museet, is something I would recommend to new students. The building itself is worth a visit!'
