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Adding Practice – 6 tips on how to make your studies more practical

You might have asked yourself if this master's program will get more practical… We’ve been there!

“It was a lot more theoretical than I thought”

 

Like us, our alumni often mentioned that this program was much more theoretical than imagined. This is a master's degree at a University, and topics on the pedagogical side will be filled with loads of theoretical knowledge. However, you can spice up your studies to gain some practical experience.


Why add more practical stuff?

Show off your skills

First – it’s a nice way to show what you’ve learned. Theoretical knowledge is excellent, but it is often tricky to showcase when applying for jobs. Some projects, presentations, or other presentable material can help you land a job.

Apply what you studied

Makes studying more fun and creative


Tip 1: Choosing Electives

Electives are your chance to specialize yourself during your studies. Choose some electives that offer practical experiences, such as UX design or programming.

Here are some recommendations based on our cohort's experience:


I can recommend the professional development courses from Halmstad University. They are usually online, only have a few credits, and are very practical-oriented since the lecturers have worked in the industry for a long time.

Specifically, one of my classmates and I took a course on user research for HCI focusing on AI at Halmstad University. Sadly, they do not list it in their course portfolio anymore. However, if this interests you, you can check out the courses from the human-centred design track from the MAISTR program here. Maybe you will find something that matches your interest as well :)


If you want to get into coding, there are a ton of great coding classes, such as R, Java, etc.

If you already know coding, there are more options. For example, you could take courses such as machine learning or any applied programming courses. Just be aware that these courses tend to be time-intensive!


You can also check out our post on electives to get more inspiration for extra courses.


Internship Course

Doing an internship during your master's will allow you to gain extra experience.

You can either do one in a company or a research project.

Both options will allow you to develop more practical experiences based on the project you are involved in.

Check out some internship experiences from ITLGU students here



Tip 2: Extra Courses

You can do up to 40 credits each semester. This gives you an extra 10 credits in addition to your regular courses each semester. You can do additional courses if you are interested in a specific field. Use courses with lower ECTS points to keep a nice swedish work-life-balance ;)


Please note that if you are a fee-paying student, you must pay for these additional courses!

If you don't want to take a university course, check LinkedIn Learning or Coursera. Alice and I started the Coursera course on UX design, which was super interesting and hands-on. We recommend it if you are looking to pursue a more design-based career.


Tip 3: Working or Volunteering

While not easy, you might be able to find a job while studying. There is also the opportunity to volunteer with some companies to get insights into their work.

Some of our cohort opened their own company to freelance work, others kept working at their old companies, and others landed a summer job in Sweden or elsewhere.


It's tough to find a position, but keep looking! Keep your eyes open, look for opportunities on LinkedIn, and go to networking events - maybe something will come up.

Remember that you can always work on your projects if nothing comes up. Maybe you want to showcase them in your portfolio or refine some skills you think would be great.


Tip 4: Look around

Our field of study is thankfully pretty easy to find in our everyday lives. Start to look around when walking, trying to combine the theories with real-life examples. It might help to discuss it with some other students to see what they think. You might end up in a nice discussion!


Tip 5: Podcasts and Blogs

There are a ton of content creators, researchers, and educational professionals who create top-notch content.

Here are a few examples I like to check out here and there to keep up-to-date:


Do you know of some great sources? Let's share them in the comments to influence each other.

Tip 6: Work at TechXplore Learning

We started this blog to bridge the gap between research and practice. Our work here basically includes thinking about practical applications of our masters. Let us know if you want to create content or work with us! We are always happy to add more writers to the blog 💡


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