旅行的意義

    I've studied the master program in Taiwan for around three months so far, and I think the studies at NCTU is totally different from the master program at Chalmers in Sweden. Let's talk about how the education systems differ first. In Sweden, there are four "quarters" in one academic year which means one semester is split into two quarters. Then, it only takes two months to finish courses, so you can image how intensive the courses are...(there are 8 to 10 hours lecture per week for one course) But I think that it not really that bad, I can concentrate more on the courses because I only take two courses per quarter and there is only a final exam (no midterm exam) in the end of quarter.
  

  Second, compared with the interaction between professors and students in lectures in Sweden, it is also quite different from what we get used to in Taiwan. It's very common to see many students there ask questions or express their opinion in lecture, and students are very welcomed to argue professors' point of view because professors are not always right.

   Third, as for the education way in Sweden, the courses are almost "project-oriented", so I even had to finish five projects within two months when I took two courses... The professors usually don't say too much about projects and the content in lecture has no relationship with projects.. So I think I learn more from the projects than from lectures... Besides, the projects are very important since it may cover up to 70% of the final score which means it's impossible to pass the course if you fail the projects, but it also means we don't need to take the final exam if we pass the projects :) So some of students didn't take the exam and even started their vacations before final exam! So, maybe it's a kind of trade off. Unlike the way in Sweden, professors in Taiwan usually give students a lot of assignments or homeworks and these matters come every week...   I also found one thing from this. I remember when I did the projects in Sweden, the rule is always the same that I must complete them with two or three classmates. If the project is done individually, it's really hard to pass or the score may be bad even if the results of projects are excellent... So, more or less, I learnt what the teamwork is, how to divide the task, and how to communicate with teammates (especially free riders...)   I think these things can be a kind of knowledge and are not so easy to learn from the education in Taiwan.   

   Finally, let's talk about the research. In Sweden, during the first year, what the students have to do is just taking the courses. Then, finding an advisor in the second year. But it only means that students follow their advisors' research and not definitely relate to the thesis. That is because the thesis is not the necessary requirement for master degree. Instead, they can choose to have an internship in company. In this case, what they have to do is just finish the internship. That's all. I think the education in Taiwan has the quite different requirement for a master student. Maybe more like a Ph.D? You have to read many papers, know more theoretic things, of course finish a thesis in the end. (Professors may even hope you publish some papers..)

I can't say which education way is better because they have their pros and cons and it depends on people as well.

Maybe I should answer this question again when I graduate.