Matthew Svensson
Name: Matthew Svensson
What is your program?
What was your international learning experience?
In 2016, the first year of my graduate studies, I was sent to the town of Nördlingen in Bavaria, Germany where I studied the 22 km diameter Ries impact crater. I spent nine days exploring the crater and learning from both my thesis supervisor and our hosts at the Centre for Ries Crater and Impact Crater Research (ZERIN). Together, we searched for evidence to show how meteorite impact events could create environments capable of cradling the earliest forms of life. In this first visit, we built up the foundation for a strong academic partnership that our research group would continue to build during our following visits in 2017 and 2018. Each visit has taught us taught us more, raised interesting questions and revealed new scientific leads to follow.
How did that experience impact you?
Field work in Germany provided me with my first experience in a European culture. In my time spent
Why should students embrace international learning experiences?
International learning experiences teach, first hand, that when we view other cultures through the lens of our own, they often appear more foreign than they actually are. International travel fosters the ability to communicate effectively with individuals from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds without a misinformed cultural bias. Intercultural communication and sensitivity is a skill that is best perfected by immersing one’s self in other cultures, so opportunities for international learning experiences should be embraced as often as possible.
What is a fun fact about you?
I have planted ~ 6000 trees by hand.
