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BEST Gothenburg
EBEC NORDIC, 25th-30th April, 2015
SURVIVAL
GUIDE
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Contents
Introduction and Guidelines
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About Sweden, Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology
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How to get to Gothenburg
6, 7
Getting Around Gothenburg and Chalmers
Accommodation and things to get along
Miscellaneous
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9, 10
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Introduction and Guidelines
Firstly, a warm welcome to Gothenburg! This survival guide is dedicated to help students
visiting Gothenburg for EBEC Nordic competition 25th -30th April 2015. This mainly contains
information regarding the event, things to carry, accommodation and other relevant
information in general.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact
Harsha Cheemakurthy
[email protected]
+46 720324937
Rickard Larsson
[email protected]
+46 722342819
Let’s start with history of Sweden and introduction to Chalmers University of Technology.
Please take a look through and enjoy the reading! Below you can see an overview of what
Sweden looks like
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About Sweden, Gothenburg and
Chalmers University of Technology
Around thousand years ago the Vikings lived in Sweden (and they still do!) The Vikings were
strong and fearful warriors.
They plundered a lot of places, for example
today's Great Britain, and took home riches
and wives. Less known is the fact that they
were popular merchandisers and got a lot of
friendly collaborators in Europe and beyond.
Sweden today is a friendly peaceful
country that tries to help other countries.
The Kingdom of Sweden borders Norway in
the west, Finland in the northeast, the
Skagerrak Strait and the Kattegat Strait in the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of
Bothnia in the east. It is connected to Denmark in the southwest by the Oresund Bridge.
Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area (450 295 m^2), with a
total population of about 9.6 million. Sweden has a low population density (21 people/m^2)
mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population lives
in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the biggest city. The country
has a large amount of natural resources of water, timber, and iron ore. The country is
generally perceived as modern and liberal and its citizens enjoy a high standard of living.
Since the early 19th century Sweden has been at peace and has avoided war. Sweden is a
growth place of inventions, technology and software, maybe you must have heard of:
Spotify, Nobel-prize, Dynamite and the Pirate Bay?
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Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden and the fifth largest in the Nordic
countries. Situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a
population of 541,145, with 549,839 in the urban area and 970,912 inhabitants in
the metropolitan area. Gothenburg was founded by royal charter in 1621 by King Gustavus
Adolphus.
Chalmers University of Technology (Chalmers Tekniska Högskola) is a highly
progressive university situated in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Around 13 000 people work and study at Chalmers, and
about 40% of Sweden's engineers and architects are an
alumni of this prestigious institution. The university was
founded in 1829, by William Chalmers who left half of his
fortune for the foundation of a "School of Industry". From the
beginning Chalmers has focused in the field of science and
technology, which was very unusual at that time. Since 1994,
Chalmers has been an independent foundation.
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How to get to Gothenburg
Gothenburg can be reached via ferry, train, bus or plane. All trains, buses, and airport
coaches arrive at the Central Station or the Nils Ericson Terminal, located adjacent to each
other.
Ferry
There is ferry traffic from Denmark (Fredrikshavn)
and Germany (Kiel). The port is within walking
distance from the Gothenburg city centre.
You can find the details at www.aferry.com or
http://www.stenaline.se
Plane
Göteborg Landvetter Airport (GOT) is located 25
kilometers east of Gothenburg. A lot of
international airlines (Lufthansa, SAS, etc.) fly to
Landvetter. From the airport you can take the
airport coach (Flygbussarna: same company as
the one operating at Göteborg City Airport, more
information above) to the city center. You can
get off the flight shuttle bus at Korsvägen and
take tram 6, 8 or 13 to Chalmers (one stop, goes
through a tunnel). This flight shuttle bus departs
every twenty minutes during daytime and stops
at two places, the previously mentioned Korsvägen and the Nils Ericson Terminal. We
recommend you go to the Nils Ericson Terminal, where we might have organizers waiting for
you (more information will be sent to you by email later). This trip takes around 30 minutes
and costs 99 SEK (185 if you also buy return ticket, 89/178 SEK if you buy online). For further
details, visit www.vasttrafik.se.
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Train
If you are arriving from the south, Öresundstågen it
is a good option. They offer trains from Copenhagen
and Lund to Gothenburg. You can find the details at
www.oresundstag.se
SJ (Statens Järnvägar) is a train network connecting
most of the bigger cities in Sweden. However, they
no longer offer trips between Gothenburg and
southern Sweden (e.g. to Copenhagen). As a special
bonus for students, people under 26 years can buy cheap last minute tickets from SJ, called
“sista minuten”, which are sold within 24 hours of departure. There are also cheap "Just Nu"
tickets, but you need to book them in advance.
There are several options when it comes to travelling by bus, see links below.
www.nettbuss.se www.swebus.com www.eurolines.com
Bus
If you are arriving from the south, Bus is another good
option. Netbus provides service from Copehagen to
Gothenburg via Malmö and Lund. This is probably one
of the cheapest ways to get here. For details visit
www.netbus.se.
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Getting Around
Chalmers
Gothenburg
and
Since Chalmers is almost in the city centre, it takes
about 10 minutes to walk from Chalmers to
Kungsportsavenyn, the Main Street, and about 30
minutes to walk to the Central Station.
A map can come in handy; you can get free maps
from the tourist information offices. Also,
Gothenburg has excellent commuter service of
trams and buses. The transport network covers the
whole city and is quite punctual. You can easily buy
a ticket on most trams from a vending machine or in
most kiosks. There is also an option to get a
Västtrafik-card which you can load with an amount
of money or a number of days of unlimited
travelling. Don’t buy one of these too early, though,
the transportation during the event will be taken care of by Nordic team. The basic ticket
costs 25 SEK and is valid for 90 minutes on any public transportation, including the
ferryboats that travel to the Gothenburg archipelago. Night-time commuting is much more
expensive than daytime, usually costing the double.
NOTE 1: You can’t buy the ticket from the bus driver; you have to do it at “Västtrafik” ticket
shops or in a vending machine on the trams.
NOTE 2: We will provide you with tickets for the travelling during the EBEC Nordic, so buy
just a single way ticket. Though the ticket checkers are found rarely (mostly spotted in a
black jacket and white cap), It is better to carry a ticket when travelling.
To get to Chalmers University from Brunnsparken near the Central Station, you can take
trams 7, 8, 6, 13, 10, and buses 16 and 58. The name of the stop is, Chalmers.
It takes only 9-15 min to get there from the central station, depending on which
tram/bus/route you take. The public transport company in Western Sweden is called
Västtrafik. From their website you can get detailed information about the routes and
schedules. You can get more details at www.vasttrafik.se
To get to Chalmers from the Gothenburg central station (Centralstationen), take tram 7 or 8
or bus 58 to Chalmers.
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Accommodation and things to get
along
Accommodation can be provided between 26th to 30th April. Students will be staying in
hostels at Göteborgs vandrarhem, Mölndalsvägen 23 412 63 Göteborg
The following items SHOULD be brought along:
- A sleeping bag (for Sauna trip) and thin blanket #tips: an air-pillow takes no space and
weighs nothing
- Jacket, raincoat/umbrella (it rains a lot here, so just in case)
- Sunglasses (Just in case we get sunny weather)
- Laptop for Case study
- Indoor slippers
- Clothes for swimming and sauna
- Articles for personal hygiene and medication
- ID, passport, student card, European health insurance card and visa if required
- Cash (preferably in SEK)
-Food, drinks (alcoholic/non alcoholic) and other special items from your home country for
International Evening!
- Incredible sense of humour, and lots of energy!
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International Evening
This is the most amazing part of
competition where you can sit back
and have some real good fun.
You should get food/eatables,
drinks (alcoholic/non alcoholic) and
other special items, which are
really famous from your home
country for International Evening!
Get your traditional clothes if
possible and some interesting
stories to share with the awesome
people.
#Tip: If you are a bunch of people
coming from one country, plan
together what to bring for the
international evening, It’s going to
be a Legendary Evening!
Alcohol in Sweden
A historical note first: Sweden has in the past had serious problems with overconsumption
of alcohol; this lead to the creation of strong organizations working for sobriety. In Sweden
you can only buy drinks containing alcohol in state owned shops called Systembolaget (you
have to be 20 years old) or bars (you have to be 18 years old).
Note: Always bring ID, especially to Systembolaget. They always check if they are in doubt.
It is forbidden to drink alcohol in public in most places in Gothenburg, with one major
exception: Slottsparken. There will be opportunities to purchase relatively cheap alcohol at
the parties.
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Miscellaneous
Also, Sweden is considered to be quite expensive. It is possible to pay by card almost
everywhere. You can get a fair idea below
- Pizza: 60-80 SEK
- Beer: 10-20 SEK in the state liquor shop Systembolaget (this is the only place where you
can buy strong alcohol (>3,5%), except for pubs/restaurants) and 30-80 SEK (in
pubs/restaurants)
- Wine: 50 SEK and up (in Systembolaget)
- Cinema ticket: 75-120 SEK
- Coke: 8-15 SEK (33 cl)
- Pack of cigarettes: 40-50 SEK
- Loaf of bread: 10-20 SEK
-1 litre of milk: 8 SEK
- Big Mac menu: 70 SEK.
Thank you