Differences as catalysts for professional learning-Participating in a student exchange program between Sweden and Uganda

The aim was to describe the experiences of some university students and the effect on their own learning and professional development by participating in an exchange program. Data were derived from two focus group interviews with students (n=12) who enrolled in a 12-week international exchange program between: (a) the occupational therapy education department at the Institute of Allied Health and Management Sciences in Kampala and its equivalent b) the Karolinska Institutet (KI), Sweden. The findings comprised five categories reflecting the students learning experiences: (1) Learning through the unfamiliar, (2) Differences as catalysts for professional learning, (3) The importance of interaction with others for beneficial learning, (4) Learning related changes in professional identity and one's own persona, and (5) Experienced transfer of learning toward a sustainable lifelong learning style. The findings reflected a spectra of similarities between the students, almost regardless of their background and culture, also that students can learn substantially by being confronted by the unfamiliarity during an international exchange.