Objectives: The aim was to gather information regarding what students consider important for their motivation to attain knowledge, in order to shape courses that foster this motivation. Method: A qualitative design comprising focus groups including 31 nursing and medical students for interviews, semi-structured questions, and content analysis was utilized. Result: The students thought it was important to coordinate more superficial knowledge with learning in depth, and to apply the theoretical knowledge in practise. Self-motivation, committed teachers and discussions with other students were considered to be important for learning. The difference between the groups was that the nurses were focused on their assessments because of lack of time, while the medical students were more learning for life. Their greatest problem was to know what of all knowledge they needed to learn and should focus on. Conclusion: The motivation must come from the students themselves, but dedicated teachers giving performance feed-back, discussions in different forms and choices of learning and assessment methods enhance enthusiasm and learning. By providing an educational environment that resonates with the students’ needs, teachers may be successful in their teaching.