ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report 2015-2016

Every student receiving an Erasmus+ STUDIES grant has to submit a UU report as well. Writing the UU report is one of the university’s conditions to receive and keep the grant. Only after submitting this report your Erasmus+ grant will be awarded definitively.

Your report will be made available (anonymously) to UU students preparing an exchange or research period abroad. Not all of them are Dutch-speaking, therefore we prefer to receive reports written in English.

Please use Tab to go to the next (text) box. family name first name student number optional; only if you don’t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly e-mail address l@ faculty/college Geosciences level bachelor’s master’s PhD name study programme Earth Sciences destination city & country , name university abroad University of Oslo start date 10 / 08 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) end date 09 / 12 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy)

You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION exchange application process The exchange application process was very easy. The faculty of geosciences has a faculty exchange program with this university and the website of UiO is very complete. You can find absolutely everything on that website, though it might need some searching. The application for courses runs through Soknadsweb (studentweb), some sort of Osiris. Remember that you do need to sign up for exams if you want to take them. Grades are also first published on this website and you can request a Transcript of Records on this website as well. counselling & support at Utrecht University

The support of UU was very good. I could get answers on every question at the student desk or through email. academic preparation There was no specific academic preparation for this exchange. The only prerequisite for some courses was sufficient knowledge on subjects as maths, physics and chemistry. language preparation

English on Dutch VWO level is more than sufficient. Don't worry.

UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2nd semester or full year exchange

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finances Norway is expensive and Oslo is even more expensive, because it is a large city. Take care of getting housing through SIO, SSH and more in Oslo, because this is by far the cheapest option if you get placed in Sogn or Kringsja. Keep an eye on the application deadline of SIO Housing. Do your grocery shopping at Gronland supermarket and take your alcohol with you from home, as alcohol is too expensive in Norway. Kitchen parties are the bomb and are organized with a strict Bring Your Own Booze policy. As UiO writes on her website, expect to need an amount of 50000 NOK for one semester. I think this is quite correct. If you want to travel, use the discount code under26 if you fly with Norwegian. Apply for an Erasmus scholarship if it is possible.

STUDY ABROAD PERIOD study programme (content and organisational issues) I took the courses Norwegian for International Students (10 ECTS), Norwegian Life and Society, Environmental Geology and Geomorphology of the Nordic Countries. The first two are quite easy, especially as a Dutch person. Norwegian is very easy, because it is very similar to Dutch. NL&S is very interesting, because you get more insight in Norway and why it is the way it is today. Environmental Geology has a changed curriculum. It is now more Soil, Atmosphere, Marine Environments through microfossil content of sediment and some more. It is not about Geohazards anymore. I thought it would be really difficult, because the first part of the course was quite hard, but the exam was really easy. Geomorphology is really nice to take. The professor is really nice and knows a lot about the subject. There is also an excursion with this course which takes you though the whole of Southern Norway. This is a huge plus. It is not a difficult course. academic quality of education activities

See above.

counselling & support at receiving university abroad Support is very accesible at UiO. There is a student helpdesk called Knutepunktet. They can either help you with your question or send you to the right helpdesk. Then every faculty has an information and helpdesk and my study had one as well. transfer of credits

I think I will get all my credits transferred, because they use the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) as well.

STUDENT LIFE welcome & orientation programme They have an extensive well organized welcome program, which for the Fall Semester coincides with their normal welcome activities. Every bachelor exchange students gets placed in a buddy group and has daily activities in the introduction week. As a master student, you don't get placed, but just show up and you will get adopted. Some activities are organized for everyone and are presented in Norwegian. Do join this week as it is a good opportunity to get to know other exchange students. Then throughout the semester the international office also organizes activities for internationals, such as a visit to the Opera House. accommodation The accomodation in SIO Housing is very good. The common areas are large and very clean. I think it is even sort of normal that once a week a cleaning lady comes to clean the floors of the common areas. They do however come to inspect your house once a semester to see if you keep it clean. They are thorough and very precise. The same goes with vacating your room. You can request an inspection (recommended) and then they check if it is clean enough so you don't get a 'cleaning' fine. There are laundry rooms available and in the case of

UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2nd semester or full year exchange

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Sogn, a supermarket is on the SIO terrain. Sogn is a 10 minute walk away from a metro station. Kringsja has its own metro station, but Kringsja only has a metro once every 15 minutes. Sogn has one every 5-6 minutes. Sogn is in walking distance from the campus Blindern. (25 minutes) leisure & culture There are a lot of good museums in Oslo. Do make an effort to visit the Fram and Kon-Tiki museum. There are also quite a few which are free for students from UiO. The National Gallery is free on Sunday. The ballet and opera have a student discount of 50%, so if you ever want to go to the ballet or opera, Oslo is a good place for that visit. I joined the sports association OSI (Oslo Student Idrettsklub) and then the branch floorball. I really like to play sports, but it is expensive in Oslo. The semester card for SIO Athletice is a good offer though, because it gives you acces to fitness and pools. If you do want to join an association, try to look for one with a lot of internationals. A friend of mine joined Ultimate Frisbee and really loved it. They don't really do drinks after practice or activities together, only i.e. tournaments or dugnad. Goint out it more a pre-drinks session or a kitchen party. Alcohol in bars is so expensive that you don’t really want to need more alcohol when you are in town. Also bars close quite early if you are used to Dutch standards. A plus is the good night bus network which is free with your public transport pass. (Take a monthly student top up) suggestions/tips Norway loves student discounts. Look for them everywhere. If you are fond of hiking, check out a subscription to DNT for discounts on cabins. Tips to do: Hikes: Preikestolen (easy), Trolltunga (hard), 2 day Beseggen (medium). And around Oslo walk around and take the metro 1 up to for a good hike and real hot chocolate. Visit Tromso and do a dog-sledding trip and see the Northern Lights. We even found a cabin with a sauna in the middle of nowhere. Best weekend ever. Join the lottery for free trips to Copenhage with the ferry. Lovely city and tax free shopping on board. Housing tip: check the date of your last exam and see if you can vacate your room before the 15th of your last month. If you change your contract 2 months before vacating, you might save half a months rent. If you take Norwegian courses, try to get Astrid.

CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes, I loved Norway. It is definitely not a party destination, but if you like nature it is the best. Everything is very well organized and I really like the vibe. They like to work, but not to hard and they really love their free time and use it very well. do you have any additional advice or comments? Choose a university for it's courses and a country for whatever reason. I choose Norway, because I wanted to play floorball and Oslo, because it had courses that suited me. I think you will have a wonderful time whereever you go, so don't worry too much about it. Enjoy!

Save this UU report for your own records and send it as attachment to [email protected] within 30 days after finishing your study abroad period and in ANY case before the final deadline!

UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2nd semester or full year exchange

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