Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
2016-2017 faculty/college Faculteit Geesteswetenschappen level bachelor’s master’s PhD name study programme Italian language and culture destination city & country Bologna, Italy name university abroad Università di Bologna start date 20 / 09 / 2016 (dd/mm/yyyy) end date 31 / 01 / 2017 (dd/mm/yyyy)
You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION exchange application process I tried to follow all the deadlines, asked friends who had been on Erasmus in Bologna for advise if needed, but all in all it was all quite simple. The steps to follow are quite clear. counselling & support at Utrecht University I didn't use much counselling before going on Erasmus, except that I wanted to find a substitute course in Bologna for an obligatory course that I had to still follow at Utrecht University. For this I contacted the Exam Committee of UU, and they accepted my request. academic preparation Academically I didn't need to prepare much, except of course that I had a good look at the Course Catalog of Università di Bologna to find out what courses I wanted to follow. language preparation As my bachelor in Utrecht is Italian language and culture, my study already provided me with enough basis of the language to study without problems in Italy. On top of that I was lucky to have an Italian flatmate still in Utrecht for 4 months before leaving, so I could practice already daily for 4 months before leaving to Bologna. finances Together with the Erasmus Grant I had some money saved up, from my job, and from the 'regular' student loan that I take. That was enough.
STUDY ABROAD PERIOD study programme (content and organisational issues) In the beginning I had planned to follow courses with a total of 39 ECTS, which already before I even started classes turned out to be way too much. Next to that some courses were given only at the Campus of Forli, which is at least 1,5 hour by bus, so in practice following courses at anouther Campus than that of the city of Bologna was impossible. It could be done maybe if that was the only class I had on that day, but since I had one in Bologna too it wasn't doable. Also the course timetables overlapped for some courses, so in the end just 3 courses was more than enough. One course I also ended up changing because the course content overlapped too much with a course I had already followed in Utrecht. Changing courses is quite easy, as you only have to subscribe for exams, otherwise you can just attend all courses you like. So better to attend a lot of different
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
courses in the first week or two, to see what you like, and then continue following those and 'dropping' (stop following) the rest. academic quality of education activities The academic quality of the courses was good, only in one coures, Pedagogia Interculturale, we were with about 100 students, and they made us do presentations in groups of 5-6 in front of that big of a group. As there were many groups to present, for weeks students had to listen to presentations.. This didn't really work very well. counselling & support at receiving university abroad I only went to the International Office once to make my registration complete, other than that I didn't use any counselling or support services so I can't tell anything about it. I just had some e-mail contact with the professor of the course of Linguistics that I was following and which counted as a substitute of a obligatory course at Utrecht University (with permission of the UU Exam Committee), about the course credits, as I had some confusion about that. He was helpful and answered my questions via mail clearly and fast. transfer of credits At the check-out at the International Office of Bologna my transcript of records wasn't finished yet, as one of my three votes wasn't put in the system yet. Later after coming home they sent the Transcript of Records to the International Office at UU and they in turn sent it to me. The transfer of the credits themselves is still in the progress.
STUDENT LIFE welcome & orientation programme There was a welcome speech for Erasmus students, but I didn't go as I had already met some people with whom I had plans. Other than that I'm not sure if they had much orientation or welcome programs, in either case I didn't attend any of it as I felt I didn't need it. accommodation I was quite lucky finding a room via a room website of Bologna, (not via the University), and have had a good experience in my house. It was big, well maintained, in a nice area just outside the city walls(center). A little bit more expensive than I had hoped, but then again, it was basically thrown in my lap, and it being also a single room (not shared), I accepted and didn't regret it. leisure & culture Bologna is a very lively vibrant city. Nightlife, live music, theatre, cinema, events.. There is always something to do. Plus, if you want, there are no less than 3 Erasmus organisations, ESN, Erasmusland(ESEG) and ELBO. Every Wednesday at the Empire pub there is a Language Tandem where you can talk and meet other foreign students as well as many Italians.Plus from 23 till midnight there is a free salsa lesson. suggestions/tips Getting a public library pass is free, and renting books AND movies is also FREE! Also it's worth visiting the parks in the hills south of Bologna, they are easy to reach either by bike or by bus. For example Parco Villa Ghigi, if you climb to the top of the hill you have a great view over the whole city. Also a walk to Basilica San Luca is worth it.
CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
I would definitely recommend Bologna as a city to study! It is beautiful, almost no tourists, lots of students, lots of cozy bars and cafés, lots of things to do.. It has a great vibe. Also many Italians say that in Italy it's the best city to study. The university as well offers many good and interesting courses, the only thing is that in the beginning if you didn't arrive on time it could happen that you had to sit on the floor because there wasn't enough place. But a bit later in the semester this was no longer a problem. do you have any additional advice or comments? Start on time with studying, or at least try to keep on track with the reading material. Because in Italy for most courses you usually only have one exam at the end of the semester, which means you have to learn a lot and if you start only just a week or two before the exam you might find out it is too much to learn in too little time.
Report 2 faculty/college Humanities level bachelor’s master’s PhD name study programme Gender and Ethnicity destination city & country Bologna, Italy name university abroad Università di Bologna start date 20 / 09 / 2016 (dd/mm/yyyy) end date 14 / 02 / 2017 (dd/mm/yyyy)
You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION exchange application process I started my application process a bit late because at first I wasn't sure if I wanted to do an exchange. When the time to sign up for the ramaining places came, I immediately applied (that was end of November 2015). The amount of papers to get ready in time is quite a lot. But it's just a matter of spending some time figuring out who is responsible for what in case you need help. counselling & support at Utrecht University
The support at UU was very good. Emails were always answered quite quick. academic preparation I chose Bologna for several reasons and my academic preparation was more concerned with me trying to allign my research focus in Utrecht with what I was going to spend the semester doing in Bologna. language preparation I chose courses to be followed in English in Bologna and Italian is one of my mother tongues, so it wasn't need for me. finances It was a bit unpleasant to wait until the very end to know the amount I was going to receive, but everything worked out fine. Just follow the deadlines for applications and it's all fine.
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
STUDY ABROAD PERIOD study programme (content and organisational issues) University of Bologna was a bit unorganised in terms of schedule but it was just a matter of understanding the way things work. academic quality of education activities The quality of courses were very good. I just struggled for not being used to having large classes (with 80 ppl) in some of the courses, but on the other hand it was good to be exposed to different types of pedagogies. counselling & support at receiving university abroad I never really had to contact anyone for anything besides what was asked by UU and for that it was always easy to reach the people in charge. transfer of credits
I still do not know how this will work.
STUDENT LIFE welcome & orientation programme Since I already knew the city, the country and the culture, I didn't feel lost once I arrived and didn't have difficulties figuring things out. accommodation
I found a room within 2 weeks with the help of friends. leisure & culture Bologna offers a lot in terms of culture and this was also one of the reasons I chose to go there. I knew the city would inspire me socially and academically to figure out how to develop my final thesis in UU. suggestions/tips
CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain I would definitely recommend University of Bologna as a destination for your Erasmus exchange. Bologna is one of the oldest universities in Europe and one can gain a lot from its tradition. In addition, the city offers a lot in terms of student life and it's a destination whre you can bridge acquiring academic knowledge with exploring and being inspired by the city's cultural environment. do you have any additional advice or comments?
2015-2016
Report 1
faculty/college Humanities
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
level Bachelor's name study programme Italian Language and Culture
PREPARATION exchange application process This beginning step of my ''foreign adventure'' was quite easy but it was a lot of preparation. In Osiris i followed the steps -which help very well to have an overview of the situation. And then I started with the paperwork. I searched for the subjects I would like to follow and filled in the Studyplan. I had to collect signatures from my tutor (approval) and from a language-professor who indicated my level of Italian. Afterwards I made a Financial Plan to have a clear idea of the money that I receive and the money that I spent. Besides that there was a motivation-letter to write and I had to sign up my Curriculum Vitae. counselling & support at Utrecht University The University of Utrecht has been of great help. With clear e-mails and attached documents, and there was arranged a ''pre-departure'' meeting during which the students got a lot of useful information regarding the time they stay abroad. During my stay in Bologna, I held contact with the Utrecht University by e-mail (as well with the International Office, as with the Erasmus help desk as with my tutor) and I can say that the employees helped me a lot! They answered my e-mails quick and afterwards I was ready to take the next step that was necessary in my process. academic preparation I am not sure how to interpret this “subject” of academic preparation. Before leaving I made sure I had all the preparation done and I made copies of every form I had. language preparation For this I can only say that you need to have a certain level of Italian (in my case) to be able to follow the Italian courses. But taken into account that students are usually in their 3th year of their Bachelor when they might go abroad, they will have a sufficient level. Of course you can choose to follow English courses as well. In the beginning I struggled a bit with the level of language the professors use at the university of Bologna, since I am not a native speaker I had some difficulty to understand fully the subject. So I chose to record the lessons with my phone so I could hear them again. After a couple of weeks I was adapted to the language spoken during the lessons, and I can say that my level of Italian has been improved and I feel more confident when I am talking in Italian. Unconsciously you learn a lot, even if you are not using a language actively! finances I asked for the Erasmus grant. The “approval” of this grant takes actually a lot of work. And it is very important that you pay attention at the deadlines! Next to the Erasmus grant (its amount depends on the country where you are going to), I asked for the grant that substitutes my OV. Since I will not be able to use the public transports in the Netherlands, I asked for a the grand and I received more or less €99 a month. But for this grant you have to ask at DUO (and this step too takes a lot of paperwork because the University of Utrecht has to sign the document as well).
STUDY ABROAD PERIOD study programme (content and organisational issues) The courses you plan to do originally (based on the catalogue of the passed academic year), are not always the same as the ones you finally will follow. For example I chose to do 5 subjects but when the course unit catalogue was online, I saw that some courses had switched period (instead of the
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
first semester, they were be given in the second, which starts in February, so I could not participate at these subjects, unfortunately) or another scenario was the fact that they were held at another campus (in Forlì or in Rimini). So when you arrive, you should have a careful look at the catalogue to choose your courses. The study “programme” on the website of a certain course are just a list of books that you need to study for the exam. There are a few specifications, but practically that’s it. You get a list of titles and the rest you have to do by yourself. For me that was a big surprise. So be prepared for the fact that things can be organized differently from what you are expected/used to in Utrecht. Another ‘organizational issue’ is that most of the courses do not obligate to go to the lessons, but this depends on the course one chooses. Besides that. You have to pay very much attention in the decision which courses you will follow, since courses can overlap with each other. The way of doing an exam differs from what we are used to in Utrecht. In Italy for example, most of the exams are oral ones. academic quality of education activities The professors are really good and have a lot of educational skills and knowledge. It is wise to pass by to introduce yourself as an Erasmus student, so they know that there is a foreign student taking part at the lessons to. You can always ask for help or for an appointment if you have difficulties with something. If the professors know that you are an Erasmus student, they (usually) will take that into account with your exams too. counselling & support at receiving university abroad I have to admit that I missed support at my receiving university (Bologna). At the beginning there is ONE general meeting for all the Erasmus students, but the poor knowledge of English of members of the staff at Bologna makes it sometimes difficult to follow discussions. But they are really helpful and you can contact several professors who are responsible for the Erasmus students and you can easily make an appointment. transfer of credits When you arrive at your receiving institution, you will get a “welcome kit” in this map there’s a document you need to bring with you when you do exams, since the professor needs to writhe the result, his/her firm and the date on it. I knew of its existence the day of my last exam and I had to send all the professors an e-mail to make an appointment to let the document sign and this took me a lot of time. The day I collected all the firms of the professors and I went to the International Office to follow the Check-Out procedure, it was really fast. They asked the form with the firms and my votes and the same day I received an e-mail from Utrecht University with a digital copy of the Transcript of Records (the votes I obtained during my exchange period abroad).
STUDENT LIFE welcome & orientation programme I have to admit that I missed this essential part. Our “welcome” speech was not really well organized. But the information in the Welcome Kit was accurate and clear, several interesting and important flyers that explained for example how to lend books, how to use your internet account and e-mail address, how to sign in for courses or exams, a city map and form that you need to take with you when you have an oral exam: you need to ask professors to write down the vote/result and their firm. This is of essential importance, without this form signed you can NOT do the check out at the University and this has to be done before you leave! It is really important that you read all the information in this Welcome Kit. accommodation
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
Accommodation (in Bologna) is REALLY difficult to find. Using certain websites can help, but most of the time I didn’t get a response of they rejected me for the fact that I was just staying half a year (mostly they require at least one year). The University of Bologna gave me some websites but it was really difficult to find a place to stay. leisure & culture Having leisure depends on the way you are and on the way you are used to study. I studied really a lot during the week so I could have the weekends without studying and this worked for me. I have to admit that I studied more and more intensely in Bologna than I do in Utrecht, due to the fact of my “language handicap”, since I am not a mother tongue of the Italian language. Bologna is a really nice and culturally rich city. Lots of nice monuments to visit and it is obviously a city with a lot of students. There are a lot of bars, and places to go in the evening, there are organized a lot of events. The kitchen and the food in Bologna is really good as well! suggestions/tips Via Zamboni is a street full of buildings of the university and there are always lots of students, in this street there are a lot of nice bars and restaurants too. Furthermore, I would recommend the Santo Stefano, the Torri (you can climb them as well!), the Santuario Madonna di San Luca is a really beautiful church but a bit out of town.
CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes I would recommend the University of Bologna to others. First because of the city of Bologna, second because the University has a really really wide range of subjects you can follow, so for everyone there are interesting courses. do you have any additional advice or comments? Be prepared to have new and great experiences, but be also prepared to the fact that things are DIFFERENT than you are used to, sometimes you just have to sight and to think “okay, surprise! I expected something else but let’s move on”. Don’t hesitate to ask help to professors or other students because they are always willing to help you!
Report 2 faculty/college Humanities level bachelor’s master’s PhD name study programme Italian Language and Culture
PREPARATION exchange application process Utrecht University provided clear guidelines for the exchange application process. I applied 9 months prior to the actual semester, in December 2014. I nearly did not get accepted into Bologna, but with the help of the International Office I did get in. The application process is a lot more time-consuming than I thought it would be, so it is definitely important to take as much time for it as you need. What I got from it was this: the application process is where everything begins or ends. counselling & support at Utrecht University
Utrecht University organized a meeting for the people accepted into Erasmus. The university provided a clear
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
timeline for deadlines, and also supported me wherever necessary. When I could not get into the receiving university through my own faculty, the International Office at Utrecht University got me in through a different faculty. I am really happy with the support at Utrecht University. academic preparation The courses that I did in Italy were courses I did not really need any academic preparation for. I cannot really say anything in general about whether it is good to prepare academically, but I would think that it is. It highly depends on the courses that you do at the receiving university though, and also on what your level of Italian is. language preparation My major is Italian, so I obviously already spoke some Italian before going to Bologna. I had already done some courses here. However, the receiving university did offer me several language courses, had needed more language preparation. Most courses start in the last week of August or first week of September. finances Financially, going to Italy was a smart decision. Life in Italy is cheaper than in the Netherlands. However, accommadation in Bologna is relatively expensive. I would advice anyone to subrent their room if possible, because otherwise going to Bologna would financially be a lot more difficult. However, granted that you can subrent you room, Bologna is a good city to go to.
STUDY ABROAD PERIOD study programme (content and organisational issues) The definite programme was not known yet when I arrived in Bologna. It is important that you regularly check your programme and the schedules, because the courses from the 2014-2015 catalogue I picked were either moved to a different semester or a different city, or they weren't taught at all. Even though the university has some organizational issues, I was able to solve all of them through support of the receiving university. academic quality of education activities The classes in Bologna were mostly different. I do think that the classes were relatively easy (compared to the University of Utrecht), but then the language barrier made it more difficult. It really did depend on the professor and the class, just like in the Netherlands. I do think the education activities were of good quality in general. Professors were always willing to help you. counselling & support at receiving university abroad The receiving university has an International Desk that is well-organized, and provides you with information about the Welcome Day and gives you the Welcome Kit. On top of that, the International Office in Bologna has counsellors available in case you need them. I for example met up with one of the International Officers to go through my programme, because I had lost sight of which courses were available for me to do and which were not. She really helped me and gave me additional tips for Italian language courses, etcetera. I would say the support at the receiving university was optimal. transfer of credits My credits so far have not been transferred. The receiving university has agreed to sent the sending university my Transcript of Records, upon which the sending university will register the courses in Osiris. To be able to transfer the credits, the "Examencommissie" had to accept the courses you do abroad. Since that part is done, I do not foresee any problems with the transfer of my credits.
STUDENT LIFE
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
welcome & orientation programme The university has a Welcome Day. You get a Welcome Kit that teaches you all you need to know. There are some orientation programmes, but they are not compulsory. The orientation programmes are mostly done by Erasmus student organizations. accommodation It is relatively hard to find good accomodation in Bologna. Prices of rooms are more or less comparible to Utrecht, maybe even slightly more expensive. I personally found a room through an agency (Uniplaces), which is also relatively expensive. I would suggest going to the city a month prior to the first day you have to be present at the university to look for a room. In August the city is relatively quiet, which makes it easier to find a room. You can look for rooms through Facebook or the little ads in Via Zamboni. leisure & culture Bologna is known for its cuisine; the region the city is in is known as the best region for food in the world. I would highly recommend going to Osteria dell'Orsa in Via Mentana. Aperitivi are also popular in the city; they are highly recommended. Bologna also has a lot of museums and a rich history. A museum I would recommend is the Museum of Modern Art (MAMbo). suggestions/tips Bologna has a lot of student organizations for Erasmus students (ESN, ESEG, ElBo, AEGEE, and so on). It is highly recommandable to pay for the cards of the first three organizations (5 euros each) if you want to see more of the wonderful country that is Italy. That way you will be able go on reasonably priced trips to Napoli, Cinqueterre, get free entrance to parties and so on.
CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Absolutely. Bologna is the #1 student city in Italy and has a really young, international population. It is easy to learn Italian, mostly because the university and Erasmus organizations I mentioned above organize a lot of language exchange meetings. On top of that, both of them also organize courses to improve language skills. do you have any additional advice or comments? I would advice to go to Bologna as early as possible (preferably August), because it is relatively hard to find accommodation in Bologna. I got lucky finding a room as quick as I did, but I know a lot of students that still had to find a room while the classes had already started.
2013-2014
Report 1
preparation exchange/placement application process In the beginning it was a bit difficult for me to find out to which city I wanted to go. You get a list of the International Office with all the destinations. I already knew that I wanted to go to Italy and on the list I could see which cities were available. You have to find out yourself to which city and university you want to go. This was a bit difficult because the website of all the universities were so different so in the beginning it was not really easy to find out which courses were given at which university. Start with this on time because I was stressing a lot to get everything done on time. The rest of the application process is
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
not really difficult, you have to write a motivational letter and you need to write down the courses that you want to follow, but this is not fixed, you can change it when you are in the city and you know for sure what kind of courses are given in the semester. counselling/support at home university The home university was really helpful. The International Office sent me a lot of information about everything that I had to arrange before I went to my host university. And during the exchange abroad they were also really helpful. In contrary to my host university, the International Office of my home university responded fast to my questions. academic preparation The only thing I can think about to write in this section is to choose my courses at my host university. This was not an easy thing to do. When I was choosing the university, I could only find a course catalogue of the last years so you had to pick your courses from this catalogue, eventhough you weren't sure if you could follow these courses. It took a while before the course catalogue for that year was published, I think it was at the end of August/ beginning of September. You have to send your changed learning agreement within a month after arrival so I had to choose my course (and get everything signed) in a small amount of time, this was really stressful. It was also quite annoying that the course catalogue for that year is published at the end of August/ the beginning of September because that’s why I found out quite late that a lot of courses I was planning to follow were given in the second semester, or that some lessons were given at the same time. I had to go through the whole course catalogue again to find different courses that I could follow, this was time-consuming. language preparation I already learned Italian at my home university in the first and the beginning of the second year of my bachelor. But my exchange was in the beginning of the fourth year and after the beginning of the second year I didn't do a lot with Italian, so in order to refresh my knowledge of the Italian language I followed a language course at Babel in Utrecht. I wanted to do an EILC language course but I was too late for the application (so make sure you check all the deadlines!) but the University of Bologna offered a language course for International students so I followed this one in the beginning of my exchange. finances It definitely costs a lot to study abroad! I was able to pay for everything because I already saved some money from work, I had a loan from DUO, Erasmus grant and I could also lend some money from my parents. Luckily I'm almost graduated so I can work a lot to pay everything back. But even though it costs a lot of money, I wouldn't want to have missed this great experience study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) As I said before, it was not really easy to figure out which courses I wanted to follow at my host university because the course catalogue was published quite late. The courses that I followed eventually were interesting and well organized. You have more lessons a week in Bologna than in Utrecht, I had to get used to this but you don't study more material, they just take more time to discuss all the topics. academic quality of education/placement activities The quality of the education was good, it was not really different from what I was used here in Utrecht.
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
counselling/support at host institution/organisation The support at the host institution could have been better. I sent them a few e-mails with questions but most of the time I didn't get a response, or a week/ a week and a half later when I already solved the problem. This was the same when I e-mailed the professors. I had an exam at the 20th of December and at the end of January the grade was still not published in AlmaEsami, I sent an e-mail to the professor several times to say that I really need to have my grade published in AlmaEsami or else I wouldn't get my Transcript of Records and I couldn't graduate yet. transfer of credits I don't know yet, because I still don't have my Transcript of Records. student life welcome/orientation programme The host university had an welcome/ orientation event but I haven't been there. But the two International Student Organizations, ESEG and ESN had a lot of activities and give you the opportunity to get to know the city, the other students and even the rest of Italy. accommodation I was adviced to go looking for an accommodation once I was there, because sometimes people arrange an accommodation and once there, there is no accommodation. I went to SAIS, this is an institution who helps students to find an appartment. But the appartments they suggested to me were really dirty, small and expensive. So I tried to find an appartment myself, by checking all the advertisements in Via Zamboni and checking websites as kijiji.it and baceka.it. I eventually found a single room just outside the city center via the website kijiji.it. I responded to a lot of advertisements, but most of the time they don't want Erasmus students so I was a bit desperate in the beginning but after a week and visiting 4 apartments in total, I found the perfect place for me. In all the information that I read they advised me to ask for a contract, but when I asked my host she got offended and really mad (Italian temperament) so the first few days were a bit awkward in the house but after that everything went okay. But I would suggest to not ask for a contract, if you get a receipt everytime you pay the rent then everything should be fine as well. leisure/culture Bologna is an amazing city for Erasmus students because first of all there are a lot of exchange students and normal students, its definitely a city with a lot of students! This is really nice because there are a lot of people from your own age that you can meet and there are a lot of facilities for students like places to study, bars and clubs. Most of the time a city only had one International student organization but Bologna has two, which means that there is a party everyday and there are also a lot of other activities. Activities that I did were for example a guided tour in Bologna and visiting other Italian cities as Milano, Verona, Napoli and Siena. The people who work for the organization have been on an Erasmus exchange as well so they know what it is to live in a different city and country and they will do everything to make your exchange unforgettable! suggestions/tips I would suggest other students who go on an exchange to go to all the activities in the beginning of the semester, this is the easiest way to meet a lot of new people. And don't be afraid, nobody knows other people yet so it’s really easy to get to know other people and become friends. conclusions
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Even though it was sometimes a bit stressful for me because the organization was so different than back home (a bit more disorganized) I would definitely suggest to go to the university of Bologna. I think it's more the Italian way of organizing things so I think you would also have the same problems in other cities in Italy. (but the problems were not that big though, it was just different than back home and I needed to get used to a different way of organizing things) There are not a lot of courses in English so if you don't speak ANY Italian I wouldn't suggest to go to Bologna, or Italy in general. Bologna is definitely an amazing city for people who love to meet other students from all over the world. I know for sure that all the other students who want to go on an exchange and who love Italy and who love to travel will fall in love with Bologna like I did. do you have any additional advice or comments? I just want to say that this experience was the best experience I've ever had in my life. It was the best time of my life and I'm so thankful to my home university, my host university and to the European Union to make this experience possible. I would also like to warn future Erasmus students: your life wouldn't be the same after your exchange, it is definitely a life-changing experience (in a positive way). And after this experience, living in the Netherlands might not give as much satisfaction as it did before. So be prepared to feel more like a citizen of the world, instead of a citizen of the Netherlands. Be aware that you might want to travel more after this experience, I'm already planning my new adventure! ;)
2012-2013
Report 1 preparation exchange/placement application process Bologna was my second choice of Erasmus place. I originally applied for the University of Stockholm, so my letter of motivation and all the rest of the documents were directed to that University. When I heard that I couldn't go to Stockholm, but could go to Bologna, I was a little upset but eventually glad, because Bologna is a beatiful place to be and the University is a very good one. counselling/support at home university I've been to the pre-departure meetings of the Utrecht University. It was always possible to come to the office with directed questions, and e-mails were being answered quite quickly. academic preparation I prepared myself by selecting the courses I could follow that would fit my academic carreer so far. I aimed to do most courses in the field of film studies, my Major. Eventually I found 2 courses of the subject of film, one regarding English writing skills and an EILC language course to improve my Italians skills. language preparation Before departure I took 2 classes in Italian, the whole first semester of this year of school. I actively participated and learned a lot about the Italian language. finances I had been saving money for the past three years for my study abroad, so money was no problem. Of course my parents were able to help me with this too. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) Beforehand it wasn't very clear wich courses I could take. There was a whole list of coursesat the DAMS faculty, but without time schedule. Before I came to Italy it wasn't very clear how I could subscribe for them too. Luckily the International Office of Bologna helped me a lot, and everything became clear in the end. Eventually the University of Bologna had an easy system on the internet
Exchange Experiences International Office Italy - Universita di Bologna
for subscribing an registering for exams. academic quality of education/placement activities The overall quality was quite good. I enjoyed my courses and learned a lot. Before the exams I had to study for weeks to get things right, because everything was in Italian. This made it a little bit more difficult but also more interesting, because I learned at the same time a lot about the Italian language and culture. counselling/support at host institution/organisation If you want help with your study, you should ask for it, because the only thing you receive from the Internaltional Office is a starters kit. If you want more help, you should ask it yourself. The teachers are all very willing to help. transfer of credits The transfer of credits happened quite quickly. The oral exams where registered immediately, and the written exams were registered a week after recieval. I had written and on line proof of my records, which was very securing. student life welcome/orientation programme The university didn't really have a welcome programme. However, there were two organizations for Erasmus students that did had one. Opening parties, city tours and so on! accommodation I had found accomodation beforehand, on my own, in an appartment with 3 other students. I enjoyed my stay there. All my roommates were Italian, so I had to improve my language skills a lot. The area was beatiful and quiet, and I had to cycle every day 10 minutes to get to school, which was excellent. leisure/culture There were two main organisations you could join as an erasmus student. I joined both. I went on various trips to places in Italy with them and I went to many parties. They organized so much every day that it was very hard to choose what to do! Apart from these organizations Bologna had many interesting festivals to go to. And, of course, it is the food capital of Italy! suggestions/tips Go to as many trattoria's as you can. Taste your erasmus experience! conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Yes, because the city is wonderfull, the place in the North of Italy is excellent for trips and seeing a lot more, and the food, the climate and the people are great. do you have any additional advice or comments? I would really learn the italian language good before departure. It helps you a lot and the University doesn't have that much courses in English.