DISCLAIMER No rights can be obtained from this text. While we strived to make the information in this booklet as accurate as possible, we make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this guide. We do not accept liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this guide. © 2014 by International Students Rotterdam. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying form without written permission of ISR. www.isrotterdam.com 1 FORE- WORD WELCOME IN ROTTERDAM As mayor of Rotterdam, I would like to welcome but the openness and scale of the city you will soon you in Rotterdam. You came to this city for an appreciate. Personally, I like to walk around and excellent education, that is your goal at heart. get inspired by the liveliness of neighbourhoods But you should also get to know this vibrant city and encounters with Rotterdammers. There is so itself. You will soon find out that Rotterdam is a much to enjoy! city of many tastes and colours where you will easily feel at home. After you get to know the city and its inhabitants - and perhaps even learned to speak a little Dutch - you As the largest port city of Europe, Rotterdam is may wish to stay and work here after finishing your internationally oriented and has room for all talents, study. There are many possibilities for housing and entrepreneurship and innovation. The Rotterdam employment, and the city of Rotterdam would be mentality is best described as a no-nonsense very glad to welcome you as a citizen. approach. Not only in business, but also in other aspects of society. Rotterdam is a modern city, I wish you a successful and rewarding stay in with high-end architecture, excellent educational Rotterdam! institutions and a present-day urban culture and nightlife for all tastes. Ahmed Aboutaleb Mayor of Rotterdam Rotterdam annually receives 6,000 newcomers who find and make their own place in Rotterdam. To figure out how to get around takes a little while, 2 www.isrotterdam.com CONTENTS 6 ABOUT ROTTERDAM 13 HOT SPOTS 21 PUBLIC TRANSPORTS 24 ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS AND CAREER 31 REGULATIONS AND CAREERS 43 NETWORKING 46 HOUSING AND UTILITIES 53 OTHER COSTS 58 CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT 63 EATING OUT 67 DAY LIFE 71 MUSEUMS 77 NIGHT LIFE 81 BARS AND CLUBS 86 HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE 89 USEFUL INFORMATION 95 STUDY SPOTS PUBLISHER ISR DESIGNER BEK TAT LUN EDITOR EMMA KOEZE PROJECT SUPERVISOR VINCENT COHEN PHOTOGRAPHY JR PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO EDITOR RAZVAN ISAC www.isrotterdam.com 3 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ROTTerdaM - yOUR INTERNATIONAL faMILY! ABOUT ISR DEAR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT OF ROTTERDAM, Welcome to Rotterdam! Studying Rotterdam; we wanted to create First, we try to connect students in Rotterdam is a chapter of your a Rotterdam that all international by organizing events. These life that you will never forget! Do students can call home. We events can mostly be classified as what makes you happy, strive for noticed that integrating into social, academic, cultural or sports (academic) excellence, and enjoy Dutch society can be difficult and attempt to cover all aspects all the little things that are part of and we wanted to change that. of student life; the upcoming your student experience. Before We exist to make student life year we will organize more than you lays an amazing opportunity as an international easier and 50 events. Second, we aim to to experience (a) great year(s), more enjoyable; we believe that link students to organizations learn a lot, and meet friends for Rotterdam is a beautiful city – full of their interest. This we do by life! Time will fly and before you of opportunities – and we want attaching valuable organizations know it you have graduated and our fellow international students to our member’s card, offering you’re applying for jobs. Until to enjoy it as much as we do. our members exclusive deals or then, make the most of your discounts throughout the city. student life. What we do? We aim to be the Third, we aim to inform students platform that brings students about all the relevant matters Why we exist? International together and helps them regarding student life. We do this Students Rotterdam (ISR) integrate into Dutch society. Our through our website and through was brought to life in the vision is to create a Rotterdam this student guide that we write summer of 2011 because we where all international students every year. wanted to improve the lives feel at home. All our activities can of all international students in be divided into three categories. 4 www.isrotterdam.com Join the Family. We represent has helped us throughout this events are organized for you, more than 30 different cultures process. Any time you have a so join one of our events to see and what brings us together question or need some help, how you can benefit from joining is that – just like you – we there is always an ISR member the family. are international students in ready to help you out! Rotterdam. As an international We are international students student you are one of us; ISR is The upcoming year we will in Rotterdam, we are in this your international family! organize more than 50 events. together! Do you want to know Think of social drinks, personal more about our family? Check We have all been through the development workshops, parties, www.isrotterdam.com to find out process of integrating into a new festivals, company visits, sports more! country, culture and language. tournaments, case competitions, ISR’s network and services food tastings, and more! These www.isrotterdam.com 5 ABOUT ROTTerdaM Sometimes referred to as the Dutch New York, it’s easy to conclude that Rotterdam isn’t comparable to Amsterdam. It is known for its new and modern skyscrapers and has been branded the “moving city” because it builds so fast; a new central station, the Rotterdam, and the Markthal are a few of the many examples 6 www.isrotterdam.com ABOUT ROTTerdaM 7 www.isrotterdam.com INTRODUCTION THINGS ABOUT ROTTERDAM Rotterdam is home to the which translates to “Working second largest port in the world, hard for little but never bitter.” accommodating thousands Almost everyone in the country of workers. Rotterdam’s many speaks English and Rotterdam harbor workers have caused the is no exception to that. The city Rotterdammer to be known as finds itself constantly focusing on someone who works extremely internationalization, trying to lure hard.“Hard voor weinig, nooit multinational companies with its chagrijnig” is a typical saying harbor. 8 www.isrotterdam.com AB O UT R O TT erda M DEMOGRAPHICS THE PEOPLE OF ROTTERDAM Rotterdam is the second largest America. Codarts has around 500 backgrounds. Ahmed Aboutaleb city of the Netherlands, with international students from 50 causes Rotterdam to be the first 619.879 (2013) inhabitants. It is countries, and the Hogeschool large city in the Netherlands with also one of the most international Rotterdam educates students a mayor of immigrant descent and cities in Europe due to its history from 40 different countries. Muslim faith. as a port, and more recently as Willem de Kooning Academy a student city. Of the 619.879 has around 100 international Furthermore, Rotterdam is the inhabitants currently living in exchange students per year, home of several international Rotterdam, 58.668 are students, while the Hogeschool InHolland companies. Unilever, the third around 10%. The exact number hosts around 450 internationals. largest producer of consumer of international students in goods, has its headquarters in Rotterdam is hard to come by. There are currently 173 Rotterdam. The Big Four, the four nationalities present in largest audit firms in the world, The Erasmus University Rotterdam, the most prevalent PwC, DeLoitte, Ernst & Young, and Rotterdam has 5,739 international non-Dutch groups being people KPMG, all have offices in the city students alone as of 2014, more of Surinamese (51,945 people), as well. Rotterdam also features than half of those from Europe and Turkish (45,457 people), an array of logistics companies Russia, 29% are of Asian origin, Moroccan (37,138 people), due to the fact that it is a port city. 8% from Africa, 4% from North Antillean (19,278 people), and America and 3.5% from South Cape Verdean (15,023 people) www.isrotterdam.com 9 HiSTorY THE PAST OF ROTTERDAM Settlement on the grounds of what today is Rotterdam began in 900 AD. Being located at the lower end of the Rotte or Rotta as it was then know (from rot muddy and a water; muddy-water) the settlement had to deal with frequent flooding, which hindered further development and lead to the construction of several dams in the 14th century, hence the name Rotterdam. Rotterdam was granted city rights on July 7th, 1340 by count Willem IV of Holland, having a population of approximately 2000 inhabitants at the time. Around 1350 a shipping canal was build giving access to the cities in the north and allowing Rotterdam to grow into a port of some importance over the next 500 years. The city eventually became one of six cities to seat a chamber of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), better known as the Dutch East India Company. With the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872 the city 10 www.isrotterdam.com AB O UT R O TT erda M experienced a spur of growth, expanding the city and harbour to the south bank of the river. The Witte Huis, or white house, can be seen as a testament to the success of Rotterdam during those years, with a height of 45 meters, making it the highest building in Europe at the time of its completion.