WELCOME Practical information for your mobility stay at the URV 2 CONTENTS 1. ARRIVAL AT THE UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI …...5 A) CONTACT WITH URV’S INTERNATIONAL CENTER…....5 B) CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE…………………………5 C) LEARNING AGREEMENT………………………………..6 D) MODIFICATION OF YOUR PERIOD OF STAY ………….7 E) MOBILITY COORDINATOR CONTACT DETAILS…………7 F) MOODLE CONTACT FORM…………………………….7 G) ASSESSMENT SYSTEM — TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDS.…...8 H) URV STUDENT CARD…………………………………8 I) INTERNATIONAL CENTER CONTACT DETAILS…………...9 2. MORE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW…..10 A) ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2014/15……………………10 B) LANGUAGE LEARNING……………………………….10 C) HEALTH INFORMATION …………………………..11 International Center. Avinguda Països Catalans, 17- 43007 Tarragona 3 D) INFORMATION ABOUT THE NIE (FOREIGN RESIDENTS’ ID CARD)……………………………………………….12 E) ACCOMMODATION………………………………….15 F) INTERNACIONAL STUDENT IDENTITY CARD…………..17 G) SAFETY INFORMATION………………………………17 H) STUDENT CLUBS…………………………………….18 I) ASSOCIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES………………………18 J) URV CAMPUS AND TRANSPORT…………………...19 4 First of all, we want to thank you for choosing our University to do your Exchange! These useful tips have been designed to make your exchange experience easier so that your stay with us will be a success. This practical information leaflet provides you with useful tips for your arrival to our University as well as during your ex- change period. International Center. Avinguda Països Catalans, 17- 43007 Tarragona 1. ARRIVAL AT THE URV 5 A) CONTACT WITH THE URV’S INTERNATIONAL CENTER Until now you have been following certain procedures so you can come to study at the URV, such as completing the on-line registration, the pre-arrival form and sending in all the neces- sary documents, but this will not be all! There is more of this fun stuff waiting for you! Luckily, the International Center is here to help you in any way that we can to ensure that your stay with us meets all your expectations. We organize Welcome Meetings for interna- tional students where, in addition to welcoming you, we pro- vide you with information regarding all the steps you have to follow in order to complete your registration, get your certify of attendance and so on. Also, if you still have to submit any mobility documents, you can do it during the Welcome Meeting!! During the meeting you should provide the International Cen- ter staff with your home certify of attendance. If you do not have one, we can give an empty form to you. B) CERTIFY OF ATTENDANCE This certify shows the date when you arrive at the URV (also known as the beginning of your Exchange period). The International Center officers sign and stamp this document and send it back to your home university by email. 6 We keep the original document in our records until your de- parture. Once you finish your exchange, you should come to our office to pick up the original document. It is very important that you come to pick up the original cer- tify of attendance 2 or 3 days before your departure because you will need to give it to the international relations office of your university. The certify of attendance must be signed and stamped when you arrive at the URV and before your departure! C) LEARNING AGREEMENT Before you complete the registration of the process for the URV subjects of your choice, you should get your Learning agreement approved and signed by your home university’s mobility coordinator. We suggest that you do the following be- fore registering for your URV subjects: 1. Look at the schedule, the language of instruction and con- tent of the subjects for which you are planning to register. This information is available from the Guia Docent, which you can consult on each faculty’s website. 2. Follow the instructions given to you by your mobility coor- dinator in order to ensure the recognition of your studies. 3. If you have to modify your original Learning Agreement once it has already been signed by your home and URV coor- dinators, you can use the Changes to the Learning Agreement document. International Center. Avinguda Països Catalans, 17- 43007 Tarragona 7 You can download it from: http://www.urv.cat/international/movilidad/ tramites.html#Learning D) MODIFICATION OF YOUR PERIOD OF STAY You can extend/reduce your period of stay at the URV (only for the current academic course). If you want to do so, you should get the authorization from your home and URV coordi- nators and then, inform us at: [email protected] E) MOBILITY COORDINATOR CONTACT DETAILS In order to prepare your enrolment, you have to get in touch with your academic coordinator at the URV. S/he is the mobil- ity coordinator from your Faculty or School. In the welcome meeting we will give you his/her contact de- tails. In case you cannot get in touch with your academic co- ordinator, please inform us by e-mail at: [email protected] In the same document we include you access user and pass- word to access to the URV on-line services (Moodle, personal e-mail account, etc…) F) MOODLE VIRTUAL PLATFORM Moodle is the URV’s virtual campus which en- ables professors and students to communicate online. In order to sign into the virtual campus, you must be registered as a student. 8 You can access the virtual campus 24 hours a day through any internet connection. This tool allows you to download content from the URV subjects you are registered for, upload activities and assignments, communicate with students and professors, send messages, and so on. In order to sign into the Virtual campus you need a user name and a password (see section E) Your user name is the number of the ID document you provided us with when you completed the online registration or application form. Your password is your date of birth: DD-MMM-YY DD: day MMM: first three letters of your birth month in Catalan (In Catalan, from January to December: GEN, FEB, MAR, ABR, MAI, JUN, JUL, AGO, SET, OCT, NOV, DES); YY: your birth year. (For example: If your date of birth is the 3rd of March 1985, your password would be: 03-MAR-85) If you are unable to sign in to the Virtual campus, send an email to: [email protected] G)ASSESMENT SYSTEM. TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDS You can find out about the assessment system in the Guia do- cent where you will also find information on schedules, lan- guage of instruction, exams, etc. International Center. Avinguda Països Catalans, 17- 43007 Tarragona 9 Generally during the first lesson, your professor will refer to how that specific subject will be assessed.The academic infor- mation can be also found in the Virtual Campus “Moodle”. Remember to visit your academic coordinator before leaving and pick your Transcript of Records up. On the contrary, your Transcript of Records will be directly sent to your home uni- versity. H) URV STUDENT CARD You can collect your URV student card form at the International Center or at the Welcome meeting. More information: host- [email protected] I) CONTACT FORM You should fill in this form with your contact details. This information will be treated confi- dentially and it will only be used if we have to contact you in case of emergency. J) INTERNATIONAL CENTER: CONTACT DETAILS This card features the International Center’s contact details. We suggest that you always carry it with you. Our opening hours are Monday to Friday (9am to 1pm) and Monday to Thursday (4pm to 6pm). 10 2. MORE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW A) ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2014-15 The exact dates may change depending on the campus, but as a general rule, is this year’s academic calendar is as follows: 1st Semester 8 September 2014 to 30 January 2015 2nd Semester 2 February 2015 to 26 June 2015 EASTER: 30th March—6th April (both included) We recommend that you consult the specific calendar of the URV faculty/school where you are going to study. B) LANGUAGE LEARNING The URV’s Language Service (Servei Lingüístic) is located on the Campus Catalunya and is open to all international and local students. It offers several language courses: Catalan courses: Free for international students at the URV. Spanish courses: Special reduced price (€62,51) for interna- tional students at the URV. The Language Service also offers courses in: English, Italian, Chinese and French. The registration fees for these courses are the same for local and international students. More information: http://www.llengues.urv.cat/ Free online Catalan courses at: www.intercat.cat International Center. Avinguda Països Catalans, 17- 43007 Tarragona 11 C) HEALTH INFORMATION The health centres in Tarragona are divided into Primary Attention Centres (CAP) and Hospitals. The first ones offer care during fixed opening hours and the second provide a 24h emergency service. If you need to see a doctor, you must first decide whether it is an emergency or not, If it is, you can go to the following hospitals: If it is not, go to your CAP. You can find further informa- tion on the following website: www10.gencat.cat/catsalut/cat Remember that you must take your European Health Insurance and your URV acceptance letter with you to the hospital. If you are not from the EU, you must show your URV accep- tance letter and your private health insurance. If you want to take out private insurance, please send an email to: [email protected] Hospital Santa Tecla (Rambla Vella, 14) IN TARRAGONA Hospital Universitario Joan XXIII (C/ J. Mallafré s/n) Hospital Universitario Sant Joan IN REUS (C/ Josep Laporte, s/n) Hospital Verge de la Cinta (C/ IN TORTOSA Esplanetesd, 44-58) 12 D) INFORMATION ABOUT THE NIE (Foreign residents’ IV card I.