Student Experience

Anna Jiráková

Autumn 2016 at the University of Piemonte Orientale
Thesis defence on 30 January 2018

Studying in collaboration with the University of Alessandria gave me a unique opportunity to really experience Italy! The school does not provide traditional dormitory accommodation. Luckily, you can contact a great study officer who is always happy to help with everything (from finding accommodation to arranging free time if she feels you are not having enough fun).

Italians are loud, bubbly, but also very warm and cordial. Since there really aren't that many foreigners in Alessandria, you'll soon be remembered by a lot of people (including the shop assistants). After only about 14 days at the school, I already felt like I was saying hello to more people (Italian teachers and classmates; the janitor even called me by name) than I had in one year at MU. Therefore, I can recommend studying at this university especially to those who really want to become part of a culture for a while while studying abroad (not just an international group of Erasmus students). The intensity of the study is reasonable, leaving time for traveling or writing a thesis.

Lucie Sommerová

Spring 2017 at the University of Tampere
Thesis defence on 30 January 2018

Why study in the land of a thousand lakes? Finland was an obvious choice for me right from the start. The first reason was inherently the Finnish nature and the vision of exploring it, which had long been on my travelling radar. The second reason is that the Finnish education system is known around the world as one of the best and perhaps even the hardest, and I wondered why this was so and whether I would have a chance of succeeding in it. When I gained information in the first week about what I needed to accomplish to pass my chosen courses, I was really panicking - I was packing my bags, my parents were dissolving their savings, I just couldn't handle it! In order to pass most courses, you have to write ongoing individual and final group essays. After taking it all in, writing countless pages of essays in the first month, reading one English book, passing my first exam, and working in a group with Finns who didn't cooperate at all (bad assignments - a rare situation), I realized that I had finally figured out the crux of the local education system. Since then I have never panicked again, on the contrary! In retrospect, I appreciate this method very much, because during a few months of "independent" writing, writing an eighty-page thesis in English seemed like a "piece of cake"! Thus, one of the most important things that the University of Finland gave me not only for my student life, but also outside it, was critical thinking, discussion and defending one's own opinion.

Sandra Laštovková

Spring 2017 at University of Rennes 1
Thesis defence on 20 June 2017

I can confirm from my own experience that studying at a foreign university can be with a little effort successfully completed. Moreover, a few extra hours of study is a small price to pay for receiving a foreign university diploma, which other Erasmus+ stays do not offer. At the same time, you don't miss out on the benefits of learning about a foreign culture, meeting other students, travelling and other experiences, which, for me at least, are some of the best of the whole study experience. The courses are more technically oriented. You will learn how to work with R studio and create Cost Benefit and Cost Effectiveness analyses. It was the class on CEA analysis that I found the most interesting and I think also the most beneficial. Mainly because we followed the way things are done in practice, i.e. from problem identification, designing strategies to calculating efficiencies and costs. The advantage of being in France is the opportunity to apply for a CAF student/social scholarship. You have to be patient as the French administration is very lengthy. However, if you supply all the necessary documents, you will be entitled to about 90 euros per month in addition. Finally, I would like to mention the best part, and that is the experience that studying abroad will bring you. For me personally, it is definitely the people you will have the opportunity to meet. Even if you don't choose your class in advance, chances are you won't be disappointed. Plus, Rennes is a student city, so you will have the opportunity to meet a lot of students. There are also other experiences such as "national dinners", trips and other group activities.