Erfahrungsberichte

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Land:
Niederlande

Universität:
Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

Semester und Studiengang:
4. Semester Bachelor Betriebswirtschaft

Aufenthalt:
summersemester 2016

Über die Universität:
In my Semester abroad at the Hogeschool Rotterdam I took a special programme called IBEX, especially offered for international students. All courses in this programme are mandatory and in English. Therefore it is necessary to pass all the different courses, which are included in the programme, to get in the end the certificate of passing. IBEX includes modules like Strategic Management Accounting, Strategic Finance and Marketing, Business skills, Operations Management and Risk Management. These are the main modules you have to pass. But there are also electives you can pick depending on your interests, e.g. The Long Tail, Financial Accounting, and Elementary Dutch. There are more to choose but at the beginning you have to pick three.
In total there are two study periods, which are splitting the semester into two halfs. Accordingly, there are also two exams periods at the end of each study period. During each period students have to work on a project, which in my opinion is the highlight of the programme. Each student has to figure out a role (CEO, Project Manager, employee). The main task here is to help an existing business to improve their business.

The university buildings is getting renovated at the moment, so some parts cannot be accessed right now. The IBEX courses always took place in the same two rooms.
Two offices are interesting for international students, the Center for International Affairs (you can ask them everything about life outside the university) and the IFM, which is responsible for all questions about grades, documents and stuff connected to the academic life.
You can join different clubs at the Hogeschool Rotterdam and enjoy different activities.

Betreuung vor Ort:
The teachers in the IBEX programme are mainly business people with a lot of experience they can refer to in their classes. However, the fact, that they are not professors makes their grading in some cases individual and not comprehensible.
The secretaries of the university are always helpful, they respond in short time or at least within 24 hours. I should mention the student handbook that contains useful information and offers anwers to most of your questions.
You have to rent your accommodation in Rotterdam yourself, however the university is reserving rooms in a nearby student house. Since the rents in Rotterdam are quite high, I would recommend to take one of these rooms to prevent unnecessary costs, even though the rooms are quite simple. You would have your own room with a bed, table, chair, wardrobe, and you share the kitchen, bathroom and toilet with a flatmate. Luckily I did not have any problems with my accommodation, if necessary you can always ask the COIA for details.

Tipps:
- Basically the grading system is going from one to ten with ten being the best grade.
- The cost of living in Rotterdam is noticeably higher than in Germany. Therefore a financing plan is most recommendable.
- With a bike you can reach your destinations in Rotterdam most easily. However the theft-rate is quite high, so keep that in mind when you look for a bike. There are other ways to get from A to B e.g. by bus, local metro or tram. However on the long term a bike is cheaper.
- Every Saturday and Tuesday there is a bike market where you can also buy vegetables, meat and other goods for a cheap price.
- Rotterdam is known as a student city, many pubs and clubs with student friendly prices are gathering around the students houses.