Experience report
Name:
E-mail:
Exchange semester:
Academic year:
Host University:
Country:
Rens Pyfferoen
R.L.Pyfferoen@tilburguniversity.edu
fall semester
2015-2016
Università degli Studi di Ferrara
Italy
Admission, arrival, housing
If found a room at Putinati’s residence. I found it through a link that was placed on the website
for international students of the university. For me the room was good. It was only 290 euros
a month and well equipped. The upside of living in this residence with approximately 40 Italian
and International students is that you get to know a lot of people really quick and that you have
your own bathroom. Downside is that the residence is just outside of the city centre and that
you have to share a kitchen with 15 people. Another option is to stay in the hostel for a week
and find a room on the spot, a lot of people did this in Ferrara and I think this is also a good
possibility since there are enough rooms available in Ferrara.
The university of Ferrara organises a sort of welcome week for international students. I arrived
the weekend before, I took a flight to Bologna and from there the train to Ferrara, which is
about 45 minutes. The welcome week is not obligatory but was very good to participate in. It
contained some social activities so you can meet your classmates and make friends quickly.
There was a pub-crawl, some drinks and city trips. I attended all events and if you want to go
to Ferrara I really recommend doing the same. Ferrara is not a very big town and when I was
there, there were around 300 international students. During the activities I nearly get to know
them all, this is one of the great advantages of Ferrara. Since it is not super big, you always
see the same people and in this way you really make friends not just acquaintances. Ferrara
is not super big city, for example in Milano it would be possible to meet people and never see
them again. In Ferrara it is easier to keep in touch.
Location of university/city
Ferrara is an old city in Emilia-Romagna that is not too big but has a great atmosphere. It is a
lively city, a lot of people on the streets, there are markets three times a week. And in the bars
there are always people. This makes Ferrara a pleasant city to live in. When I was there, there
were nearly every weekend festivals or other activities that attracted a lot of people. Also the
restaurants and bars are very good in Ferrara. To drink I suggest the Tsunami since this is the
bar where all the international students meet. To have aperitivo I suggest I Duellanti, this is a
good bar and when you buy a drink there is a free buffet with pasta, bread, olives and other
small aperitivo food. Ferrara has several nightclubs, in my opinion the best is College another
good one is Renfe. Note that the clubs are not open during the summer because the
temperatures are too high during this period. The thing you have to see in Ferrara is the
Castello Estense and also the Duomo is beautiful. For the different faculties there are different
buildings located throughout the city. The faculty of Law is located in the north part of the city
and consists of three old buildings.
The big difference with Tilburg is that people in Italy are more sociable. They go out more,
they eat out a lot of times, go to bars etc. This makes the city livelier. Everyday of the week
you can go to a bar a find people there from all categories.
Academics
In Ferrara I took 5 courses in the law department that were all 6 credits and I took the Italian
language course that was 5 credits. I was only obliged to get 24 credits so I did more than I
had to. If you don’t speak Italian like me, I recommend taking the language course for
international students. In this way you get the basics of Italian language, which is very useful
since a lot of Italians don’t speak English. Another good thing of this course is that you get to
know other international students that are not in your faculty. The five courses that I took in
the law department were the following: Legal English, Private International Law, International
Trade Law, Comparative Company Law and International Institutional Law. For me these
subjects were a nice complementation for my master in business law. Workload, level of
English, extra materials etc. was different for every course. Every course had a different
professor and everyone has off course their own style of teaching. In general I can say that in
Italy there is a focus on the lectures and on what is being said there. Not so much on readings
and books. For me it was easier to pass the courses than in Tilburg.
The law faculty of Ferrara is situated in the north of the city. There are three buildings and 15
classrooms. Two off the buildings have a nice garden that is nice to take a break when the
weather is good. There is also a library with multiple study rooms.
Social life
ESN Ferrara organises quite a lot of activities for international and Italian students. They have
weekly drinks, parties and trips. In my first days I went to Bologna and Venice with the
European Student Network. I suggest you go to these events; I went to all the events in the
first weeks. It is a great way to meet new people. During these events in the first days I’ve met
a lot of people who are now good friends and that I’ve travelled with in Italy. In the classes of
the law department there were some Italian students. Although not a lot since most of them
don’t speak English very well. During my exchange I’ve made a lot of travels to different cities
and places in Italy. An advantage of Ferrara is that it is close to a lot of beautiful cities that are
all easy to visit by train. Some cities that I went to Milano, Bologna, Venice, Padova, Verona,
Parma, Ravenna, Modena, Florence.
Living costs
The costs for housing are lower in Ferrara than in Tilburg. Most rooms are between 200 and
300 euros. My room in Tilburg was much more expensive. Though I’ve spent a lot more money
in Italy than that I did in Tilburg. In Italy I was out 4-5 nights a week. Parties and travelling was
where I spend the most money on. I didn’t have to buy any textbooks or other stuff for
university. The only thing was 70 euros for the language course. The first thing that comes to
mind to buy is an Italian simcard for your phone. You can buy a prepaid simcard for 10 euros
a month that has 2 GB of internet and some free minutes.
Culture
Italy is not so far from the Netherlands. I did not experience any culture shock. Maybe also
because I already had been a few times to Italy and southern Europe. The main difference
between Dutch culture and Italian culture is in my opinion that in Italy people are less stressed.
It seems like they take more time for everything. For example in the first days I had to go to
the secretary of the university to register. I thought it would be a five minute job, but I was
there three days every time waiting in line for at least one hour. Also in the supermarket the
cashier takes her time and talks to every customer. In the Netherlands when people have to
wait in line they get angry, in Italy they don’t mind so much. The downside is that in general a
lot of things are not as well organised as in the Netherlands.
Another difference in my opinion is that people are more sociable in Italy. They go out more.
Everyday there were a lot of people on the streets and in the bars.
Personal development
Since I went to Ferrara all on my own without knowing any other people who would go there
as well, the greatest challenge for me was to make sure I had a good time there. Beforehand
I was quite confident that I would manage but you have to also be a bit lucky with the people
you meet. Now I can say that coming alone to Ferrara was an advantage. A lot of students
came with people they knew and in this way you always keep attached to them. I could do
what ever I wanted without having to take into account other people. Because of this I think
that I have made a lot more friends than some others who came in groups. Having this
Erasmus experience gives confidence, to know that I was able to enjoy and build up a good
life in a different country with a different language without any help from friends or family. I
didn’t have any difficult or unhappy moments. The best experience for me was the trips to the
different Italian cities. Another important lesson that I have learned is that it is important to be
flexible and to adapt to every situation.
Tips for future students
I would recommend to everybody to do an exchange period. Being a student is not all about
getting credits and reading books, a more important feature in my opinion is personal
development. A period abroad opens your mind and brings you in touch with different culture
and people; it gives you a new perspective to look at things. I would recommend my host
university; the academic possibilities are not so great. But the city is nice. For me it was Ferrara
or Milano and I am glad that I have chosen Ferrara.