STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Corvinus University of Budapest
Exchange semester: Fall / Spring, 2014__
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university, and
did you encounter any difficulties?
Got an email in April after submitting my application. Final email and acceptance
came in June. No difficulties.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
- How did you apply for your visa, what did it cost and did you have difficulties?
- Corvinus sent me an email about paper works in the beginning of the semester etc. you
have to bring with you to the immigration office. You only have to pay 1000 HUFs for
fee stamps at the post office, to get throught the procedure takes some time due to
Hungarys bureaucratic structure, queues etc. But you have 90 days to register with all
the papers at the immigration office. Recommend to do it as soon as possible.
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination?
- Booked a Norwegian Air Shuttle flight from Gardemoen in august 1 month in
advance, to very reasonable prices.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from
the school?
The university offers help to provide you with dorm housing, these are not so good.
The Erasmus Budapest group on facebook connects you with a lot of previous
exchange student who have rooms/flats for rent for the coming year. In addition is the
first week an introduction to the program and fellow international students who all
look for places to live. During the “Hostel week” it is not hard to to socialize and find
an accommodation together with your fellow students, this is the best option for a true
exchange experience.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 3200
NOK 100
NOK 2000
NOK 120
NOK 4000
You get an Erasmus Grant of apx. 10 000 NOK for the semester in addition to funds
from Laanekassen. A lot of the Erasmus students travel to nearby cities such as
Prague, Vienna, Krakow, Bratislava and countries like Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia etc.
STUDENT REPORT
With the funds from Norway you are well covered and can afford to live a high end
lifestyle. If not, this is a good opportunity to save money.
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
- How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
The coordinators speak English, the international students also speak good English and its
easy to communicate. The school´s websites and learning platforms are available in English
as well. Hungarians in general are fairly reluctant to speak even though they know english,
and some are just capable of the basics. However some Hungarian phrases will gain you
respect and break a barrier, and make it easier for them to express themselves in English.
You can take 5 classes that will give you 30 ECTS, each consists of apx 90 -180 minutes a
week. Plan your schedule to finish the week on wednsdays or Thursdays, and you will have a
lot of time during the weekends to experience cultural sights in Hungary and Central Europe.
Trips are arranged the first month to several destinations of Hungary and Central Europe, I
would recommend Fresh Camp, but not other Erasmus arranged events as they are not good at
logistics(waiting time). Organize trips with fellow students and it usually turns out to be
cheaper and more rewarding. Trains from Budapest runs to every major city in Central
Europe, within Hungary and cross borders. Very reasonable prices. The website Mav-start.hu
offers online bookings, although you have to pick up the physical tickets at the station pick up
spots IN Hungary, they cannot be picked up if you are outside the borders of Hungary.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school (location, size, study structure, special academic areas etc.)
- The school consists of 3 large buildings in a very central place which is really easily
accessible with public transportation.
- It is situated at the riverside of the great river Danube, and it's a beautiful location.
Course registration
- When and how did you register for courses?
- Through Neptune on 6th of June 8:00. Be sure to login at 7:50 and refresh as thousands
register at the same time, and the courses fills up in a matter of seconds.
- You will get an email with detailed information on how to do this.
- When did the add/drop period end?
- Ends at 15th of september
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
25th August
9th september
12th December
10th-20th december
23th October national
holiday
STUDENT REPORT
Arrival
- Describe the introduction week
- The orientation week offered toured guides in Budapest, and a lot of activities and
parties to get to know Hungary, Budapest and the other international students. On the
weekend there was a trip to lake Balaton where you could get more insight on on the
culture and exclusive tourist attractions and activities.
Theres also a Hostel week that will introduce you to fellow students looking for flats.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information?
- You get mail and information in time from the international office, whom are very
helpful if you need them.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at
your exchange university?
Everyone liked the idea of Norway, and study business there, but no matter how appealing it
was to many, the prices in Norway was always the topic of discussion.
Social activities
- How was the relationship with native students and that among exchange
students?
- The international students mostly stick together, some Hungarians participate in the
English classes and they were all very friendly.
- Are there any special activities, student organisations, and gatherings for
exchange students?
- Erasmus creates most of the events as well as the students themselves. You get invited
to Facebook groups after youre accepted at Corvinus and join the Official ERASMUS
BUDAPEST Group, that will keep you updated on pretty much everything.
- An event plan is made at the beginning of the semester for the entire stay.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style (practical, theoretical, cases/lectures, formal/informal
etc.)
- You have seminar classes (practical, up to 25-30 students per class) and lecture classes
(theoretical, 50+ students per class).
- Participation is mandatory in the seminars,
- Class participation affects your grade, and groups are formed to assignments in every
course I participated in
- How is the level and workload compared to that at BI?
The workload is higher than BI, theres assignments, Group work, mandatory participation etc.
But the difficulty level is lower, and you usually get good grades as long as you fulfil all of
your assignments. It's a good experience in terms of a completely new way of study, in
comparison to the one final exam at BI. You get new chances all the time to improve your
grade during the semester. And the finals are maximum 40% of your grade.
STUDENT REPORT
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint,
level of course material etc).
- Mostly Powerpoint slides, some articles handed out by the teachers. The required
books were rather hard to come by, but they can be borrowed at the library, copy and
scanned. Notes from lectures and seminars is your main resource I would say.
Exams
- Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
- More so on the lectures the recommended readings didn't influence the tests.
Everything is covered in lectures and seminars. As long as you attend and pay
attention in class, you will have sufficient knowledge for your tests and assignments.
- How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
o Final exam (form: written)
o Mid-term exam
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentations
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
o Activities outside of the classroom (Escape challenge, debate/presentation
events)
o Online quizzes (Corporate Finance)
Library and technology
- Describe the facilities
- The library worked exactly as it does on BI, but you cannot bring your bag and jacket
inside. The campus consists of 3 buildings where the new building (C) was where I
had most of my classes, the salt house – where you have IT courses, and the old
building (E) – where you could find all the offices for the administration.
STUDENT REPORT
Description of courses
Course code & name
Master/
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequis
ites
None
None
Approv
ed as
Elective
Mandat
ory
Decision Techniques
Bachelor
2-hour written
exam
Corporate Finance
Bachelor
2-hour written
exam
None
Mandat
ory
Effective E-business
Management
Bachelor
30 minutes
written exam
None
Elective
Chines companies:
Business strategy
Bachelor
Presentation
None
Elective
Personality types and
team dynamics
Bachelor
2-hour written
exam
None
Elective
Comments
Hungarian teacher,
speaks English
interesting views
on making better
decisions. Very
relevant, fairly
challenging.practic
al course
A similar course to
that of BI´s FIN
courses, but with a
more practical
approach, feels
more useful than
BI´s curriculum. a
good teacher who
has a lot of
experience.
Theoretical and
practical
Monotone teacher,
theoretical.
Presentation
subjects were
interesting.
Highly motivating
teacher, the
professor you will
never forget,
practical and
interactive class.
Never had a similar
class.
German/Swiss prof.
with a lot of
business
knowledge.
Highly interactive
and practical
course. Interesting,
in terms of self
discovery,
analysing your type
and how
personalities bring
values and
difficulties to
STUDENT REPORT
teams. Good class
atmosphere.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
-
A truly indispensable experience for my education, the learning outcome and personal
gain is especially great due to the social networking, cultural understanding,
broadened perspective and the different environment. You truly gain new insight in
ways to pursue academics and the “college” experience.
-
Would have done it again and again and again.