E-mail: l.r.s.jansen@tilburguniversity.edu
Study Program: Organizationstudies
Exchange semester: Fall 2013
Academic year:
2013-2014
Host University: University of Limerick
Country: Ireland
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
University of Limerick (UL) is located in county Limerick, next to the city of Limerick in
Castletroy. The university is a big green campus, surrounded by the student
accommodations, on and off campus. The campus is very big with lots attention to scenery.
UL has very good sporting facilities, big sporting fields, a good gym and a Olympic swimming
pool. The popular places to eat on campus are Stables, Paddocs and Scholars, Stables and
Scholars are also good for (day)drinking. The city of Limerick is not that spectacular, nothing
much to see, but it does has some nice clubs and pubs. It is often described as a violent city,
but I did not see anything like that. The people were very friendly and helpful. There are
enough shops in the city too, the favorite of the international students is Penny's, a Irish
version of Primark, very cheap. Different than Tilburg was that the campus is not in a city but
in a village next to the city and the students all live in student accommodations rather than the
private housing like in Tilburg.
UL has six faculties: Business, Arts Humanities and Social Science, Education, Health
Sciences, Engineering and Science, very diverse. There are over 10000 students studying at
UL with almost 1000 international students, around 10% of all students, which is a big share.
The study structure is different than Tilburg, more assignments and more obligated classes.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
I did not have any difficulties communicating with UL. They respond very quick to your emails
and questions. UL has an international office especially for all the international students. I
received my first email from UL around the beginning of March with a lot of information, so I
had enough time to arrange all the things I needed.
Visa procedure and arrival
For Ireland I did not required any visa of something similar. I visited Dublin for a week with a
Dutch friend before I went to Limerick. I flew from Maastricht to Dublin with Ryan Air for 25
euro's. I had a parcel with all my stuff sent to Brookfield (my student accommodation), this
allowed me to travel light which is much more comfortable. The best way to travel from Dublin
to Limerick is with Dublin coach, a bus service for 10 euro, they drop you off at UL. From
there I walked to Brookfield, around 20 minutes. I did not encounter any problems arriving.
Orientation/Introduction activities
On the Friday before the classes started was a welcome event organized with a lot of
information about UL, the way of studying and tours of the campus. Every night before that
Friday were some events organized for international students, to get to know other students.
A lot of students of UL participated in welcoming of the international students. It was all very
well organized and you feel really welcome. UL tries to make sure you have everything you
need and that you adapt smoothly to the system. I did apply for a student buddy system, but
my buddy did not contact me at all. Other international students who applied did got
responses and there were some very nice buddy's in the system, so I would definitely
recommend applying for the buddy system. I did not encounter any problems with adapting to
UL because of all the information provided and events organized. You can really notice that
UL has a lot of experience with international students.
Housing
At UL there are on (arranged by UL) and off campus (Private owners) accommodations, I
stayed at Brookfield, an off campus accommodation. A lot of international students live in
these apartments. I choose Brookfield because of the recommendation of UL and the former
international students. I booked it in advance, a smart thing to do since it was sold out when I
got there. UL provides on campus accommodations as well, but these are quickly sold out. I
was satisfied with my accommodation, I had my own bedroom, bathroom and a double bed. I
shared my apartment with one other guy, and we had a large kitchen and living room. The
apartments of Brookfield differ in size, so you do need a little bit of luck. It is a 20m walk to
UL, but Brookfield provides a free shuttle bus service to UL a couple hours a day, but mind
that these are Irish times, so you don't really know when the bus is leaving. The staff is quite
helpful, but when something is broken it can take a while before it is fixed. All good parties
were organized in Brookfield so all the on campus students often came to Brookfield.
Unfortunately, the security always stopped the house parties around 23:00. I paid a little less
than 2000 euro's for my accommodation for the full semester, which is around the same as
the on campus accommodations.
Living Costs
I financed my exchange period with money from the Dutch government (loans and grants),
the Erasmus grant and my savings. My expenses were about the same as Tilburg, maybe a
little bit higher. The cost for food and accommodations are higher. Most of my money went to
housing. I also spent a lot on traveling. Traveling is definitely recommended, don't safe your
money when you are on exchange. Ireland is a beautiful country to travel in and see things,
and of course, pubs are everywhere to be found.
I paid around 500 each month on housing, 300 on food and drinks, 30 on transport, 70 in total
on books and some more on other things. I spent roughly 900 each month.
Academic Calendar
I arrived on the 28th of August in Dublin and arrived on the 4th of September in Limerick. The
introduction day was on the 6th. My first classes were on the 9th of September and I finished
with classes on the 29th of November. I did not had a mid-term break, but I had 3 days of,
one bank holiday and 2 days of open days. The examination period was 3 weeks, starting the
2th of December till the 20th of December.
The International Office
UL has a good international office, which has staff who are responsible for incoming students.
They help you with anything you need. You can email them or go to the actual office. They
respond quickly and accurate so I was very satisfied with the international office.
Exchange promotion
There was no activity organized in particular to promote Tilburg University, but when I talked
to people I did positively mentioned Tilburg University as a destination for exchange.
Social Activities
UL has a lot to offer to (international)students. There are many clubs and societies, all very
different, examples are the windsurf club, gaming club, DJ society or soccer, something for
everybody. There is also an international society, who organize the international parties on
every Friday in the Stables club, on campus. The international society has a lot of events,
which are easy to participate in and are lots of fun. I had mixed contact with local students
and international students, mostly locals with the clubs and classes, and mostly international
students in everyday life. I traveled a lot in Ireland, the international society organized a trip
somewhere almost every Saturday (by bus), but I preferred going with just a couple of friends.
Traveling by bus is the easiest and cheapest in Ireland and I would definitely recommend
traveling a lot in Ireland. It is a beautiful country with nice little cities and great coasts.
Culture and Language
I did not experienced a big culture shock, the culture in Ireland is quite similar with the Dutch
one. Each culture has differences, the Irish culture is more relaxed and laid back, very
friendly, indirect, and hospitable. Some culture chocks existed with other international
students, but I think that is only a good thing. You do become more open to new cultures.
The Irish are known for their drinking and that is a correct stereotype. Drinking is a social
accepting thing in Irish society and will not change. Meeting with friends always includes
drinking in a pub.
I really like the friendliness of the Irish, they always try to help you and make you feel
welcome. There was nothing particular Irish that I disliked about their culture. Irish cities are
quite similar to each other, some are of course bigger than others, but Ireland is not that big,
so the culture is quite the same in the whole country.
I did not had any language problems as everyone speaks English. Ireland is officially
bilingual, but there are not that many people speaking Irish anymore, and those who do also
speak English. Most international students speak proper English but you do notice that the
English of some southern Europe countries is not that good.
Personal Development
The exchange experience did affect me in many ways. You become much more open minded
for differences and different cultures and you think more international rather than national. I
have friends all over the globe now, which I can always visit. I learned a lot from those people
I met along the way. It is very special to see how fast everyone becomes friends and even
very close friends. Everyone who goes on exchange is a open minder person to begin with,
and most international students come alone. That is why everyone really looks to make
friends and meet new people. Don't be afraid if you go alone, I've met my first friend when I
was 2 minutes in Limerick. I was actually glad that I was the only one from Tilburg going to
Limerick, that forces you to meet new people instead of staying with the people you know.
The most important thing I learned is that you should never judge someone on a first
impression. People who I did not liked that much in the beginning became my biggest friends
along the way. You learn to judge people a lot less and appreciate them as they are.
I think this experience will positively influence my career possibilities, especially with
international firms. I would be open to a position abroad.
I would not change a thing I did when I was in Ireland, but if I could go on another exchange
period, I would go somewhere further away from the Netherlands with warm weather in a city.
A different experience I had now. UL is a bubble, you live on campus with all the other
students, you don't really get to know a city but more the student who live on campus. If you
would like to make a lot of friends UL is an excellent choice, but if you want to get to know a
city, you can better go somewhere else.
My best experience is the friends I've made, in a week we had a group of over 30 people who
we did most things with. Within this group I've made some friends for life. I will not forget
these people. The most Irish thing and one of the best things I did was attending the All
Ireland Hurling final at Croke Park in Dublin. Tickets to this event are very hard to get but my
Irish friend could arrange something. My worst experience was saying goodbye to all my
friends in the end, but that's all part of exchange.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Academic level at a host university
The courses I followed were all in English. I did not follow any languages courses. I followed 5
courses at UL:
1. Economics of European integration, an economic course about the history and
economic development of Europe and the economic models.
2. International management, a management course about the management of
international organizations, international expansion and management of employees
going abroad.
3. International relations: a politic course about the international relations between
actors like states, different theories were explained.
4. The psychology of work, a psychology course about motivation, creativity and health
at the workplace.
5. Enterprise formation, a business course about the formation of a business, setting up
a business and writing a business plan.
I chose the first 3 courses because of the international character of the courses, all
international courses, but still very diverse. I chose the fourth course because I never had a
psychology course before only directed at work. The fifth course I choose because of the
applied character of the course. I think all courses had some added value to my studies in
Tilburg.
I would recommend all courses, but especially 3 and 5. Those I found the most interesting.
The academic level is probably a bit lower than Tilburg, but there is definitely more workload. I
had a lot of essays to write and a lot of classes were mandatory. I had 2 hours of class each
week for each course and often also 1 hour of tutorial. The teaching was quite similar with
Tilburg, often the teachers used sheets they would put online afterwards. All the classes had
a lot of additional readings next to the books they also used. The teaching was more practical
than Tilburg but still theoretical, also a lot of applications to 'real life'. The work was divided
between group work, essays, exams and other assignments.
The relationship between the students and the teaching staff was quite informal, it was
common that you stayed after a class to ask questions or go to the office of the lecturer. The
contact was more informal than in Tilburg. This could be because I had mostly small classes.
In the end I was happy with the classes I had chosen, they were very diverse and the subjects
were new and interesting for me.
Exams
I had only 2 exams at the end, 3 of my courses were 100% assignment based. Enterprise
formation was only group work, writing a business plan and presenting it. Psychology of work
had 3 individual assignments. Economics of European integration had 3 essays. International
relations had 1 essay and 1 final exam. International relations had 1 midterm and 1 final
exam.
Other
The library of UL was okay, the work spaces were small and there were not that many
computers available. There are some computer labs in other buildings which you can use
when there are no classes. The library does have a lot of work spaces when you bring your
own laptop. UL does has a lot of books available which are easily accessible.
Courses I have taken:
Course
EC4333 Economics
of European
Integration
Prerequisites
None
Exam
3 essays
ECTS
6
Comments
No exams, only
essays of 5 pages
each, small class
MG4035 International
Management
None
Written
6
1 midterm and 1 final
exam, very large class
PO4018 International
Relations
None
Essay and
final exam
6
Small class, lots of
international students,
also international
lecturer
PM4035 The
Psychology of Work
None
Assignments
6
3 assignments: critical
review, research report
and essay, small class
EP4315 Enterprise
formation
None
Group work
6
Only group work, quite
practical on how to
start up a business.
Tips for the future students:
I would definitely recommend an exchange period, it is truly an unforgettable period in your
life. Limerick is a good destination if you want to make a lot of Irish and international friends.
If you want to get to know a big city I would recommend going somewhere else. In the end I
don't think it is that important where you go but more important are the people you meet.
When you are going on exchange travel light, I only had a backpack because I mailed my
stuff in a parcel. You should also think about the differences in power plugs. Read a lot about
your destination and get to know the good places and cities by simply asking locals. And
simply don't be afraid to go alone, you'll meet people and make friends on the way much
quicker than you would think.