Experience Report
E-mail: d.lugonja@tilburguniversity.edu
Study Program: Bachelor Psychology
Exchange semester: Spring 2014
Academic year:
2013-2014
Host University: Masaryk University
Country: Czech Republic
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Masaryk University is the main university of Brno, the 2 nd biggest city in the Czech Republic.
There isn’t a university campus but faculties of the university are separately located in the
city. Most of these faculties have their own cafeteria where you can eat for a good price. The
ESN (Erasmus Student Network) is very active and has a weekly program of
sporting/cultural/student activities. The members of the ESN are very helpful and are actively
involved in the events. Even though Brno is the biggest city in the country after Prague, the
city center isn’t that hard to get to know. There are many café’s and bars where you can drink
Czech and locally brewed beer (a visit to Starobrno, the local brewery, was part of the
introduction program). There is also Špilberk Castle, a castle in the middle of the city with a
park around it where people take walks or go running. The way the university is organized is
different than in Tilburg since the faculty buildings aren’t located on one campus. The faculty
of medicine is located at the outside of the city, but as far as I know the other faculties aren’t
too for away from each other. The study structure at Masaryk is the same as that of Tilburg
University, except for the fact that masters usually take more than one year. Masaryk
University consists of nine faculties and has 35,115 students, there are over 600 exchange
students per year coming to Masaryk University.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
I received the pre-arrival information from the host university months in advance of the
semester. The information was complete and there was enough time to finish things before
deadlines.
You get the option to ask for a tutor (a Czech student who picks you up from the
airport or main station when you arrive and helps you with any problems you have), mine
picked me up from the airport and helped me get to the dormitory. The schools reception was
very good, the organization did their best to help the foreign students get to know the city and
the university during (and after) the introductory week. Students and employees of the
university showed us around our faculties, and among other things there were Czech classes
and a party.
Most of the foreign students stayed in Vinařská A1, a dormitory consisting of three
blocks (flats), we got the opportunity to reserve a room long in advance of the semester. The
rooms in Vinařská are for two people, so most students had a roommate. The rooms also
have a (small) kitchen, bathroom and toilet (also small). The rooms are not luxurious but
aren’t inconvenient either. Having a roommate worked out well for most people, many
students became good friends with their roommates and there were only a few cases in which
people had serious problems with their roommates, you do get the opportunity to switch
rooms if it doesn’t work out. It is also very cheap to live in Vinařská; you pay around 130/140
euros a month. If you’re looking for the distinct Erasmus experience, living in Vinařská is the
best choice, but if you’d like to get to know the Czech life, choosing private accommodation
might be better.
Living costs in the Czech Republic are lower than in the Netherlands. For Dutch
students who receive ‘studiefinanciering’ and an Erasmus grant life shouldn’t be too hard
financially. It’s very cheap to eat out in restaurants or in the university cafeterias, food was a
bit cheaper, and alcohol was a lot cheaper than in the Netherlands. Most students spent a lot
of money on trips; students went either with the ESN (which organized many trips within the
Czech Republic, but also to international destinations) or travelled individually/with friends.
Brno has an ideal location, with cities like Prague and Budapest close by, and an airport with
cheap flights. There is also the Student Agency, a company that has very cheap busses.
I didn’t spend money for the courses I followed at university. All courses published the
required literature online so we didn’t have to buy books. Courses started the second week
after I arrived (the 15th of February), and ended in June. We didn’t have a mid-term break but
the Faculty of Social Studies did have a ‘reading week’ during which we didn’t have class.
The examination period differed a lot for the courses I followed; with some I was finished at
the beginning of June, and with some I was finished in the middle of the month.
The international office has its office in the city center. The members are incredibly
helpful, and respond quickly to e-mails. There are also office hours in which you can meet
your coordinator. I didn’t take part in any specific activity to promote exchange to Tilburg
University, I did however talk about the university with the coordinator before I left, and also
with other exchange students.
I didn’t experience culture shock since the Czech culture isn’t so different than the
Dutch culture. Even though the Czech people had a much different history than the Dutch, it’s
hard to say what the differences are. Maybe Czech people are more relaxed and less
concerned with formalities than the Dutch. A similarity with the Dutch is that they’re strict with
time, and expect from other people to be like this. Beer is more important in the Czech
republic than in the Netherlands. People drink more often, and it isn’t strange to see people
drinking beer before twelve in the afternoon. I didn’t have many language problems in Brno.
Almost all young people speak English, the older generations often don’t, but they’ll usually
still try to talk, or help you with the few words they know. I didn’t follow the Erasmus Intensive
Language Course, but I did attend a few lectures Czech during the introduction week where
we learned practical phrases.
Through the exchange I got in contact with people from many parts of the world, and
learned a lot about the differences between cultures. I did also learn that even though the
cultural differences may be big, people are mainly the same. The best part of the experience
is probably the people I met, and I’m very grateful for the friendships I’ve made throughout
this period.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Almost all the courses that are for foreigners are in English, there may be some courses that
are in Czech for people that study the language, I did take Czech language courses but these
were in English. The academic level at Masaryk University is pretty much the same as at
Tilburg University. Professors did focus more on practical work (in the form of essays) than on
exams in my experience, but this may be due to the courses I took (other students did have
more exams). The teaching method that was practiced depended on the type of course, I
mostly had seminars and lectures, but students that studies education had more group work,
and I guess this is again dependent on your field of study. I was very glad to be able to take
courses I wouldn’t be able to take in Tilburg.
I had to sit a small oral exam for the Czech course and two written exams. Essays
decided the grade for the other courses. The libraries and their resources are open, and
easily accessible for all students and there were public computers available at the dorm and
the faculties.
Course
CJQZ01 Czech for
foreigners – beginners
1 – grammar
Prerequisites
None
Exam
Written
ECTS
4
Comments
Part of the same course
as conversation, a
(small) oral exam and a
written exam.
CJQZ02 Czech for
foreigners – beginners
1 – conversation
None
Oral
4
FAV025 Eastern
European Cinema
None
Written
4
The course consisted of
a few meetings in which
we watched parts of
movies.
SOC165 Introduction
to Environmental
Sociology
None
Written
12
The grade was
calculated by the results
on a written exam and
on a few essays we had
to write.
CZS35 Fiction, Facts
and Reality in Modern
Czech Literature
None
Written
6
Different professors
talked about their focus
in Czech literature. We
could choose the
professor we wanted as
our coordinator for the
essay we had to write.
Tips for the future students:
I would definitely recommend an exchange period to other students. It’s a unique opportunity
to live abroad and meet people from all parts of the world. The coordinators at Tilburg
University are very good at guiding the students who are going abroad, as well as the
department for international students in Brno, you can be sure to have a good experience.