EXPERIENCE REPORT
E-mail:
Study Program:
Exchange semester:
Academic year:
Host University:
Country:
ymkeingelse@gmail.com
Organization sciences
spring
2014-2015
University of Ljubljana
Slovenia
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
I went on exchange to Ljubljana in Slovenia, and you have to know what a beautiful city and
beautiful country this is. Ljubljana is a small city but with a lot to offer, the center is covered
with small bars where you can sit outside and enjoy the city. But you can also choose to climb
up to the castle and learn about Ljubljana’s history. Not only can you find the history there,
there are also a lot of different museums that can shed some light on this matter. The faculty
of social sciences is located a little but outside of the city center, but only 10 minutes away by
bus. Other faculties are spread around the city and all are easy to reach by public
transportation.
The faculty of social sciences was situated very close to the student dormitories, the faculty of
economics, the faculty of administration and the faculty of social work. In between these
faculties there were some cafeteria which provided the option to sit outside and enjoy the
sunshine. The best place that is closest to the university to eat some lunch is the NetCafe,
where you can get a sandwich, a drink and some yoghurt for only 50 cent (if you have
activated the studentski boni system, which I will explain later). If you bring your own lunch,
then you can just eat it outside in the grass, because there is a lot of green surrounding the
faculties. What I will miss most in Tilburg is the 50 cent lunch that we could eat every day, and
not get sick of it while we were just relaxing outside in the sunshine. This is very different in
Tilburg. Also a big difference is that the classes lasted for 4 hours, with one break after 2
hours. Not the 90 minutes that we are used to with a break after 45 minutes.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before I didn’t get a lot of information sent to me. Of course the usual map of the city, some
basic information. But nothing that I didn’t know already. When I got there I had to pick up an
arrival package which contained a lot of documents that I needed to hand in for different
purposes. There was for example the document for the studentski boni system. But all the
information that I needed was provided and if I had any questions, it was no problem to ask
them.
Upon arrival in Ljubljana I had arranged a sleeping place via couchsurfing. I took a shuttle bus
to the city center and got picked up there. Nothing that I arranged with the university, but this
was also because I arrived 4 weeks before my classes at the faculty started. I did follow a
language course, and with them everything was arranged perfectly already. So also no
problems there.
During my language course there was an introduction day from the faculty in which they
provided us with a lot of information about sim-cards, discounts, or any other questions that
were asked. It was also a way to see what people were on exchange and that weren’t in my
own language course group. This afternoon we were also introduced with the student
organization and all the activities that they were going to organize for us during the semester.
Personally I think that the accommodation could have been organized better. I think it’s logical
that there isn’t enough space in the dormitories to fit all their own students in plus all the
exchange students. But I think they should make it easier to find a place outside of the dorms.
I started looking before I left already but this didn’t really work. So when I arrived it took me a
one and a half week to find a room for the semester. I visited the student organization and
hoped that they would help me, since I just got there and didn’t even speak the language. But
all they did was write up some numbers that I could call, from which most of the rooms were
already taken. Luckily I found a Facebook page and I posted a message there, which got a lot
of replies. This led to a very nice room close to the university and close to the center with very
nice roommates, but I had to find it all by myself. The Facebook page that I used is the
following: Stanovanjce, stanovanjce, kje si? The rooms and houses that are placed on there
are all in Slovene, but I just posted and English message and got a lot of replies.
A nice thing about Slovenia is that the living costs are lower in every aspect. I paid less for my
room, paid less for food etc.. This resulted in that I could save a lot of money to go on trips
and do other fun stuff. This is also what I would advise to other students, make a lot of
beautiful trips, Slovenia is a very central country so it is very easy to go somewhere, without
taking it too long.
My approximate costs on a monthly basis were the following:
- Housing:
€200,- Food:
€130,- Transport:
€20 (or if you choose to take the bike system it’s €3,- for a
year)
- Books
€- Miscellaneous
€120,Academic Calendar
I arrived on the 18th of January, my language course started the 26th of January. All my
courses at the faculty of social sciences started the 23rd of February. My last day of classes
was the 23rd of May. We had a mid-term break from 27th of April until the 1st of May. Before
the mid-term break we had a short exam period and then the finals were from the 15th of June
until the 10th of July. During the first week of May there were some special celebrations that
are held every year in the first week of May.
The International Office
The International office is located in the university and during my semester mrs. Neli Dimc
was responsible for the faculty of social sciences’ exchange students. It’s very easy to just
email her with any questions or just stop by during office hours.
Exchange promotion
During the first weeks that I was there, there were a lot of welcoming events. On these
events, the idea was to present your country or your city and university. These events is what
I used to promote Tilburg.
Social Activities
The student organization organized a lot of activities for exchange students. We went on one
weekend to Kranjska Gora which was really nice but we noticed that we liked it more to
organize trips ourselves. This made us decide to plan more trips by ourselves instead of using
the international student organization. With these trips we went to a lot of different countries
like, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro etc..
I didn’t have a lot of contact with the local students, only with one subject, where I did meet
some nice locals. But I was more connected with other exchange students, since they kind off
handled the same experiences.
Culture and Language
During my exchange I did not experience a culture shock. I think this is because the people
were very open and friendly to foreign people and I felt right at home. Another reason could
be because I did not really experience a lot of difference in the culture in comparison to the
Netherlands. Something that did surprise me a little because I expected something very
different, but this wasn’t the case. I expected Slovenia to be much less Western and more like
the ideas that you have about the East Block. I did see those differences in the cultures of
other countries that I went to. And I also learned about this from other exchange students. A
difference that I noticed among girls that were around 25 years old, is that for them it is really
time to get married. This is what my flat mate told me from Montenegro. It was very nice to
talk about those differences with her. For her it is unthinkable that her parents will get a
divorce, even though she knows that they don’t make each other happy anymore. In that
sense, it is weird for me to think that this is not possible or normal yet in her country.
What I really liked about Slovenia is that really everybody could speak English. Of course
some of them better than others, but the big majority was very skilled in their English. This
made communicating always very easy. I did notice that they really appreciated it if you could
speak some words Slovene. I followed the language course so for me it was easy to say
thank you or please. Once they heard that you spoke Slovene they were very happily
surprised.
Personal Development
What I think is something very important that I took with me from my exchange is to be open
to other people and other cultures. I learned about different cultures, how their history effected
their living situations. For example in Bosnia, you can really see how that country is still
recovering from the war and building up there economy.
For me this exchange was such a wonderful experience and I am so glad that I was able to
do this. If I would have to say what was my best and worst experience I really cannot name
them. I had so many good experiences that I cannot pick one. All the adventures that I had on
my trips and all the fun thing I did with my friends there, it was just one big best experience.
The sam is for my worst experiences, of course there were some less fun experiences, for
example I almost got robbed in Belgrade, but looking back on this I think about what a crazy
moment it was and how we all could laugh about it afterwards. So even though I experienced
some less good stuff, these are the things that make you laugh about later on, for me at least,
and make the peaks of the good stuff even higher.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Academic level at a host university
The lessons that I followed were taught in English. I took the courses: communication
management, crisis management, International Organizations, Third World politics and
Genealogies of Citizenship. The reason I took these courses was for the courses of
communication management, crisis management and international organization, because I
figured they would really fit in with my study program and maybe be a little broader or focus
on the different sides of my field of study. The other two courses were courses I took because
they interested me and I figured it would be fun to learn more about this field of study.
The courses that I would really recommend are communication management and crisis
management.
The level for most of the courses that I followed was quite similar to the level at Tilburg
University, although the form of exam was easier. Except for the course International
Organizations which was really a lot harder, this was also because in hindsight this course
had nothing to do with my study and it wasn’t very interesting for me.
The teaching style is a mix of seminars, lectures, simulations and group work. It was very
diverse. This diversity is also what you saw in the relationship with the student and the
teacher. For some courses it was quite personal and informal but for others it was very formal
and distant.
Exams
The types of exams that we had differed from making a project, to making an essay, to writing
an exam and to participating in seminars of the General Assembly.
Other
It was very easy for students to access the library and its resources. As was it also to use the
computers in common areas.
Description of Courses
Title & Code
Level
Prerequisites
Form
of
exam
Presentation
+ essay
ECTS
Comments
5
Interesting
and easy to
follow
and
complete
Fun
and
easy
to
follow
and
complete
An
Genealogies of
Citizenship
BA
None
Communication
management
BA
None
Infographic +
presentation
5
Crisis
BA
None
Quiz
5
management
Third
Politics
World
International
Organizations
BA
None
Midterm
Final
+
5
BA
None
Simulation
sessions,
several
documents
and a final
essay
5
interesting
addition
to
Organization
Sciences
Interesting if
you like this
kind
of
subject
Without any
political
background
very hard to
follow
and
complete
Tips for the future students:
I would definitely recommend every student to follow an exchange period. It’s a once in a
lifetime experience where you make friends for life. Don’t be afraid and dive into this
adventure. Once you arrive at your destination, nobody has any friends and everybody is
alone, that’s why it is so much fun to meet new people. I also feel like the friends that you
make there, are friends with whom you have such a strong connection, you can share
everything with them, even though you only know them for only a couple of week. Try to enjoy
your time as much as possible and try to make the most of it!
Representing New Zealand in the General Assembly simulation
ERASMUS Party
Carnaval in Venice
Free walking tour in Kraków
Beautiful Ljubljana by night