Student Report
Name of the University: Zagreb School of Economics and Management
Exchange semester: Fall, 2015
1. Practical info
When I first got my exchange on BI, all documentation was preceded to my host
university. And it didn’t take long before I heard from them and everything was
confirmed. In the beginning of March I already got all I needed from my host
university. After that point I also received a lot of other information, and I did not
have any difficulties at all. I would like to thank the international office at ZSEM for
very good cooperation.
I booked my flight online, and since there is no direct flights from Oslo to Zagreb, I
flied via Vienna on my way. It was in total a 5-hour trip, and some friends of mine
picked me up at the airport and drove me to my apartment.
The school did not provide housing for us, but they introduced us upfront to an
agency that is specialized on exchange students. I booked my apartment online
upfront, and everything went well regarding this.
Because of the weak Norwegian krone everything was a bit more expensive. The
average was 10 kroner for 1 euro, and that is what I am basing it on here.
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
3700 NOK
0 NOK
3000 NOK
600 NOK
2500 NOK
I did not have any types of language problems either with the faculty or with other
students. Everybody was speaking very good English, and in fact I also improved my
Croatian language that I was speaking from before.
The possibilities to experience a new country and culture were amazing, and to be
said, I have learned a lot. I am looking at this as an eye-opener, an experience that I
will remember for the rest of my life.
2. About the school
The school was located at Jordanovac, a location pretty central in the northern part
of Zagreb. The university is pretty small, especially when you compare it to BI in
Oslo. The complex was pretty old, but in ok shape. Some parts were newly
renovated.
When it comes to study structure it is pretty similar to BI, were we had classes and a
lot of group projects. Though I have to admit that it was much more practical than
BI, something I enjoyed. We also had exams after each class ended, so we did not
have any examination period.
I registered for the courses before the summer, in June. This was done over e-mail.
Though to some overlapping I had to change, and I did this in the beginning of
September, because we got the schedule in August. Everything was done smoothly
with no further complications. All courses that I signed up for I passed.
The academic calendar was like this:
Arrival date:
First day of semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
30.08.2015
07.09.2015
18.12.2015
None
08.10.2015 – Independence day
01.11.2015 – All Saints day
In the introduction week there was a lot of introduction, both to the school and with
the other exchange students. We had a lot of events and parties. But, the master
students, including me, started with lectures the same day, the first day of the
semester. So we missed out some of these events.
The International Office was very helpful and we received all information that we
needed. I can say that they took good care of us.
The international office organized an international day, where we all promoted our
home countries. There I promoted and presented Norway and BI in a good way. I will
also like to thank BI for sending material for this.
For me this was a very social semester and I come along with both international and
native students. We had both events with native students, but especially
international students had their own events every week, but I did not find this so
interesting to be honest.
3. Academics
The teaching style was much more practical than I am used to, and I really liked it.
We used a lot of real life examples, cases and so on. Though the teaching style was
very informal, and professors were treated with respect. I will say the workload was
smaller than on BI, but you have to have in mind that this is a MBA study.
The materials for the courses were PowerPoint’s and online articles.
The exams were all based on the course materials, which were taught to us on the
lectures. Professors provided all what we needed before the exams.
My first course, Financial Fraud Detection was evaluated in the following way: 30%
Group work (including 1 case and 1 presentation) and 70% Final exam.
My second course, Project Management was evaluated in the following way: 10%
class attendance, 10% class participation, 40% Group work and 40% Final exam.
My third course, Capstone was evaluated in the following way: 100% Presentation.
My fourth course, Managerial accounting was evaluated in the following way: 10%
class attendance, 20% in-class quizzes and 70% Final exam.
My fifth course, Measuring application in HRM was evaluated in the following way:
10% class attendance, 40% class participation and 50 % Presentation.
We had a library at school and also a pc lab, which we used often. Every room had
also a projector and a pc.
Course code & name
AC650 – Financial
Fraud Detection
MN713 – Project
Management
FN547 –
Maximization and
Measurement of
Company Value
(Capstone)
AC526 – Managerial
Accounting
Xxxxx – Measurement
Application in HRM
Master/
Bachelor
Master
Master
Master
Master
Master
Exam form
Prerequisites
1-hour written
exam
1-hour written
exam
Presentation
None
Approved
as
Elective
None
Elective
None
Elective
1-hour written
exam
Presentation
None
Elective
None
Elective
Comments
To sum it up I had a great experience. I learned a lot about Croatia and about their
culture. I also improved my English and my Croatian language. I also have to thank
the professors that taught me a lot of new things, something that has given me a
new perspective. I have also met a lot of nice people that will be my friends for the
rest of my life. I think that this exchange has broadened my perspectives, something
that will be helpful for my future career. I also think that the connections and friends
I have earned in Zagreb will help me in my future life, both socially and towards my
work. Zagreb was a great experience and I would recommend it to everyone.