STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Corvinus University of Budapest
Exchange semester: Fall, 2015
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 May. 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. But this is not something you will have to do if
you travel out of the country during your stay in Hungary, as you can stay in three
months periods in the country without registrating at the immigration office.
Travel
How did you travel to your destination?
Booked a Norwegian Air Shuttle flight from Gardemoen in advance. Cheap prices to
fly down if you do it well in advance.
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, but there are very
limited with places in dorms. 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. There are also a lot of good
pages on the internet where you can find a good accommodation.
Costs
Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,transportation,
and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 4000
NOK 0
NOK 1500
NOK 110
NOK 2000
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STUDENT REPORT
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.
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 usually consists of 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 and busses from Budapest
runs to every major city in Central Europe, within Hungary and cross borders. A very
cheap way to see Central- and East-Europe.
The Hungarian culture is not very apparent in Budapest, so I recommend going outside
the city to really get to experience the “real” Hungarian culture.
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 3th of June 10:00. Be sure to login at 09:50 and refresh
constantly, 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?
Add/drop period opened 8th September 10:00 and closed at 20th September 23:50
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STUDENT REPORT
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Midterms:
Finals:
Any special events/holidays:
01st September
7th september
11th December
26th- 30th October
14th-18th December
23rd October national
holiday
Other:
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?
Promoted BI and Norway on the Exchange Fair day at Corvinus.
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, 25-30 to 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
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STUDENT REPORT
I had foreign teachers in 2 of the topics, the rest being teached by Hungarians. Most of
the teachers spoke very well English. All classes very pretty informal, and all teachers
encouraged a environment where class discussions were central.
How is the level and workload compared to that at BI?
The workload is higher than BI, theres assignments, group work, mandatory
participation etc. Usually there is weekly assignments or homework.
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 50% of your
grade.
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. Only
one class required a book, which we found for free online after some searching
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 (interviews)
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. The library
is very new and a good place to read for yourself, but very few rooms for groupwork.
Group rooms can be booked online and should be done well in advance.
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STUDENT REPORT
Description of courses
Course code & name
Corporate Finance
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Bachelor/
Master
1,5-hour
written exam
None
Mandatory
as
strategy/elec
tive
Bachelor/
Master
Report and
presentation
(Group)
None
Mandatory
as
strategy/elec
tive
Bachelor/
Master
1,5-hour
written
exam
None
Elective
Highly motivating teacher, very
including and encourages class
discussions. Interesting subjects.
Much use of powerpoint with a
lot of text, so hard to grasp
curriculum.
Bachelor
1,5-hour
written
exam
None
Elective
Ok course. Teacher has a lot of
experience in HR, so he
included a lot of examples and
stories.
293NFINK351B
Project Management
1,5-hour
written
exam
Prerequ Approved
isites
as
None
Mandatory
ISCGOPR518
International Business
Strategy
4VG32NAK60M
Environmental
Management
293NMANK479B
Human Resources
Management
293NMANK485B
Comments
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.
Could have been interesting, but
is ruined by teacher. Almost
only teaching over badly made
powerpoints, which also makes
it hard to grasp the curriculum
Weekly assignments as
groupwork, so get a good group!
Teacher was hard to understand
at times.
Intensive course, whole course
covered and finished during two
weeks in November. Very good
teacher and interesting material.
Get a good group, as almost the
whole grade is based on group
report and presentation.
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. Plus that it is cheap, which is
great. Here you can afford to eat out every night, so no need for cooking if you hate
that…
Would have done it again and again and again!
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