Student Report
Name of the University: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
Exchange semester: Spring, 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
The deadline for applying for exchange was the 1st of July, and we received our nomination
from BI in the middle of July. In the beginning of September, we got in touch with Pompeu
Fabra over email. The information we got during the fall semester about registration and
enrolment was really good. It was really easy to register as long as you upload you documents
in time. It was required to upload an full student insurance proof before we could enrol to the
University. We both chose “Europeiske”.
Both the international office at BI and at Pompeu Fabra was really helpful.
Travel
We were to students from BI going to Barcelona. We both travelled by plane to Barcelona a
few days before semester start, so we could get to know the city and find an apartment. When
arriving at the Airport, we easily took the airport express buss “Aerobus” to the city center,
plaza Catalunya. It is really cheap (5,90 euros) and departs every 5 minutes. Otherwise, you
can eiter take the train or a taxi.
Housing
The university provides several student residences, which are very costly and have really
strict rules about visitors and so on. But, we chose to live in an apartment the two of us. That
is highly recommended because it is way nicer and also cheaper. We found an apartment
through an agency. Deposit and agency fee is a bit expensive, but the rent makes up for it. We
lived in Barceloneta, which was the perfect location. Both 10 minutes to school, city center
and beach. Other areas that is recommended to live in is El Born, around campus and Gotico.
Costs
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 3500
NOK 0
NOK 3000
NOK 300
NOK 800
The cost of living is way cheaper than in Norway. But we used some money on restaurants,
trips and other activities.
The rent was 350 euros per person and electricity, gass, internet and water was not included.
We had no big prolems with language. Most young Spanish and Catalan people know English
quite good. But it is useful to know some phrases when going out to dinner, taxies and at
supermarkets. All information we received before and when arriving was provided in English.
Barcelona is an amazing city with a lot of things to do! When the semester started the
international students had a welcome week hosted by the Erasmus student network (ESN)
Which was an really good opportunity to get to know both people and the city. The hardest
challenge was to adjust to the Spanish time. Time for dinner and going out is much later than
what we are used to in Norway. The introduction week was really good! Everything was set
up to get to know people. It was both activities during the days and the nights for 10 days.
During the day, there were different tours around the city. In the evenings, it was dinners and
parties.
Through our stay ESN offered several activities and trips for the intenational students. Since
there are a lot of international students in Barcelona, it was natural that we became friends
with them.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
Universitat Pompeu Fabra is a school with around 7.000 students divided into 7 different
campuses (http://www.upf.edu/campus/en/). Students from BI will be attending the Campus
Ciutadella. This is a campus with 3 different buildings, located next to each other. Our
campus is located by the Ciutadella park, which is a really nice park central in Barcelona. The
location is fantastic, with walking distance to the metro, the tram and the beach. Our campus
was really nice with good classrooms. The main faculty at this campus is economics and
business science. As an exchange student from BI, it is important to be aware that the school
system is completely different in Spain than in Norway. At Pompeu Fabra you are expected
to participate in class, go to mandatory seminars each week, do presentations and get to know
the professor. It is very similar to the Norwegian high school system, where a part of the
grade is your participation evaluated by the teacher. This means that the final exam counts for
a smaller percentage than what we are used to at BI, maximum 60 %.
One thing that is VERY important to know about this school is that they have “trimesters”
instead of semesters. This means that they have 3 semesters during the year, and during the
spring semester you have “two trimesters” with spring break in the middle (around
March/April). That means that we had first three courses, then exams, and after spring break
we started at a new trimester.
You apply for courses before you leave. You will get guidelines on email which was really
easy to follow. It is highly recommended choose to many courses. Because the school provide
an add and drop period were you can change the courses that you were initially enrolled to. So
therefore it is easier to add to many, and then drop them during the add and drop. The add and
drop period is 2 days long, around 1 week after the school have started, so you have a chance
to try out different courses.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
03.01.2015
07.01.2015
19.06.2015
17.03-27.03.2015 and
17.06-26.06.2015
Dia de Sant Jordi, 1th
of may and 25th of may
is public holidays
Spring break in the
beginning of april.
III. ACADEMICS
UPF has a very complex teaching style. Your final grade in each course will be decided
dependent on several factors, such as participation in class, seminar quizzes, mid terms and
group projects as well as a final exam. The professors use a lot of PowerPoint and articles.
They do not use books. There are lectures two times a week (1,5h each session) and seminars
once a week. Usually the lectures are not mandatory, while the seminars are. The lectures are
mostly theory, while the seminars are more practical with presentations and discussion.
The seminar groups are smaller, and there are three timeslots to chose from. (you do this
through “Aula Global”, the student intranet).
The quality of the courses varies a lot, as is the English level of the teachers. It is important
that you choose courses taught in English, as there are many courses in Catalan and Spanish
as well. Some teachers are very good in English, but the catalan ones are, under our
impression, not so good in English.
Some of the courses are very good, while others are not. It is quite hard to compare the
courses to courses at BI, as the teaching methods are very different. In terms of workload,
most of the courses are more practical with some workload, but it is easier than at BI. They
offer some economics courses with a really a heavy workload.
There is a really nice library at campus, but the seats are limited, so if you want a place to
study, you should be there early. Stationary computers with connection to printers and
scanners are also available for all the students, and you can buy printing cards similar to the
student cards we use to print at BI.
Description of courses
Course code & name
21140: Operations
management
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
2 hour with one
part multiple
choice and one
part calculations
Basic statistics
Approve
d as
Logistics
Bachelor
2 hour multiple
choice
None
Elective
Bachelor
2 hour multiple
choice
None
Elective
Bachelor
30 minutes
multiple choice
(online at home)
None
Elective
Bachelor
2 hour multiple
choice
None
Elective
Bachelor
No final exam
None
Elective
5 ECTS
21139: International
Marketing
5 ECTS
21916: Consumer
behavior
5 ECTS
21866:
Entreprenurship
5 ECTS
21144: International
Strategic Management
5 ECTS
21878: Business
Games
Comments
Quiz every
week in
seminars +
class
participation
(40% of the
total grade)
Final exam:
60%
International
marketing
plan: 40%,
Case studies:
30%, Final
exam: 30%
The
workload
was heavy!
Seminar
preparing’s
and
participation:
40% of the
total grade
Final exam:
60%
The teacher
was really
good, the
most
interesting
course!
Seminar
30%, Case
study: 20%,
Business
model: 30%,
Final: 20%
Participation:
10%,
Seminars:
25%
Final group
project: 25%
Final exam:
40%
Business
simulation,
where you
got grade
during the
class,
midterm, the
final ranking
of your firm,
and
presentations
Theese 6 months in Barcelona has been the best months of our life. We have experienced so
many great things, met so many wonderful people and just had an amazing time in the best
city. Regardless of where you go, exchange is wonderful. But, Barcelona combines the best of
them all. Both the culture, architecture, good temperatures and the beaches makes this city
realy unique and perfect for exchange. You also get a lot for the money. We would
recommend Barcelona to everyone wanting to go abroad!