Student Report
Name of the University: Universidad de Navarra
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? I received information through BI in the beginning, and in June I started to receive
emails from the host university. It was an easy process. Since the university was in
Spain there were no need to apply for visa.
Travel
• How did you travel to your destination? I traveled by plane from Bergen to Barcelona.
From Barcelona I took a train that took four hours to Pamplona. When I arrived with
all my luggage at the train station I took a taxi to my address.
Housing
• Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from the
school? I lived at a residence for the public school. The school´s website was helpful with
information about housing. There is also a Facebook page where people who were on
an Erasmus before you are renting out. The residence connected to the Private
university, which is the school you will go to, have strict rules. My residence, Los
Abedules, did not have this types of rules (For example that you have to be home by
11). Negative things about my residence was that its first of all very expensive. (470
euros monthly). It is also very far away from the school.
Costs
• Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food, transportation,
and other personal expenses? You don’t have to buy any books. Everything is online. I also rented a bike during my
stay. I paid 0,60 cents a day.
Rent
4700 NOK
Books
0 NOK
Food
1000 NOK
Transport
50 NOK
Other
2000 NOK
Culture and language
• Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students? The professors have pretty bad English, but you can still manage to understand if you
pay attention. The Spanish people in this town (Pamplona) don’t speak English.
Because of this there were a language barrier in the beginning. This will get easier
when you learn basic Spanish. • How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture? The town offers many cultural experiences. Its also very easy to travel to other cities
around, such as San Sebastian, Bilbao, Biarritz and so on.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
• The school The campus is huge with many different faculties. In the beginning this was
confusing, but after some weeks I knew where everything was.
The campus offers
sports facilities, library, cafeterias, and social areas.
Course registration
• When and how did you register for courses? We did this in august, which after my opinion is very late. • When did the add/drop period end? - in the beginning of September.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
26.08.2015
01.09.2015
01.12.2015
02.12.15 - 10.12.15
Some days.
Arrival
• Describe the introduction week The introduction week was interesting and it was where we found friends. All the
Erasmus students were kind and we got together often to party. During this week we
hade tours around campus and the city. We also had a day trip to San Sebastian (15
euro)
The International Office
• As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information? Yes. But the international office was slow working. We did not get our exam dates
before the end of October/beginning of November.
Promoting BI and Norway
• What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university? We had an exchange fair at the university in October.
Social activities
• How was the relationship with native students and that among exchange students? I got closest to the Erasmus students and other students from Canada, the US and
Asia. Everyone is friendly and kind. It is very easy to get to know people, even if you
are shy. • Are there any special activities, student organizations, and gatherings for exchange
students? Yes. But we did not attend these often. We made arrangements on our own.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
• Describe the teaching style
The teaching style is similar to the teaching style at High School in Norway with
presentations, hand-ins, midterms, and in class activities. • How is the level and workload compared to that at BI? Different, because you don’t have the heavy exam period right before Christmas. You
work throughout the semester instead. In my opinion it was a lower level of workload
compared to BI.
Course materials
• Describe the course materials used We hade an online portal, similar to @bi. Where you can find information about
everything (schedule, teachers power point, other information). the course material
used was well organized, interesting and up to date. Exams
• Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures? This depends on the
courses. Some exams are only based on lectures and some only on course
material. • How was the course evaluated
◦ Final exam I had 5 courses, but only 4 exams. The final exams were all written. Some multiple
choice ◦ Mid-term exam - I had a mid-term exam in Investments in Financial markets only. This was multiple
choice with no minus point for wrong answer. ◦ In-class quizzes throughout semester I only had this type of assignment in STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT. This was
multiple choice with minus points for wrong answer. ◦ Small assignments and/or papers
◦ Presentations
In project management we hade a big presentation that counted 65% of our grade.
This was oral.
◦ Group work - Group work is popular activity at this school.
◦ Class attendance Class attendance is important in every subject. The professors decide your grade. ◦ Class participation/debates In one of my courses, Business communication, class participation and debates with
cases was the most important thing. The students that were participating did not have
to take an exam. Description of courses
Course code
& name
Strategic
management
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Investment in
financial
markets
Bachelor
3-hour
multiple
choice
Written 1,5
hour
Prerequisite
s
none
Approved
as
Not elective
Finance 1
Not elective
Comments
Not so happy
with the
teacher. Quiz
every week
that makes it
hard to get a
good grade.
Quiz (30%),
Final, 50%)
presentation
(20%)
Interesting
class. Good
teacher.
Business
Communicatio
n
Bachelor
No exam if
you pass
participation.
None
Elective
Project
management
Bachelor
Oral
presentation
+ written
exam 2h
none
Elective
4 tests and 1
final exam.
none
Elective
Spanish A1
Teacher is
english.
Exam counts
30%, mindterm 20%,
procjet
50%.
Great
teacher. Very
intersting
class. Easy to
get good
grade.
Teacher is
not good in
English.
Boring class.
Fun
presentation.
Easy to get
good grade
on
presentation.
Middle hard
exam.
Fun, easy
way to learn
Spanish.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
The overall experience has been great. I have grown a lot
myself and made friends from all over the worlds. It has
influenced the way I think and I know much more about other
cultures. My English is better and I also learned Spanish. I
recommend everyone to go on an exchange.