Name of the University: University of Navarra, Spain
Exchange semester: Fall 2012
I. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The School is situated in the city called Pamplona in the Navarra region, north of
Spain. The campus is big, beautiful and green. The Economics building where I had
my classes was modern, it had just been renovated. The open spaces of that building
made it a good environment for studying.
There are ten faculties. There is a library and cafeterias in all buildings of the campus
with a good, varied menu. There are sports facilities, with tennis courts, basketball
and football fields, and a gym with all necessary workout machines.
II. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before leaving
When I got accepted for the exchange program, the University of Navarra was quick
in sending me an email with all necessary links to find out more about: where to live
when arriving, what activities were possible to do in the city and its surroundings, and
also info about language courses, about the campus and facilities, about welcoming
days, etc.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
I did not need a visa to travel and study in Spain.
Getting to Pamplona can be a little tricky because there are no direct flights to this
city. However, having travelled many times before, it wasn’t a problem.
The best option is to find a flight to either Madrid or better yet, Bilbao. From Madrid
to Pamplona there is a direct bus which takes 5 hours. From Bilbao’s airport you first
need to take the airport shuffle to the city’s bus terminal from which you can catch a
direct bus taking 2 hours to Pamplona. When arriving for the first time in Pamplona,
not yet knowing the city and carrying four months’ worth of luggage, I would advise
to grab a taxi to your new “home”.
Academic Calendar
I arrived in Pamplona on the 25th of August 2012. Then, welcoming days for
exchange/Erasmus students was arranged on the Friday 31st and Saturday 1st of
September. On the Friday we first received a brochure with all kinds of important
information, accompanied by a speech held by the University’s director and also by
the people responsible for all International matters. Then we received a typical
Spanish dish for lunch, Paella! Finally, we were given a tour of the campus by other
students from the School. This first day was a great opportunity to meet other
exchange students and get to know the School where I was going to spend the next
four months. It is advisable not to miss it. The next day, a day trip was planned to San
Sebastian, a city located 1:30 h away, along the coast. After the bus ride, all students
wondered off in smaller groups of newly-made friends, to visit. This city was
beautiful, with small streets and great architecture. Also, the two long sand beaches
were splendid. Some of us enjoyed a swim which I definitely recommend if you ever
go to San Sebastian.
On the following Monday, the semester started. Classes were of a good level.
However, some of the teachers’ Spanish accent in their spoken English was a little
difficult to get used to at first, but then after a week or so it was not an issue anymore.
The last day of classes was on the 22 of November and exams started around the 7th of
December. My last exam was on the 19th of December, but it all depends on the
classes you chose, you might end exams earlier.
Reception
Exchange students were well received and accommodated thanks to the welcoming
days, where both the international administration’s employees and students’
international committee participated to make us feel more at home.
Housing
The School doesn’t accommodate exchange students in housing but they do provide
us with web links to find either a student residence or apartment.
I found in advance a student residence that was attached to the public university of
Navarra even though I went to the private one. The reason for choosing this and not
the residences that are meant for the private university of Navarra is that these have
strict rules and a 23 o’clock curfew. I personally preferred keeping my “freedom”.
For future exchange students I recommend to first live in a hostel for the first week or
so, to later find an apartment once you have found people that you feel comfortable
having as “house mates”. This is the cheapest option.
Costs
Rent was costing me about 500 euros per month in the student residence but if you
live in an apartment with 2/3 house mates, the cost will be reduced to about 200 euros
instead. If I knew beforehand about this huge price difference I would definitely have
chosen that option.
I didn’t buy the books for classes except for the one used in the Spanish course.
Instead, I borrowed them from the library. In terms of food, the costs compared to
Norway are cheaper, so that was an advantage. Other of my expenses were for the
School gym, this amounted to 85 euros for 3 months.
Besides, another cost was for travelling to other cities in Spain. Hostels are quite
cheap so this was positive and cities are well connected by buses. Pamplona is a small
city, so it was nice to get away in the weekend sometimes.
The International Office
The international office in the Economics building takes care of incoming exchange
students regarding any issue we might have about classes or if we need any
information. The office is open from 10am-13pm, and re-opens at 16pm-18pm. This
is typical for Spain, also for some stores. During these opening hours, students are
free to drop by.
Exchange promotion
On the so-called “International day”, there were stands in the Economics building
representing all the countries to which the university offers possible exchange for
their students. I participated to promote exchange to BI in Oslo/ Norway.
Social Activities
It was very easy to meet people because all exchange students are in the same
situation as you are in the start: new in town, probably not knowing anyone at first
and therefore very open to new encounters.
I made friends that became quite close to me. This makes it a little sad when you
need to leave them after 4 months. The exchange students have a good relationship
with each other; it is like an own community of people from all over the world. I
really enjoyed my stay because of the nice people I spent time with.
Every Wednesdays and Fridays there were parties arranged by the exchange
committee of Pamplona. And also several private parties or dinners were arranged
amongst students.
It is more difficult to connect with the Spanish students because of some language
barriers in the beginning but thanks to program called “buddy program”, it was
facilitated. This program connects a Spanish student wishing to improve his English
to an exchange student wishing to learn more Spanish. Some of my friends used this
program so I also met a few Spanish students.
Every Thursdays in town there was an event called “Juevinxos” which stands for
“Jueves=Thursdays” and “Pinxos=other word for Tapas”. I went a few times with
some friends: really fun cultural experience, the streets are filled with people and
bars/restaurants sell cheap tapas and drinks (2 euros for one tapa and a glass of wine).
Culture and Language
The first couple of weeks I could not express my-self in Spanish, so in stores/
restaurants or with locals in the streets it was a little frustrating not being able to
communicate. However, because I spent some time with exchange students from
South America speaking Spanish, I learned quickly, simply by listening to the
language. Also, I attended a Spanish course twice a week provided by the University
so I was finally able to have basic conversations in Spanish.
At university, the language I used was mostly English though so there were no
difficulties there.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
I have always been exposed to an International environment throughout my school
life, so this is what I am used to and what I prefer when there are people from all over
the world. In other words, the exchange program was perfect for me.
I believe I learned a lot from this experience, not only the language but also about the
Spanish culture, and about other cultures represented by exchange students from for
example: Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Italy, Poland, Canada, Australia, etc.
It would be interesting for me to improve further my Spanish language, to potentially
work in relation with Spanish-speaking nations in my future career.
In conclusion and in my opinion, the exchange program is beneficial on many aspects
for students.
III. ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
Exchange students are free to choose whether they want to follow the classes in
Spanish or in English. I chose the classes taught in English because I believed it
would be too difficult for me in Spanish. However, I did have a Spanish course based
on my own level to which I was placed after a written test.
The level of study is relatively similar to the one at BI, except for the level of English
in some classes because of a Spanish accent and a few pronunciation mistakes, but the
vocabulary is good. The teaching is both practical and theoretical. Professors use a
mix of cases, group works and lectures. The workload is similar to the one at BI. In
most courses there are midterms or hand-ins that count for 40-50% of the final grade.
The rest of the grade is accounted for the finals at the end of the semester. I liked this
system because it encouraged students to work well throughout the course instead of
otherwise falling in the trap of waiting until final exams to start studying.
Professors are quite open to help us with any questions or issues we might have about
the courses. The atmosphere in the classroom was pleasant in my opinion, students
worked well together and the teacher/student interaction was good because the size of
classes were appropriate for it.
Required Literature
The literature is in English for classes taught in English and Spanish for classes taught
in Spanish, depending on your own choice. The literature is good, both books and
articles.
It is used for broad overviews or sometimes detailed knowledge. For 3 of my classes,
exams were based on lectures; while for 2 of them exams were mostly based on the
literature.
Exams
Final exams counted for about 50 % of the final grade. And for some courses, we had
midterm’s exam or several hand-in assignments that accounted for the remaining 50%
of the grade.
Like in most Schools, the most important to pass the exam is to attend classes and
work regularly, which was facilitated by the assignments we had to hand in.
Other
Students have an easy access to the library and to a personal webpage called ADI
(similar to its learning), where professors can post articles and information for the
course. The teachers used IT significantly.
There was a computer room in the Economics building, available at any time to
students. We were given a username and password.
Description of Courses
General BBA (it was not possible for us to have a specialization)
Course name:
Strategic management
Probability and statistics
Quality management
International trade
Spanish language course
Prerequisite
Exam
Approved as
None
Midterm assign + Written
Common
None
Midterm assign + Written
Common
None
Midterm assign + Written
Elective
None
Midterm assign + Written
Elective
Some basic Spanish Midterms + Written exam Extra
skills are recommended
Please do not hesitate to contact us through international office if you have any
questions