Student Report
Name of the University: Tilburg University
Exchange semester: Fall / Spring, 2015
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Tilburg University is located in the southern province Noord-Brabaant. Is sixth largest city in
the Netherlands? It’s a “student city”, and its an international university so they provide all
the information in English on their website www.tilburgunivesity.edu
Before leaving Norway
In April I received the first emails from Tilburg: where they told me how the application
process went on, and how to apply. The process took place online, which was very practical
and all information was easily accessible.
Preparations before arrival
There are no visa-requirements for Norwegian students to study in the Netherlands, even if we
are not part of the EU. Through being members of the EEA we only have to worry about
insurance and more general preparations as accommodation. You do not need to register for
residency or permit unless you are planning to work during your stay.
Travel
Norwegian, KLM and SAS are flying directly from Oslo to Amsterdam (Schiphol). From here
you need to take the train to Tilburg. It takes around 1,5-2 hours depending on witch route
your take.
Housing
Housing can be reserved through www.yourroomintilburg.com before leaving. The process is
easy and your will get an email with all the information your need, long time before the
reservations open. Then it’s important to make a profile with or your details, cuss when the
reservation opens you need to be quick and one time. The rooms are taking within minutes
since the number of room is limited. You are free to arrange accommodation through other
means if you wish to, but are careful there have been some people that have been cheated. On
Facebook there is some pages where you can ask for help for accommodation like
I*ESN Tilburg or Tilburg Marketplace.
I lived in student apartment in Professor Verbernelaan street (we call this Verbs, located 2
minutes form Tilburg uni) Here there are 2 buildings only for exchange students and 3 for
both Dutch and international students. Here, 17 students are living together with shared
kitchen, bathroom and Shower. If you are planning on staying here, I will recommend that
you move in to the two buildings for exchange students cuss this is finished furnished with all
you need, in the 3 other buildings there is literally nothing.
If you like to have a good time and meet fellow students that also want to make the best out of
the stay, I will recommend to move in to Verbs. It can be quit noisy and a lot of partying, but
you will meet a lot of great people and learn a lot about different cultures.
When you have been accepted you will get assign an exchange coordinator. They will give
you all the information you need before arriving and help you with selecting courses. If you
have any problems or questions don’t be afraid to ask, they are very nice and helpful.
Costs
- Per month
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
360 €
100 €
100 €
Used bike most of the
time
400 €
Culture and language
Dutch people have good English skills, its really you meet people who don’t speak English
here, so communication was not a problem. The cultural deferens between Norway and the
Nederland’s is few, but you well see and experience some situations where their as a different
but nothing shocking. The majority of Dutch People are open-minded and friendly, but you
will see that they can be more direct and say what they mean, but don’t be offending, this is
their cultural and they don’t mean to be rude. Since you’re here on exchange and probably
will live with other exchange student you will come across a lot of different cultures. This is
the best part of exchange; meeting new people form all over the world and see the similarities
and the differentiation between the cultures. Be open to try new things like food, drinks,
traditions and games and you will learn a lot and get friends from all over the world.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
Tilburg University is located around 15 minutes by bike from the city center. The campus is
divided into a lot of buildings, but the buildings are not located far from each other so you
have “everything in one place”. The school is divided into faculties: Economics and
management, Law, Social and behavioral sciences, humanities, theology and business school.
The university is a modern school, and it’s a beautiful campus surrounded with sculptures,
forest and nature.
Course registration
The moment you are accepted you will get an email with all the information you need for how
to register courses. You will do this online before leaving to Tilburg, and not far after the
deadline you will get response if the courses is accepted or not. It’s an easy system, and if
there is any problem, just send your exchange coordinator an email. If there is any problem or
your not satisfied with the course you can change, but this is only for the 2 first weeks. Its
important to read the course description so you know of the curses is actually what you
thought it was.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
21. August
31. August
2. December
December - January
No really
Great place to study
Arrival
Introduction week or “Top week” as its called, is something you need to participate in, it’s a
lot of fun its here you meet your new friends. You get divided into group with around 30 other
exchange students, and 3 mentors. This is a whole week with introduction to the school, to the
city and to other people. Everyday there is a new event and the program they have made is
surprisingly good.
Promoting BI and Norway
There is a big Exchange affair in middle of October, but I was not able to precipitate.
Social activities
In all subjects, except Dutch were exchange students and Dutch students together. Since in
most of the classes you have group project you will be placed in-group with both Dutch and
exchange students. There was no problem to cooperate with deutsche students, and they are
cooperative and pleasant.
I will recommend too join I*ESN Tilburg. This is an organisation for exchange student but
Dutch student can also join if they like. It cost 40 € for an membership but then you would be
able to get into their nightclub Carpe Diem and join a lot of event that they arrange like pubcrawl, quiz nights etc. This year they arrange trips to Oktoberfest in Munich, Surf trip to
Morocco, and to Budapest, this is just some of what they did, it was a lot more happening.
Every Tuesday there is an international dinner with your mentor group plus 2-5 other groups
as well where different students/group cook food. After the dinner, there is a theme party in
Carpe Diem arranged by I*ESN. Here you have themes like “White t-skirt party”, Halloween
etc.
You will get a social calendar upon arrival that will inform you about all these activities, and I
suggest you to take part in as many of them as you can as it will help you meet fellow
exchange students and it’s a lot fun.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The big different from Tilburg University and BI is that there is more mandatory
classes/tutorials and the teachers expect more for you. It depends one witch course you take,
but some courses have weekly assignment that you have to hand in, or tutorials with case
presentations etc. Because of this I would say that the workload is more compared to Bi.
Course materials
Most of the academic material we used was online articles and books. Power Point was used
in most of the classes and then put on Blackboard after the class. The teachers are more strict
here than on BI. They will expect you to read the mandatory chapters and paper/article and
prepare before the class.
Exams
The exam is based on lectures (+ guest lectures), course materials and articles. In most of the
courses you can only miss 2-3 classes, before they in worst case kick you out of the course.
Some professors will give you plus points if you actively participate in classes, and minus
points if you are away from too many. Some will not give you character at all if you lose over
3 classes without a good reason or medical certificate.
Library and technology
There is one library on Campus. Its 3 floors where 2 of them are silent areas. All floors are
provided with computers with two screens and printers room. In all the buildings on campus
is the opportunity to study and most of them also have computers and printers available.
In addition, Tilburg University created an app where you can see the schedule, ratings, maps
of campus, the menu at the different cafeteria and schedule on sport center, plus more. This is
a great tool that makes it easy to keep track of what is happening.
Description of courses
Course code &
name
Master/
Bachelor
Exam form
Prer Approv
equis ed as
ites
None Elective
Supply Chain
Management
Bachelor
2-hour
written exam
(100%)
Dutch for
International
Students
Bachelor
None
Elective
Creative
Entrepreneurship
Bachelor
2-hours
written
exam. (80%)
15-minutes
oral exam
(20%)
Presentation
skills (20%),
Group
project
(30%)
Assignment
(50%)
None
Elective
Industrial
Marketing
Bachelor
Group
project
(50%) 2hour written
exam (50%)
None
Elective
Art and
Globalization
Bachelor
2 essays
(100%)
None
Elective
Comments
Relevant to Bi, and similar
to some of the courses if
you study Marketing. One
of the hardest courses, and
the fail rate is over 60%.
This is a good course and
practical compared to that
you learn the language of
the country you live in.
Here you have weekly
homework.
In this course you had to
make 1 presentation of
yourself and 1 sales pitch,
where other student and the
teacher will evaluate your
performance. This can be a
bit uncomfortable if you are
not used to talk in front of
others. Overall this was one
of my favourite courses and
the classes are fun, with
different tasks and surveys.
It requires a lot of work,
afford and time.
Group project was tutorial
where you had to make and
preformed one case-and
one-topic presentation. This
was one of the courses that
required most time, since
one had to be prepared for
weekly tutorials.
Interesting course in the
way you get an different
view of art and
globalization
Overall my semesters in Tilburg have been an amazing experience, and
something I never would have been without. The Nederland is located as a
crossroad in Europe, and their for travel around is no problem. My network of
people has grown greatly, and I have met so many interesting people and made
new friends for life. I will definitely recommend exchange in Tilburg. This is
because the University and the teachers are of top quality. Tilburg is a cosy city
that is not too large so the school environment is great.