Student Report
University of Groningen
Double Degree: 2012/2013 Master in Marketing Intelligence
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
The process started in February, when the deadline for applying for the Double Degree was.
There was a process of selection, and the final offer was received in March. There were
hosted a meeting during the spring were information package regarding Double Degree were
given to us. Also, a current double degree student was visiting Norway at that time, so we had
a meeting with him as well to share some experiences he had from Groningen. The University
of Groningen had one person working with Double Degrees, which make it easy to ask about
information, such as course registration and Introduction Days. We did not experience any
difficulties, and found the coordinators from both BI and Groningen very helpful. All
information concerning deadline for applying courses, housings etc can be found in their
webpage or by contacting the DD coordinator.
Applying for a visa and residence permit
 For non-EU members who are from Europe
When studying in the Netherlands, you do not need a visa. The only thing you need to do is
register as a citizen of Groningen, which is done when you arrive in the city. Information
about this was handed out during introduction week in Groningen.
 For non-EU members who are from outside of Europe
In order to stay and study in the Netherlands, you do need a long-term visa (MVV) and a
residence permit. You have to remember that you do not apply for a visa by yourself but via
the International Service Desk in University of Groningen who will receive your required
documents. You also apply for residence permit at the same time.
The required documents include some application forms that need to be filled out, one
passport photo of you and a copy of all pages of your passport. All the details related to these
procedures will come to you at the beginning of April. The only thing you need to care about
is your passport photo. There are the Dutch requirements for your photo including size, photo
quality, background, facial appearance, just to name a few. You will also receive this passport
photo guideline. It is said that, in Oslo, Japan Photo shop at Hegdehaugsveien is the only
authorized photographer and it costs around 200 Kr. Nevertheless, if you are not sure about
your passport photo, you should send it to the admission officer, who contact you, and ask her
to check it for you. Good preparations for required documents will ensure that there is no
delay with your visa process.
Besides the required documents, there is visa cost and deposit money that need to transfer to
the account of the Faculty. The total amount of money is €10.500 in which the non-refundable
legal fees are €600 for visa and residence permit. The rest will be returned to you after you
have opened a Dutch bank account.
Normally, it will take from two to three months before you can receive your visa. You can
choose the place and country of the Dutch embassy where you want to collect the MVV.
Unfortunately, the Scandinavian visa-pick-up location is in Stockholm. So if you decide to
stay in Norway for the summer, you need to prepare to spend two days in Sweden on picking
up your visa.
During introduction week, you will receive your residence permit and be registered as a
resident of Groningen. You also need to apply by yourself for a DigiD (username and
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password) to access online services in the Netherlands (https://www.digid.nl/), which is
similar to MinID in Norway. After that, you will receive a burgerservicenummer, which is
similar to the Norwegian personal identification number. You do not need this number to
apply for Dutch account (only ABN AMRO requires), but you will need it if you want to
apply for letter of invitation for your non-European visitors. Besides, if you want to change
your personal information in the school database, you need to log in to Studielink
(https://app.studielink.nl/front-office/) which requires your DigiD username and password.
Travel
Travel from Norway to the Netherlands is very easy. You may fly with either Norwegian or
SAS. I prefer SAS as it had better time schedule and offer. (Also, until 25 you can travel with
youth ticket=”ungdomsbilett”. Price varies, but if you are early you may get a one way-ticket
for 550NOK and it includes a baggage of 23kg. Approximately travel time from Gardemoen
to Schiphol Airport is 1,5-2 hours. Once arrived to Schiphol in Amsterdam, the best way to
arrive Groningen is to take the train which takes about 2.5 hours (24euros). All information
about travelling with train in the Netherlands can be found in this websites:
http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home. A tip is to get an OV-Chip card (40 Euro), with it you
can get 50% discount for all train travels within Netherlands (www.ns.nl). The only thing is
that you need to have a Dutch account in order to buy an OV-Chip card.
Housing
There are 8 international students housing in Groningen to choose between. We found the
housing through the Housing Office of the university. (www.housingoffice.nl). The monthly
rental range from 281-375 Euros depending on location, quality and size.
It is recommended to start early with applying for apartment because there are many students
in Groningen who look for places. You may look at the private market, but since there are few
apartments compared to number of students, it is difficult to find something suitable unless
you know someone. There are several groups in Facebook related to University of Groningen
and Groningen as it is, and you can post your notice there.
As the campus (Zernike) is located in the North, it can be nice to stay close to school. From
the student housing on Kornoeljestraat, it takes only 5 minutes by bike to get to school and
10-15 minutes bike ride to the city centre. Another student housing close to Zernike is
Plutolaan, which takes only 2-3 minutes by bike to get to school and 15-20 minutes bike ride
to the city centre.
Costs
Monthly spending varies according to what you do. Housing and food are the main recurring
costs. Food is cheaper than Norway. There are one-time costs like buying a second hand bike
(50 Euro), sports center membership (52 Euro yearly) and one month rent as deposit. Going
out and other social activities are approximately 10 Euros per outing.
Culture and language
Everyone in the Netherlands speak English fluently, so communicating in English is not a
problem. Many words in Dutch are similar to Norwegian. However, there are still some big
differences in terms of pronunciations. You may find some Dutch prefer to talk their own
language, so be aware that it takes some effort to socialize. There are possibilities to learn
Dutch through the language center. I took an intensive course in Dutch from 9-13 every
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weekday in one month before the Academic year started and learned some basic sentences to
carry daily conversation with the locals.
There are great opportunities experience the country, with friends or ESN trips. ESN stands
for Erasmus Student Network and organizes activities, which include cultural and social
events such as trips to various places within the Netherlands, language projects, international
dinners, pub nights and parties. Here is the link for more information about ESN. http://esngroningen.nl/content/what-esn
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
Going on a Double Degree will positively affect the career. With two Master degrees in
Marketing Management and Marketing Intelligence, will most likely influence future
possibilities for working either internationally or at home. When living with students from
many nationalities in an international student house, you start appreciating the cultural
differences and grow as a person.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The University of Groningen, founded in 1614, is a leading international research university
with approximately 28,000 students in which 3,800 are international students. It offers over
100 English-taught degree programmes (Bachelor, Master and PhD) in which all are grounded
in research, giving the students the opportunity to share in the best and latest knowledge.
The University consist of different faculty buildings and is centred in different places in the
city depending on what studies and faculty you belong to. The Academy Building (main
building), Harmony Building (language and law studies) and the central library are situated in
the city centre. Our faculty, (FEB) Faculty of Economic and Business is situated in Zernike
Campus, 6 km north from the city centre (about 15
minutes by bike). There are many buildings in Zernike.
However, the Duisenberg building is the place to be for
FEB students.
FEB faculty has programs in many areas such as
Finance, Marketing Management, Marketing Research,
HRM etc. and is especially well known for its Marketing
Research program, which is taught by many
internationally recognized professors of this field.
Duisenberg building
Academic Building
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Course registration
It was a possibility to register for courses before arrival, but that was only through the double
degree coordinator. However, course registration for all students is through a schools
webpage called Progress. A date and time close to the semester start was set up for all
students to go to the computer assessed room to register on the various courses of interest.
Usually 3 courses per block are more than enough as the workload per course is relative
heavy. In case you change your mind about a course, you can always log into Progress and
deregister the course you don’t want to take. Make sure you tick off all the courses you want
to have, after the registration deadline which is a week or two after courses have started, it is a
hassle to register again because then you have to mail the exam office etc.
Also, to be officially registered to the course, you have to attend to first course and leave your
signature to confirm you are taking this course. Once you are registered you are eligible and
automatically signed up for the exam.
.
Academic calendar
The Academic year is divided into two semesters, where you have two blocks within one
semester. Each block will consist of approximately 8 weeks with lecture and 2 weeks of exam
period. So in total, one block will consist of 10 weeks.
- Block 1a (semester 1 block a) : starts 3.sep
- Block 1b (semester 1 block b) : starts 12.nov
- Block 2a (semester 2 block a) : starts 4.Feb
- Block 2b (semester 2 block b) : starts 15 April
The introduction week started for international student on 1st of September. We had two
different events, welcoming all international students of the university and introduction of
masters of marketing. The semester started 3rd of September and the last day of classes for the
first semester is in the end of January, when the exam period starts. The second semester
starts in February and is finished in end of June. The first exam period is November followed
by January, April and July.
Arrival
Ms. Jeannette - the admission officer of the Double Degree is a great person that will give you
helps in any case. Firstly, she will instruct you how to arrive to your student house safely and
comfortably. Then, she will give you many useful advices such as how to get to school from
home, how to buy a SIM card or what is the nearest good supermarket… When you go to
school, she will give you an introduction package including all the necessary information
about studying, living and enjoying in Groningen.
There will be a welcoming ceremony that is organized in the Academic building (not the
place you will study). In this day, you will have an opportunity to arrange formalities such as
purchasing health insurance, opening a bank account, and getting acquainted with facilities at
the University of Groningen and the City Groningen such as international student
associations, sport facilities, and cultural organizations. There will be many senior students
there to help you or introduce you about their activities.
Furthermore, there is also an introduction for your specialization (e.g. Marketing) that is a
good chance to hear directly from some of the professors who will teach you in the coming
year.
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The International Office
The international student desk is located in the city center. The services of this office are not
needed apart from the first week, while getting residence permits. For all other queries the
admin representative is the single contact point at Zernike. The International Service Desk
assists and informs all the international students of the university about matters relating to
studying and working at the University of Groningen. Click here for more information.
Promoting BI and Norway
The student adviser of MSc Marketing Program introduced the possibility of doing a double
degree in BI, Norway. This possibility has been brought up during kick off of the Marketing
Program. Other than that, there has been no dedicated exchange fair for Master students as it
has been at BI. However, when interacting with classmates we promote BI as one of the top
European Business schools.
Social activities
The Dutch students are friendly, and open-minded. We worked with some Dutch students for
group work and they are very understandable and easy to communicate with. The relationship
between the international students was also good.
There is a student union for the Marketing students, MARUG, for students from Economic- ,
Business Administration- and Communication studies... Most events organized by MARUG
were in Dutch, but also some events were in English with marketing related topics. The
MARUG acts as an intermediary between marketing theory and marketing practice.
ACLO, the sport center in Groningen close to the Zernike campus provides many different
opportunities to learn a new sport or get fit for only 52 € for one year membership. If you
want to do fitness, you may pay 60 € more.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The professors in University of Groningen are high qualified and very professional. Most of
my professors spoke perfect English. They always try to incorporate the practical information
in their lessons. Similarly to BI, students here will be divided into small groups including
from 3-5 students. They also encourage students to express their own ideas. Nevertheless,
because the normal course often takes six weeks to complete, most of time in the class is
spent on describing the lecture by the professor. Students in BI seem to have more chance to
discuss in class.
Most of courses always have several lessons taught by visiting lecturers who come from the
company or practiced experts. The group cases are also designed based on real information
and real matters. In comparison to BI, because the course is shorter (for one block only), the
workload here seems to be higher when you have to hand in at least one assignment after
every two weeks. Nevertheless, it also depends on how many courses did you register, but the
tempo of studying is somewhat quicker.
The professors are enthusiastic and open. You can give them your questions in the break, after
class, or come to their room in some specific working days. Nevertheless, because you do not
have the same class for every course, thus, the relationship between students is weaker than
the one you have in BI’s class. In overall, Dutch students and other international students here
are quite friendly and kind.
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In overall, the level of study at University of Groningen is quite similar to the level at BI but it
is a little bit more practical here, whereas it is more theoretical in BI.
Course materials
In some courses, you do need a text book but if the exam questions will mostly be based on
the content in slides, and provided journal articles. Nevertheless, it is recommended to read
some important chapters in the text book if you want to achieve the higher grade. It is difficult
to find a used book to buy but you can borrow books from the library and photocopy some
necessary chapters. It will be perfect if you buy a new one but there are still some illegal
shops which sell a full copy of books here.
On the other hand, you also need to find other articles that are not provided by the Professor
when doing your assignment. Here, you cannot find the official reference style, the cover
paper for you assignment, etc. The Professors are very flexible about that.
Exams
As mentioned above, if you can fully understand the content in the slides and the main ideas
from the given journal articles, you will have no problem with the exam without reading the
text book. Normally, the course was evaluated based on the group assignments and the final
exam. The final exam often accounts for 50% of the total grade.
Library and technology
I have to say BI possesses better library with its website and better way to access academic
resources which is indicated by the remote access from home. You can access resources to
download journal articles from home but you have to log in each time you go to another
website with your student number and password. There are some computers around the
campus but it is not really convenient to stay there and study. Students often go to computer
centre or library computer room to study. Nevertheless, in exam period, these rooms are often
full all the time. You have to configure your internet connection settings in order to connect
wireless internet in school. Therefore, it is not easy for people who have little experience with
network configuration. Nevertheless, the technology used in teaching and distributing
information in class is modern and good.
Description of courses
Every student who wants to follow the MSc Marketing has to follow the three core courses. If
a student follows three of the four courses within the MI-theme she/he will receive the MSc
Marketing, track Marketing Intelligence. If a student chooses at least three of the five
Marketing Management courses, she/he will receive the MSc Marketing, track Marketing
Management.
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Course name
Strategic Marketing
Marketing Research Methods
Retail Marketing
Customer Management
Brand & Product Management
Marketing Engineering
Market Models
Consumer Psychology
Marketing Communication
Customer Models
B2B Marketing
track
Period
Both
1a (compulsory MM&MR)
Both
1a or 2a (compulsory MM&MR)
MM
1a (elective MM, MR)
MM
1b (elective MM, MR)
MM
1b (elective MM, MR)
MI
1b (elective MM, compulsory MR*)
MI
1b (elective MM, compulsory MR*)
Both
2a (compulsory MM&MR)
MM
2a (elective MM, MR)
MI
2b (elective MM, compulsory MR*)
MM
2b (elective MM, MR)
Marketing Research Practice
MI
Thesis
Both
1a-1b, 2a-2b (elective MM,
compulsory MR*)
2a-2b, 1a-1b (compulsory MM &
MR)
* MI students have to choose at least 3 from the 4 MI courses (ME, CuMo, MaMo, or MRP)
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Course
name:
EBM081A05
Strategic
Marketing
Prereq.
Exam
Major at BI
Approved as
Comments:
Basic
courses
in
marketing
and
marketing
research,
such
as
Specialization
Course
Marketing
(bachelor)
Basic
courses
in
marketing
and
marketing
research
such
as
Specialization
Course
Marketing.
None
Written
(open book)
Strategic
Marketing
Management
Common
(compulsory for
double degree)
Heavy workloads
with Market game
simulations. Very
practical, useful,
up-to-date
and
uses
many
aspects
of
marketing theory
and methods.
Written
(Open book)
Strategic
Marketing
Management
Common
(compulsory for
double degree)
Difficult, but very
practical
and
useful,
challenging
course
Written
Strategic
Marketing
Management
Elective
EBM080A05
Marketing
Research
Methods
Basic
courses
in
marketing
and
marketing
research,
such
as
Specialization
Course
Marketing
(bachelor)
Written
Strategic
Marketing
Management
Common
EBM86A30
Master
Thesis
EBM881B05
Marketing
Research
Practice
-
-
Basis
courses
in
marketing
and
marketing
research
such
as
Specialization
Course
Marketing.
Basic
None (One
final report
to
the
company
and
professor)
Strategic
Marketing
Management
Strategic
Marketing
Management
Common
(compulsory for
double degree)
Common
(recommended)
Taught by two
professors.
Covers
specific
retail
marketing
concepts.
Very
theoretical
with
lots of articles on
retail, with two
assignment.
3
assignments
had to be hand in.
Taught
by
2
professors based
on
their
specialization.
Very similar to the
course at BI the
first
year:
Marketing
research methods
with the Malhotra
book.
Starts
February
2012.
Strategic
Common
EBM077A05
Marketing
Model
Building
EBM880A05
Retail
Marketing
EBM079A05
Written
Interesting, up-todate course. Work
with a company.
Project goes over
two blocks.
Taught
by
two
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Marketing
Engineering
courses
in
marketing
and
marketing
research,
such
as
Specialization
Course
Marketing
(bachelor)
Marketing
Management
(compulsory for
double degree)
professors, very
interesting
and
up-to date topics.
Any other experiences/comments about your exchange experience:
- You need to be aware about how many courses you can manage to complete with a
reasonably high grade. Because every course will give you one assignment for one or
two weeks, thus, if you choose too many courses to take, you will have a trade-off in
your final grades. Nevertheless, it is also a great opportunity to challenge yourself and
gain more knowledge than other students.
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