Student report.
Name of the University:
Exchange semester:
Stenden University of Applied Sciences
Fall, 2011
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Stenden University of Applied Sciences is an international oriented school with campuses in
different countries as well as several in the Netherlands. My campus is located in
Leeuwarden, the historical capital of the area of Friesland, a city with approximately 95 000
inhabitants, where 20 000 of them are student. The school is located 15 minutes walking
outside of city centre and is a big, modern school with plenty of space for the 11 000 students
studying here. With students coming from 65 different countries, there is an international
atmosphere. Most of these students studying here fulltime – either bachelor or master degree
– or are part of Stenden’s own exchange programs of “short trek” or “grand tour”. We were 34
(Erasmus) exchange students for this semester, from 9 different nations.
Stenden offer management programs in the fields of tourism, hospitality, leisure, media and
entertainment, retail and international business. The study structure is very different from BI,
with a emphasise on active participation and practical learning through PBL – problem based
learning; and CBL – case based learning.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The information package from Stenden was supposed to arrive in July via mail, however it
never turned up. But, there is a lot of information available via their internet pages and in
addition the most important information also was provided in the email offering me a place at
the university.
There were some problems regarding the modules as I first was told that I could not attend
the modules I needed to in order to get the semester approved. This was however sorted out
during the introduction week in Leeuwarden with help of the international office and the
module coordinators.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
No visa is required in order to go to the Netherlands. I arrived via plane to Schiphol
(Amsterdam) and from there approximately 2,5 hours by train to Leeuwarden station. Just
make sure that you are on the right part of the train, because it splits in Zwolle, one part going
to Groningen and one part going to Leeuwarden.
Academic Calendar
I arrived on the 29th of August, the day the introduction week started. Before arrival, the
Foreign Relations Committee (FreC) had created a group on facebook for all exchange
students and also sent emails with information about the program for the introduction week.
The semester started at September 2nd and lasts till January 27th. The system is different from
BI, with each semester divided into two modules, each consisting of 9 weeks. Therefore, you
first have 1 module and examinations period in week 9 and thereafter you start your second
module and have examinations in the final week of January. It can be arranged so that you
finish your 2nd module before Christmas.
Reception
I arrived on the 29th of August since this day the FreC committee (Foreign Relations
Committee) would be present on the train-station to pick up and register the exchange
students and bring us school and the housing office. We also got a “survival bag” from FreC,
containing map, information on different student organisations, events etc.
In the introduction week FreC arranged a lot of events for us to get to know each other and
the city. Some of these events are made in collaboration with the other schools in
Leeuwarden. Thursday in the introduction week, we had an introduction at school with a
guided tour and a presentation from the coordinators and international office. They were all
prepared for our arrival, however some difficulties did occur. In the beginning of June, all
exchange students got an email requesting us to upload a picture for the student card. This
card is vital when studying at Stenden. Without this card you can not buy food or coffee, buy
the module books from the school store, borrow books from the library, print, copy or do your
tests in the examination week. All though the picture was uploaded before the deadline, I did
not receive my student card before end of October. Also, it is advisable to get a Dutch bank
account when arriving here because you can only charge your Stenden-card with a Dutch
card; Visa is not accepted at the school.
Housing
There is not enough housing options in Leeuwarden, therefore the school recommended to
rent via Short Stay Solutions (SSH), a housing office with different student-houses all over the
city in different categories. They are more expensive than going through the private market,
but at the same time easier when you are not present in Leeuwarden. I chose for one of the
most expensive one because it was not too far from school and the city, and also it was a
relative new house.
Costs
When renting accommodation through SSH you pay almost the same amount as in Norway,
my rent was € 465. However, on the private market the prices are much lower, ranging from €
200 – 300 per month including electricity and internet. Otherwise, food and beverages is
much cheaper in the Netherlands and you can afford to go out to have dinner from time to
time. The books are not necessary to buy because the library at school is big. However, in the
beginning of each module some books can be difficult to borrow, depending on the module.
Also a lot of the literature is provided online or as hand outs. The only book you really need to
buy is the module book, which lets you know all you need to know about structure of the
module, homework, examination, literature, etc. Depending on size, this book costs
approximately € 3 – 10.
The International Office
The international office at school is located in the office building, but opens two days a week
they have office hours right by the main entrance to school. They are the main responsible for
the exchange students. Additionally, each of us were given one coordinator in case we had
any questions and issues, and also FreC provided big help for us. Not all relevant information
is given on time, so it is also student’s responsibility to contact them when you have any
concerns.
Exchange promotion
I was supposed to take part in the student fair day, but because of rescheduling I ended up
having CBL and compulsory lectures all day. Therefore my promotion did not go as planned.
However, I joined the FreC team at the international day in between my lectures and
answered questions regarding exchange to Norway.
Social Activities
Most of the time we are only exchange students together. That is because many of the Dutch
students live outside Leeuwarden and therefore go home after school and especially for the
weekend. Also, there are a lot of German students here so in both of my modules I have been
in group with only German students. This makes it a bit difficult to get to know the Dutch
students and to get a real feeling with the culture and language. Therefore we are mostly just
exchange students participating the activities. FreC has been great in making activities, trips
and gatherings for us, so there have been a lot of social activities. In addition, the Erasmus
Student Network (ESN) located on one of the other schools in Leeuwarden, has made many
events and trips which we have been able to join.
At school, everybody is divided into different CBL/PBL groups for each module, and thereby
you are working with new people for each module. The bad thing about this is that 9 weeks is
a short time period to get to know people properly.
Culture and Language
The faculty and the other students all speak very well English so there is no problem in
understanding each other. All lectures, literature and lecture slides are provided in English.
Because of the great amount of international students it is difficult to get a real feeling with the
country and culture. Also, the workload which is given also implies that you can not surf
through your studies here. You really need to be prepared for each meeting and participate
actively in order to pass the modules.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
The exchange experience has had a great affect on me socially and culturally. Especially the
totally different education system of Stenden has been a challenge to undertake at times, but
in the end I have learned a lot, both positive and negative. Everybody would benefit from
going out of the comfort zone of their home institute and home country and experience
something completely different. Still, the Netherlands is not that far away from Norway, both in
terms of actual distance and culture, but at the same time it is different enough. This way, I
had to speak English all the time and I had to get to know other exchange students, which
proved to be very easy because everybody is in the same position and are open to make
friends.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
The courses are mostly taught in English, or they separate so that they have classes with only
Dutch students and only international students. The faculty had in my opinion very good
English knowledge and there was therefore no problems regarding language.
The level is at the same level as BI but the focus is different. Mainly, the focus at Stenden is
on the more practical side and we are thus given a lot of cases and problems to work with.
Most of the work is done in groups, with an introduction lecture given in the beginning of each
topic. The rest is up to the students to do the research on their own to get to the answer and
to apply the theory to the different cases given by the teacher. This also means that the
workload is bigger than at BI because before every meeting each week, you need to do a lot
of research on the different topics that is to be discussed. As a result, the system of Stenden
is not as flexible as the one of BI. If you do however miss out on one or two of the CBL/PBL
sessions with a valid reason you get a chance to earn the points you missed out by doing an
extra assignment.
The relationship between faculty and students is very good and easy. In my experience, the
faculty is very open to help you if you have any questions. You can normally just “pop by”
their office if you have a problem. In the classrooms there is a good relationship between the
students. However, there is some competition because of the participation points. Many of the
students are very ambitious and can thus be a bit dominating, making it difficult for you to
enter the discussions. But they are all respectful to each other and are willing to help you
understand how the system here works.
Required Literature
The required literature is given in English, and in some cases it feels like the literature used
here is more practical oriented than at BI. Because of the fact that you have only 9 weeks per
module, the literature gives more of a broad overview than detailed knowledge. Some details
are given but the time is not sufficient enough for getting to know it all. The exams are based
both on the lectures and the literature, depending on which module you are studying.
Exams
In module 1 I was given a true-or-false test as a final exam. In order to pass this you needed
to have 55% correct out of 60 questions. This test was based upon the required literature, and
you really needed to study this literature in detail in order to pass it.
Other
The library is easy accessible for the students. You can borrow books in the library and they
also provide books that you can not take outside of the library. This is to make sure that there
is always at least one copy of a book there available. Thus, it is not always necessary to buy
the books you need for the module. There is also working stations with computers inside the
library, in addition to a large open study landscape and computer rooms available for the
students. All information is spread via Blackboard (just as BI uses It’s Learning) and via the
student e-mails. Always check this every day because there is often changes being made.
Description of courses:
Course name
Strategic
management
Tourism
resource
development
Dutch
basic
course
Prerequisites
1st and 2nd year
bachelor
1st
year
bachelor
Exam
Written and oral
None
Written or oral
Written and oral
Major at BI
Tourism
management
Tourism
management
Approved as
Common
Common
Extra
Strategic management: this module is well known for being one of the modules with the
heaviest workload. It consists of three cases, lectures, business economics workshops,
student-led seminars, an airline simulation game and CBL sessions. The three cases are
done in groups of 3-4 students, and each of these groups also needs to prepare one chapter
from the required book to present in a seminar for the other students. Before each of the CBL
sessions (once per week) you need to prepare so that you can participate actively in the
discussions. This is necessary in order to earn enough points to pass the module. In addition
to this we had an airline simulation game, where a group of 6 students are the management
team of an airline for three years. This included making the decisions for the airline to grow,
marketing activities, calculair, writing an annual report and in the end having an interview to
defend the actions undertaken. The final examination was a three hour exam with 60 truefalse questions about strategy and also 30 questions about business economics.
Tourism resource development: this module is a second year module in the international
tourism management programme of Stenden. Here, the workload consists of 4 cases, one
project assignment, research assignment and management skills. The workload is quite
heavy because you only have 9 weeks available and you will be working with all of it at one
time. Therefore, time-management skills are vital. For the CBL sessions twice a week you
need to prepare and hand in homework to the tutor and also here you need to participate
actively. For the research part, all the workshops and lectures are compulsory, and you need
to conduct a quantitative research with analysis of the results. The project/module assignment
is about UNESCO World Heritage, where groups of 6 students are working on nominating a
site for the World Heritage Site List. Included in this project is to do extensive research and to
write a management plan for the site. In the end, you have to defend the nomination in the
two interviews with the UNESCO committee, consisting of four teachers. This is a very heavy
module regarding the workload and participation, but at the same time it is interesting and
educational. Also, there is a fieldtrip included for € 125, where you go to either Bruges or
Brussels for first-hand knowledge about world heritage sites and management. Also, there is
several interesting guest lectures given, from different aspects of the tourism industry.
Dutch basic course: is offered for free to all exchange students. This is a nine-week language
course with two sessions per week and it provides you with the basic Dutch knowledge that
you need for your stay here and also provide a basis for you to expand your language
knowledge later. In the end, your class decides if it wants to make an oral or a written exam.
When choosing the modules at Stenden, make sure that you have enough ECTS. Most of the
modules are 12 – 15 EC and it might therefore be a bit difficult to get it to add up. There is
however possibilities for getting extra assignments, language courses and mentoring
programs so that you in the end get a total of 30 ECTS. Last but not least, make sure that you
enroll for the tests and the right groups in time so that you do not miss out on any information
given through Blackboard or the chance to do the test.
Any other experiences:
Leeuwarden is a great city for students. Also, the Netherlands is a small country and it is easy
to travel everywhere with the trains. Therefore, make sure that you have enough time to do
some travel when you are there. Just make sure that you are on the right part of the train
when going to Leeuwarden, because most trains from Amsterdam/Schiphol split at Zwolle to
go to Leeuwarden or Groningen.
Last but not least, buy a bike and a good bike lock! It makes your life easier to have a bike in
the city and you can buy a cheep second hand bike for less than € 50. There are a lot of bike
stores in the city centre and in the vicinity, and most importantly remember to buy a lock for
your bike.