Student Report
Name of the University: Rotterdam School of Management ( Erasmus University)
Exchange semester: Fall 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
We recived an acceptance letter in our mail, and the rest of our communication with the
exchange office was done over email. We recived most of the information we neded in June
and registered for our classes around that time. There was some paperwork that had to be
filled out and we also had to fill out a Learning agreement to make sure we would get our
classes approved.
Travel
- It`s very easy to get to Amsterdam from Norway. SAS, Norwegian and KLM have
flights daily from aiports around the country and if you book them early enough you
can get them for a pretty good price. When you arrive at Amsterdam airport, there is a
high speed train that takes you to Rotterdam Central in 20 min. From the Central
station you can take the Metro or Tram around the city. The best thing is to buy a
plastic OV-chipcard which you fill credit on. This card you can use when traveling all
over the Netherlands. It`s important to remember to check your card in AND out when
you leave, if not the card is no longer valid. A lot of the students bought second-hand
bikes, which is a very good way to get around since we after all are in a biking nation.
Housing
- You can find housing by looking at Housinganywhere.com, this is a site where
students themselves can post there apartments, and if you are lucky you can find a
good place.
- You can also get housing at campus, this is SSH who is responsible for this. Its a
Organization that has housing different placeses around the city. It`s a bit more
expensive then if you can fin something private via students themselves.
It is preferable to find accomidation either on campus or close by like in the area
Kralingen. I was lucky to find a room via housinganywhere and lived in a very nice
and quite area wich is about 10 min walk away from campus. I lived right next to
International house and Viesta which are two other student housings so a lot of my
friends where close bye.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 4000
NOK 200
NOK 1000
NOK 600
NOK
Culture and language
- Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
Everyone spoke English so it was very easy to communicate with them.
-
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
The ESN had a couple of different trips they arrange during the exchange and it was
very easy to just travel around by train and visit other city for a day if you wanted to.
If you are taking 30 ECTS you will have a lot of school work and that may affect
youre spare time that you have to travel.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- Erasmus university has a very big campus, it is divided into several buildings with a
different letter for each building.There is a big main library and a smaller one in the T
building where the RSM is located. In the middle of the campus is a nice little pavilion
where you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- There is metro and tram is very close bye so getting to campus is very easy.
Course registration
- When and how did you register for courses?
We received an email from the international office at RSM where all the available
courses for us were listed. Then we replied with which courses we would like to take.
We could change courses at a later stage if the classes were not full.
- When did the add/drop period end?
This varied a lot for the different courses, probably late September for most of them.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
20th of August
28th of August
9th of December
Depends from each course
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
Arrival
- Describe the introduction week
The first day we met up at campus where we got to meet all our fellow exchange
students and the staff from the international office. They had planned a trip to a small
village about an hour away from Rotterdam where we all stayed at a small hotel for
three days. Here we had a lot of social activities so that we all got to know each other.
When the classes started, we knew all the exchange students well.
The International Office
- As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information?
Yes, we received all the information we needed at appropriate times during both
before and during the exchange. The international office was also helpful with
everything.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
Before departure, our contact person in the international office asked us to bring
something special, but cheap, from our home country to bring as a gift. In the
introduction week we all received a gift from one of the other exchange students and
then talked about what it represents. We also talked a lot about our home country and
university.
Social activities
- How was the relationship with native students and that among exchange students?
The relationship with both the native and exchange student was very good. We made a
lot of friends and we had a great time travelling and exploring the Netherlands.
- Are there any special activities, student organisations, and gatherings for exchange
students?
Erasmus University Rotterdam has a large number of student organisations, the
biggest one for exchange students being Erasmus Social Network (ESN) and
International Students Rotterda (ISR). These organisations and others have a lot of
different activities for the exchange students.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style (practical, theoretical, cases/lectures, formal/informal etc.)
The teaching style at RSM is mostly formal. It is both practical with cases and
workshops, but it is mostly lectures which are mostly theoretical.
- How is the level and workload compared to that at BI?
The workload is larger, and one should be prepared to put in more work than at BI.
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, level
of course material etc).
The course material used at RSM consists of books, online articles and a lot of slides.
The books and articles are often highly theoretical.
-
Exams
Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
Both.
How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
o Final exam (written, oral, home assignment, presentation)
o Mid-term exam
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentations
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
Library and technology
- Describe the facilities
The Erasmus University Rotterdam has a enormous library on campus. All over
campus one can find places to read, computer rooms, student organisations and also a
student run pub.
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange. Your comments are useful for
BI and for future exchange students, include information on the qacadmic level, challenges,
relevance to your studies, if the course was practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code & name
BKBMIN022
Strategy Consulting
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
BAB21
Organisational Theory
& Dynamics
BAB19
Quantitative Decision
Making
Bachelor
BAB17
Philosophy of Science
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved
as
Strategy/Fi
nance
Comments
3-hour written
exam (40%) and
a consulting
project (60%)
3-hour written
exam (50%) and
report (50%)
Two 2-hour
exams (50%
each)
None
None
Elective
None
Elective
Second
year course
6 ECTS
Second
year course
6 ECTS
3-hour written
exam (70%) and
two assignments
(15% each)
None
Elective
Minor
15 ECTS
Second
year course
3 ECTS
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
Going on exchange to Rotterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam was a great experience
and highly rewarding. RSM is a challenging faculty (one of the highest ranking in Europe)
which means one have to work very hard to get good grades, but the return for all that hard
work is great. The Dutch people and the students from the university are similar to us from a
cultural point of view, which makes it easy to communicate and make friends. The Dutch
people are also very good English speakers, I would say even better than Norwegians.
Rotterdam is known for its nightlife, with a great number of pubs and clubs. The Rotterdam
Port is also still one of the worlds largest and busiest ports, which makes the city very
interesting for everyone interested in trade, shipping and international business. It is also very
easy to travel from Rotterdam. There is a small airport right outside the city, though it is
easiest to take the train.