Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
Student Report
Name of the University: Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP)
Exchange semester: Spring, 2014
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
I received all the practical information on email in November from the international
office at Católica. This includes information about courses, housing and paperwork
you have to deliver. It wasn’t any difficulties about the information.
Travel
TAP, the main Portuguese airline, flies Oslo- Lisbon every day. Prices are
approximately 150-300 euros. Other airlines, such as Norwegian and SAS also have
direct flights, but normally charge a higher price than TAP. When travelling to
Portugal, there is no need for a visa.
The airport is about 15 minutes from the city center. A “buddy” from Católica picked
me up at the airport. You will receive an email from the university about the buddy
concept. The buddy concept is that you can choose if you want a Católica student to be
your guide and that person will/can help you with housing, information, transport from
the airport and whatever you need help to. It was very helpful the first days in Lisbon.
Housing
The university does not provide housing, but they will help you find a place to live.
The International Office will provide several sites online before leaving Norway.
I signed up for a nice flat before I arrived Lisbon. I found it at
www.erasmuslisboa.com. If you don’t have any flat when you arrive Lisbon, I truly
recommend staying at a hostel while you’re searching for a place to live. You will
probably meet a lot of other students at those hostels.
I lived in an area called Bairro Alto. It’s approximately 30 minutes from the
university. It’s a noisy neighborhood, but I loved it! It was a lot of other Erasmus
student near by, and very close to city center.
Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
The cost of living in Lisbon is very low compared to for instance Oslo. The rent per
month depends on what apartment you live in, location, how many people you share
flat with and what standard you choose. I lived in an apartment with three other
Erasmus students. We had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a tiny living
room. I paid 345 euros per month, with everything included.
Costs
Rent
NOK 3000/month
Books
NOK 0/month.
My courses didn’t have any mandatory books.
Everything was at the university’s internet-platform.
Food
Hard to say. It’s pretty cheap for food at the supermarket compared to
Norway. I ate a lot at different restaurants, so I’m not sure how much I
spent each month.
Transport
NOK 290-310/month for the metro/subway card.
Culture and language
Most people in Lisbon speak English very well, so I´d say language problems are
minor. Both professors and students at Católica are used to speak and work with
international students.
The culture on the other hand is pretty different. Don’t expect any Portuguese to be on
time. It’s not uncommon to wait for them for at least an hour to show up. Even many
of the professors are late to class.
When it comes to experience the country and the culture, the International Club at
Católica will arrange a lot of trips to different places, dinners and other social
activities like beach volley, surfing +++. I recommend to visit Algarve in the south
and Porto in the north as well as the Portuguese island Madeira. Other organizations,
such as ELL and ESN also arranges for this kinds of trips. These kinds of trips are
cheap and a great way to get to know other Erasmus students.
Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The university is located in Lisbon, about 10 minutes from Lisbon downtown. Several
metro stations (such as Laranjeiras and Jardin Zoologico) are located nearby the
campus. You can take the yellow and the blue metro line to the university.
The economics faculty consists of one building that has a large, well-kept lawn. The
university has multiple faculties, but in different buildings on the campus. You are
able to exchange as both a bachelor and master student. In the economic faculty there
were approximately 80 exchange students enrolled during our stay.
Course registration
You will receive an email from the university that explain you how to register for
courses. There are descriptions of all the courses at Católica’s homepage. The register
process is online. There is an add/drop period the first week at school. Normally, you
will get the courses you apply for. In some cases, courses overlap. If this happen you
are required by the university to change one of the crashing courses. If you know
which courses you are dropping/adding before the course change period, ask the
teacher in the course you want to add if you can come to classes even though you are
not officially enrolled in the course yet.
Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
02.02
First day of the semester:
10.02
Last day of classes:
28.05
Examination period:
First midterm-exam period: 26.03 – 05.04
Second midterm-exam period: 31.05 – 19.06
Final exam (retake) period: 20.06 - 30.06
Any special events/holidays:
Easter holidays: 16.04 – 21.04
Freedom Day, holiday: 25.04
Labour Day, holiday: 01.05
Portugal Day, holiday: 10.06
Local holiday in Lisbon: 13.06
End of academic calendar
31.06
Arrival
The introduction week isn’t what you are used to at BI. There are a few social
activities the first week like welcome dinner, guided trips in Lisbon, wine tasting,
bowling and other social activities. It’s recommended to participate in the activities
that are arranged, both for getting to know the city, but also to get to know other
students.
The International Office
I received all the information I needed. The International Office is located inside the
main building of the university. This is the place where you deliver learning
agreements and other papers that need to be signed and sent back to BI. Everything
you need to know is sent through email, but it is also possible to show up at the office
and talk to those that work there to get information.
Social activities
The Portuguese students are very kind and open to exchange students. However,
except for when you are put together for group projects, the Portuguese students and
the exchange students tends to keep for them self’s. But as mentioned, they are used to
having international students around.
Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
There are several organizations that are directed towards exchange students. ELL and
ESN are the two biggest one. These organizations are not only meant for students at
Católica, but every Erasmus student in Lisbon. As well as arranging trips, they also
can help you with housing, getting a Portuguese phone number etc. They are also
present in social settings, at the clubs and in the bars, where you get discounts with
your Erasmus card.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The course structure is different from BI. There are approximately 30 people in each
class. Because of the small classes, you´ll get to know most of the professors and
classmates. The teacher knows your name in about every course. The teaching styles
vary from course to course. It’s most common to have courses with both theoretical
and practical classes. Cases, group projects and presentations are often used. The
workloads vary a lot from every course. As the total grade is based on for example
exams, group projects, participation, assignments etc. you have to work throughout the
semester.
Most of the courses have participation as part of the final grade. Therefor, it is
important to meet in every class. As mentioned, the exams are also based on the
lectures, and not on books, and it is hard to study for an exam if you didn’t show up
for classes. The final grade is also based on presentations, group projects, papers and
assignments. In the middle of the semester, you will have midterms in most of your
courses. The midterms usually count just as much as the exam, when calculating your
final grade. Exams are either multiple-choice or regular questions and answers. A mix
of the two is also possible. The grade scale is from 0 – 20, where 0 - 9.5 is fail and
everything above 9.5 is pass. If you fail the course or want to improve your final
grade, it is possible to take a final exam. If you chose to do this, the final exam will
count 100% of the grade.
Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
Description of courses
Decision Making 5 ECT:
The final grade was based on class participation, four scientific roundtables (you are given an
article and then you have to write one page about the article and it will be discussed in class
the day after) and an end exam. It is a pretty easy class, and you’re allowed to bring an A4
cheat-sheet to the exam.
Political Science 4 ECT:
This is a theoretical course. The grade was based on one assignment and one exam. We had to
answer 2 out of 7 questions at the exam, and the questions were exactly what the professor
had talked about in class. The course was easy to pass.
Project Management 5 ECT:
This is the easiest course I had and the workload was small. We had some easy group work
and two midterm-exams.
Product and Costumer Management 5 ECT:
This is a marketing course. We had two assignments, participation and an end exam. The
professor’s slides in class were enough to pass the course. Overall the course was good. The
assignments were interesting and the professor was great. The workload was manageable.
Operations Management 6 ECT:
The grade was based on two midterm-exams, one group work and participation. This course
had both practical and theoretical classes, usually with different professor. There is an
exercise book that is very helpful. The exercises are pretty hard and the exam even worse. I
found this course difficult. The course was not easy to pass.
Marketing in the new ERA 5 ECT:
The course had a lot of guest-speakers from different companies. The grade was based on
three group works and an end exam. The workload was manageable. The power point slides
from the professor contains enough information to pass the course.
Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
First of all, Lisbon is a beautiful city. It is a lot of exchange students in Lisbon, so the social
life is amazing. It’s always something to do like going to the beach, go surfing, go to different
parks etc. And the nightlife is incredible, every day. Bairro Alto is crowded even if it’s
Monday. Going out for dinner at a restaurant is pretty cheap. We often did meet at a restaurant
and then went out later.
And as I said, Portuguese people are very friendly so don’t worry to feel lonely. I truly
recommend choosing Lisbon as your exchange destination, and Católica is absolutely a good
school.
My time in Lisbon was highly above my expectations. I made a lot of great memories and got
to know a bunch of nice people who I’m still have contact with. I didn’t just get to know
people from Católica, but from other universities as well. I recommend sharing an apartment
with other Erasmus student, and you’ll get friends from all over. And of course do a lot of
travelling! Portugal is a beautiful country 