Study abroad – Lima, Peru
A. General report
1.
Host institution: Universidad de Lima, Perú
Study period: Semester 2014-2015 I: July 17 – December 3
2. Contact with home faculty, preparation and journey
The home faculty gave all the information needed before leaving to Lima. Therefore
everything was arranged perfectly and efficient. For the preparation quite a few things
need to be arranged, however following the PowerPoint presentation from the Rug is
very helpful in doing this, no problems for me regarding this. The host university
arranged my visum and I could pick it up a week before leaving to Perú. During my stay
in Perú, only once it was necessary to contact my home university in order to change
one course, they responded directly.
Finally the host university was very helpful, they helped me with everything both fast
and good.
3. Residence abroad
Arrival date: July 15th
Departure date: December 3th
During my stay in Lima, I lived in Apu house number 5. Apu is an organisation, which
offers houses to international students. My house was very spacious and the rooms
where good. There where some minor problems/discussions with the person from the
APU organisation, but in general that is a little bit the culture and my living in APU 5 was
very pleasant. I lived with two Germans, one French, one Swiss girl(s) and one French
and German guy. If you consider APU 5 I can really recommend this house.
4. Grant
The amount of money granted by the Marco polo scholarship (400 plus 150 a month)
was necessary for a part of my plane ticket. Plane tickets to South America are in general
quite expensive so make sure you book on time and if possible a retour ticket. For my
living expenses, the study finance and OV – grant are sufficient to live a normal life, since
living expenses food and basically everything is very cheap compared to Europe.
However during my stay I also travelled a a lot and went out quite often, so therefore I
needed some more money, but still Peru is cheap in general. A menu, which consists of, a
starter, main dish, dessert and a drink will cost between 8 and 12 soles (2-2,50 euro).
Furthermore the busses cost 1 sol for approximately half an hour and cabs are cheap as
well.
Robbert Rosenkamp
S2190567
University of Groningen
5. Study (general)
Before I left to Lima, the exchange office in Lima helped me very good. When I arrived a
free Spanish course for three weeks started, I participated mainly in order to get to
know the other exchange students, but the Spanish course was very interesting and
helpful. The introduction was also very good, students from the university where
available the help you when you had any questions whatsoever as were the women from
the exchange office.
After three weeks of Spanish, the normal courses started, after a period of 8 weeks we
had mid term exams and the finals where in the end of November. It should be noted
that there are more compulsory classes and attendance is held, furthermore there are
more test during the period then in Groningen. Below my schedule
HORAS
LUNES
MARTES
MIÉRCOLES
07--08
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
08--09
International Finance 1 (Sec. 771)
International Finance 1 (Sec. 771)
11--12
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
12--13
Strategic Alliances (Sec. 971)
Strategic Alliances (Sec. 971)
18--19
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
19--20
International Finance 2 (Sec. 870)
International Finance 2 (Sec. 870)
JUEVES
VIERNES
09--10
10--11
13--14
14--15
15--16
16--17
17--18
20--21
21--22
The study facilities at Universidad de Lima were very good, sufficient computers and
also a library where it was possible to study. The international office was as I mentioned
before very helpful and I would give them a 10 out of 10.
The courses in Lima were International trade finance I & II and strategic alliances.
Strategic alliances was a course which I didn’t really like, this was mainly because of the
teacher, she was in my opinion not good enough to teach at the university. However on
the other hand, international trade finance I & II were very interesting and the teacher
was a professor which worked at a big bank in Perú, this is the best teacher which I have
ever had in my 3 years in university. The level of the courses where lower compared to
the Netherlands, but i really enjoyed the classes and in the end learned a lot.
Robbert Rosenkamp
S2190567
University of Groningen
SÁBADO
Other relevant remarks
Peru might be considered a little bit dangerous, however if you avoid some districts and
just take some minor precautions nothing will happen. For me it was very safe, however
some friends of me where indeed robbed with a gun and a lot of pickpocketing
happened. Don’t let this scare you, like I said, if you are a little bit cautious nothing will
happen.
Furthermore, Peru is a very diverse country they have a dessert a jungle but also very
high mountains with beautiful attractions (Machu Picchu). Furthermore is traveling in
Peru really cheap and it is easy to go to other countries.
Summary of the study abroad period
The guidance of the host university was very good. Furthermore living in Lima is a great
experience since there are a lot of things to do which is quite obvious in such a big city.
Also the living expenses are really low, which makes it for example almost profitable to
go out for dinner in stead of cooking yourself.
I can only be positive concerning my experience. But my advice would be to attend the
Spanish course, which you can take three weeks before classes will start. In this period i
already met a lot of people and it is a period in which you can already adapt a little bit to
the country and culture.
Robbert Rosenkamp
S2190567
University of Groningen
B. Specific report
Host institution and Study period
Universidad de Lima
17-07-2014 until 03-12-2014 (semester 2014/2015 I)
Lectures and Literature
Unfortunately it is not able for me anymore to access the “ Nestor” of the university of
Lima, however I can give a good estimate of the amount which literature is used.
International trade finance I & II were given by the same teacher and II was the
following up of international trade finance I. So the organisation of the classes was
exactly the same.
For international trade finance we had to read 1 article per week on average (the level is
comparable to Harvard business reviews) and was around 20-30 pages. For strategic
alliances is was about 1 article per two weeks, the level of this articles was lower and the
articles were about 10-20 pages. Below my schedule.
HORAS
LUNES
07--08
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
MARTES
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
MIÉRCOLES
08--09
International Finance 1 (Sec. 771)
International Finance 1 (Sec. 771)
11--12
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
12--13
Strategic Alliances (Sec. 971)
Strategic Alliances (Sec. 971)
18--19
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
Facultad de Negocios Internacionales
19--20
International Finance 2 (Sec. 870)
International Finance 2 (Sec. 870)
JUEVES
VIERNES
SÁBADO
09--10
10--11
13--14
14--15
15--16
16--17
17--18
20--21
21--22
Robbert Rosenkamp
S2190567
University of Groningen
Overview of lecture program
All the classes of international trade finance consisted of lectures by the teacher, in the
end also assignments were made in order to practice the subjects learned.
For strategic alliances the Monday class consisted of a lecture in which the teacher
explained all the material and the Wednesday session was a combination of group work
and explanation of the material.
The time necessary for the preparation of international trade finance was on average 4
hours, it depended, if we had a test (which was 8 times the case during the period) you
need around 8 hours of preparation otherwise only 2.
For strategic alliance we had two tests during the period this needed 6 hours of
preparation. For the classes we needed on average 4-6 hours of preparation since we
had a big case/report to make as final exam.
Contents & Lecture-related activities
The aim of the course strategic alliances was to create a strategic alliance between a
company in Peru and the Netherlands, so we worked together with a Peruvian partner.
During the course two tests were given, and for the mid-term and final exam a
presentation of the strategic alliance plus a report were the way of testing. During the
course it was necessary to read articles and use manuals, which guided us through the
process of setting up a strategic alliance.
International trade finance I was about getting to know and apply the different means of
payment, this was linked to risk hedging when making or receiving an payment.
Furthermore all the costs for the payment needed to be calculated. Our teacher had a
high function within Scotiabank(big bank in Peru), therefore the material consisted
mainly of his PowerPoint and articles provided by the teacher. The grade consisted out
of one presentation, eight tests during the period, one mid-term exam and one final
exam.
International trade finance II was the follow up course of International trade finance I, it
expanded on the topics, means of payment and risk hedging. Furthermore other relevant
financial constructions were taught, such as reverse factoring and confirming. The
material was provided in the same way as for International trade finance I as was the
way of grading.
Relevance to Groningen study-program
For me none of the three courses is comparable to a course which I had in the
Netherlands. However I think they fit perfectly in my International business program.
With international trade finance I learned a lot concerning banking and South America
was also linked to all topics, its very interesting to look at it from that point of view.
Strategic alliances was interesting, because together with a Peruvian partner we had to
make a strategic alliance between a Peruvian and Dutch company. The difference in
Robbert Rosenkamp
S2190567
University of Groningen
culture was a challenge but that made it interesting and fun.
Study load
Strategic alliances:
Lectures: 60 hours (compulsory)
Work outside class: 100 hours
International trade finance I & II
Lectures: 60 hours (compulsory)
Work outside class: 50-60 hours
Assessment in Groningen
- Strategic alliances: 4 Peruvian points, 10 ECTS, Mr. Ritsema conducted the assessment
- International trade finance I: 4 Peruvian points, 10 ECTS, Mr. Ritsema conducted the
assessment
- International trade finance II: 4 Peruvian points, 10 ECTS, Mr. Ritsema conducted the
assessment
Robbert Rosenkamp
S2190567
University of Groningen