GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: ULB, Solvay Business School
Exchange semester: Fall, 2012
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- When and how did you receive information from the exchange university?
The university sent us an “Info pack” in the end of April by e-mail. We received the
second one in June by mail.
- Any difficulties in preparing (application, housing, contact, courses, etc)?
We had some difficulties deciding on courses as some course descriptions were not
available online, but the coordinator was very helpful in providing missing
descriptions. Housing was a bit of a challenge as we were only staying for a semester,
so we would recommend to start the search as soon as possible.
Travel
- How did you travel to your destination? Any problems?
Brussels is easily reached by plane.
Housing
- Was housing provided by the university, or did you have to find your own housing?
Housing was not provided by the university as they did not have anything available for
us.
- What support did you receive from the school in locating housing?
The International Office sent us e-mails with apartments for rent and in the “Guide 1”
we received in June there was a list of different housing websites. The university has
an Accommodation Office as well, web2.ulb.ac.be/lodgements/index.php.
- Any special issues or good ideas for prospective students?
Start looking for housing early if you are staying for a semester only, as most
landlords are more interested in one-year contracts. We stayed in the area Ixelles,
between the university and the city centre, which we would highly recommend.
When looking for housing check the Express website www.erasmusbrussels.net and
join their Facebook group. A lot of students post apartments/rooms for rent there. We
used the websites immoweb.be and student.be.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 3700
NOK
NOK 400
NOK 1000
We spent approx. 1500 in total on books, as many classes are based on lecture notes or
articles only.
Culture and language
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Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
Belgium is a small country and you can easily travel by train or bus. We made some
daytrips to different areas of the country.
In Brussels most people speak or have a little understanding of English. At the university all
the teachers and administration has good English skills although with an accent. There is a
different level of English on the different students on campus. In our experience the bachelor
students are not as good as the master students but we only had contact with students in the
English taught classes.
ULB is a big campus and with a lot of different faculties, and every one has there own student
union. All of these have a lot of different events that promote the school and the culture like
dinners, student gatherings, and trips to different places around the country. The student
organization express that takes care of the exchange students also has a lot of different events
that give an impression and understanding of the culture and student life at ULB
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
- How do you think the exchange experience will affect you from a cultural and social
point of view?
- How do you think the exchange experience influences your future career possibilities?
Being on exchange has given us the insight in the different cultures of the different
nationalities of the people that are on exchange. Knowing what the different does and don’t
will be a useful tool when it comes to international jobs aspects like relationship building and
potential employment in other countries. Being on exchange gave us an international network.
As mentioned the opportunity for getting jobs in foreign country will be potentially much
easier when you have met people in that country. An international carrier is something that we
both are interested in and that was the main reason for applying for exchange.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
- The school and its surroundings (give a short summary)
Solvay Brussels school of economics and management is located at the Solboch
campus of the ULB university, 20 minutes by bus from the city centre. The school
building is new and very nice, but we did have classes in other old buildings on
campus as well.
- Current faculty divisions and special areas
Solvay is well known in Belgium, and the fields of study are economics, business
studies and management science.
- Approx. number of students (graduate and undergraduate) and number of exchange
students
ULB has over 24 000 students, 30% of them coming from abroad. Solvay has 2700
students and about 180 exchange students.
- Study structure
Course registration
- Were you able to register for courses before arrival?
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
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-
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We could not register for courses before arrival.
If not, when did you register? Any difficulties?
The deadline for course registration was October 5., so we could attend the different
classes before finally deciding on what courses to choose.
If the school has a lottery or bidding system, describe this system and your experience
in detail.
Some courses only accept a limited number of exchange students. In some we had to
sign up in the first lecture, in others places were given on a first come, first served
basis. If you are interested in a class you should attend the first lecture.
When and how long was the period for adding/dropping courses?
October 5. is the final deadline for choosing courses. After that no changes can be
made.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
September 6.
September 10.
December 24. (our
classes finished on the
13th, but the semester
ends the 24th
January 7. – 26.
September 27.,
November 1.-2.,
November 11.
Other:
Arrival
- Was the administration and faculty well-prepared for your arrival?
Yes, they held an information meeting for us, and were ready to answer any question
we had.
- Did the school’s students participate in the reception of the exchange students?
Yes, both Express (the student association for exchange students) and the student
union at Solvay arranged get-togethers and parties for exchange students.
- Describe the introduction week?
The introduction week was to a large extent arranged by Express with different events
every day so we easily got to know other exchange students. The school hosted a
welcome-drink for all the exchange students pub-crawls, tours of the city and game
around the city, and the Solvay student union invited us to parties etc.
The International Office
- Is there an international office?
Yes, there is an International Office run by the international coordinator.
As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information? In
English?
All information provided was in English.
Promoting BI and Norway
- What kind of activities were you involved in to promote exchange to Norway at your
exchange university?
There where not many opportunities to promote BI the one time we had an opportunity
was an international day that was more about the countries than the school. On that
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
particular day the we both had a late class so we where not able to participate on that
event.
Social activities
- How was the relationship among the exchange students?
The relationship with other exchange students was very good.
- Is there a student organization, and if so, are the exchange students a part of it?
There is an organization for exchange students called Express. This group arranges
different get-togethers and parties for the exchange students.
-
Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students?
Yes, the Express team arranges trips, parties and gatherings throughout the semester.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- Describe the teaching style.
The teaching style is very much the same as at BI. Some have studies and interactive
cases in class but that depends on what kind of classes you take
- Language of instruction? Any problems?
The language of instruction is either French or English. We only had courses in
English.
- How would you evaluate the level of study in relationship to the level at BI?
The level is kind of the same as BI. Maybe a little lower but that is not very
noticeable.
- Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical?
Again it depends on the courses you take. The highly economical classes are more
theoretical than management classes
- Did professors use cases, group work or lectures (or a combination)?
Most professors have cases and group-work in some form or another, either as
examples and in classes or as hand-ins.
- How is the workload compared to that at BI?
It’s the same as it was on the bachelors.
- Describe the relationship between professors and students.
Same as BI there is no extraordinary relationship there.
- Describe the relationship between the students in the classroom.
Since most of the classes consist of people from Belgium or countries close, the most
of the students are native French speaking people and not so vary good at speaking
English so it’s not that easy to get to know the regular student in the different classes.
Course materials
- Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, etc).
In most of the classes the literature is articles and lecture notes, some has books but
they are not mandatory to read more for looking up the different subjects.
- In which language were the course materials?
English
- How do you estimate the level of the course materials in comparison to BI?
The same
- Were materials used for detailed knowledge or a broad overview of a subject?
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Depending on the classes you take most give you a broad look at the area of study, but
the classes marked advanced looks more detailed about the area of study.
Exams
- Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
- How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
o Final exam (include form: written, oral, home assignment, presentation, etc.)
o Mid-term exam
o In-class quizzes throughout semester
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentations
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
o Activities outside of the classroom
o Other – if other, describe.
Library and technology
- Do students have easy access to the library and its resources?
Yes, there are several libraries on campus.
- Were computers provided around campus/in the library?
We never used computers other than our laptops, but there are computer rooms on
campus.
- How is technology used in teaching or to distribute information?
This is really up to the professor. Most professors put their slides, reading lists etc.
online, either on their own sites, or on the school site Université Virtuelle.
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange, including as many details as
possible. Your comments are extremely useful for BI and for future exchange students,
include information on the level of difficulty, relevance to your studies, if the course was
practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Most courses we had are at the same level of difficulty as master courses at BI (for bachelor
students be aware that most classes in English are at master level). Not that many courses in
English to choose from. The exams are generally held in January for the fall semester. At the
time of writing this we have not had our exams.
Course code & name
GEST-S-487
GEST-S-428
Master/
Bachelor
Experienc
es in
Managem
ent
Exam form
Corporate
1-hour written
2-hours written
exam or write
report of one
lecture and lead
q&a with the
guest lecturer
Prerequ
isites
None
Approved
as
Elective
None
Elective
Comments
Course consists of
different topics from
business presented
by guest lecturers.
Hard course to get a
good grade in if you
take the exam, but
interesting.
Curriculum based
on lectures.
Very good
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Governan
ce
exam
GEST-S-504
Corporate
Restructur
ing
1-hour written
exam
None
Elective
GEST-S-448
Organizati
onal
Behaviour
and
Leadershi
p
1-hour written
exam (you get
the exam
questions
beforehand)
None
Elective
GEST-S-467
Internatio
nal
Corporate
Strategy
2 group works
(reports of 3500
words and
presentations of
reports)
Basic
strategy
course
Elective
The professor is
good, but the group
works are a lot of
work compared to
the learning
outcome.
ECON-0-403
European
public
Finance
3hour exam with
two parts
multiple choice
and essay
None
Elective
Highly theoretical
classes with low
participation
incentive.
GEST-S-519
European
regulation
and
business
environme
nt
Operation
s and
supply
chain
manageme
nt
Advanced
accountin
g
Case and class
participation
50%
2 hour exam
50%
None
Elective
Theoretical course
with high class
participation
incentive
Two exams, one
in each of the
main subjects
None
Elective
All the curriculum is
on the slides they
present in class
Class tests10%
Exam 90%
Case study 10%
extra
Knowlag Elective
e of
financial
accoutin
g
Big course with a
lot of lectures theory
and
case/assignments
these are not
mandatory but you
will loose 10% of
the grade
GEST-S- 482
GEST-S-409
professor.
Curriculum based
on lectures and
articles.
Same professor as
corporate
governance.
Curriculum based
on lectures and
articles.
Very interesting
course with both
theoretical and
practical classes.
This was written
before the exam, but
according to
previous students
the exam is
relatively easy.
Curriculum based
on lectures and
book.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Any other experiences/comments about your exchange experience?:
Only thing is that the infrastructure is a little different than BI there is a lot more you have to
do yourself. And instead of having @bi they have ten different websites that give all the info
and you have to do all the work yourself unlike BI.