Presentation, homework assignment & final exam. 4 small exams, of which you have to make 3. Homework assignment & final exam

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1 Exchange semester at Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien Study Program: Bedrijfseconomie Exchange semester: Fall Academic year: Host University: Vienna University of Economics and Business Country: Austria On the 3th of September I went from Dusseldorf to Vienna. The airport of Vienna is very small and it is easy to go to the city centre by train. My first impressions of Vienna were that there are countless beautiful buildings, on every corner is something to see. And I am not only talking about churches, but also palaces, coffee houses and a funfair. The underground system is well organized and the Austrians English is very good. You see the big influence of the Habsburg family, who reigned over Austria for 600 years. My favourite place in Vienna is Schloss Schönbrunn, which is the summer palace of this family. Other things you should visit are: Hofburg (winter palace), Schloss Belvedere, Stephansdom, Karlskirche, an opera at Staatsoper, many coffee houses, the rooftop bar Das Loft, etc The University The campus is only 4 years old and I have never seen such a modern one. The library building looks like a spaceship and you need a transparent bag to enter the library area, so they can check what you bring inside. The campus also has a SPAR and some places to drink coffee. There are 2 underground stations near WU: Messe Prater and Krieau. The university is located at the east side of Vienna. When you live at the west side (which I did), you have to travel for 30 minutes in total. I am very enthusiastic about WU, since all lectures are in small groups between 15 and 30 students. This encourages you to participate in the lecture and ask questions. When you compare this to Tilburg University, this is totally different. In Tilburg, you have big lectures with 200 people, in which there is no interaction. One disadvantage of WU is the long lectures, because normally they take about 3 hours, but you get used to it. There are no re-examinations for exchange students, since you normally pass every course. When you choose your courses wisely, you are done at mid-december. Since the university is focused on economics and business, it offers many courses in this field. I chose many finance courses and did a German business communication course. I also did the orientation program with the German pre-semester course, which both took 3 weeks. Although 3 weeks seems way to long, it is a nice way to meet new people and get to know Vienna and Austria better. I met most of my friends during these first weeks.

2 Practical Information WU was very clear with the pre-arrival information and all the steps you had to take. I chose to have a buddy, who picked up my keys for me. I arrived on a Sunday and the housing office was only open during weekdays in the afternoon. I would highly recommend to have a buddy, because you have someone who can help you when you know nobody in Vienna. My key did not fit the lock, so I had to stay at my buddy s place. Without a buddy I had to find a hostel for the night When you stay in Vienna, you have to register for the Meldezettel at the Meldeamt. I would recommend to go early in the morning, because you normally have to wait for one hour. And do not forget to deregister before you go back home! All the shops are closed on Sunday and most supermarkets close on Saturday at 6pm and stay closed on Sunday. Annoying! Housing I lived in an accommodation of OeAD, at Gasgasse, near to Westbahnhof. It is not the cheapest option, but it is just very convenient. Many friends of mine also lived at Gasgasse or another accommodation of OeAD. You get a furnished room and weekly cleaning service. I even had my own bathroom! I registered for the housing in May via their website. There is no housing at the campus of WU, but there is an accommodation of OeAD at walking distance: Molkereistraße. Living Costs Prices in Vienna are very similar to the Netherlands. Some things are more expensive, since you live in a big capital city. I spent most of my money on the rent, since it was 540,- a month. Transportation was only 75,- for the whole semester. As resident of Vienna you get a discount on the semester card and you can use this card for all transportation within the city. Transportation to the airport is not included. Of course, I spent more money on food then I did in Tilburg. You eat at a restaurant more often and when you go to a coffee house you pay 12,- for coffee and cake. I did not buy any books for my courses at WU. When you need them, you could borrow them at the library. I never needed a book, since the teachers make PowerPoints with all the subject material in it. So, I would recommend: never buy the books before you go to the lecture. Your teacher will tell you if you need it or not. Traveling Vienna is located in the middle of Europe, which causes many non-europeans to study in Vienna. I visited Graz, Melk, Salzburg and Hallstatt in Austria and Budapest, Krakow and Bled and Ljubljana. Hallstatt really made an impression on me, since it is such a small village and it is very beautiful! Also, Bled in Slovenia was one of the best places I visited, since we finally saw big mountains with a lot of snow. We went to Krakow with the Polski bus. It is a cheap Polish bus company, which costs 12,- for a roundtrip Vienna < > Krakow. Unbelievable, since this route takes 7 hours and it is trustworthy. The benefit of traveling in this part of Europe is that everything is very cheap, compared to Austria and The Netherlands.

3 Academic Information I chose, besides my German course, only courses in English. The level for exchange courses is normally lower than the German courses. I chose the following courses: Course Exam ECTS Comments 2052-K5 Corporate Restructuring 1085 Risk Management and Insurance 1683 International Finance 1078 Finance Perspectives on International Strategy 0531 International Accounting I Financial Reporting 0365 Wirtschaftskommunikation Deutsch V Pre-semester German Course Presentation, homework assignment & final exam 4 small exams, of which you have to make 3 Homework assignment & final exam Weekly quiz, group project & final exam Presentation & final exam 6 The teacher was very strict, but I learned so much of this course! I had to prepare a lot for this course 6 Very theoretical, but a good introduction to risk management 6 Focussed on trade finance, project finance and financial instruments 6 Big international focus. It was linked to the courses 1683 and Way too easy, teacher was not encouraging and boring Mid- & final exam 6 Good way to improve your German Presentation, letters & final exam 2 Good way to refresh your German knowledge after a couple of years For all my courses, I had a final exam which counted for 60% on average. However, many other students had to do a big project or presentation without a final exam. Studying at WU in Vienna were the best months of my life and I would highly recommend other students to go there too! Especially during the winter season, since there are Christmas markets everywhere. It is not the boring classical city that everyone expects it to be. Of course, you have the typical buildings and classical music, but also big clubs and cosy bars to drink cocktails. Vienna really became my new home.

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