ABSTRACT This rapport provides information on my exchange period in Graz in which education, friendship and traveling went hand in hand. Bo Backbier EXCHANGE GRAZ The Hub of Personal Development (and Eastern Europe)
Table of Contents Personal Data... 2 General Information... 2 Campus... 2 Cafes and restaurants... 2 Practical Information... 2 Housing... 3 Living costs... 3 Academic Information... 3 Types of education... 3 Courses taken... 4 Tips for future students... 4 1
Personal Data E-mail: Study Program: Exchange semester: bobackbier@gmail.com Bachelor Dutch Law Spring Academic year: 2016-2017 Host University: Country: Karl-Franzens Universität Graz (KFU Graz) Austria General Information Campus KFU Graz is located in the city centre and can be easily reached by public transport as well as by bike as Graz has a rich biking culture, almost equal to the Netherlands except for the fact that everyone wears a helmet when cycling. The campus is relatively small, authentic and surrounded many cafes and restaurants. You ll find students enrolled in chemistry, linguistics, history and law strolling around, sharing the common areas and having drinks after the lectures. There are plenty working spaces and computers, even though the old classical library is being renovated and will be finished in 2018. Cafes and restaurants Austria is famous for its coffee culture, and Graz is no exception to this rule. You ll find modern coffee bars all over town. Plenty are to be found around the campus: Auer, Geek s, Beanery and Parks are examples of high-quality bars offering great coffee and pastries. The restaurants surrounding the campus are always crowded, have a vivid atmosphere and offer student friendly menus: big portions, broad assortment and low prices. Posaune is one of my favourites. It makes part of a group of restaurants in Graz that work with building menus : restaurants where one can build its own meal to personal taste for a small price. The other restaurants with this DIY building menu are: Area 5 (centre), Bausatz (centre) and Continuum (centre). Practical Information All relevant pre-arrival information that was necessary for a proper preparation was provided at least five months before arrival. The sending as well as receiving university provided me with clear information on the procedural part of the exchange, using pre-departure guides and online sources. Applying for the various courses at KFU Graz seemed a big hurdle beforehand, but nothing could have been further from the truth: the online portal was set up in a clear manner, with all necessary information in order to make a well-considered choice. KFU Graz took good care of the procedure upon arrival: it gave a clear insight in what to expect upon arrival and comprehensibly explained where to go for registration at the national authorities. Before the exchange period started, a Kick-off Day was organised during which all Erasmus students were brought together to mingle and to receive further practical tips and tricks for the coming semester abroad. The main support was provided by the International Office, either through emailing or through personal meetings and was always there for the Erasmus students should it be needed. I*ESN, the international student association, also made its entrance during the Kick-Off Day, 2
presenting its agenda for the coming semester in order to get all Erasmus students involved in its activities. Looking back, these low priced - activities were lots of fun: one got to know lots of Erasmus students as well as the Austrian culture. I*ESN also provided for mentors, also called buddies: Austrian students who give guidance to Erasmus students throughout their exchange period. I decided not to make use of this facility, as I was too stubborn and wanted to find my way by my own. Housing The place I lived during my exchange period was called Home4Students, Neutorgasse 46, which I booked 3 months in advance without any support of KFU Graz (even though the university provided this support. Once again: stubborn.) My room was 12 m2 and I shared the bathroom with one roommate. The kitchen we shared with 20 people, which was lots of fun. Cooking was the moment during which everyone came together and talked about their day. Living costs My monthly costs were approximately 600 per month, including rent, which I (partly) financed with my Erasmus grant. These costs are almost equal to the monthly costs in Tilburg. Academic Information Types of education KFU Graz offers various types of education, given in English as well as in German. There are, amongst others, seminars and vorlesungen. Seminars can be compared with werkcolleges with mandatory attendance for which one must write an essay for examination. Vorlesungen are lectures with a big amount of students without mandatory attendance and with a written exam. One tip: make sure you are aware of the type of class you are subscribing to. I followed five seminars, meaning an intensive and extensive semester with a load of essays. A rather positive discovery I did during my exchange was the substantial amount of bank holidays during the semester: at least 10 free days were incorporated in the half year of education, enabling day trips and other semi-educational activities. Apart from these individual free days, there was one two-week holiday in May in which I travelled through Eastern Europe by train with an Interrail Ticket. 3
Courses taken I greatly enjoyed every course and would thus recommend all of the courses listed below. Code Course title (as indicated in the course catalogue) at the receiving institution Semester Number of ECTS credits to be awarded by the receiving institution upon successful completion of the course 200.005 Introduction to Common Law (English legal 2 5 232.511 Digitales Urheberrecht* 2 5 232.401 Principles and Practice of Negotiating, Chairing and Participating in Meetings Involving Lawyers 2 5 216.006 Overview of the American Legal System 2 5 232.402 Principles and Practice of Professional Legal 2 5 Total: 30 * Even though the second course has a German name, it was given in English. Tips for future students If there s one advise I could give: Take it to the limit. Take the opportunity to go on exchange if you re offered one. It was the best experience in my student career. Not only will you learn about a different culture, you ll also learn to deal with different situations and grow as a person. If you ve already decided to go on exchange, then there is one tip I would like to give you: make sure you are aware of the rules regarding the registration rules of the city you re going to live in. It gives you some peace of mind and prevents unnecessary fines. Have a good one! Love, Bo Backbier 4