Details

• Netherlands
• MAMgmt-14
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

I don't have a lot of tips for the application process at WU except for choosing realistic places and also looking into destinations, that weren't really on your radar before. WUs ranking system is really intransparent and gives (dis)advantages to some study programmes. If you are an average student in a programme, where a semester abroad isn't neccessarily recommended and therefor won't give you extra points, choosing the most popular destinations doesn't make sense. I got my 6th out of seven choices and was rather disappointed at first. BUT I am so glad I got Groningen since i can now say, those were the best months of my life. In the end, the place doesn't even matter that much, it's the people, that make the experience. In preparation for my semester abroad i searched for housing options and registered with SSH. The whole mobility online process was really easy and the international office over at RUG is extremely helpful. If you have any questions, just contat them, they are so nice. They also let me prove my sufficient english skills by handing in a certificate of my completed bachelors programme, which was in english, even though you usually have to do an official test (Cambridge, toefl, etc.) to be accepted. I travelled by train but was only able to do so, since I did an overnight stop in Munich. I think going by train directly from Vienna is really exhausting and I would choose the option to fly to Amsterdam and then go by train or Flixbus to Groningen.

2. Accommodation

When i gathered information about housing in the Netherlands, it quickly became pretty clear, that it's a really hard market at the moment. You might get lucky trough connections or whatsapp/facebook groups for rooms in (shared) private flats. I chose to register with SSH, a student housing organisation, which always has some short term rooms available especially for foreign exchange students. You can only register on the website once you've been approved at RUG, since they have a pre-selected amount of rooms for each university. Once registered, make sure to set an alarm for when reservation starts. The rooms will be booked out within minutes and there are always more students than available rooms. The prices are horrendous but it is the easiest and safest way to find a place to stay. RUG even advises you not to come to Groningen, if you haven't found a room until a month before uni starts. I chose to stay at Blekerslaan 4 and would everyone recommend to do the same. There are roughly 45 exchange students living at this house with one big kitchen and one big common room. We quickly became a family and it has never been easier to find great friends. The house is also close to the centre. Only disadvantage, it's quite far to the uni campus. Moesstraat is supposed to be the same vibe, but it wasn't available during my semester, so I didn't know anyone there. Cornus is extremely big with roughly 200 Students (I think), where you share a kitchen with six or seven other tenants. I heard that it was also fun. But Blekerslaan over everything :))

3. Academic life at host university

The Zernike campus, which is where you will mainly go when studying anything economics related, is great and really modern. It has a library, a food court, bus connection and cute outside spaces. Everyone told me that the lecturers here would be really strict and give you a bunch of workload, but i found it rather relaxing? I had one exam that i really had to study for, two open book ones and then a lot of written assignments. The grade system is 1-10 with 10 being the best. There is a myth that you will never, under no circumstances, receive a 10, which i can confirm, but I never scored under a 7 with average effort, which is an acceptable grade I think. The teaching style can vary from course to course. Some are big lectures, some are small and intimate seminars. Overall I would say that RUG likes to me more interactive during lectures than WU. I had four courses, Business Ethics, Organization Design, International Business Strategy and World economy in historical perspective. I didn't love any of them but I also didn't really dislike any.

5. Every day life in the host country

Everyday life is cute and simple here. Everyone has a bike and will mainly cycle everywhere (even clubbing). I got my bike via a monthly swapfiets subscription just like most the exchange students did. It's extremely simple, make an appointment online and pick it up a few minutes later. I think it was 17,90€ each month. I rarely used the bus and when I did, i was able to use my bank card to tap in and tap out. Groningen is a very safe place with a lot of things to do. Of course it is known for it's nightlife, if you want to, you can go out every night. If you go out, please end the night at Snack Hoek and get an Eierbal. Also, make sure to participate in the ESN welcome week as you will get to know your way around the city and meet many other exchange students! ESN will also organize events here and there during the semester. Other than party, you can go shopping/thrifting quite well, cycle in and around the city, play pool, go bowling, cinema, and and and. They also offer a sports subscription called ACLO. I think its about 60€ per semester and you can book yourself into as many sports classes as you want to. It is also easy and nice to do day trips from Groningen to for example Amsterdam or Utrecht :)

6. Testimonial

Do it! If I could, i would do it all over again. I loved the vibe of this semester, the people I met, the cycling, the parties, the univeristy, just the overall experience. They are right when they say you come back as a different person. I learned and grew so much during this semester.