Exchange Report

As a European citizen, you don't need a visa. There is a 90 allowance to stay in the country, which can be reset by travelling to any European country and back to Morocco. This is common practice. Even when I initially asked about a visa at the Moroccan embassy, they were advising me to just take this approach. If you want to travel the country before the start of the semester, this is a great opportunity to save money on flights as flights to Marrakech or Agadir are comparably cheap, as they are more common tourist destinations.

Accommodation was a difficult topic for most exchange students. The recommended student dorm's construction was not finished by the start of the semester. Most students booked apartments on AirBnB. They are great if you know somebody you can share an apartment with. For nice, modern apartments, you pay around € 500-650 per month. Booking just a room in shared apartments did not result in the best experiences for the students who tried that.

The campus is modern and concentrates all students on a rather small space which makes it easy to connect with your cohort and other students. The academic culture is mostly centred around case work and interactive sessions. For presentation and tasks, deadlines are usually very flexible and it is common that they will be changed a couple of times. Even the exam schedule is likely going to be adapted. Difficulty and depth of content is highly dependant on the professors. Some professors are very engaged in providing valuable lessons to their students in a very collaborative environment. Others are more strict and follow a more hierarchical teaching approach. No matter their teaching style, if you show motivation and interest, this will be positively noted by the professors. Best professors by far were Adil Marzouk and Hicham Nachit. If you have the opportunity to take their courses, you should do so!

In the city, going by taxi is usually the best cost/time combination. As public transport is very limited, it is only beneficial for a few specific routes in Casablanca. When taking a taxi, it is important not to agree on fixed prices, as they are usually very high; ask the taxi driver to turn on the "taximeter". Alternatively are "inDrive" and "Careem" which are similar to Uber. Overall, Casablanca is a save city. Still, I would recommend to take any form of transportation rather than walking for longer distances, especially after sunset. At night, you don't usually see people walking the streets alone so you should not do that either. There are districts, where you have to be more cautious or you should not enter. With that, you can usually trust your gut feeling. Overall, even in the shady areas, people tend to be nice and welcoming. The beach in Casablanca is a great place to spend your time. Especially if you are interested in learning to surf, this is a great option. Football is played a lot in Morocco; ESCA has its own team, where you could participate in training sessions - they are very welcoming, even for those who don't play on a high level. Concerning other sports, basically anything is available. You must know, however, that most European sports (like tennis or padel,...) tend to cost European prices as they tend to be more exclusive.

The people, both Moroccans and the fellow exchange students, made the exchange special. Everybody was very open and welcoming, making the exchange truly great. Morocco is an interesting country that has similarities to Europe on the one hand but also offers complete culture shock potential, especially if you travel through less touristy cities.