General report 1. Host institution and exact dates of semester abroad 2. Contact with home faculty, preparation and journey 3.

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1 General report 1. Host institution and exact dates of semester abroad SGH, Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie. September till the end of January, resit exams in February. 2. Contact with home faculty, preparation and journey The contact with both the faculty in Warsaw as well as the faculty in Groningen is good. However there are subtle differences in use of English language that sometimes make things more difficult than they are and cause confusion, in my case the handing in of the learning agreement was harder then expected because the incoming student officer is not allowed to sign the documents and therefore some names had to be changed. The preparation in terms of going there for half a year is not that big. Bring enough clothes for the winter months; bring some summer clothes for September (I highly recommend going earlier to still have a bit of summer in Warsaw). Flight wise, there are 2 different companies flying to Warsaw from Eindhoven. Ryanair has more flights per week but flies to Modlin, the airport 35 km outside of Warsaw, so it takes more time and is a hassle when having to haul with suitcases. Wizzair flies to the Chopin airport, which is a lot closer to the city centre. I recommend buying a Wizzair discount card before traveling, this will give you discounts of flights and I saved a lot of money with it. 3. Residence abroad Neither a residence permit or visa is required, however, finding an apartment can prove to be difficult. The prices are generally lower then in Groningen, I lived in a shared 2 bedroom apartment for 325,00 per month in the city centre. Try to get an apartment near centrum, this area has a lot of shops, bars and other facilities and an excellent connection to SGH. Most apartments for foreign students are let on Facebook and via the Erasmus in Warsaw pages. If you start about a month before you leave it should be fine, if you start a bit earlier you have a better deal. The introduction week is really cool, there are lots of activities and it s a good time to meet new friends and get to know the city and clubs. The introduction week normally consists of activities from Monday to Sunday with the university introductions in the latter half of the week. Every day there is a meeting point somewhere in the city after which everyone goes to the hotspot for that night. Befriend some Polish students! They can help you with some teachers, recommendations for places to eat and drink and some language barriers. International student life in Warsaw is big, because Warsaw is experiencing big economic growth there are a lot of internationals, expats and people visiting for business. There is no specific day of the week to go out but usually Friday got my approval, it usually starts with a domowka (house party). In summer, there are free Chopin concerts at the Lazienki Park, ideal to relax on a Sunday afternoon. Polish itself is a really difficult language but it pays of to start leaning it, it will be easier to ask for a taxi or order food, which you will be doing a lot.

2 4. Grant Amount The grant is sufficient, together with Stufie and the travelcompensation (studentenov stopzetten) it will easily get you through the month. General food prices are low, bread is cheaper, drinks are cheaper but only if you go to the big supermarkets, the small ones are usually a lot more expensive. Restaurants and bars are a lot cheaper then in the Netherlands. Takeaway is usually the way to go if you don t feel like cooking, a good meal will cost you around 3,00. Travel expenses are 40,00 for a 3 month travel card for inside Warsaw, all trains are 50% student discount. 5. Study (general) General advice is to take up the Polish for beginners course, it will help you get around Poland in general. Most courses are worth 3 ects, taking 10 courses might prove a bit troublesome sometimes but they are not as extensive as the courses in the Netherlands. Most courses have a lot of contact hours, at least a 2 hour group meeting a week. It pays off going to the meetings as this will make your exams a lot easier and you can earn extra points when doing presentations and participating. The examination is generally in the last 2 weeks of January, however, there are zero exams which can be taken as early as December, this will give you some free time in the end to travel eastern Europe. The campus is located in Mocotow and some buildings are new with fast wifi and good facilities and some buildings are old and don t have facilities that good. The level of education is good; teachers can be divided into 2 groups, traditional and progressive. The traditional teachers will be talking a lot and will not be eagerly answering questions; the progressive teachers are a lot more focussed on class dialogue and class cooperation. I took 4 finance classes, sociology, international organizations, Polish, project management, a course about China and Eastern European relations. In my experience the courses with a specific subject like Eastern European relations and project management are more fun and better taught. 6. Other relevant info you want to share with our future exchange students Say yes to everything and travel around. Train and bus tickets are cheap and I missed the opportunity to visit some of the coolest and most interesting places in Eastern Europe. 7. Summary impression of the study period abroad and any advice/suggestions/tips for students or academic staff who will be involved with the host institution in the future. All in all I had a great time. Warsaw was a lot nicer then I expected and I hope that a lot more people are going to experience it like I did.

3 Specific report Sociology A 2hour meeting every week, noncompulsory but with attendance points, for the duration of the whole semester. Exam consists of presentation slides, multiplechoice questions. Class discussions and teacher presentations focussed on getting you prepared for the exam. Teacher was a bit vague so no real structure. General overview of Sociology basics. Focus on societal development and socialization. 4. Lecturerelated activities Exam, extra points can be achieved through presentation. Relates to behavioural studies, organizational behaviour. Little for the classes as they were more like lectures. Spent about one to oneand- ahalf days for the exam. 3 ECs, got a 7 in Groningen. Finance A 2hour meeting every week, noncompulsory but with appreciation for attendance, for the duration of the whole semester. Class discussions and teacher presentations. The exam was a 10page essay with choice of various topics. Mine was influences on interest rates. General overview of financial transactions basics. Explains banking and monetary systems. 4. Lecturerelated activities International Financial Management. Attended all classes and spent 2 days writing paper.

4 Corporate Financial Analysis A 2hour meeting every week, compulsory but you can miss 3 lectures. Literature is mainly slides and pdf files from his website, about summary pages per week, 12 weeks. Lectures, little to no student interaction. The exam was multiplechoice, some calculations but not too difficult Analysis of corporate financial statements, ratios and position. 4. Lecturerelated activities Attended all classes and spent 2 days studying exam. International Organizations A 2hour meeting every week, noncompulsory. Attendance is needed for good grade on exam as not all presentations are put online. Lectures and student presentations. There is a choice between doing a 25 page essay and presentation or doing the exam consisting of all lectures and student presentations. The teacher has no website or easy file transfer method so everything goes through a class representative and Facebook. This is not only an unreliable method but also highly irritating. I missed 2 presentations for the exam as I did not attend one class. Avoid course if possible. EU, UN and other international organizations. 4. Lecturerelated activities Attended all classes and spent 1 day studying. 3 ECs, got an 8 in Groningen. Accounting and Financial Reporting A 2hour meeting every week, noncompulsory. Attendance is needed for good grade on exam as not all examples are put online. Exam consists of slides and examples. There are the regular lectures leading to the quizzes and final exam and student presentations. The student presentations are about one specific topic in

5 accounting (e.g. Intangible assets) and are an easy way to score points. The exam is more difficult for people not keen on accounting. The quizzes are bonus points, have to attend lecture and make 2 open questions. About half the grade is presentation and quizzes. Accounting principles, good refresh. 4. Lecturerelated activities Financial accounting. Attended most classes and spent 1 day studying, couple hours per quiz and 6 hours for the presentation. Project Management A 2hour meeting every week, compulsory. Literature is a handout of about 130 pages about project proposals. Both a final exam and an own project consisting of a project charter presentation and project report. Project work is done in groups of 3 or 4 people. Grade is 65% presentation and report and 35% exam. Large project planning 4. Lecturerelated activities Requires essay, exam and presentation. A lot, study material is a lot for 35% of a grade for a 3 ects course. Project is large, precise requirements and hard to make these requirements exactly. Exam was about 1 full day, presentation and report at least 2 days, but this depends on the group you are in. 3 ECs, got an 8 in Groningen. Financial analysis A 3hour meeting every week, compulsory but you can miss a few classes. Literature is mostly explained in class and consists of company financial statements, teacher notes and presentations. Lectures and student presentations. There is a 0,5 extra grade to be earned for every voluntary presentation that is up to standards. The classes were really handson. Final exam is 10 open questions about materials discussed in the classes and student presentations.

6 Financial analysis of corporations, stock pricing, investing. 4. Lecturerelated activities Exam, presentations, homework. Financial management. Attended all classes and spent 2 days studying and couple hours on presentations and preparations. 4,5 ECs, got a 9 in Groningen. Relations of the European Union with Eastern Europe Countries A 2hour meeting every week, compulsory. The literature consisted of articles from various books, magazines, newspapers and other literature. The amount was about 40 pages per week for 10 weeks. Lectures and student presentations. The grade consisted of participation in class and a presentation about a certain topic. The classes are handson and cooperative. The lecturer was nice and modern in her teaching. Leaning about European relations and influences in Eastern Europe. Interesting with current Ukraine situation. 4. Lecturerelated activities Presentation, visit to the German Marshal Fund. Attended all classes and spent about 1 hour preparing for each class. China s energy Politics A 2hour meeting every week, noncompulsory. Attendance is needed for good grade as it depends on participation and is held in class. Lectures about various topics regarding China. The study material is not much, about 3 or 4 pages per class. The influences and solutions for China s energy mix. 4. Lecturerelated activities

7 Attended all classes and spent about a day of studying and researching before final day of class with the presentation. Class preparation was about half an hour before every class. 3 ECs, got an 8 in Groningen. Polish for Foreigners There are 2 twohour classes per week. These are compulsory and necessary for the two exams. A nice way of leaning basic Polish. Requires homework and quite a bit of listening and speaking exercises per week. The literature is a reader plus extra materials. Basic polish. 4. Lecturerelated activities Attended almost all classes, spending about 1 to 2 hours of practicing per class and spent 2 days studying for each exam. 4 ECs, got an 9 in Groningen.