Exchange Report Spring 2013 Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Spring 2013 Exchange

Transcription

1 Exchange Report Spring 2013 Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Spring 2013 Exchange Chan Chun Lin Johnny BBA in Global Business and Management Class of 2014

2 Forewords Greetings! If you are picking RSM as one of your exchange choices, this report could definitely help you understand more about the school and also this beautiful country, the Netherlands. I would say, picking RSM for exchange is my best decision in my university era. Introduction RSM Erasmus is one of the most prestigious business school in Europe, located in the second largest city in the Netherlands, Rotterdam, RSM offers most business courses that suit almost all kind of business students. Yet, I would recommend students who are Management major to come as you would be able to do more credit transfer and take courses that are related to your specialty. RSM ranks the first in the Netherlands and seventh in Europe. So if you wish to go to the Netherlands, RSM is certainly your best choice. A. Monthly Activity log January - I arrived at Amsterdam on 1 st Jan morning, spent 12 hours on the flight and celebrated the 2013 New Year with another USTmate on board. There was a mandatory orientation day for all new incoming exchange students and I made a lot of new friends. There are 50 people from all around the world for exchange at RSM for Trimesters 2 and 3 (5 from HK, 10 from Singapore, 8 from USA, 4 from UK). I was so surprised by the diversity here at RSM, not only do the exchange students are from different countries, even the full- time IBA students here are from various backgrounds. I spent the entire January in Netherlands and travel around different cities including Amsterdam, Den Haag and Giethoorn. I returned to HK for a week for a summer internship interview. February My schedule for this month was very packed, as I started my travelling plans and explored several European countries (Belgium Brussels and Bruges, Germany Munich and Berlin, UK London, Exeter, Oxford and Bath, France Paris). Since my timetable for this trimester was very free, with only 2 days classes a week, I managed to attend most of the classes while spending time travelling. One important tip when you travel is to make good use of your network, since there would be a lot of students also on exchange during the Spring semester, if you could look for some of your friends and stay at their place, you could save a lot of money. I managed to stay at friend s place at UK and France and they also acted as tour guide and brought me around.

3 March In return, I also provided accommodation for 2 of my friends from UK on early March. After that it was almost the end of trimester 2, so I spent 3 weeks at home studying for the exams. Exams at RSM is more demanding that other European universities, the passing rate of most subjects is around 60-70% and for some courses you might even need 80/100 in order to pass the course. Make sure you study hard or you might fail. Right after the exam, I went to Norway Oslo and Sweden Goteborg. April I went on a long trip to Vienna, Prague and 4 cities in Italy for 12 days. Also, the 2 nd trimester was started and I needed to attend more classes since the courses I took were little bit hard. It has been 3 months since I came to Rotterdam and was a little bit tired of travelling. May I managed to get a ticket for my favourite football club Manchester United. Coincidentally it was the last home match for the manager Sir Alex Ferguson it was indeed a very nice experience and memorable moment witnessing the champion award ceremony, the parade and saying goodbye to one of the best football manager ever. I stayed London for 4 days to visit some friends and returned to Rotterdam and prepare for my final exams. Also, it was the time to hand in assignments so it was a pretty busy month. June Exams in RSM started early June so I spent 2 weeks revising and worked hard for the exam. They were not easy as expected. Most of them required 70%- 80% in final to get a pass. (It was 27/40 for MC to attain a pass). I returned to Hong Kong on June 13 right after my last exam. B. General Exchange Information Visa Applications The Exchange Coordinator from RSM will contact you by about the procedures and information required. Since I hold a HKSAR Passport, I had to pay for the Visa fee, which is 600 Euros (Approx HKD) Orientation Activities There was a compulsory orientation day, which was held at the very beginning of the trimester and you would have some chances to meet with other exchange students. We went to the Stadium of the Rotterdam- based Dutch football club Feyenoord together. There was also a 3- day orientation program organized by the student body ESN, which cost 50 euros. Accommodation There are 3 complexes that a lot of exchange students would choose to stay in, namely Casa Erasmus, International House and F-

4 building, with the last one being the only on- campus accommodation. I picked Casa since it was the cheapest one and it was just renovated last year. It is very important to register for the accommodation at least 3-4 months before the exchange in order to get the room you want. Unlike HKUST, these complexes are organized by an outsourced company Stadswonen. You can choose to purchase a Personal Inventory Pack from Stadswonen at 60 euros, which includes a pillow, eiderdown and bed linen. In Casa, there are 2 types of room, one is a single room with shared bathroom and kitchen, Another type is a suite which you have your own bathroom and kitchen. I picked the later one because the former one was all rent out already by the time I register. The cost for me was 500 euros a month. As for International House, their rooms are slightly bigger than that of Casa, yet they are all single room with shared bathroom and kitchen, and the rent is about 570 euros a month. Courses Registration After visa procedures, we receive s regarding course registration. Course registration forms are to be filled in for both trimesters and you can only choose courses which are listed on the forms. One thing to note is that RSM students are restricted to take courses from the School of Economics. Course descriptions can be found at online.nl/studiegids/?show_form=show+search+form/. Credits in Erasmus University are called ECTS. You must take a minimum of 15 ECTS every trimester and 30 ECTS maximum. In principal, the 15 ECTs must be acquired through courses in RSM, but you can send an to the exchange coordinator from RSM, which would allow you to take the majority of courses in RSM and make up the rest from other faculties. Teaching & Assessment Methods Studying in RSM requires self- study in preparation for exams. Professors usually do not teach about textbook materials in class and students are expected to read the textbooks themselves. The teaching style is very different from what we experience at HKUST, especially when there is no attendance required for lectures, self- discipline is very important to pass the course. Be reminded that a lot of courses have homework or assignments too which usually make up of 40%- 50% of the final grade. Before the exam period, there are summaries of each course that you can buy form the school book shop.

5 Trimester 2 BAB18 Strategic Management (6 ECTS) This course is equivalent to a required MGMT core. It introduces the basic concepts in strategy formulation and strategy implementation. A 40- MC final exam is the only form of assessment. Reading through the slides and the textbook would help you pass the exam easily. BAB23 Cross Cultural Management/International Case (5 ECTS) This is a MGMT elective equivalent. Unlike other courses, this course spreads across trimesters 2 and 3. In trimester 2, you work on the PowerPoint for a group project. In trimester 3, you must attend 4 out of the 6 workgroups and do a presentation on the group project you previously worked on during trimester 2. I was very lucky that my project topic was Hong Kong which made it even easier to pass and to share with your teammates the culture of Hong Kong. Human Resources Management (5 ECTS) This is a MGMT core equivalent course. There are 4 required readings from Harvard Business Case and you have to answer several questions based on the readings. This accounted for 40% of the final grade. The final exam was 30 MCs plus 5 open questions. It is not very hard as long as you have read both the cases and the summary. Trimester 3 BAD01 Innovation Management (4 ECTS) This course is an equivalent of a MGMT or ISOM elective. We had to complete 4 assignments that make up 40% of the grade. There are also 4 optional tutorial sessions in which attending 2 would grant a bonus question in the final. The final exam composes of 40 MC questions on lecture slides, textbook and case readings. Corporate Finance (5 ECTS) This course is an equivalent of a FINA elective. There is a weekly bonus assignment and by completing them would grant you 1 bonus point in the final grade. The final exam is the only form is assessment, which account for 100% of the final grade. It is an advanced version of the finance course that we have taken in year 1 and I suggest you not to take it unless you are really interested in finance.

6 International Marketing Research (3 ECTS) This course is an equivalent of a MARK elective. There are 3 group assignments, which account for 40% of the final grade. It takes pretty much time to finish them. Yet, the final exam is comparatively easy and the readings required were pretty short. International Business (5 ECTS) This course does not have equivalent course in HKUST and I would transfer it as free elective. It is an introductory course to year 1 students. There is one group project, which require you to analyze a real business firm and make recommendations. Sports & Recreation Facilities The sports facilities are mainly located in the S- building. You can purchase a sports card, which is 50 euros for 5 months, or you can get a single ticket with 5 euros. I played football with the Dutch couple of times and they are really good footballers. Cost/Expenses Items HKD ($) Flight 9000 Daily expenses Rent Travel expenses Total ~94000 Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities Apart from participating in orientation events, you could also meet different people going to bars and clubs. There are regular social events at BED, a bar near the city centre, every Tuesday night. ESN also arranges regular events such as boat parties for local and exchange students. There are also some short trip to other European countries such as Prague and Vienna. Health & Safety In case you got terribly sick, you could visit Erasmus MC, a hospital reachable by metro. I was fortunate that I did not get really sick during the exchange and I suggest you to bring more panadol with you just in case. I would say the Netherlands in general is a safe place but pickpockets are very active in most places of Europe. Always stay alert, take care of your

7 belongings and lock your valuables at your apartment. It is important to stay alert when you bike. The Netherlands is the country with the highest intensity of bike users and there are a lot of bikes on the road. Be careful always! Food When I am in Rotterdam, most of the time I would cook on my own or with the exchange mates living nearby. We normally get food from Albert Hejin and Plus or the Chinese Supermarket. There is a China Town in Rotterdam, which is one of the only 2 in the Netherlands. In the 1970s, there were a lot of Chinese migrating to the Netherlands and they opened some Chinese restaurants and groceries shops. The China town is just next to Rotterdam Central Station. There is also a Blaak market every Tuesday and Saturday, where you can get fresh vegetables, food and some other daily necessities. It is similar to the market that we have in Hong Kong. There are also Dutch snacks like Kapsalon, Mussels, Kroket that you can find at the market. The price at Blaak market is very reasonable and quality is very good. Climate 2013 was a hard year for the Netherlands, as winter was extremely long and there are several snowstorms which occurs very rare in the Netherlands. Normally the coldest in February is around - 10 degree Celsius and by mid- May the temperature would rise to around 20 degrees, which is a very comfortable European spring climate. Communication English is perfectly fine in the Netherlands, even the ones in the supermarket can speak English very well. C. Items to bring and other Notes Down jacket Laptop Camera Backpack/Luggage for travelling with budget airlines Medicine Stationery

8 Enough cash for your survival of the first month since it takes some weeks to get the deposit back from the school. Here are a few things you might want to take note of when deciding whether to Exchange in RSM: 1. You take trimesters 2 and 3 in RSM if you go on exchange during the spring semester while you take trimester 1 only during the fall semester. 2. Unlike other exchange schools, the exchange period for the spring semester is much longer. School starts in the beginning of January and ends mid- June. This might affect your job hunting schedule. 3. Courses available in RSM include MGMT, ECON and ISOM equivalents. D. Contact If you have any questions regarding my amazing exchange semester at Rotterdam, please get my contact from SBM Exchange Team by ing at bmugexch@ust.hk