UU Report form - Erasmus

Transcription

1 UU Report form - Erasmus Faculty/college: Social science Level: bachelor master PhD other Name degree programme: Cultural Anthropology Destination city & country Herzliya, Israël Name host institution and/or company/organisation IDC Herzliya Purpose of exchange study/courses work placement field work other Departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) Return date (dd/mm/yyyy) You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing. Preparation Exchange/placement application process: First you have to get nominated by University Utrecht and if they approve your application then it will go to IDC. They send you an if you get accepted. All the contact I had was via (before I came to Israel) and went really well. Counselling/support at home university: If you have any question you can always go to the International Office in Utrecht, lovely people and if they can t help you they will find someone else to help you. Academic preparation: The academic level at the IDC is lower than I was used to in Utrecht. Therefore Utrecht downgrades the grades you get in the IDC. Language preparation: The IDC want to receive a document which proves your English languages skills. You can send a request to the International Office and they will give you a document plus stamp, which you can send by to the IDC. Furthermore, all professors at the IDC speak English really well. Also if you write down at the exam that you are not a native speaker and they understand what your point is then they will be flexible with grading your exam. This doesn t apply for writing essays/paper assignments. page 1 of 5

2 Finances: Before you book your ticket and make your decision to come to Israel, make sure you have enough money to cover your period abroad. Israel in general but especially Tel Aviv is really expensive. The normal price for a shared apartment (for one person) is between NIS 2500 NIS 3000 without bills. With bills and in Euro s this will be around 750 per month. After a while you get used to it but you don t want to worry about money when you are enjoying your time abroad. Also Israel is famous for its delicious food so I would recommend to invite your friends and try all the different restaurants in the city. Study/placement abroad period Study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues): At the IDC I studied government and subjects about Counter Terrorism. Enrolling for the courses happens during the Orientation week, it is useful to look at the courses so you already know what courses you would like to enrol for. I took nine courses (6-9 is normal) which was spread over five days. Most classes are 1.5 hour and elective courses are 3 hours. Academic quality of education/placement activities: All the professors at the IDC came from the field, experienced the topics they talk about by first hand which makes classes really interesting. For example during my course Media in Conflict Zones, where my teacher Itai Angel told his experience during his time in Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. It is a different way of education then I was used to in Utrecht but for a half year it was super interesting. You have to take in consideration that they re biased, which means that they teach from a Zionist, Jewish and Israeli perspective. Counselling/support at host institution/organisation: There are people everywhere that can help you but they expect a certain independence of course. Transfer of credits: You have to bring back to Utrecht 30 ECTS which is 20 credits at the IDC. Most of the courses are 2 or 3 credits. Also what I already mentioned earlier, The University Utrecht will downgrade the grades due to the Academic level. Student life Welcome/orientation programme: The Orientation program at the IDC is amazing. They created the IDCConnect which cost around 200 shekel but I would recommend joining them. You do a lot of trips, have Shabbat dinner together, and you make a lot of friends. They give you an Israeli connecter that can help you with all your questions and to do fun stuff with. Accommodation: The best is to find an apartment in Tel Aviv and searching for it from The Netherlands is really hard. What most people do is come to Israel two weeks earlier, book a hostel and from there look for an apartment. It s nice to share an apartment with other international students. There is also a page 2 of 5

3 Facebook group called Secret Tel Aviv where many people looking and subletting their rooms. Leisure/culture: To explain the culture is really difficult, you have to experience it by yourself. Also culture is not something static it s a social construct and therefore changes all the time. What I can say is that IDC connect really gives you a great view of what Israeli culture is. Furthermore you will experience that religion is everywhere in daily life. Suggestions/tips: Israel is a country that is in the news all the time. Before you come to Israel check the Israeli news papers (Jpost and Haaretz) to get an inside perspective of what s going on. Of course when the Dutch Foreign Ministry says it s dangerous to go, University Utrecht won t let you go. I have to say that this half year I felt more safe than in Europe and in Tel Aviv you don t feel anything of the conflict. Conclusions Would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? Please explain: I would definitely recommend the IDC Herzliya to other people. It s a great experience for exchange students to study in a democratic country in the Middle East, to get a totally different perspective, study with people from all over the world, and in a country which is changing and developing all the time. The reason why I choose for Israel was mainly because of my interest in different cultures, religion, conflict and politics. Do you have any additional advice or comments?: Go with the Flow that s the vibe Israel gives you. page 3 of 5

4 UU Report form - Erasmus Faculty/college: Social science Level: bachelor master PhD other Name degree programme: Psychology Destination city & country Tel Aviv, Israel Name host institution and/or company/organisation IDC Herzliya Purpose of exchange study/courses work placement field work other Departure date (dd/mm/yyyy) Return date (dd/mm/yyyy) You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing. Preparation Exchange/placement application process: The application process was not too difficult. It was a lot of work to take care of all the paperwork but it s very clear what you have to do to make the process go smooth. Counselling/support at home university: The support was good. If there were questions, you could and they always responded very quickly. Academic preparation: There was no real academic preparation. You can choose your courses in advance but it s not a lot of work. It s actually really nice to see all the different options. They offered a lot of courses at IDC. Language preparation: As long as your English is good there is no problem. All the courses are in English. Furthermore Israeli s speak good English. Finances: It s expensive. Israel is a very expensive country to live. Save enough money! Study/placement abroad period Study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues): page 4 of 5

5 The study programme was very interesting. I had very nice courses, courses I could never take in Holland. So make sure that you take nice courses and the study programme will be interesting. The organization at IDC was perfect. Very helpful people and teachers. Academic quality of education/placement activities: The academic quality at IDC is great. It s the best school in the country and they have very inspiring teachers. Counselling/support at host institution/organisation: Counseling was good. There are a lot of people working for the international office and you can them and they answer quick. You can also visit them during office hours. Transfer of credits: 1 IDC credit is 1,5 ECTS Student life Welcome/orientation programme: Very nice orientation! It s the whole week. They even organize a very nice trip to the south for all the international students. Accommodation: Bedouin camp in the dessert! Very nice experience Leisure/culture: Good balance between leisure and culture. During the trip we saw some important Israeli cultural spots but we also went to the dead sea for some floating for example. Suggestions/tips: It was amazing. Wouldn t change a thing. Conclusions Would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? Please explain: YES! IDC has the nicest campus I have ever seen. It s a very nice and friendly environment. Students are really involved in each other s lives which is nice, especially when you re new to a place. Furthermore, teachers and staff members are helpful. And student life in Tel Aviv is very nice and interesting too! Do you have any additional advice or comments?: page 5 of 5