Laura Serwuschok S2137704 International Business student A. General report 1. Host institution and exact dates of semester abroad Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP) 1 st of August 15 th of December 2. Contact with home faculty, preparation and journey The Universidade de Sao Paulo was my first choice for my application. In order to prepare myself for the University and the life in Sao Paulo, I chose to follow a basic Portuguese course at the language course offered by the RUG. This course helped me in the beginning to communicate with Brazilians and to follow the courses in Portuguese. During my stay in Sao Paulo, I did not have a lot of contact with my home faculty. I did not feel the need to contact them because most of the issues I solved with the faculty at the Universidade de Sao Paulo. After I received the affirmation for my semester abroad in Sao Paulo, I booked the cheapest flight which cost around 900 euros. I flew with the German company Lufthansa from Hamburg over Munich to Sao Paulo. I had a pleasant flight without any turbulences or waiting times. Furthermore, my return flight was also comfortable. I flew from Sao Paulo to Frankfurt and then back to Hamburg. 3. Residence abroad Regarding my preparation for my study abroad, it took me just a few days for arranging my visa. However, I heard from other students, especially Dutch students, it took them some time to arrange the visa. Moreover, they had to pay quite a lot of money, while I only had to pay 15 euros for my criminal record certificate. Then, I was able to send all my documents, which are listed online, to the embassy in Berlin. After four days I received my passport with the visa. Besides, I had to take some vaccinations. Due to the fact that I thought I would not travel to the Amazonia region, I did not take the yellow fever injection. However, I decided to go there while I was already in Brazil and had to get my vaccination in Brazil. The health system in Brazil is complicated; therefore, I recommend taking the yellow fever injection beforehand.
I arrived on the 16 th of July, 15 days before my studies started. I chose to arrive earlier in order to have time to get used to Sao Paulo, the people and the Brazilian culture. Moreover, I had time to arrange the administrative things such as register in the Policia Federal and receive a CPF (you need it to book flights and buses in Brazil and receive the student bus card from the University). I returned to Germany on the 11 th of January. Before I went home, I travelled through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. Regarding my accommodation, I was lucky because I knew a friend who lived in a great Republica (student house of eight students) where I also found my room. I paid 1000 reais per month which is around 333 euros. I recommend everybody to join Facebook groups or ask current students who are staying in Sao Paulo in order to find a room. I know some people who had to stay in a hostel for a few weeks before they found a room. I lived in the area Vila Madalena, which is a great area. It is a safe area, close to the University and to the city center (Republica/Avenida Paulista). I would recommend living either close to Avenida Paulist, Pinheiros or Vila Madalena. The University is located in the area Butanta. Even though the area is cheaper than the ones abovementioned, it is a dangerous area because a favela is closely located. I know friends who lived there and got robbed. Therefore, I would not recommend living there. At the University, I had two introduction days for all the international students from my faculty. In these two days, students, teachers and the international office staff showed us various facilities of the faculty such as the library, class rooms etc. Moreover, we got to know parts of the campus such as the cafeteria, sport centrum and language center. However, more important was that you get to know the other international students with whom you will hang out during your stay. Student life in Sao Paulo is different compared to the one in Groningen. Firstly, Sao Paulo is a huge city with more possibilities regarding museums, galleries, parks and parties. In general, you will have more contact to the international students rather than the Brazilian students. Brazilian students usually do an internship during their studies. Therefore, they will work half a day and the other half of the day; they will follow courses at the University. The exchange students have way more time and therefore spend this time together. The nightlife in Sao Paulo is also very different. You will have more opportunities. However, it will take you time to travel from your home to the club. Usually, you cycle to the city center of Groningen for 5 to 15 minutes, while in Sao Paulo you will take a bus or a cab in order to reach the club. Moreover, you put your name on the list before you enter the club. Many guys complained that they had to pay an entrance (around 15 to 20 euros), however, as a woman you usually pay less than men or nothing. I liked the club D-Edge; it is a club with electronic music. The drinks in the clubs are very expensive, especially compared to the prices in Groningen. Besides, students from the University also organized some parties, whereas I did not like these parties because they were too crowded and the music was too main-stream.
Regarding the leisure time, you will have more than in Groningen. Even though the courses have attendance of 70 per cent, I still had time to go to the pool at the sport centrum, relax with friends in the park or go to the cinema. Usually, the visit in the cinema is quite expensive, however, in Sao Paulo you have student discount. That means that you pay only twelve reais (around four euros) for the cinema. The student discount also counts for some restaurants, museums etc. In Brazil, most of the Brazilians do not speak English. Thus, it is recommended learning basic Portuguese. In case you have basic Spanish knowledge or speak Spanish, it will help you to understand the Brazilians due to the fact that both languages are similar. You will pick up the language quite quickly because you are forced to speak it on the streets, in supermarkets and in the University. However, the University offers Portuguese courses which will help you to learn the language or improve your Portuguese. Moreover, I can recommend the free online language program Duolingo. It helped me a lot to learn Portuguese because you learn it from two perspectives and pick up quickly the vocabularies. 4. Grant For the grant, I received 70 per cent in advance and 30 per cent after handing in the reports. If you get chosen for South America, you will receive 150 euros per month and 400 euros extra money for the flight. I think the grant is sufficient; however, Brazil is the most expensive country in South America and Sao Paulo one of the most expensive city in Brazil. Nevertheless, you can survive with the grant and the money you usually spend in Groningen. The University has a canteen, where you can eat for around 80 euro cents. Moreover, I mentioned already that students save a lot of money because they only pay half of the prices for cinema or soccer games. The living costs in general are a bit more expensive than in Groningen. Nevertheless, you can find the supermarket Dia (prices similar to Aldi or Lidl) and Pao de azucar (prices similar to Albert Heijn and Jumbo). If you plan on buying electronic devices or go shopping in Brazil, please do that in the Netherlands. Brazil has extra taxes on foreign imports and thus it is really expensive to buy cloths and electronic devices here. In Sao Paulo, you should buy a bilhete unico (bus card where you get discounts) or even better apply immediately for the bilhete unico estudante (Student bus card). With the normal bilhete unico the discount is only that you can travel within three hours with four buses for free, while you additionally pay half of the price with the student card. Due to the long distances, it is recommendable to buy a bilhete unico in the beginning of the semester. You can buy the bilhete unico at every metro station in the city. Besides, travelling in Brazil is very expensive compared to other South American countries. The best option is to go by bus because the buses are very comfortable and mostly cheaper than airplanes. However, sometimes you can find a cheap flight with Tam airlines.
5. Study general In general, I had a great time at the Universidade de Sao Paulo. Nevertheless, you have to get used to the administrative structure and planning of the University. One really important advice for you, please choose as many courses as possible and be really quick. In the beginning, I had to wait three weeks to receive all the courses I chose. They had many overlaps and too less space for students. However, you have to go to the International office every day and in the end they will help you. Thus, I would recommend you choosing at least ten courses. The lectures (small tutorials) started in the beginning of August and ended at the end of November. I had some midterms in the end of September and most of my exams in December. However, the University does not have a comparable exam period like the University of Groningen. Therefore, some students already finished the studies in the end of November and some in the mid of December. The organization of the study program is more chaotic than in Groningen. It is a Latin- American country where people do their job a bit slower than in the Western countries. Thus, you should not expect that you will get in all your chosen courses or receive quick answers. Besides that, the International office tries to help you in any way and in the end they will fix every problem. In the University, you have a library with two big rooms to study. Moreover, they have various computer rooms. Every month, you can print 150 copies for free which saves you also a lot of money. Next, the faculty has an own area where you can relax, watch soccer games or just drink a beer or soft drink. The University offers a lot of facilities on the campus which you will discover during your stay. I followed six courses at the USP to complete my Bachelor in International Business. I took two English courses called (1) International Management: Doing Business in Brazil and (2) Management of Organizations in Brazil. Both courses covered cultural and business related subjects specifically about Brazil. I would recommend both courses to prospective students because the courses were interesting and good-structured. Moreover, I chose (3) Decisões de Promoção, Distribuição / Canais, a marketing related course. In this course, I learned about the distribution channels in marketing processes and well-known promotion strategies. It was a great course with a nice professor who helped me whenever I had questions. (4) Sistema de Informações de Marketing e Pesquisa de Marketing was my third choice. It was basically Research Methods including basic marketing research. I would not recommend the course because it is too similar to our Research Methods course in the second year, thus a bit boring. Besides, I chose the course (5) Enfoque Estratégico de Marketing, which is also a marketing course, related to the strategic approach in marketing decisions. Finally, I chose (6) Gerenciamento de Projetos that is a project management course. I would highly recommend the course due to the fact that you can work on your own project without writing an exam at the end of the semester.
6. Other relevant information I would advise prospective students to choose the Maresias trip rather than the Introduction weekend at the countryside. Firstly, the trip is on the beach and well organized while the countryside trip is badly organized and not worth the money. This trip is also really great to get to know your fellow exchange students. 7. Summary To summarize, I had a great exchange semester and would always choose Sao Paulo and the Universidade de Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is not the most beautiful city but it offers you a lot of excitement and events. Make the best out of it and enjoy the city and the great people living there. Be aware, the University life is different in Brazil. The people are more laid back and thus it will always take more time than you are used to in the Netherlands. Moreover, the levels in the courses are lower than in the Netherlands. Thus, you should not worry whether you are passing the courses. However, the University has an attendance of 70 per cent which you should not overreach; otherwise, you cannot attend the course anymore.
B. Specific report 1. International Management: Doing Business in Brazil 1. Host institution and study period See general report 2. Lectures and literature I had lectures every week on Tuesday from 13.00 to 14.40 and one visit at the Bovespa (stock exchange in Sao Paulo). The literature was based on the presentations (arround 80 slides) and two chapters (arround 80 pages). 3. Overview of lecture program This course was about doing business in Brazil and thus included also the cultural background of Brazil. Every week, we had a different lecture subject. I had to attend at least 70 per cent of the lectures and wrote one midterm exam and a final exam. For both exams, it was enough to only study the presentation slides. 4. Contents The content was basically how the Brazilians do business and how the cultural aspect influenced their way of doing business. Each week, I had a different subject such as history of Brazil or Brazilian culture. Some subjects were similar to courses I already followed in the RUG. However, I also learned new contents about the Brazilian business culture and why Brazil is an economically well-established country. 5. Lecture-related activities I had to write two assignments based on a documentation film and the Bovespa visit. You only have to write one page for each assignment; thus, it will not be a problem for your or any additional effort. Besides, you have to present in the beginning of the course one state of
Brazil with three other students. Moreover, in the second part of the semester, you and your new group have to present a specific subject. Herewith, the professor will give you a subject and you have to search for additional information. Due to the fact, that we had to present in each course at the RUG, you will have an advantage over the other students. Further, I had to write two exams in the semester. 6. Relevance to Groningen study program This course is different from Groningen courses because it is based specifically on Brazil. However, I think it is a great opportunity to learn more about the business culture in Brazil and the reason of its big success as one of the BRICS countries. 7. Study load The lecture takes two hours a week. The small assignments took in total two hours. The preparation for both presentations took around five hours. The preparation for the exams took me only two days in total. It was enough to read the uploaded presentation slides. 8. Assessment in Groningen This was a five EC-course. Assessed by Mr. Drs. H.A. Ritsema Grade: 9 2. Management of Organizations in Brazil 1. Host institution and study period See general report 2. Lectures and literature I had seminars every week on Wednesday from 15.30 to 16.40.
The seminar was based on presentations from various student groups. We had to choose one subject and present it. Thus, the literature was based on our research. Moreover, each student had to present a book, which was based on Brazil; whether culturally, economically or business related. 3. Overview of lecture program This course was about management of organizations in Brazil and thus included also the cultural background of Brazil. I had to attend at least 70 per cent of the seminars. I only had to present the subject with my group member, write a review about it, present my chosen book and write a book review about it. 4. Contents The content was basically about the Brazilian business culture, history and current situation of Brazil s economy. 5. Lecture-related activities I had to write an assignment about my chosen subject, Brazilian business culture, with my group. Unfortunately, we were only two people; thus, it was more work than it would have been with four people. Nevertheless, it still did not take as long as I thought because I am used to write long assignments at the RUG. Moreover, I had to prepare the book review presentation and to write the book review of one page. 6. Relevance to Groningen study program This course is different from Groningen courses because it is based specifically on Brazil. However, I think it is a great opportunity to learn more about Brazil and its success. Moreover, we also looked into Brazil s opportunities and threats for the next coming years. 7. Study load The seminar takes two hours a week. The preparation for the presentation took three hours and writing the assignment only four hours. Further, the preparation of the book review and reading the book took me 10 hours and the review additional three hours. However, it always depends how long your book is, thus, the reading could take longer.
8. Assessment in Groningen This was a five EC-course. Assessed by Mr. Drs. H.A. Ritsema Grade: 9 3. Decisões de Promoção, Distribuição / Canais 1. Host institution and study period See general report 2. Lectures and literature I had lectures every week on Thursday from 19.20 to 21.10. The literature was based on the presentation slides from the professor, which were not uploaded. Moreover, various chapters from the following books; Block 1: KOTLER, P. ; KELLER, K.L. Administração de marketing. 14a. ed. São Paulo: Prentice Hall, 2012. (ENGLISH version available) ALVAREZ, F.J.S.M. Trade Marketing. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2008. (PORTUGUESE) Block 2: CRESCITELLI, E. ; SHIMP, T. A. Comunicação de marketing. São Paulo: Cengage, 2012. (PORTUGUESE) In the first block, we had to read chapter 1, 15 and 16 of the book from Keller and chapter 5 and 6 from the second book. Next, in block 2, we had to read chapter 1, 2, 7,13, 15, 18, 20 and 21.
3. Overview of lecture program This course was about the distribution and promotion processes in marketing. In the first block, I learned about the distribution channels, while the second part focused in on the promotion channels. I had to attend at least 70 per cent of the lectures and wrote one midterm exam and a final exam. The midterm exam was based on two books. The final exam was based on the book written by our professor and thus written in Portuguese. I recommend taking photos from the lecture slides because both exams were based on the lectures. 4. Contents The content was based on distribution and promotion in marketing. The first block was based on distribution, mainly trade marketing. Next, the second part was based on promotion such as merchandising or buzz marketing. Even though, I followed the course International Marketing at the RUG, I found this course really interesting and received additional knowledge. The professor was the greatest professor I had at the USP because he explained the theories well and involved the students in the seminars. Moreover, he was always open for questions and made sure that everybody understood the theories. 5. Lecture-related activities During the course, I had to write nearly every week one assignment. The assignments were approximately one page long. The professor told us every week one subject and the related questions, which we had to answer in the assignment. At the end of the course, I had to write an assignment with two other international students. Moreover, I also wrote two exams in the semester. 6. Relevance to Groningen study program This course related to the study program in Groningen because it adds to the content of International Marketing. 7. Study load The lecture takes two hours a week. The small assignments took in total eight hours. The big assignment took us at least eight hours. We were allowed to write in English. Besides, the preparation for each exam took me two days.
8. Assessment in Groningen This was a five EC-course. Assessed by Mr. Drs. H.A. Ritsema Grade: 9 4. Sistema de Informações de Marketing e Pesquisa de Marketing 1. Host institution and study period See general report 2. Lectures and literature I had lectures every week on Monday from 19.20 to 21.10. The literature was based on the following book; MALHOTRA, Naresh, Pesquisa de Marketing. Porto Alegre, Bookman,2001 I had to read chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 13. Even though, the book is in Portuguese, you can also find it in English. 3. Overview of lecture program This course was about marketing research. The subjects were closely related to the Research Methods course at the RUG, which I followed in the first year of my studies. I had to attend at least 70 per cent of the lectures and wrote a final exam. Moreover, each week we had a small test based on 10 20 multiple choice questions. 4. Contents The content was based on marketing research. Thus, you will be confronted with conducting a questionnaire, the structure, the content etc.
5. Lecture-related activities During the course, I had to write every week one small test and in the end of the semester one final exam. 6. Relevance to Groningen study program This course related to the study program in Groningen because it adds to the content of Research Methods. 7. Study load The lecture takes two hours a week. The preparation for the small tests took me approximately three to five hours because the readings were in Portuguese. The course is quite hard because the multiple-choice questions are in Portuguese and have questions such as statements. It took me a while to get used to the language and the long questions. However, the final exam was really easy. Nevertheless, the professor is really nice and understood our language problems in the beginning of the course. He always tried to help us and allowed us to write the final exam in French or English. For the final exam, I studied two days. 8. Assessment in Groningen This was a five EC-course. Assessed by Mr. Drs. H.A. Ritsema Grade: 8 5. Enfoque Estratégico de Marketing 1. Host institution and study period See general report 2. Lectures and literature I had lectures every week on Wednesday from 7.30 to 9.00.
The literature was based on the following books; BARWISE, P; MEEHAN, S. Simply better: winning and keeping costumers by delivering what matters most. Boston : Harvard Business Scholl Press, 2004. BERGH, J. V. den; BEHRER, M. How cool brands stay hot: branding to generation Y. London, Kogan-Page, 2011. DERVAL, D. The right sensory mix: targeting consumer product development scientifically. Berlin : Springer Verlag, 2010. HOGSHEAD, S. Fascinate: your 7 triggers to persuasion and captivation. Harper Business, 2010. ISAACSON, W. Steve Jobs: a biografia. São Paulo : Companhia das Letras, 2011. JEFFERY, M. Data-driven marketing: the 15 metrics everyone in marketing should know. Wiley, 2011 I had to read Steve Jobs and could choose two other books (I chose the books in bolt). For the exam, you had to read the whole books. 3. Overview of lecture program This course was about strategic marketing. I learned about the strategic approach in marketing. Especially the book from Steve Jobs showed me that there is more behind marketing rather than promotion or distribution. I had to attend at least 70 per cent of the lectures and wrote a final exam. Further, I presented three times in the semester. Moreover, I had to write an assignment at the end of the semester. 4. Contents The content was based on the strategic approach behind marketing. I never followed this course at the RUG, thus, it was a great experience for me. 5. Lecture-related activities During the course, I only had to prepare three presentations and write the assignment in the end of the semester. Moreover, there was a final exam at the end of the semester.
6. Relevance to Groningen study program This course is related to the study program in Groningen because it adds to the content of International Marketing. 7. Study load The lecture takes two hours a week. The preparation for the presentation took in total about six hours. Next, the final assignment took me about five hours. For the exam, I studied three days and read the summary of the Steve Jobs on my ways in the bus to University and back. However, I also just read half of the other books because I did not have enough time. In my opinion, the course was not well-organized because I knew the content of the final exam two weeks before the final exam. Moreover, I thought the content was too much because in the end the exam was build up on too general questions. Nevertheless, I was allowed to write the exam in English. 8. Assessment in Groningen This was a five EC-course. Assessed by Mr. Drs. H.A. Ritsema Grade: 9 6. Gerenciamento de Projetos 1. Host institution and study period See general report 2. Lectures and literature I had lectures every week on Wednesday from 9.10 to 11.00. The literature was based on the following books;
MAXIMIANO, Antonio C. Amaru. Administração de Projetos: como transformar idéias em projetos, 5a. edição. São Paulo: Atlas, 2014. PMI PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE. UM GUIA DO CONHECIMENTO EM GERENCIAMENTO DE PROJETOS (GUIA PMBOK ), 5a Edição. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2014. CARVALHO, Marly Monteiro; RABECHINI JR, Roque. Fundamentos em Gestão de Projetos, 3a. edição. São Paulo: Atlas, 2011. I did not have to read the books because I only had to present a final project without an exam. 3. Overview of lecture program This course was about project management. I learned a lot how to prepare a project, how to structure a project and what is important to improve. Moreover, it helped me in my Portuguese writing skills because I was in a Brazilian group and was forced to write my project parts in Portuguese. I had to attend at least 70 per cent of the lectures and had to present the final project with my team members. 4. Contents The content was based on the management of a project. I never had such as course and it was a great experience for me. I can recommend everyone to follow this course because it is different to the courses we usually follow at the RUG. Moreover, the professor is really nice and will help you in any way. 5. Lecture-related activities During the course, I only had to prepare the project with my team members. 6. Relevance to Groningen study program This course is not directly related to the study program in Groningen because I never had such a deep insight in a project. I learned a lot about the importance in projects and how a project can be successful.
7. Study load The lecture takes two hours a week. The preparation, writing and presenting of the project took me about 15 hours. 8. Assessment in Groningen This was a five EC-course. Assessed by Mr. Drs. H.A. Ritsema Grade: 9