Name: A.M. Postma | E-mail address: a.m.postma.1@student.rug.nl | Host university:
Università Roma Tre | Programme: research master Cultural Leadership | Date: 27-07-2018
My Erasmus Experience in Rome
The research master Cultural Leadership at the University of Groningen works closely together with the Università Roma Tre in Rome, Italy. Both universities want to cooperate even further in the future, creating a dual degree programme, but for now Rome only plays a small part in the master’s track. In April 2018, eight students travelled to Rome to study there for three months, which was followed by a Spring School at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR).
This Erasmus experience was completely different from my previous exchange during the bachelor. Firstly, we went abroad as a group instead of individuals; secondly, I could not pick my own host country or university; and thirdly, we took compulsory courses that were designed especially for us. These courses were Media (6 ECTS), Heritage (6 ECTS) and Sustainability and Cultural Awareness (9 ECTS) and are part of the overall master’s programme. We were all wondering what would happen if someone did not pass a course.
Would that person need to come back next year for another visit to Rome? This question remains unanswered since everyone passed their exams. The classes were also open for other students, this had some positive but also negative aspects. It was great to meet other students and making new acquaintances. The negative aspect was the many group projects; we were dependent on other students who just wanted to enjoy their Erasmus experience. This is understandable, but since the courses were part of our compulsory programme we wanted to get good grades. This conflict of interest caused a lot of frustration among students.
The teaching methods were different from what we are used to in Groningen. We usually discuss a lot in class, yet this was not the case in Rome. Participation was not the main focus of the teachers; their task was to convey information which they did well. Another difference was the online learning environment. In the Netherlands we use Nestor or Blackboard, Roma Tre does not use these kinds of programmes. This lack made contact between teachers and students regarding articles and information more difficult. The exams were also completely different. We are used to writing many essays, yet in Italy we needed to give presentations. This was a big change for us, although not necessary negative since it helped us improve our English presentation skills.
We had good contact with our Roman teachers due to the aspirations of both universities. We were not ´just´ Erasmus students, we were THE students from Groningen.
One of the professors, Sabine Addamiano, fulfilled the role of contact person and mentor. She was important and indispensable for us, especially on personal level; she taught us about the Italian culture and cuisine. Moreover, professor Addamiano was also the one who searched and found different apartments for us in Rome, making a list from which we could pick. We tried to contact the landlords ourselves, but they were not very keen on taking us in due to our short stay. In the end, Massimo – employee at the Università Roma Tre – arranged accommodation for us. We also maintained a lot of contact with our teachers in Groningen during our stay in Rome, for two reasons: first, going abroad is – as mentioned before – a mandatory aspect of the master’s programme, so the teachers wanted to make sure everything went well; and second, the teachers came to Rome to attend Spring School together with us and our Roman teachers. We did not know what to expect from the KNIR and Spring School;
in the end it turned out to be a reflection week on how to improve the research master Cultural Leadership.
The Erasmus period ended in July, but already in May we had the urge to ‘flee’ Rome because the city became too hot and too crowded with tourists. As a student you live at the outskirts of Rome and not in the city centre. Traveling with public transport in Italy is very frustrating, let alone when it is thirty-five degrees Celsius and you are traveling in an overcrowded bus without air conditioning. So, the city centre became off limits. We therefore tried to travel to other cities as much as possible in our spare time and went to Bologna, Parma, Ravenna, Naples, Pompeii, Florence and Taormina on Sicily. A benefit is that these cities are not as expensive as Rome, even though the capital itself is not pricey at all in comparison with the Netherlands. Eating out in Rome costs approximately €12, - while eating out in other Italian cities costs around €8, -. My overall expenses during this Erasmus exchange were quite high, purely because I lived together with my best friend and we travelled, ate and drank a lot. The country itself is – as mentioned before – not expensive, although the rent is of course higher than in Groningen. We paid €475, - each, but in return we had a two-bedroom apartment with an own bathroom and kitchen. It was perfect and close to the train station Trastevere.
To conclude, this Erasmus experience was completely different from my other exchange. It was compulsory, and we did not have a say in it. If you do have a choice I would recommend going abroad during the first semester since it becomes too hot in Rome during the summer period. Moreover, less tourists visit Rome in autumn and winter, you will have
therefore more room to wander around the city; taking in all the history and wonders that Rome has to offer.
