From February until mid-June 2018, I studied at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain. Bilbao is a lovely city (beautiful architecture, shopping, night life, amazing restaurants and food), surrounded by mountains and close to the Northern coast of Spain. I am less enthusiastic about the weather, even for Dutch standards, there is a lot, lot, lot of rain...
The University of Deusto is a beautiful building, located along the river and opposite of the
Guggenheim. I think the semester has been organized pretty well by the University, with a welcome program, but also information session about what after the mobility. What I was missing, is affordable sport facilities and/or courses. Especially compared to ACLO in Groningen, the sports program is quite limited and expensive. Also, they do have a housing program for incoming students. I made use of this service, but in my case, all of my first 5 choices were rejected. But maybe that has just been bad luck.
Finally, I felt like the level of education of this University is very decent. It will differ per study of course, but I am satisfied with the knowledge and professionalism of the professors and guest speakers. The program is organized as follows: course - some days free to work on deadline - next course - some days free to work on deadline - etc. I really enjoyed this structure, although I have to say the days free did not always take place (but: a long Easter break made up for that), and the deadlines were sometimes when we already started new courses.
In conclusion, my overall experience has been positive. I can certainly recommend the University of Deusto for a semester abroad.
