faculty of arts
University of Groningen, NL Groning01 Erasmus+ KA1 Mobility 2019-2020
ERASMUS+
Study Report
This form needs to be completed by every student who has completed an Erasmus+ mobility.
Last name*As shown in your
passport O’Mahony Westerhof
First name*As shown in your
passport Josh George
RUG student number S2913712
Please enclose a 2-page report on your experiences abroad, using the following headings:
1. Your study programme 2. Language
3. Finance and other conditions
4. Preparation and contacts with the faculty before, during and after your stay
5. Housing 6. Culture 7. Free time 8. Travelling
9. Your host and home institution’s response to Covid-19, and the extent to which the virus (countermeasures) affected your mobility
10. Other
I hereby give permission to the International Office to publish my report on the Faculty of Arts
Repository to inform future students
Yes No Future students may contact me for additional
information Yes No
Signature Participant
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11. Your study programme
For my study programme, I chose a mixture of business and arts courses so that I would have something familiar to fall back on but also explore another field area of my university studies. I chose the following courses:
Destrezas de comunicación estratégica: liderazgo y toma de decisiones - Strategic Communication Skills: Leadership & Decision Making
Globalization Tendencies in Middle East International Business Management
International Current Affairs Questions from a Spanish Perspective Marketing, Reputation, Branding
Public Relations & Advertising
Spanish for Foreign Exchange Students - Level B2
12. Language
I chose to have 80% of my courses in English and 20% in Spanish. Initially wanted more courses in Spanish, however due to timetable conflicts it ended up being significantly less. Overall, the Spanish level required for courses is
challenging but doable. Of course, it depends heavily on the teacher as well. For example, older teachers use a more formal form of Spanish which I found more challenging to engage with. The English level during most courses is adequate and on par with the level given at the rug, however there are always exceptions. There was one course where officially the language it was given in was in English but practically it was in Spanish half the time.
13. Finance and other conditions
The Erasmus grant which I received provided me with a stable base for expenses during my time abroad. While it did not fully cover me (partially my monthly rent) it was still a nice extra to have. Madrid overall is not a very expensive city, with
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rents being slightly higher than in the centre of Groningen. The food is cheap as well.
14. Preparation and contacts with the faculty before, during and after your stay
The preparation and contacts with both the host and receiving institution fared relatively smoothly. I had to fill in the learning agreement after I arrived instead of before, which provided for extra flexibility on the one hand but slightly more stress during the introduction week on the other hand.
15. Housing
Housing was a bit difficult to find for me, as the university left it up to most students to find their own. I ended up finding a room on idealista.com and
checking it out the day I arrived in Madrid. It was a great room one street from the central metro station so in the end I was extremely content. However, most
people book their rooms beforehand (this is a more expensive option though).
16. Culture
There are lots of cultural things to do in Madrid, and lots of day trips to make as well to places such as Segovia or Toledo.
17. Free time
The amount of hours that you need to spend on your studies depends on the courses you choose. Overall, if you choose the exchange student courses there are less hours you need to spend on studying compared to if you choose local courses. Overall, I had twice as much time on lectures and seminars than compared to Groningen due to choosing mostly local courses. Nevertheless, I still had plenty of free time.
18. Travelling
There are lots of day trips you can do from madrid. During the weekends you can visit many local places in Spain such as Segovia, Toledo, Cuenca, Valencia, etc.
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19. Your host and home institution’s response to Covid-19, and the extent to which the virus (countermeasures) affected your mobility
My host university was extremely quick in reacting to the covid-19 situation, and was already installing equipment and coding programmes two weeks before the schools in Spain actually closed. My home institution overall was more
reactionary. Only after the flights from Spain to my home country were cancelled already did they send me an email saying I should return home. Compared to the host institutions from my fellow students who are from the Netherlands as well, this was slow and lackluster. Although I understand the chaos of such a situation for the universities.
