Personal Erasmus Report
Roma Tre – Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Architecture
Courses and earned credits
The courses I have taken during my mobility are the following:
- Sustainability and Cultural Awareness (9 ECTS) - Media (6 ECTS)
- Heritage (6 ECTS)
These three courses were mandatory for the research master that I am currently doing.
For all courses we had different teachers. To clarify, these courses were not chosen by us but were created for this specific research master, because of the partnership between the University of Groningen and Roma Tre. In the class of Media, we were only with the Dutch students from the research master and two other Italian girls. In the Sustainability course we were joined by many economic students. This made a diverse group of people and created an interesting intercultural atmosphere in the classroom. The Heritage course existed of many different students with different nationalities. There were a lot of Erasmus exchange students.
Quality of education, the level of information and help provided by the host institution The quality of education at Roma Tre was not as good as I expected it to be. The level of education was lower than in Groningen. The Italian university system, and what teachers expect you to do, is very different from what I am used to. In the first part of this
exchange I had much difficulty adapting to this difference. Even though I had the feeling the level of information was lower than at my home university, it was quite difficult to work with the ideas of the teachers. We for example only heard in the last week what the final assignments would be. Normally, in the first week of classes we receive a detailed idea of what is expected from you as a student. In Rome however, we knew in the last week what we had to do, which made it impossible to really make a qualitative and well- researched project. If you only have a week to finalize a project, this will not be a good influence on the quality of a project. I was very disappointed about this.
Although the level and quality of education was different from Groningen, the teachers were always prepared to help you. The way the teachers and coordinators interacted with students was sometimes informal and sometimes very formal. Sometimes it was very hard to think in what way you should address a teacher.
Reception and accommodation at the host institution
The accommodation that we had in Rome was very nice. It was a spacious apartment that I shared with a friend, a fellow student of the research master. Travel time in Rome is very long, wherever you live. Public transport is not ideal but it works if you are patient and you have enough time to travel. We did not live really close to the university, which made it hard sometimes to travel to the university quickly.
When we arrived in Rome, we still had a week off before our classes began. On the Monday we would start, our contact person from Roma Tre received us at the university and showed us around the buildings. This was very nice and she made us feel welcome.
Contacts with teachers and students support from home institution
I did not really have a lot of contact with people from my home institution, and it was not necessary.
Estimation of expenses during your exchange
When thinking about my expenses during the exchange, I would like to say that Rome is very expensive in comparison with Groningen. Groceries are almost the same but going out is way more expensive. It also depends on the area of the city you are going to. When you go out, most of the time you need to pay an entrance fee of 10 euros, which includes a drink. The costs are not just for going out in a club, the costs are also high because you need to take a cab home.
There are a lot of opportunities to do trips to the other parts of Italy, for not a lot of money. The train is rather cheap if you plan it right. So, when visiting Rome, and especially when you want to escape the crowdedness of the city, it is very easy to go to another city or go into the mountains.
I always recommend you to save a little bit of money, because there are always
unexpected costs. The housing is for example quite pricy if you want to have a decent place to stay.
Encountered Problems
A big problem that I’ve encountered in Rome, is the noise and the heat. In the summer, from mid-june until the end of August it is no fun to be in Rome. It is way too hot and if you do not have air-conditioning in your home, it is not doable. So, if you have the choice of which semester you will be in Rome, I’d recommend September – January.
Generally, I felt really safe in Rome. However, I did not feel all that comfortable being in the touristic center all the time. If you are not Italian, or not from Rome, people will immediately see you are a tourist and you will be treated that way. Often, this is done in a very unfriendly way.
Personal observations and recommendations
- Go in the first semester of the year (September-January) – due to the heat - Save a little bit of money – for the housing, and the trips!
- Explore the different parts and neighbourhoods of Rome, not just the historical centre.
- A monthly public transport card is 35 euros per month. One trip on the subway, tram or bus is 1,5. If you take a monthly card, it is very cheap. You can also travel to the beach with this card!!
