faculty of arts
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 Sheridan
First name*As shown in your passport Mark
RUG student number S 3345556
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
Date: 31/03/2021
University of Groningen, NL Groning01 Erasmus+ KA1 Mobility 2019-2020
Your study programme
I studied at the Faculty of International and Political Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. There was a wide range of courses I could choose from, which covered certain subjects in more detail than is usually the case at the RUG. For example, I took courses on India’s foreign policy, cultural industries, and
antisemitism after Auschwitz, so it really was a very diverse learning experience. The specific nature of the courses allowed me to really go into depth on these topics which I would not have been able to do at the RUG. The lecturers were generally very
knowledgeable of their topic, and the standard of teaching was quite high. The
method of teaching differed per course, some courses exclusively had lectures, others seminars, and one utilized a workshop format. The method of examination differed similarly, some courses required a final exam, others required papers to be written, and in some cases we had to do presentations alone or as a group. Although the standard of teaching was quite high, the exams were pretty manageable, which made balancing social life and studying easy.
Language
The language of instruction was English for all my courses, which was not an issue as all the lecturers spoke fluent English, albeit with a heavy accent at times. I believe it is possible to take courses in other languages such as Polish or German, however I did not do so. Most of my classes were with other erasmus students, whose English was generally pretty good, and the Polish students I talked to during class also spoke good English. In the city itself most people speak at least a little bit of English, however picking up some Polish does go a long way in my experience. I found the language difficult to make sense of and my attempts at actually properly learning some Polish went nowhere, however remembering basic phrases did prove to be helpful quite often.
Finance and other conditions
Living in Krakow is much cheaper than living in Groningen, so money was not much of an issue for me. Food is significantly cheaper both in the supermarket and in restaurants, which allowed me to eat better than I usually would in Groningen. Rent was also much cheaper, despite the fact that I was living in a much nicer location in Krakow than I do in Groningen. Public transport is also incredibly cheap, which allowed me to take it whenever I wanted to without thinking twice, which was very helpful during the cold winter months. Almost everything in Krakow can be paid for with a debit card, so I just continued using my Dutch bank account to do that. Very rarely cash was required to pay for something, but during my whole stay I went to the atm once or twice in total and used that whenever necessary.
Preparation and contacts with the faculty before, during and after your stay
The faculty organized an introduction event for erasmus students, which was the only university event held in person. During this they explained most things I would need to know during my stay, such as how the university web platform works, how course registration works, how the library works, etc. They also communicated this
beforehand in a booklet. The faculty was very helpful in keeping us updated on the changing covid measures, which was very helpful as a lot of information was only available in Polish from official sources. The faculty was also very helpful when I had any questions and also when I needed paperwork for the erasmus, however this could sometimes take some time.
Housing
Housing in Krakow is generally cheap and good quality. I shared an apartment with four fellow erasmus students, three French and one German, in the centre of
Kazimierz, the Jewish district of Krakow. It was a very nice location, the apartment was in good condition, and I paid a bit over 100€ less in rent per month than I do now in Groningen. The university also provides dorm rooms, which some of the friends I made there lived in, but it is also very easy to organize housing yourself like I did. I arrived in Krakow without anything organized and found something on my first day, however this was presumably facilitated by covid lowering the demand for
housing.
Culture
Polish culture is somewhat different to Dutch culture, but not to such an extent that I would describe it as a culture shock. People can appear reserved or cold, however in my experience they are actually quite warm once I got to know them. Due to covid I missed out on some experiences with Polish culture, as for example traditional all souls day activities were cancelled.
Free time
There are many ways to spend your free time in Krakow, however a lot of them were sadly limited by covid. When they were open, I enjoyed going to the various museums there, such as Wawel castle or Schindler’s factory. Auschwitz is also nearby and
would have interested me very much, however it was shut down due to covid just before our planned class trip. There is also a vibrant gastronomical and nightlife scene in Krakow, with many good and affordable restaurants throughout the city. I was actually quite surprised by just how good and varied the restaurants were, and good food from all over the globe was within a 5 minute walk from my apartment. There is also a large variety of bars, which are generally very affordable too. Poland has a strong craft beer scene, so I enjoyed drinking the local beers in various craft beer bars for the few weeks during my stay that they were allowed to be open.
Travelling
I would have loved to travel around Poland and the surrounding countries, however this was not really possible due to the covid situation. I definitely plan to go back and do that once it is possible again.
Your host and home institution’s response to Covid-19, and the extent to which the virus (countermeasures) affected your mobility
Almost every aspect of my exchange was impacted by covid. All my classes were online, so I did not get to interact with my fellow students as much as I would have liked to, and certainly missed out on the opportunity to meet some of them. I did not struggle to make friends there, however obviously I would have preferred to have had the opportunity to meet even more people, as this interpersonal aspect is in my opinion the most interesting thing about an exchange. Like I already mentioned, many aspects of daily life such as gastronomy and cultural life were basically shut down a few weeks after I arrived, so I missed out on going to museums or concerts that I would otherwise liked to have gone to. Not every aspect of covid was negative however, the switch to online learning actually facilitated the transition from my exchange back to my regular study, as the end of the Polish semester and the
beginning of the Dutch semester overlap. This meant I could start my core module in Groningen while still writing papers and doing exams in Krakow. This was somewhat stressful, but it still worked out quite well in the end.
