EXPERIENCE  REPORT  KIM  SCHNEIDER    E-­‐mail:       k.schneider@tilburguniversity.edu  Study  Program:   Bachelor  Business  Economics  Exchange  semester:     Fall  Academic  year:     2016-­‐2017  Host  University:     Universidad  Pontificia  Comillas  (ICADE)  Country:       Spain    I  GENERAL  INFORMATION  ABOUT  THE  SCHOOL    Let’s  start  my  report  with:  WOW.  Madrid  was  such  a  magical,  wonderful  and  great  place  to  spend  my  exchange.  I  have  studied  at  ‘universidad  Pontificia  Comillas’  for  4  months,  during  the   fall   semester.   The  University   is   located   just   at   the   outbound   of   the   city   center   in   the  neighborhood  Argüelles.  I  lived  in  the  middle  (Gran  Via)  of  Madrid  and  it  took  me  half  an  hour  by  foot  to  get  to  university.  The  campus  for  business  students  is  looking  great  and  very  clean.  They   even   swipe   the   steps   outside   of   the   building!   Also,   an   advantage   is,   that   all   of   the  economical   classes   take   place   in   the   same   building   so   you   don’t   have   to   travel   to   other  locations  or  faculties.  Only  the  library  is  located  in  a  different  building,  but  since  it  is  in  the  same  street,  it  takes  you  just  a  couple  of  minutes  to  get  there.  The  university  provides  you  with  all  facilities:  a  gym,  library,  computer  rooms,  printing  rooms  and  cafeteria.      Madrid  has  much  to  offer;  from  touristic  sightseeing  to  small,  local,  cozy  bars  on  every  corner.  The  city  is  really  compact  and  everything  can  be  done  by  foot,  but  of  course  also  by  metro.  The  metro  system  is  Madrid  is  one  of  the  best  in  Europe  and  can  be  travelled  with  a  personal  transportation  card.  This  card  costs  you  20  euros  a  month  and  provides  you  access   to   the  metro  and  busses  all  around  Madrid.    My  room  was  located  in  the  city  center  of  Madrid  (Gran  Via)  and  therefore  I  got  to  experience  the   real  Madrid-­‐life.  You  have   to  keep   in  mind   that   it   is  always  crowded  and  noisy  on   the  streets,  but  I  haven’t  experienced  any  danger  during  my  months  abroad.  Whether  it  was  day  or  night,  I  always  felt  safe!    Besides  the  fact  that  it  is  an  energetic  city,  there  are  some  beautiful  public  parks  where  you  can  find  quiet.  Retiro  is  a  beautiful  park  where  you  can  chill  and  enjoy  the  sunny  days  with  friends  and  some  drinks.  Also,  Casa  del  Campo   is  a   really  nice  park   to  go   for  a  run   and   enjoy   the   beautiful  surrounding.  Other  highlights  of  Madrid  are:   Palacio   Real,   Templo   de   Debod,  Plaza   Mayor,   Sol,   Mercade   de   San  Miguel,  Prado  Museum,  Reina  Sofia.    The  best  place  to  go  for  drinks  or  dinner,  in   my   opinion,   is   the   neighborhood  Malasaña.  Here  you  can  find  lots  of  little  (cocktail)bars,   but   also   lots   of   cute  restaurants.    

When  you  are  more  interested  in  traditional  tapas,  the  best  place  to  go  is  La  Latina  (but  ‘Rosi  la  Loca’  is  also  a  great  tapas  restaurant  and  you  can  find  it  just  under  Sol).    Through  Facebook  groups  and  the  organization  City  Life  Madrid  you  will  get  help  with  lots  of  practical  things  and  with  finding  great  parties.  They  organize  parties  every  night.  During  the  first  month,  this  is  a  great  way  to  meet  new  people  and  get  to  know  the  best  clubs  in  Madrid.          II  PRACTICAL  INFORMATION  

I   received  my   pre-­‐arrival   information   during   the  summer   holiday.   At   first   it   all   seemed   to   be  arranged  well,  but  you  have  to  remember  that  the  life   sentence   in   Spain   is:   ‘mañana,   mañana’,   so  they   are   not   that   strict   with   time   and   well  organized  as  in  Tilburg.    Our   semester   started  at   the   first  of   January  and  during   the   first  week  we  had   some   introduction  days  and  welcoming  events.  After  the  first  week,  you  get  one  to  two  weeks  to  change  subjects  and  get  a  time-­‐fitted  schedule.      I  lived  in  the  city  center  of  Madrid  and  found  my  room   on   the   website:   idealista.com.   Together  with  another  girl  we  travelled  to  Madrid  without  having   an   accommodation.   We   spent   our   first  days   in   a   hostel   from   where   we   contacted  landlords  and  looked  for  a  place  to  stay.  After  just  two  days   and  many  visits,  we   found  our  perfect  

room.  So,  don’t  worry  about  finding  a  place.  Madrid  has  lots  of  rooms  to  offer  in  every  price  range!    Of  course,  the  living  expenses  are  higher  than  in  Tilburg.  For  a  start,  the  rent  is  higher,  because  Tilburg  is  very  cheap.  I  financed  my  exchange  period  through  stufi  and  a  student  loan.  Keep  in  mind  that  you  can  spend  whatever  you  want,  and  it  depends  on  your  way  of  living.  I  decided  to  enjoy  my  four  months  abroad  to  the  fullest  and  also  did  some  trips  around  Spain,  so  that  costs  you  extra  money.  Even  though  you  will  spend  more  money  than  in  Tilburg,  in  comparison  going  for  dinner  and  having  drinks  is  not  more  expensive  and  maybe  even  less.      III  ACADEMIC  INFORMATION  I  took  all  my  courses  in  English,  except  for  my  Spanish  A1  course.  They  also  offer  the  courses  in  Spanish  if  you  want  to  improve  your  language  skills.  I  took  the  following  courses:  Description  of  the  courses  Course   Prerequisites   Exam   ECTS   Comments  Marketing  Communication  

None   Written  Final  50%  Class  activity  50%  

5   •   Practical  •   Easy  

Human  Resources  Management  

None   Written  Final  50%  Participation  10%  Case  studies  25%  Presentation  15%  

5   •   Many  assignments  

•   Easy  

International  Business  

None   Written  Final  50%  Group  assignment  20%  Participation  10%  Analysis  20%  

5   •   Theoretical  •   Difficult  

Leadership   None   Written  Final  50%  Evaluation  trials  30%  Group  assignment  10%  Participation  10%  

5   •   Practical  •   Easy  

Negotiations   None   Written  Essay  50%  Cases  35%  Participation  15%  

5   •   Practical  •   Many  class  

cases  •   Easy  

Organizational  Behaviour  

None   Written  Final  60%  Group  Final  20%  Individual/  group  activities  20%  

5   •   Theoretical  •   Diffucult  

Spanish  A1   None   Written  Final  50%  Midterm  35%  Participation  15%  

4,5    

 I  think  the  academic  level  is  a  somehow  lower  than  at  Tilburg  University.  Also,  as  you  can  see  in  the  table,  every  course  has  a  ‘participation’  aspect  in  their  grading.  This  differs  from  Tilburg,  where  we  are  not  obliged  to  attend  all   the  classes.  Furthermore,  classes  are  much  smaller  than  in  Tilburg.  There  are  around  20  people  or  less  in  each  class  and  teachers  speak  and  act  less  formal.  Due  dates  are  not  that  strict  and  it  is  sometimes  even  possible  to  negotiate  about  these  dates  and  even  exam  dates  with  the  teacher.    The  most  interesting  course  for  me  was  leadership.  It  is  a  practical  course  combined  with  some  theory  which  the  teacher  provides  without  a  book.  You  analyze  lots  of  movies  and  leadership  theories,  which  is  a  lot  of  fun!        Overall,  I  would  recommend  this  University  to  other  exchange  students.  But  make  sure  you  don’t  want  to  have  control  over  everything,  because  that  is  not  possible  in  this  University.  You  should  let  go  of  things  and  see  how  they  work  out.  Because  they  will  definitely  work  out  eventually.  I  had  the  best  time  of  my  life  so  far!  Enjoy!