“I feel that I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge during my time in Lyon. The Catholic University has great facilities and an environment that helps international students to make the most of their time at this University.

The IBP (International Business programme) is well organised and the students are given all the necessary information needed in order to adapt without any problems. The computer room and the library are easily accessible and available to students during weekdays. The people in charge of the ERASMUS programme are very approachable and always happy to help. All classes last for about two hours and are taught by experienced and friendly teachers.

There are different types of accommodation usually of a fairly good standard and with access to the internet. Living at a residence gives the students the opportunity to meet other students studying at different Lyon Universities. So it's easy to make friends.

Lyon is a nice city which offers a lot of attractions to international students. The student community is quite big and there are a lot of activities organised either by the university itself or through the ERASMUS programme, e.g. sport picnics and ski weekends etc.

”

“Mosbach is a great place to live and to study. It is beautiful, interesting and only a train journey away from fun activities. The high ropes course used to help students bond, it was the beginning of some lifelong friendships and a fantastic experience. Whether we were watching TV, drinking, playing football, in class, exploring Mosbach, visiting German cities or exploring Europe, we had fun all the time. I got the chance to live with people from the Czech Republic, United States, Hungary, Singapore, Russia, Mexico and Germany. There was never a dull moment; we had fun all the time.

”

“Umeå - The City of Birches

On the morning of 24 August 2010, I woke up knowing my life was about to change. It was the first day of my Erasmus exchange trip to Umeå, a trendy, beautiful student city located in the north of Sweden.

Erasmus is the EU exchange programme which allows you to take a part of your degree in a different country. They provide a non-repayable source of funding for you to offset extra costs (compared to living at home) and provide links to universities across Europe. The scheme offers students like me an invaluable experience and simply unforgettable memories.

My experience of Umeå (pronounced closer to "Ooo-me-o") the biggest city of the Nordic region, has been quite unbelievable. The city changes drastically from summer to winter when the days go from being approximately 24 hours of light to long dark and gloomy where you are considered lucky to see the sun for more than a few hours, where the temperature changes from a reassuringly warm 25°C to a bone numbing -25°C, and where the green summer grass is blanketed by over a meter of powdery snow. The change due to the latitude of city itself, being 150 km shy of the Arctic circle, Umeå is therefore on the same level as the south of Iceland, but luckily it benefits from the warming Gulf Stream. This creates a drastically different but truly amazing climate.

Umeå really was the perfect setting for a semester abroad. To say the energy of the city is vibrant is a serious understatement. There is a real sense of you can get things done, it's emitted from everybody you speak to and people are never afraid to be different.

The university was outstanding and the education system offered a different perspective on student life. In Sweden they take one module at a time, but naturally work longer hours on it for a shorter time, meaning fewer things to concentrate on at once. The education is a different system of learning, but one which I really enjoyed adapting to.

And that is part of the fun of spending time in different places. Adapting to different lifestyles, creating new routines and making new friends - all undeniably good reasons for why I would recommend doing an exchange like this. Not to mention the bonus of it going on your CV, making you more independent, more rounded and definitely, in my case, far more privileged - all that in just a 5 month semester! It's really an experience you just have to do.

I have seen the Northern Lights, shooting stars, mountains of snow, inconceivably sized lakes freeze over solid, the sun lower than the looming tree line at the height of day and even buses that run on time!

Sweden was an amazing country and the things I will take from there will be valued by me far higher than what I could have ever imagined. I am unbelievably grateful to those who helped me get there, and looking back, I am unbelievably happy that I got to go.
”