Hello,
And greetings from the windy Netherlands where I’ve been enjoying my time studying Data-Driven Decision making over the last 5 months in NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences. While perhaps not that surprising to people, Dutch people are very international. Almost everyone from the age of 10 to age of 80 speaks English. The courses are carried over in English smoothly and the teachers and students are clearly accustomed to the international life.
The student life is very vibrant and one can find as much events and things to do as they want – students never run out of things to experience! This is obviously a very good thing to have on exchange, as I would never personally want to spend my exchange inside the walls of my apartment. I have gotten to enjoy the Dutch canals while feasting on the traditional Dutch delicacies.
The courses are conducted in a professional way and I felt like I learned some important concepts that will have help me in my future endeavors. The Dutch way of studying seems to be much more laidback in contrary to the Finnish one – less emphasis on the grading and deadlines and more emphasis on the creativity one can behold in those assignments. Is it a good thing? Well, for me it is a bit of a double-edged sword, as one needs to master how to use the extra freedom efficiently while ensuring the quality of the assignments stays at the needed level. On the other hand, it feels sometimes that Finnish students are more ambitious given the emphasis on getting good grades.
All in all, my student exchange has been a success and I have enjoyed all aspects of it, so I can wholeheartedly recommend the Netherlands as an exchange destination!
Comments