Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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| CEMS Communications Committee Rotterdam |
I believe that RSM is a great University to boost
your CV, gaining academic expertise and profiting from great corporate events.
I think that RSM is definitely manageable and not as bad and tough as everyone
is saying. But I think one has to be aware of the fact that it is hard to get
very good grades even though you worked very hard and the average is also
always lower than I experienced at other Universities. In general, the
education system in the Netherlands is hard and very high grades are almost
impossible.
I enjoyed very much the life in Rotterdam, the area
I lived in (Kralingen), the amazing sports opportunities (outside and gym), the
very nice bars and restaurants at Witte de Withstraat, and the very convenient
way to get to the airport and to Amsterdam by train. I also loved the biking
culture and there is no way to live in Rotterdam without a bike. Everything is
very easy and fast to reach with a bike and public transport is very expensive.
Courses
·
Mandatory Course Global Strategy (7,5
ECTS): You can choose between International Strategy and International
Entrepreneurship, both courses are accepted for the mandatory Global Strategy
course. I highly recommend International Entrepreneurship, less workload and
better grades. Only one big group assignment, which counts 50% of your grade.
The task is to work closely with a startup together on a topic concerning
growth and international expansion and writing a teaching case and note and
preparing a presentation. 10% participation and exam 40%. In the exam you get a
case to which you have to apply the theory learned in class.
·
Strategy of Innovation (5 ECTS): A core course of the Innovation Master at RSM,
very interesting course but demanding professor. You have several group
assignments to do on the basis of cases and articles, which are all relevant
for the exam. But, since each case and article is discussed in class
extensively and you work on it in the group assignments, there is not much in
terms of exam preparation, if you really read all the articles and participated
during class. Good grades definitely possible, but requires a good
understanding of the theories! But very interesting course.
·
Marketing Strategy Research (4 ECTS): Major of the Marketing Master and
requires a very good level of statistics and SPSS. The course consists of 5
individual assignments and an exam both worth 50%. Out of the 5 individual
assignments only the best 3 are counted. The professor explains in the 3 hours
lecture new concepts in SPSS and in the afternoon in the lab session you get
your individual assignment, which you have to fulfil within one week. In the
lab session there is always a tutor, who helps you and answers questions
regarding the assignment. Exam is based only on SPSS output, which you have to
interpret. Would only recommend this course if you have fun and prior
experience in working with SPSS.
· Corporate
Development: Strategies for Acquisition and Alliances (5,5 ECTS): A core course
of the Strategy Master at RSM. The professor has a great level of expertise in
this field, which you definitely get to profit from in class, where he uses a
variety of real life cases of M&As and alliances. The course consists of 5
group assignments out of which 2 get randomly selected and thus 40% of your
total grade is derived from. We also did not get any feedback on the
assignments until the end, since it is a course of over 300 students and 45
groups. Hence, grading took a long time. You also have the potential to write a
company assignment on a selected company and a potential alliance or M&A,
which allows you to gain 0,25; 0,5; or 1 point higher of your final grade,
which is a very nice option for a 5-page assignment to boost your grade. Exam
very easy and very close to the group assignment you did during class. I really
enjoyed the course and learned a lot, but he is very hard in giving good
grades.
· Building
Healthy Organizations for Optimal Human Performance (5 ECTS): A course of the
Human Resources Management Master at RSM. Similar to the “Positive
Organizations” course at NOVA in terms of topics covered in class. Very nice
and interesting professor, who has immense expertise in Psychology including
topics, among others, like burn out. You have one big group assignment
(25%), several group assignments on a pass and fail basis (10%) and a so-called
“self-reflection” assignment (20%), for which you get each week new work like
tests, or exercises to do. In general, there are a variety of assignments to do
for the course but very easy. Exam 45% on the basis of multiple-choice
question, which are definitely not to underestimate. Good grades definitely
possible.
Housing
I lived in Kralingen (close to the Metro station
Voorschoterlaan), which is a beautiful area with a lot of families beautiful
houses and also the area where most of the students live. It takes you with the
bike 3-10 minutes to Uni, depending on where you are living. There is also
everything you need in Kralingen many shops, supermarkets cafes and an amazing
lake perfect for running.
Also a very cool and “in-place” to live is around
Witte de Withstraat, where all the nice bars and restaurant are, basically the
place to be when you plan to go out. But you need at least 20 min with the bike
to Uni and of course it is a very lively area.
Living on the campus is also an option. The Hatta
building is the student-housing place on the campus with very modern
facilities. However, I believe it is very expensive and you are able to get way
better rooms for a cheaper price outside Uni for example in Kralingen.
Searching for places is almost solely done via
Facebook on pages like Commodity Market Rotterdam; Housing Rotterdam; Buying
& Sell Rotterdam; Housing Rotterdam RSM. Beginning of each new semester you
find an abundance of offers in these groups. But, good areas like Kralingen are
very competitive and you really have to try to stand out in the application for
a room and why you fit into the apartment.
University
RSM offers an amazing modern gym with also a lot of
courses every day, several squash courts and many more for 65 Euros for 5
months in total. When you get to RSM you should definitely get a gym card, it
is the best offer you can get by far in Rotterdam for a gym contract.
There are many study possibilities like in the T
building there is a library only for master students or the big library for
everyone in the C building. I also liked to study in the Erasmus Paviljoen,
since it is a very nice building and a good place to study.
The campus also offers a supermarket, 2 cafeterias
with very nice and cheap food, Starbucks, and many more restaurants and snack bars
in the so-called “Food Corner”. In the Erasmus Paviljoen is also a very nice
restaurant and bar, where it is definitely recommendable to have lunch or
dinner as well for fair prices.
Sightseeing
Holland offers a lot of places to see. Especially
Amsterdam, The Hague, and Delft should be on the list. Everything is easy
accessible by train. Also in Rotterdam there is a lot to see, like the brand
new and one of the biggest indoor market halls in Europe.
You should definitely get the “Rotterdam Pass”,
which allows you to get great offers in restaurants, several cinema visits for
free, discounts on museum entrance or the famous harbor boat trips and many
more. Officially you have to be registered for the Rotterdam Pass, which is
difficult to realize when you rent a private apartment for only a semester, but
usually there is still a way to get it.
Saturday and Tuesday there is the big market at
Blaak and I highly recommend getting fruits and vegetables there since it way
cheaper than in any supermarket and the quality is especially in the summer
even better. Also for getting fresh fish, seafood and good cheese it is very
recommendable.
I also recommend “Café Belmondo” between Blaak and
Kralingen where usually students go to study offering free Wi-Fi, nice coffee
and snacks. The café also offers a silent area or the usual public place for
everyone.
Visa
Since I am a European citizen I did not need a
Visa.
Vaccines
Not necessary.
Work Projects
I did not do my work project at RSM. Generally RSM
offers a variety of corporate events every week, usually published in the
weekly CEMS Newsletter. I highly recommend staying updated regarding these
opportunities, since there are really a variety of very good events you can
participate in.
Surprises
Positive: Gym facility on the campus.
--
By Roxana Plötz, Class of 2014/2015
Term abroad - Fall 2014
Nationality:
German
Country
of residence: Germany
Home
School: NOVA
Host
School: Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
