Erasmus is the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (long name, I know, but such an amazing opportunity).
Erasmus+ is the EU's new umbrella program for education, training, youth and sport, designed to be more global and more integrated than ever before. It brings together seven EU programs and offers more opportunities for cooperation than its predecessors Erasmus+ helps organize student and doctoral candidate exchanges within Erasmus+ Program Countries and to and from Partner countries.
By studying abroad with Erasmus+, you can improve your communication, language, and inter-cultural skills and gain soft skills highly valued by future employers. Read more about the benefits of an exchange abroad.
You can also combine your period spent studying abroad in a Program country with a traineeship to gain work experience - ever more important when starting out on the job market.
Opportunities to study abroad are available to students at Bachelor and Master levels and Doctoral candidates. Master students taking a full degree abroad (up to two years) may be able to benefit from an EU-guaranteed Erasmus + Master Loan.
Access to Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support will help you learn the language used for your studies if you are moving between Program countries.
Students with physical, mental or health-related conditions may apply for additional funding after they have been selected to study abroad.
Duration
Your study period abroad can last from a minimum of 3 months (or 1 academic term or trimester) to a maximum of 12 months.
You can benefit from an exchange abroad with Erasmus+ multiple times, either as a student or as a trainee, but your total time abroad (study abroad periods included) may not exceed 12 months within one cycle of study.
Cycle" refers to the level of study as defined by the European Qualifications Framework (EQF):
- First cycle (Bachelor or equivalent) EQF – 5/6
- Second cycle (Master or equivalent) EQF 7
- Third cycle (Doctoral or equivalent) EQF 8
For "one-cycle" courses such as medicine or architecture, you can go abroad with Erasmus+ for as long as 24 months.
In academic year 2016/2017, based on long term cooperation and quite similar academic environment between Hanoi University of Mining and Geology and AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland, the two institutions have applied for Erasmus+ and succeeded, so I have luckily become one of 8 HUMG’s students nominated for the program.
My Erasmus+ experience at the AGH University of Science and Technology was amazing!
I and 7 students from HUMG qualified for the program have studied for 5 months at one of the most traditional universities of engineering of Poland and Europe. The language of instruction is English, it was really the best opportunity for us to improve our English skills. Furthermore, I got a lot of things not only on my major, but also different useful skills by which I got familiar quickly with student life, social life, study environment in Krakow. All experiences I got, the new friends I made and even a different point of view from my professors at AGH UST were truly valuable for me.
First, let me talk some general information about Poland and AGH- The University which I was
- Capital: Warsaw
- Language: Polish
- Population: ~ 38.5 millions (until March,2017 )
- Currency: 1 zloty ~ 6000 VNĐ
- Area: 312,685 km2 (120,727 sqm)
Polish Cuisine
AGH University of Science and Technology
(Polish: Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im. Stanisława Staszica) is the technical university in Poland, located in Kraków with:
- 18 faculties , 59 fields of study
- more than 200 specializations
- total number of students: 32,245
- full-time students: 26,314
- part-time students: 5,931
- doctoral students: 1002
- postgraduate students: 2284
Miasteczko Studenckie AGH ( Dormitory):
- 20 dormitories
- 8500 accommodations
- Football, volleyball, 2 basketball, 3 tennis courts
- Located 15 minutes(walk) from the University
- Allowed drinking on the open air
The University also has over 700 laboratories which are exclusively used for educational purposes including Laboratory for Testing Rock Properties and Stone Products, Laboratory for Testing Building and Ceramic Materials, Laboratory of Vibroacoustics, Laboratory of Hydro Geochemistry, Laboratory of Technical Means of Transport and Materials, Laboratory of Structural Analysis. My major is Chemical Engineering that requires a lot of experiments. So that is good for me as it gives me more practice skills. In my subject Nano and Nano Materials, I have had 3 times of Lab works and I felt a lot of new things with some machines I have never practiced.
My mobility time was not only for study, I also spent the time to make friends, get familiar with student life at AGH UST, to have fun, to travel around to discover the country and Europe.
Praha - Czech Republic Budapest
Great trip with HUMG’s team in 12 days off for Christmas à New Year
I was very happy to see again Polish guys that I have met in CUMT International Summer School in China one year ago. This was also an opportunity for me review the old memories we have had together.
People are so kind although they have their own way of living the life. Although it’s not the same, it’s still fantastic to be able to keep in touch with all friends and keep the opportunity to go back and see how the city has got on since the last time.
After all, I realized that it was so easier to say ‘hello’ than to say ‘goodbye’
So my advice for anyone is, if you’re given the opportunity to go to this place, do it. Erasmus experience in Krakow is amazing, is a wonderful city, cheap and full of different cultures. Don’t lose the opportunity. You won’t regret it.
Finally, I will give you five reason why you should participate the Erasmus+ exchange program and some quotes from ERASMUS students for you – the Erasmus + student in the future
+ There are just a few opportunities like this for your student life
+ Making new friends all around the world
+ Studying abroad is a lifetime opportunity
+ Gather international and cultural experience
+ Re-discover yourself
“ I realized that the experience made a whole new person of me and that I would never look at the world and Europe, my home, as I did before.”
“Beyond a studying experience, Erasmus is a lot more. For me, it is a way to look at the world with new eyes, to feel and discover new emotions and learn what is not written in the notebooks.”
“I learned that happiness and grief are very closely related.”
“It is true – when you’re in Erasmus, you find out a lot about yourself.”