Interim report
Studying abroad for half a year, far away from my family and friends and practically alone was a thought which filled me with great fear, I must confess.
One thing which I noticed shortly after arriving here at Schiphol Airport – I wasn’t alone. Every year, close to 10,000 students enrol at one of the three universities in Amsterdam and for most of them, their experience of arriving here was the same as mine.
This made it easier to make new friends. I was allocated accommodation in one of the endless halls of residence dotted across the city, living with lots of other international students. The International Student Network Amsterdam, or ISN in short, ensured that we settled in during the first week and gave me endless opportunities to get to know new people and the city itself.
My local university, the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, is a modern establishment spread across the city. Sometimes the organisation can be rather chaotic. However there have been no problems collaborating with the Dutch students who have all proved to be friendly and helpful and make up the majority of my Big Data semester programme.
The difficulty of the course should not be underestimated but it is easy to keep up thanks to my previous studies in Information Management. I also noticed a significant improvement in my English after the first month. And while spending a semester abroad is a challenge which should not be underestimated, I recommend everyone to take advantage of this unique opportunity.