Studera utomlands

Are you wondering what life is like for an exchange student in the Netherlands? Then you’ve come to the right place!

Hello everyone ? It’s Christmas break and I got back home in Italy to enjoy these two weeks of holidays with my family and friends. But today it’s all about how looks like a week as a student in Wageningen ??

Structure of the university

The rhythm of a student’s life at WUR dances to the beat of academic periods. The first semester is made of three periods, each with different study loads and structure. Briefly:

• Periods 1, 2, 5, and 6: it lasts 8 weeks and it has a study load of 12 ECTS credits.

• Periods 3 and 4: it lasts 4 weeks and it has a study load of 6 ECTS credits.

The exams are embedded in the courses of the respective period, usually during the last week.

I am currently in my second period of study, taking courses in Food, Nutrition and Human Rights as well as Epidemiology and Public Health. Precisely, I am bringing you into my Week 6 so the last week of lectures. Then Week 7 is a week of self-study and paves the way for Week 8 also known as exam week. Perfect timing to finish on 22 December, just in time for me to fly back to Venice and celebrate Christmas with my family.

A little insight into my Week 6

Monday

Starting the week with a tutorial at 11.40 for the course Food, Nutrition and Human Rights. Group discussions and feedback on our draft take up the whole session. In the afternoon, my group mate and I put the fishing touches to our report while the Christmas tree lits up in the main building ?

Tuesday

A late morning lecture from 11.40 am to 1.10 pm on companies and the right to food. Afterwards, I spent the afternoon in the library working on my other course’s project and the instable rainy dutch weather gifted us a wonderful rainbow.

Wednesday

Market day! Before heading off to class, I stop by the local market with a friend to buy fresh, affordable fruits and veggies ? Later, I had an online tutorial for my course in Epidemiology and Public Health and spent the afternoon with some group work ?

Thursday

As every Thursday, I had a lecture again from 11.40 am to 1.10 pm, this time was about the impact of climate change on the right to food. To conclude the day, lunch break with a friend who is also here on Erasmus from KI, followed by a study session in the library ??

Friday

The week reaches its climax with the deadlines for my weekly assignment, so my group and I booked a room and worked together until 5 pm. Thereafter, weekend vibes and time for some travelling ✨

In the schedule for each course you can find dedicated self-study hours and periods, structured to cover every day from 8 to 17. As you’ve gathered, the week is full packed with engaging lectures, collaborative group work and tutorials, fostering creativity and interaction. Yet, when Friday comes from 17 – or even earlier on sometimes, the weekend begins and students have the complete freedom to travel or chill in town with friends. It might be intense during the weekdays, however, in the weekends you have enough time to rest and relax ?

If you have any questions or topics you’d like me to cover, please let me know ? I hope you had a Merry Christmas and wish you a very Happy New Year ??

/Noemi