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author
Albert Michajluk
Albert
Michajluk
faculty
Fakulta sociálních věd
academic year of the stay
2023/2024
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author
Albert
faculty
Fakulta sociálních věd
academic year of the stay
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2023/2024
De Montfort University
traineeship
study stay
short-term mobility
other
How does Albert rate their stay?
university
city
accommodation
financial demands
about university
What made your university special? What were the facilities where you studied and the university equipment like?
Diverse, welcoming, friendly, international and intercultural, open, supportive, but also modern and traditional at the same time, encouraging and supporting independence. These are the words that come to mind when I think of De Montfort University in Leicester, UK.
The school itself is on a campus that is on the edge of the city centre. The campus combines modern architecture and a welcoming western approach with historic traditional buildings and a British sense of order and consistency.
The university itself, especially inside, is very modern, especially in terms of student wellbeing and inclusion. The classrooms are modern and allow for non-linear teaching styles.
My particular Media Studies course had dedicated classrooms for video editing and VFX, Television and Radio studios in addition to the normal classrooms where some of the teaching took place. There was also a fully equipped photo studio available through the booking system. As a media production, we also had access to the AV loans department where we could easily rent professional equipment that I wouldn't have dreamed of at my home university.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your "adoptive" university? What made it special? What were the premises where you studied and the university facilities like?
The approach differed in many ways. We were the last year that did not have block teaching yet, but we worked in semesters as we know it in the Czech Republic. Subsequent years would have two blocks out of our semester, ending with curiculum or tests that replace midterms as we know them from home.
But the main difference was in the approach to the students. For the first time in my time at Univezrit, I felt that someone was genuinely interested in my studies and was there to teach me something. Teachers were helpful, supportive, reachable by email within hours to two days.
The quality of the teaching was not that much higher than in the Czech Republic, with the exception of one course with an external tutor, but the approach of the tutors was much more pleasant and effective. There is more work with directed discussion with students in seminars, which are also conducted in smaller groups. A lot of the classes are split into a large theoretical lecture and then split over several days into seminar groups with smaller numbers of students.
On the other hand, as perfect as the attitude of the academics was, the attitude of the support staff was terrible. The problem took a long time to sort out (non-functioning door card and over a month of work). The clearly defined problem was either downplayed and comforted in the British way with "everithing is ok darling" or they didn't acknowledge the clearly defined problem and tried to pretend it didn't exist. This cannot be blamed on the staff as such for their inadequacy, but is rather a collision with the British approach to dealing with puerile problems, where problems are better left unnamed.
What is student life like at university?
There are clubs for just about everything at the university. Basically, a guild for a guild. Societies bring together students with the same interests, but they pay membership fees. Some societies are very expensive, some are more symbolic in price, but given how many societies there are, there may be a situation where a society is more symbolic but offers nothing in reality.
The school does not offer any electives that would bring the language and culture closer, only academic writing courses for beginners. Unfortunately they are aimed at non-European students and Europeans with their average European English are overqualified for this course.
The school organizes trips around England about twice a month for Erasmus and international students and these trips are great. An organised and relatively cheap opportunity to see all sorts of places around the UK.
Did you study in English or in the language of the host country? What language requirements does the university have?
As I was studying in England, all communication was in English. The university required me to have a B2 level or IELTS 6.0. For selected communication courses, IELTS 6.5 is required.
Anyway, participants from other countries (France) had English levels significantly below the required level, not to mention students from other continents. My level was sufficient, however these students struggled with comprehension overall.
Contrary to the perception of English majors in the Czech Republic, no one is concerned about your pronunciation, and given how intercultural the university and the city itself is, accent is not really an issue.

about the city
What was your impression of the city? How would you describe it? What is interesting to see here?
Leicester is like the Czech Usti nad Labem. Very intercultural, historically quite neglected and poor, now the most immigrant city in the UK.
The city itself is quite mediocre, not particularly interesting in the UK and dealing with enough problems of its own. It's not built like a typical English city, but more along the lines of the US with a centre and large sububrs.
However, the campus is located in the centre which is more or less problem free. Leicester may not be the prettiest city in the UK, but over time I started to get a vibe for it and was eventually satisfied.
The city offers everything you need, a great advantage is its central location within the UK. It was also the main reason I chose it, I wanted to make trips in all directions.
The nightlife is typically British, with lots of pubs and nightclubs. Unfortunately, Leicester is right in between the gin-drinking part of England and the whiskey-drinking part of Scotland. So, unfortunately, you won't find either in reasonable price levels in Leicester.
The city offers everything you need, a great advantage is its central location within the UK. It was also the main reason I chose it, I wanted to make trips in all directions.
The nightlife is typically British, with lots of pubs and nightclubs. Unfortunately, Leicester is right in between the gin-drinking part of England and the whiskey-drinking part of Scotland. So, unfortunately, you won't find either in reasonable price levels in Leicester.
about finances
In your experience, how far does the scholarship go? What percentage of your expenses did it cover? What is your opinion on prices in the country in general?
The stipend was very inadequate. The scholarship money just covered the cheapest accommodation the school offered me (£95 a week). Food is about 20% more expensive, however other aspects of life such as pico, travel and cultural activities are very expensive.
If you want to save at least a little I recommend getting a clubcard, taking couches instead of trains and shopping at charity schops and market place.
Although the university offered all day meals in the canteen, it was much more convenient and cheaper to shop and cook for yourself. Unfortunately, for most of us, eating out was basically unworkable.
Overall, England is very expensive in basically every way and you will need good savings to make a decent living.
Please advise your classmates on how to save money—Where to shop? What services can be used to save money?
Definitely get a clubcard, it will save you dozens of pounds. Buy as many things as possible, typically fruit, veg and meat, at local markets.
Use coaches instead of trains for travel, they are much cheaper.
For tracking expenses and all payments, Revolut has been good for me, also because of its exchange rates
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about accommodation
What type of accommodation did you choose? Would you recommend it to others? If not, what type of accommodation do you think is best based on your experience (dormitory, private apartment, private dormitory, shared room, etc.)?
I chose the cheapest dorm from the school (Bede hall). It was built in American style, with ten single rooms per floor, a common spacious kitchen and shared toilets.
Some classmates chose a higher standard with in-room bathrooms, but these were more expensive.
Some classmates stayed in dormitories provided by United Students. This is a private company, basically with a monopoly on private accommodation for students. This company has a holport with the school that offers its own accommodation. Both options are perfectly fine.
Either way, all facilities were of a much higher standard than in CR and I am pleased beyond measure with them.
about experiences
Did you use Erasmus stay to travel around your country/Europe? What are your best travel experiences? What would you not recommend?
Edinburgh! Due to studying, time and money constraints, I was deciding between a multi-day trip to Edinburgh or London.
Edinburgh was a great choice, from Newcastle upwards the countryside is beautiful, Edinburgh is welcoming, stunning, in many ways reminiscent of Prague.
I recommend travelling by bus, they are much cheaper and more comfortable than trains, these are either tragic or on strike.
For day trips around leicester I recommend Nottingham, it is the centre of the intellectuals and the only nice city around Leicestershire and east midlands counties. If you're there, I definitely recommend the 400 hundred rabbits bar. Birmingham is cool too and not that far.
Just outside Leicester, a 20 minute bus ride away is the beautiful Bradgate deer park, well worth the occasional trip with friends and a pint.
University offers one day trips all around the country with provided bus, Oxford, Cambridge and Cardiff are definitelly worth it.
Language and culture: what cultural differences did you notice? How did you cope with the national language? Was it also the language of your studies? Do you feel that your language skills improved during your stay?
As I was studying in England, both the national language and the language was English. Before leaving, I took language exams as required by the visiting university. With a score of 173 and a B2 level, I had no problem understanding or studying.
After my return I feel that my English level has improved and now I could reach C1 without any problems.
At the cultural level I faced a few problems at times. The British are not as direct as the Czechs, they can't express a lot of problems directly, which sometimes leads to misunderstanding. Leicester is also very international and intercultural. So the cultural differences are twofold. From the Czech point of view, we encounter a typically British attitude, but at the same time an "American" superficiality caused by a very interantional environment, in which the main concern is that everyone is at least a little happy and no one is oppressed
final rating
Why here? What makes this location special? Why would you send your friends to your country/city?
What makes the school special? Good question. Probably nothing, but it's above average in everything, especially the attitude towards students. For the first time in my time at university I felt like someone cared about me and my studies and cared about it and me.
If you want to understand why the referendum on leaving the EU is stupid and improve your English at the same time, go to the UK
live-saving tips
If I went again, I would definitely remember to pack...
Everyone says umbrella, I survived without one, but I highly recommend it. What not to forget is definitely warm, winter clothes, UK can be colder than it seems.
If anyone thinks of taking cash in a currency other than pounds, don't do it, UK exchange rates are terrible, Revolut solves everything.
Take a polaroid, the experiences are unforgettable, and don't forget bottle of hruškovice to represent the nature of czech nation too.

Before leaving, I would like to know that...
I don't have to stress so much about the selection process at Charles university and I would rather read the "Erasmus Vyhláška" properly, where everything necessary is mentioned.
What surprised me most was that...
a pint costs £4-5

The hardest thing for me was...
Understand the dudes from Glasgow
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