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author
Jan Tomanec
Jan
Tomanec
faculty
Fakulta sociálních věd
academic year of the stay
2020/2021
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author
Jan
faculty
Fakulta sociálních věd
academic year of the stay
2020/2021
Catholic University of Portugal
traineeship
study stay
short-term mobility
other
How does Jan 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?
From the beggining it was basically same like on our faculty on UK but everything was taught in english. University has a nice campus, but since I was there during Covid, I have attended just a few classes. All the professors had very high level of english and the classes were handled perfectly, mostly discusssion between teacher-student, student-student ass well, so from educational level I was really satisfied, but you need to understand that it is a catholic university, which means that some professors tend to relate everything to the church too. Most of the classes are held at the afternoon, so there is a lot of time to also enjoy portugese sun.
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?
On the other hand, I have to say the organization and communication with the students was pretty poor. There were problems in communication, everything was late, we got a topic for essays month later so then we had to do all the essays at the same time. So for instance I´ve got list of possible classes a day before enrollment of the subjects, enrollment itself was hanled via email, to catch the erasmus coordinator was pretty hard because he did not asnwer any calls or emails, Also getting a list of grades etc took ages afterwards. Typical southern country! Siesta Amigo! :)
What is student life like at university?
I did not heard about student organization but we have created a groups usually for each subject so everything was pretty easy and students helped each other too, especially local student so we could feel like at home. Class of portugese language was possible but only on partner university for a fee of 250 euro. University also hosts Political forum in Estoril which can be pretty interesting but unfortunately it was postponed because of Covid.
Did you study in English or in the language of the host country? What language requirements does the university have?
I had classes explicitely in english and since the professors had excellent knowlege of english, it was harder then I expected but at the same time they were very friendly and apprehend if someone has language limitations.
about the city
What was your impression of the city? How would you describe it? What is interesting to see here?
Lisbon is amazing city with great connection to the sea and great nightlife, vibes and food, festivals etc, It more like rush but also has quite and romantic places. For students who are looking to meet other nationaties its basically amazing. My favorite places are for sure all the miradouro´s, sea side of lisbon, bairro alto, principe real and surrounding beaches like carcavelos or costa caparica.
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?
Finances are pretty bad at this part, you will get around 500-550 euro and its pretty hard to find accomodation under 350 euro/month. Then monthly pass for public transport is 40 euro so if you want enjoy the city a little bit at least you will need to have other finances too. I counted once and stipendium covered circa 50% of my expenses but its necassary to say that I was joining everyone almost every day on some happenings and trips so for me it was hard to save some money. It is a cosmopolitan and touristy city so its not really cheap for going out, but there are places for such a erasmus corner where you can have beer for 1e!
Please advise your classmates on how to save money—Where to shop? What services can be used to save money?
Its hard to say. Cook at home, drink in erasmus corner and walk a lot! :)
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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 lived in a shared flat which was ok for me, nothing special. I paid 350 euro/month, reserved on uniplaces (remember that all this sites takes provision fee in a cost of one month rent). Most of my friend lived in shared flats, some of them had better experiences and some of them worse. It hard to say because if you dont know enyone there its hard to guess and choose.
about experiences
Did you use Erasmus stay to travel around your country/Europe? What are your best travel experiences? What would you not recommend?
I traved a lot around Portugal and its simply amazing bcs from march its already very nice weather so you can enjoy a lot of beach etc. I strongly recomment to visit islands Madeira and Azores which are well connected with plane from Lisbon. And also Algarve, Setubal, Cascais, Sintra or Porto and basically the whole coast is amazing.
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?
Portugese people are always late, not well organized but since all my friends werent portugese I did not have problem with their language :D Lisbon is cosmopolitan so almost everyone speaks english.
final rating
Why here? What makes this location special? Why would you send your friends to your country/city?
Catholic University is perfect if you want to expand quality of you language and knowlege but it can cost some psychical damage before you handle all the requirement due to bad communication with university.
live-saving tips
If I went again, I would definitely remember to pack...
speaker, sun cream (sun can hit you hard)
Before leaving, I would like to know that...
What surprised me most was that...
The hardest thing for me was...
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