Student testimonial
Exchange University Oslo by Leandre de Wit
"On August 9, 2021, my great adventure could begin. After a half year of uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic my exchange adventure could go through. The moment you arrive at the place that is going to be your base for half a year is very crazy. You have no idea how it works, where you have to be, how to buy a public transport card, where to do your shopping and things like that. In my bus there were also other students who were going to study in Oslo for six months. It's incredibly funny how random luck helps you to get to know the first people in your new situation. I have heard from many people that they have also made their first friends in such a chance way. So don't worry too much about the social situation, all Erasmus students are in the same boat and everyone is very keen on making friends.”
A three-day fieldwork trip to a glacier as part of this course was one of the highlights of my exchange.
Studying in Oslo
"After a week with all kinds of activities, the buddy week, it was time to get serious: the university started.
The best course I took was Glaciology. This course took me into the world of the ice rivers and the lecturers were also extremely motivated to make interesting lectures out of it. A three-day fieldwork trip to a glacier as part of this course was one of the highlights of my exchange. In addition, I took the course Geohazards. During this course we did a cool excursion to the Westland where we studied the consequences of Geohazards. We also went to a conference in Tromsø: good for networking, but above all we just enjoyed the city.The last course I took was Numerical Weather Prediction. This course was a lot more technical than the others and there was also a bit more coding involved. The course was focused on the techniques with which the weather is modelled.
In general, the workload at the University of Oslo was really much lower than in Wageningen. The contact hours were also approximately halved compared to a normal period back home in Wageningen.”
Life in Oslo
“The relatively low workload made it very easy to enjoy the exchange to the fullest. Parties, walks, sports, lunch together, there was all just a lot of time for that. Especially in the beginning, when the weather was still good, we went on trips with a group of people almost every weekend. That way, we could see a lot of different sides of Norway within a fairly short time.
In addition to the mobility you have from Oslo, the city itself is beautifully situated. On the one hand there is the fjord, where you can get on a ferry to one of the islands with your public transport pass. On the other hand, the city is surrounded by forests and lakes. As far as you can see you only see forest and in some directions you can easily walk tens of kilometers before you come across a village. You get on the metro in the center and within 20 minutes you are in a forest. There are dozens of 'cabins' in the forests around Oslo. These huts are often completely off the grid, no electricity or running water. It is fantastic to rent such a hut for a bargain price for a night, walk there with friends and have a drink in the evening and enjoy what nature has to offer.
And then winter came. If you are a winter lover you have to go 100% on exchange to Scandinavia. The frost fell in Oslo at the end of November, and I have never been able to skate on natural ice so early. At the beginning of December, the ski resort opened, just 45 minutes from Oslo. My last weeks in Norway were all about skating, snowboarding, cross country skiing, making snow hikes and building your own après-ski party in the evening.”
Retrospect
“All in all, my semester in Oslo has really been an experience that, however cliché, has changed my life. It's great to make international friends and I still have good contact with them. Furthermore, it is cool to experience such a different way of education. I can definitely recommend Oslo if you want an adventurous exchange and at the same time want to experience a vibrant city. But even more than that, I would like to recommend everyone to go on an exchange at all, because it is an experience that is super valuable.”