Hola Erasmus Friends!
In the Autumn Semester of 2024, I went to the Universitat de Lleida (UDL) and took classes from two different master’s programs- Mediterranean Forestry and European Forestry Programmes. This was a very different experience for me as I am currently in a bachelor’s programme, with an ecological background. Personally, I had some great professors and I learned many practical skills that I will need for my studies in the future such as programming with QGIS, and Fragstats. I also enjoyed that many of my classes utilized field courses to educate us. For example, my Mediterranean Forestry Class was fully based on field trips (usually to The Pyrenees) where we learned about forest fires, cork oak, and many other subjects first-hand in the field.
The downside of the education was the lack of organization from the department –ETSEAFIV. It was not until the students arrived and our department had told us that our programs would not be starting till October! This was never mentioned to us, until we had arrived and had already been paying rent. Additionally, there was little information on the class withdrawal process, and my peers and I were usually not answered back through email from ETSEAFIV’s faculty. Additionally, there was no set schedule for classes, so the ‘organization’ they had, was through the full agency of professors. Here professors would have to write in an excel sheet and on a weekly-basis change class scheduling through organization with other faculty professors. For someone like me who enjoys a routine, this was difficult as many days I had to wake up and be ready for class because classes were always due to change.
Although the organization of classes was a downside for me, I still heavily enjoyed my time in Lleida. It is close enough to Barcelona where you can spend lots of time there. I made lots of friends, I was using my Spanish skills every day, and I enjoyed learning A1 catalán. Some people had issues with finding accommodation but know that you should be paying around 200-300 euros in rent. I lived near the Rectorat campus on the street Bisbe Meseguer. I liked being by the Rectorat, but a lot of my friends lived in the Cappont area, and I know they enjoyed this as well. If you are taking classes at ETSEAFIV I would say you should not live in Cappont because it's very far away from the campus and you would need to take a bus every day. It was about a 20–30-minute walk from my apartment to ETSEAFIV.
As for close spots to go on trips, I highly recommend going to Costa Brava if you are looking for beaches. The best way to get there is to go to Barcelona Sants, take the Metro near the Bus terminal and take a bus from there to Costa Brava. The nearest beach from Lleida however is to Tarragona, and it is extremely beautiful there as well and is rich in Roman history. As for other places I recommend for you to travel to would be, Andorra, and anywhere in the Pyrenees. For these trips you would need to have a car or know someone who has a car. Zaragosa is also beautiful and has lots of festivals you can join easily. In Barcelona there is always so much to do, just know that many tourist attractions like going into Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, you will need to book in advance.
Kind Regards,
A Former Student from UdL
KEYWORDS: Spain, University of Lleida, UdL, Meditteranean Forestry (Msc), European Forestry (Msc), International Environmental and Development Studies (Bsc)
Pictures below: :)
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