Wageningen University
Experience Report - Edward Forbes - Spring Semester 2025
About the university
Wageningen University
is one of the most international universities in the Netherlands, with 3,717
international students from 115 nationalities. The university ranks best in the
world for Agriculture and Forestry, and best university in the Netherlands for
the 20th year in a row. Similar to NMBU, it is a life sciences and agricultural
university, that has expanded its course offerings and research focus into
several other domains such as politics, economics, technology etc, but all with
a theme of sustainability and life sciences. The university offers high quality
laboratory facilities, an impressive library, a careers centre and a large gym.
Academic Experience
I found the courses and
academic environment to be very high quality and engaging. I took three courses
during the semester: Remote Sensing, Statistics for Data Scientists, and Data
Science for Plant Breeding. All three courses I can highly recommend, they were
intensive with a fair bit of work involved, but the knowledge and skills gained
were very practically useful and relevant to potential future studies and
career. Most lectures were followed by a practical session, where we used what
we learnt in the lecture in practice, giving us an opportunity to ask questions
and give context to what we learnt. In addition, there were often weekly
assignments and final presentations with a written or oral exam at the end of
the period. Each course involved several professors that were experts in their
respective domains, as well as several interesting guest lecturers. This meant
that every aspect of the course was taught by an expert in that specific field.
Personal development
I chose to go on
exchange to experience living in another country, to take specific subjects not
offered at NMBU, and to meet new people and expand my network. During the
exchange I learnt a lot about myself, how I meet challenges and my strengths
and weaknesses in different situations. I also gained many soft skills, such as
teamwork, communication, delegation, and presentation skills, both from courses
and extracurricular activities. My data analysis and statistical knowledge,
experience in remote sensing technologies, and understanding of international
and Dutch agriculture improved greatly, both from courses as well as from being
in a social environment surrounded by passionate students studying similar
domains. This gave me more clarity over what I want from my future career and
has opened doors. In addition, I now have an international network of people
involved in plant science research and have met several of the leading experts
in this field from lectures.
Accommodation
I heard from many
people before going on exchange that it can be challenging to find
accommodation in Wageningen, due to a general shortage of housing in the
Netherlands. Fortunately, I already had some friends living in Wageningen, so
was able to hear about and get a place for a room in Droevendaal, a cosy
alternative community student residence close to the campus. We had a lot of
shared dinners, jam sessions and time spent in the garden together. Idealis is
the main student housing association, so it is worth looking into their options
early to find a room.
Location
Wageningen itself is a
medium sized town, bigger than Ås, and surrounded by the Veluwe
National Park and the Rhein river, with lots of cycling and nature
opportunities. The nature is not as wild and rugged compared to Norway: there
are well maintained paths through the forest, and you are often not supposed to
leave those paths in order to protect the nature. It makes sense in a far more
population dense country with so few large, protected forests. It was nice to
see so many deciduous trees coming into bloom during the spring.
Extracurricular and
social life
The ESN (Erasmus
Student Network) had a lot of day trips and events during the semester, so it
was easy to get to know other international and internationally minded Dutch
students. Though I didn’t take part in many as I felt I already met enough
people through my house and courses. There are many are film screenings, open
lectures and sustainability workshops, and it’s not possible to go to
everything, so constant FOMO was something I had to get used to. I lived,
studied and became friends with people from all over the world, expanding my
perspective and understanding of cultural differences, languages and food. In
particular, there are a lot of Italian students, one of which I lived with,
meaning a lot of delicious food, passionate conversations around the dinner
table, and good wine.
Language and
Communication
Many courses are
entirely in English, and almost everyone on campus speaks it fluently. I learnt
a few Dutch words for fun and people appreciated it, but it’s not necessary to
speak much beyond basic greetings and food labels in the grocery store. It’s also
quite similar to Norwegian, which makes it much easier to learn.
Student visa
As a British citizen I
needed to pay €237 as a fee for a residence permit in the Netherlands, that I
picked up within a few weeks of arriving to the Netherlands. The process was
straightforward and the host university was very helpful in providing details
of how to register, deadlines and where to pick the permit up. I did not need an
entry visa like some non EU/EEA students do. EU/EEA citizens need neither an
entry visa nor residence permit.
Are you satisfied with
your exchange stay, and would you recommend other students to do the same?
Yes very much, I would
highly recommend other students to go on exchange. It opens a lot of doors and
gives a lot of new perspectives.
Was it difficult to get
the courses you wanted to take?
No, but it may be
challenging for courses with more limited places such as laboratory classes.
Did you get all your
courses approved when you returned home?
Yes
Are you satisfied with
the academic quality at the university?
Yes very much, high
quality courses and excellent lecturers.
How far did the funds
you received from the Lånekassen/Erasmusstipend go?
The Erasmus stipend
covered around 30% of the living costs.
Did you achieve what
you wanted by going on exchange?
Yes very much, I learnt
a lot, gained relevant skills, met a lot of people and made deep friendships,
and got to experience living in another country and culture.
Key words: Netherlands,
Wageningen University, Plant Sciences, Master Degree, Plant Sciences
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