Field of study in Wageningen: Nutrition and Health
Study period exchange: 09/01/2023 – 19/05/2023
Country (exchange): Frankrijk
City (exchange): Toulouse
University (exchange): École d’Ingénieurs de PURPAN
2. Motivation for exchange
Why did you choose to go on study exchange?
I wanted to have more experience with different cultures and I wanted to go abroad and have another environment with new and unfamiliar places.
What is the reason you chose for this country/university?
I wanted to go to a country in the south of Europe, because I always liked this life style. I also wanted to go to a big city to study that offers many events and cultural activities. The program of the university of Purpan fitted good with my interest, so that’s why I chose to go to Toulouse.
3. Accessibility to reach destination
Do you have any tips to reach your exchange destination?
When I travelled to Toulouse I went by plane, because I didn’t have enough time to travel using other transportation. But I know a lot of people that went by train and people said that it was very easy.
4. University and studying
Could you provide some general information about the followed courses?
How is the study formalized?
The academic level is lower than what I’m used to in Wageningen. This can also be due to the fact that this program is still developing, because it’s introduced very recently. That’s why I would say that the workload is low compared to the Wageningen University. The study contains a lot of groupwork instead of individual work and the study forms are most of the time active.
What is the culture of the university?
I did the program with international students and French students. I was in this class for the whole semester, so there was much contact between internationals and French students. The lecturers and student coordinators were also very invested and very welcoming.
What does the university offer the student additionally?
Housing
5. Housing-travelling-living
What are the possibilities for housing?
The university has no campus but has some relations with housing organizations. I applied for this and I then got a room. This all went very efficiently.
What is the culture of the country like?
People from the south of France are very inviting with everything. So you immediately feel very welcome. French people stuck to their culture with their traditions. Like eating meat for example. So there are not so many vegetarian options sometimes.
Could you give a general price indication of the place of residence compared to living in Wageningen?
I paid 245 for rent and the costs for groceries were a little bit higher compared to the Netherlands, but besides that the price of residence is comparable
Could you give some information about public transport infrastructure?
I always used my bike if I needed to the university or somewhere else. So I didn’t need a card for public transport, but other people did. It was 1,60 for one ride and you could also chose to get an abonnement.
6. Free time
What are must-sees in the area?
There are a lot of small towns around Toulouse, which are very nice to visit. Most of them are reachable by train. The regional trains in the first weekend of the moth are sometimes 1 euro, so it’s nice to plan your trip in this weekend. I went to the Pyrenees three times for hikes and for skiing, but therefore you need a car or you can go by bus. In general it is very easy to go somewhere and you don’t have to plan your trip in advance.
What does not appear in the travel guide, but is worth a visit?
There is a cable car in Toulouse which you can take by using your public transport card and it’s worth to visit, because you can see the whole city from above. On top of the mountain there is a park where you can see the sunset.
Do you have general tips and tricks about leisure time?
I really liked the street food restaurants, because these restaurants were very cheap and there were a lot of vegetarian options. There are so many street food places, so it’s hard to say my favourite one. This is the same for going out. There are a lot of bars and clubs and everyone likes something else, so it is easy to figure it out yourself.
7. Challenges & best moment abroad
What was a challenge you have experienced?
The language was sometimes a challenge. It was easy to talk in English at school, but it was hard to improve the French language unless you were very motivated and took a French course.
What was your best memory abroad?
Doing trips and activities with the most amazing people I met. I did a few trips and my favourite trip was the trip to Biarritz. I went there with a few friends and we surfed and had the best time there.
8. Contact details
Would you like to ask Jet more questions about her exchange?
Send her a mail: jet.vanderspiegel@wur.nl
