Introduction

• What is Erasmus?



• Where can you go?



• What are the advantages of Erasmus?



• Are there any disadvantages?

 

 

 

 

 

What is Erasmus?

All students in Applied Computational Linguistics must, as part of the course, partake in the Erasmus year. It is obligatory for all students to study abroad in their third year. During this Erasmus year students attend a host university and experience the different rules and customs there. They attend various lectures and, as here in Ireland, must pass all these courses to proceed with their study. They also have the perfect opportunity to integrate themselves in the social and cultural life of the host country.

Where can you go?

Where you can go obviously depends on what language you are studying. There are a number of possible destinations in Germany, Austria, France and Spain. DCU remains in close contact with these host universities. Information regarding the German cities that we visited can be found here

Advantages

• It gives students the opportunity to experience a new culture. For most students the Erasmus year abroad is the first time that they live away from home and so it gives these students the chance to be more independent and perhaps more confident.
• I personally thing that one of the best aspects of the Erasmus year is the people that you meet. All Erasmus students are in exactly the same situation and so do everything together. This makes for great fun with some lovely people.
• Another important academic advantage of Erasmus if obviously the chance to improve your knowledge of the foreign language.
• The opportunities to travel when you are based in Central Europe are great and exciting and also alot cheaper than they are in Ireland.
• Erasmus is a year for lots and lots of fun, new experiences and language improval.

Disadvantages

I personally found no disadvantes with the Erasmus year. There are however some initial obstacles and in the beginning it can be difficult being in a strange country and university. We speak about these difficulties later on in the Burocracy section. On the whole however Erasmus is a fantastic and enjoyable year.