“I’m feeling really good and part of the UL family.” 3 UL Erasmus students speak about the importance of digital connections
For many students, the idea of studying abroad is the highlight of their degree courses. With student mobility severely restricted last year, it’s hugely positive to see students able to set foot onto campuses in brand new countries. This cohort of international students are the first to trial a post-pandemic Erasmus experience, and support from others in their position is very much in demand. We spoke to three European students embarking on a journey abroad at the University of Limerick this semester.
Name: Simon
Home country: Belgium
Subject: Marketing
Bio: “Last year, I was studying a master’s degree in management/marketing in Louvain-la-Neuve. I love skiing and I’m hoping to go skiing after my Erasmus.”
Name: Pauline
Home country: Belgium
Subject: Business
Bio: “I’m an Erasmus student from HEC Liège, where I’m in my fourth year of business and law.”
Name: Rodrigo
Home country: Spain
Subject: Applied Languages
Bio: “I’m a musicologist, so the studies of Humanities I’m finishing at UL are my second bachelor’s degree. One of my favourite things is to play music in whatever group I belong to.”
Why did you choose to study at UL?
Pauline: “I love English speaking countries! Then, because of covid, I had to choose a European destination and thought Ireland would be nice. I’d seen lots of videos of UL’s campus on Youtube and it looked really nice. The website was also clear and appealing, which made me want to come here. There also seems to be a great student social scene.”
Simon: “My reasons were quite similar: I wanted an English-speaking country and Ireland seemed beautiful, with very friendly people.”
Rogdrigo: “For me, UL was the partner where my home university offered study abroad placements alongside studying English, all whilst finishing my bachelor’s degree in arts and humanities.”
What was it like to arrive in Limerick for the first time?
Rodrigo: “The university did a great job of making us feel welcome; I can’t think of anything more they could have done to help us to make friends of prepare for our arrival. I also appreciated the airport pick-up service!”
Simon: “My arrival was also pretty cool. So far, I’ve met a lot of other international Erasmus students. I’ve not experienced any culture shocks, and it’s craic to see all the different cultures meeting in one place.”
Pauline: “I had a really nice arrival in Limerick too. I loved that people from the University came to get us from Dublin airport, as it was a really long trip and getting there alone would have felt complicated and hectic. My apartment is nice and I met my roommates immediately, who are great. The campus is beautiful too – it was quite empty in my first week but more people are arriving now, so it’s cool.”
Do you think you have benefitted from the University providing the CampusConnect service?
Simon: “The CampusConnect app helped me to find some fellow Erasmus students, and now we’re in WhatsApp groups together. Without this app, I wouldn’t have had access to the groups, or known where to find them. My home university doesn’t have an app like CampusConnect, but I think it’d be very useful for all the students. I’m feeling really good and part of the UL family so far.”
Pauline: “CampusConnect is really great and was so helpful for me, especially because it’s unique to your university. I’ve never heard about anything like this – usually there might be a Whatsapp group but you only really create that once you get there and know people, so this app lays the foundations and helps you make the initial connections. It was also really useful to get information about travel and passenger locator forms. I had loads of questions to ask! I was in a group with people coming from Belgium so I could make connections with them. For me, the more groups, the better: country, accommodation, subjects…”
Rodrigo: “I’ve enjoyed seeing the virtual connections transform into real-life. I’ve been in touch with several people who were all very nice, and I now have a nice group of friends here who are a mixture of ages and nationalities. We still have some virtual meetings, but we’re used to communicating virtually now so it works well. I feel like I belong to UL now because of everything they have done to explain and help us to integrate.”
How do you feel about studying abroad during a pandemic?
Pauline: “I was a bit disheartened originally because I thought my Erasmus year would be the end of the pandemic, and I’ve learned that what I’ envisioned probably won’t be the case. There are still restrictions in place so I’m hoping it doesn’t limit the social side of my university experience. I’m still very grateful to be here and to be able to travel.”
Rodrigo: “I’m a mature student, so I don’t have the same hopes of going out and partying! I worked as a secondary school teacher in Spain, so I’ve experienced lockdown learning from the opposite point of view. We’re working quite normally now but just with safety measures, so it feels quite standard.”
Simon: “After everything that’s happened, I’m just so glad that we can go onto campus for the lectures and be face-to-face with peers and teachers. It’s going well up to now, so far so good.”
What are you most looking forward to about your exchange?
Rodrigo: “I’m excited to share my own culture, such as everything related to the way of socialising in Spain. I think Spaniards are usually open-minded and always try to socialise with other people. I’d like to show our nourishing recipes to other international students, like the famous Spanish omelette and other “tapas” and “pinchos”.
Pauline: “I’m looking forward to meeting other people, hopefully both international friends and friends from Ireland. It’s so valuable to have international friends and I can’t wait for it. I’d like to say partying a lot, but we’ll see how that goes. I’d like to travel a lot too, although I’ll have to do some research as I don’t have a car here!”
Simon: “I’m also hoping to improve my English and meet new people. It will be great to have new experiences, make new memories and see what Ireland has to offer.”
Despite the challenges faced already and the uncertainty around what this year might look like, connecting with others is keeping these students’ spirits up. Pauline told us how CampusConnect has facilitated this: “I’ve talked with some people and maybe we’ll meet up. In the group for Belgian students, there was a lot of football chat, and we even went to watch a game together!”
