#MyUGStory: My BSc Chemical Engineering Journey at University of Groningen
My University of Groningen Story
How Did I find the University of Groningen?
So how did my search begin for this university? Well, it started off by looking at universities all across the country offering this course with the help of trusty Google. I joined alot of student forums like Student Room, spoke to senior students and other Indian students studying in Groningen through Facebook groups and read many top blogposts (because I was too lazy to press the 'next page' button at the bottom of the Google search results). You see, I have always been a city girl (childhood in Eindhoven, teenage years in Mumbai) and I wanted to see what life would be like in a smaller town. Groningen has so much to offer and I was really surprised to see that the university was so highly ranked - within the top 100 across several published ranking systems around the world (because Asian parents love those ranks, right?).
I absolutely love science! When I found out that there are so many celebrated scientists who have done work / been students / professors here, I was really excited as I was told by senior students that the student associations (de Chemische Binding) take us on excursions to see the different factories nearby to see what we have been learning from the books in the lectures, which I found very engaging because I could actually see what I was studying from diagrams in the book in real life. For me, that was one of the biggest points that stood out from other universities in Netherlands.
What's Groningen as a city like?
I had to choose which university I wanted to go to for the next 3-4 years, without even seeing the place beforehand because a 12-hour journey to Netherlands from India wasn't a very smart idea. No number of photos, videos on YouTube really prepared me for what to expect. But luckily, this dynamic city welcomed me with open arms and I very quickly adapted much to my surprise. I fell in love with this city as soon as I discovered that this city is a melting pot of cultures. There are people from all across Asia, Europe, United States of America and Australia, you can find anybody from anywhere and it's so nice to meet new people and make new friends! Also, this city if very student friendly which means that there are people aged between 20-21 years old and that is the average age of the city! It’s a very young city! Funny story is in the first few weeks, when I was trying out new eateries in the city one of my classmates was working behind the till! Another fun fact about the city is that it's a biking city! So if you want to get around from one place to another AND get your workouts done, its the best way! Lastly, this city is a hybrid of modern and traditional architecture. On one side you will see glass buildings, and on the other side you will see traditional, stone buildings and its so beautiful.
What is 1st Year of Chemical Engineering like?
I am a very honest person (or, I've just become more blunt living here for so long), so I am just going to tell you truthfully that I found Chemical Engineering in the 1st year was a little tough. I felt a gap between transitioning from high school to university lifestyle, but I was really lucky because I took the help of the study advisors on campus, as I didn't make close friends immediately. The study advisors are very sweet and understanding, you can go talk to them about anything and they will happily help you out and solve any problems for you.
So, in our course 1st Year BSc Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are combined, which means that I had friends from a different study but we shared the same classes. Thus, I made a lot of new friends along the way who were from a different study, so we had a different perspective on the same question/problem, and I learned alot from them. Since the university is so highly ranked, there was a lot of pressure on us students to cope with the course pace and get your grades at the same time. The only one drawback of last year was that we had a BSA requirement, which meant that we had to clear 45/60 credits (ECTS) to pass the first year. That meant alot of pressure for me because I was trying to settle down to a new country, I was also trying to make new friends, my new course scheduling and at the same time the added pressure of passing my courses just to clear the 1st year and all of this really triggered my stress and anxiety, as I was having a really tough time coping. But with the help and support of the study advisors and the university I managed to get through all of that and keep it behind me and I passed the first year!!!
Alot of people warned me before coming here that I might feel lonely or feel sad because of the change of weather and the sudden added responsibilities, but I think I really enjoyed the 1st year mainly because I was living in a student house. I was living with a lot of people who were just in the same boat as me. That's probably why we clicked so easily and became a new family. I also made friends with people form the Indian Association and we would have dinners every Friday night. We would cook together and watch Bollywood movies which also got rid of the homesickness, which was also really nice. I did join a dance lesson, I went for the ESN week where I made more friends, I went for excursion by the university and I also joined the Dutch Language course offered by the university which really helped me in talking to the people at the grocery store and the marketplace because I felt a lot more Dutch.
Although there are a lot of good things about the city and university, there are a couple of bad things. Firstly, I noticed that the Dutch students tend to be in groups amongst themselves. However, they will welcome you with open arms if you approach them, and once you get to know them, they are probably the sweetest people you have met. Also, I had personal struggles figuring out the system of the bank and the hospital while at the same time I had classes to attend and a lot of activities. So for me it was a bit overwhelming, but I just managed my time well and I had the support of my friends.
So, in our course 1st Year BSc Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are combined, which means that I had friends from a different study but we shared the same classes. Thus, I made a lot of new friends along the way who were from a different study, so we had a different perspective on the same question/problem, and I learned alot from them. Since the university is so highly ranked, there was a lot of pressure on us students to cope with the course pace and get your grades at the same time. The only one drawback of last year was that we had a BSA requirement, which meant that we had to clear 45/60 credits (ECTS) to pass the first year. That meant alot of pressure for me because I was trying to settle down to a new country, I was also trying to make new friends, my new course scheduling and at the same time the added pressure of passing my courses just to clear the 1st year and all of this really triggered my stress and anxiety, as I was having a really tough time coping. But with the help and support of the study advisors and the university I managed to get through all of that and keep it behind me and I passed the first year!!!
How is 2nd Year of Chemical Engineering so far?
I hope this was helpful!
Until next time,
Samudraki.
Watch the video below by University of Groningen!
#UniversityofGroningen #UniversityStudentLife #myUGstory
Useful Links:
https://www.rug.nl/about-us/where-do-we-stand/rankings?lang=en
https://www.rug.nl/bachelors/in-english
https://www.rug.nl/bachelors/chemical-engineering/
https://www.chemische-binding.nl/home
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