Travel report Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University Master’s Exchange, Fall 2015

Student number: 362340 Aalto University School of Business

I spent the fall term 2015 in a master’s exchange in Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) at Erasmus University. In this report I try to cover useful information about my studies and Rotterdam, as well as give some practical tips for future exchange students considering RSM as their exchange location. 1. Preparing for the exchange 1.1. Before the exchange For a Finnish student the application process to RSM is very simple. After being accepted to the school by Aalto, the exchange programme manager Ellen Vermeulen first contacted by e-mail about the deadlines and practicalities in mid-April. The only documents needed for an EU student were a passport-sized photo, copy of your passport, official study transcript and a proof of English proficiency, which we’re all downloaded to an online application form. In addition, you needed to fill in applications for the Student ID, possible VISA and course registrations. Deadline for the application was on May 15th and I got the official letter of acceptance at the end of May. I received the login credentials for the online platforms in June and the course registrations had to be made by the end of July. There was some confusion about the deadline as we weren’t allowed to pick overlapping courses but the class schedules were published very late. Exchange students were registered to the courses by RSM. You only needed to make sure that the classes don’t overlap and they are accepted by Aalto’s own international office. It was possible to drop courses later but otherwise the course selection made in the summer was final. 1.2. Finding accommodation One thing to note is that it is important to start looking for accommodation in Rotterdam early on - even before receiving the official acceptance letter - as the housing situation is quite tough. There is not enough on-campus accommodation for all international students and rooms had for exchange students had ran out already before I received the first e-mail from RSM. On-campus housing is provided by SSH and the rooms in the Hatta building seemed to be in very good condition, so even though the rent is quite high it would probably be the easiest place to live at. I was lucky to find a very nice room with one roommate through a website called housinganywhere.com where other students rent out their own rooms, and you can pay your deposit safely despite not being able to see the room first. I heard many others also found their 2

accommodation this way as most of my friends lived off-campus. Other options include online platform Nestpick, Facebook groups or the Student Hotel. If you’re trying to find accommodation outside the campus, Kralingen is the most popular area among students as it is very close both to the university and the city center. It is also very pretty with lots of parks and an artificial lake. I felt that most areas were quite safe in Rotterdam, but the Southern side of the city, Rotterdam Zuid, had a worse reputation. 1.3. Arriving in Rotterdam I flew to the Netherlands on August 23rd to have some time to settle before the school started. The flight to Schiphol Airport from Helsinki is usually a bit over two hours long. The flights cost me around 200 euros in total as I booked them a few months in advance. Erasmus University arranges a free pick-up service for international students from the airport that you could register for in advance. Unfortunately, there was no service offered on the day I arrived, so I simply took the train from the airport to Rotterdam and a taxi from the Central Station to my apartment. It is rather easy to get to Rotterdam even by yourself, as the trains run straight from the airport several times in an hour. If you take the fastest train the travel time is only 25 minutes, with the slower ones it takes around 50 minutes. If you stay in the Netherlands for more than four months you need to register at the City Hall. As I stayed in the country a few days less, I decided not to do so to avoid the process. All exchange students were required to have health insurance but as an EU citizen I only had my European Health Insurance Card. Most exchange students got their mobile phones a prepaid SIM card from a provider called Lebara, as it was probably the cheapest one. 2. Exchange studies The semester started with a compulsory introduction day on 28th of August where exchange students got practical information, toured the city and got to eat traditional Dutch food. All exchange students are also assigned a RSM student as a buddy, who can help you with practical stuff in the beginning. There was a possibility to do an intensive Dutch course before the semester started, but I decided not to participate. Master’s studies in RSM are divided into five blocks and there are two blocks during the fall semester. The first block lasted from August 31st to October 23rd (including exams) and the second 3

block from October 26th to December 18th. During the fall, all courses offered are so called “core courses” of the master’s programmes and they are all taught in English. Courses vary from 4 to 6 ECTS and as local students are required to do 20 ECTS during the fall term, so quite many exchange students had to do a bit more than normal students. I completed 24 ECTS during my exchange. There were quite many courses to choose from and it was possible to pick them from several different majors. The easiest thing to do is to take courses from the same major in each block, as otherwise it can be a bit challenging to find courses that don’t overlap. RSM also offered exchange students the possibility to participate in International Consultancy Project, worth 10 ECTS, but I chose not to take it. The project seemed to take quite a lot of time, but would probably be very useful if you’re interested in management consulting as a profession. I completed three courses in accounting, one in marketing and one in business ethics. The courses in general were good and I felt students were more active in participation than in Finland. Almost all courses included presentations or group projects, so the workload was quite large, but I think most Aalto students are already used to this and I personally spent less time studying than I would have at home. Of course this depends on the structure of your studies and how you manage your time. BM01AFM-15 Financial Information and Decision Making Graduate, 5 ECTS Evaluation: 70% exam, 30% group case assignments Lecturer: dr. P. Perego The course focused on different aspects of management accounting and how financial information, together with non-financial information, can be used in strategic decision making. If you have studied management accounting at Aalto, you will find the content familiar, but besides the calculations this course goes deeper in theory and different aspects of decision making. The course consisted of seven lectures and six smaller workshops, of which you could only skip some. My other two accounting courses also had similar course formats. There were two case assignments to be done in groups of four students and one presentation that was not graded. Overall, I liked the course and the lectures by professor Perego. In the exam you needed to know the topics quite well, but overall the workload was not too demanding. 4

BM02AFM-15 International Financial Reporting Graduate, 6 ECTS Evaluation: 60% exam, 30% group case assignments, 5% presentation, 5% individual homework Lecturer: prof. dr. E. Roelofsen The course focused on some chosen topics inside the IFRS regulation, such as revenue recognition, financial instruments and impairment testing. The topics itself were rather boring, but the content was very useful to know if you want learn how to analyze financial statements thoroughly. I wouldn’t recommend the course if you haven’t studied any accounting other than the introductory course at Aalto, though. The assignments focused more on the application of the rules in more practical situations and I felt they gave additional value and also helped studying for the exam. To succeed in the test, you had to know the content quite well and reading the book was almost obligatory. Luckily, I was able to share the expensive textbook with my workgroup. Overall, the workload during the course was average but I would recommend starting to study for the exam early on. BM03AFM-15 Management Control Graduate, 6 ECTS Evaluation: 60% exam, 20% cases, 20% presentation Lecturer: dr. M. van Rinsum This course focused on management incentives, performance measurement and design of management control systems. I found the topic and lectures quite interesting and felt that the course as a whole required less work than the other two accounting courses I took. During the workshops every group had to give a presentation on a paper or a case and in addition, there were two more practical cases to hand in. An optional Control Event where students could participate in case assignments with actual companies was also arranged. The exam was based on 10 academic papers and the lectures, which you had to know quite well. BM04MM-15 Marketing Strategy Graduate, 6 ECTS Evaluation: 30% case exam, 30% individual cases, 40% group cases Lecturer: prof. dr. S. Puntoni

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The course was lectured by professor Puntoni and I generally really enjoyed his lectures, which were insightful, interactive and full of practical examples. The lectures focused on different strategy tools and aspects of creating value for customers, and even though I haven’t studied any marketing at all I found them generally interesting. There was not too much theoretical content and the course was mostly based on different real life cases. Workload during the course was average, as there were two bigger group assignments and two individual cases to hand in. Though the course had a lot of readings, none of them were really needed in the exam as it was also based on a case. BM03FI-15 Business Ethics Graduate, 1 ECTS Evaluation: None, only included two compulsory lectures Lecturer: Martijn de Kiewit I originally picked this course only to fill the requirement of 24 ECTS, but I was positively surprised. The course had only two compulsory lectures, given by an ethics and compliance manager from KPMG, no assignments and no test. The topics focused mostly on the more practical side of business ethics in finance and the lecturer was able to make the topic very interesting with real-life examples and cases. If you’re at all interested I fully recommend this course, as workload was non-existent.

Views from Rotterdam: The famous Erasmus Bridge and the university campus

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3. Free time and other information 3.1. Good to know about Rotterdam In general, the Netherlands is quite similar to Finland and I experienced no culture shock at all. Dutch people speak fluent English and are very open and direct in their communication so if you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask. The weather is rainy and windy during the fall, but I was lucky as it was exceptionally warm during my stay. The weather also changes very quickly so be prepared to experience sun, thunderstorm, rain and wind during the same day. Rotterdam is a vibrant and multicultural city located very close to the Atlantic sea and famous for its port which is the largest in Europe. It differs greatly from most Dutch cities, as it was bombed during the World War II and therefore architecture is very modern and experimental. By population Rotterdam is about the same size as Helsinki, but feels much smaller as distances are shorter and you can easily bike around the whole city. The vibe in general is very international and there are a lot of different ethnic restaurants, which I recommend to try. Nobody was ever surprised if you spoke to them in English. The public transport in Rotterdam is arranged by RET, but like most students I biked most of the time and only used the tram and metro when weather was very bad. I would still advise to buy a loadable OV Chipcard that can also be used in long-distance trains. No public transport runs later than 1 AM during the night, which makes biking to bars a good option to get home safely and fast. Getting a bike makes travelling cheaper, faster and easier so it makes a lot of sense to buy one. One thing to note is that many places (for example the biggest supermarket chain Albert Heijn) do not accept international credit cards, so unless you open a Dutch bank account be prepared to carry cash with you all times. 3.2. Cost of living Living costs in the Netherlands are a bit lower than in Finland, but the difference is not remarkable. Food, both in supermarkets and in restaurants, is cheaper, but the biggest difference is in alcohol prices. In student parties a beer often cost around 2.50€ and even in nicer bars you can get a wine glass for four euros. However, no student priced meals are offered and most students (and most Dutch people in general) just ate homemade sandwiches for lunch during lectures. Eating out in a better restaurant costs on average a bit less than in Finland, but it is possible to find very cheap 7

options too. One good way to save money is to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and toiletries from the outdoor market which is arranged every Tuesday and Saturday near Blaak metro station. Rents, public transport and clothes were about as expensive as back home and the rent for a room varies typically around 400€ to 700€. I bought one textbook during my studies and the price of study materials largely depends on the courses you pick. Exchange students could also buy a relatively cheap sports pass for four months for a total of 65 €. In general, I would budget the same amount of money for living as in Finland plus some extra for travelling.

Some Dutch delicacies: Beer and fries with mayonnaise 3.3. Free time Free time activities are arranged by ESN Rotterdam and some other student organizations. There were parties and other events, such as sports tournaments, trips or food events, almost every week. I participated in some of their events but for the most part me and my friends went out and arranged activities on our own. There are also a lot of events held in Rotterdam and I encourage to keep your eyes open for interesting things to do, such as flea markets or festivals, on Facebook. In my opinion, RSM could have arranged some more social activities with the business school exchange students. After the introduction day all events were arranged by ESN where all international students could participate which is why I feel that RSM exchange students partly lacked a team spirit. It is important to be active yourself, both during the social events and the courses, especially in the beginning. 8

Nightlife in Rotterdam is quite lively and there is something going on almost every day of the week. In my opinion the nicest bars were on a street called Witte de Withstraat which is located on an artsy area and has a very cool atmosphere. ESN also arranges a weekly party on Tuesdays at a club called BED. Personally I didn’t like the club very much but it was a good place to meet other international students. In general, the Dutch like to sit in pubs a lot and have a drink even during normal working days and I really enjoyed the more relaxed drinking culture. There are also nice local pubs in Kralingen and an area called Oude Haven and a very cheap bar on campus. Besides studying or partying, a good way to meet local students is to take part in a sports team. I participated in a university running club and met very nice people who immediately included me in the group and their events. The artificial lake Kralingse Plas is a very nice location for running and the gym and other sports facilities in the school are generally very good. If Rotterdam gets boring, travelling around the Netherlands is very easy as train connections between cities are frequent and distances are short. I visited Amsterdam several times, The Hague, Utrecht and a cute little town called Delft, but there would have been many other places to see too. Rotterdam is also conveniently located regarding travelling in Europe, as there are train connections to Brussels and Paris, for example. I travelled to Antwerp and Brussels in Belgium and recommend visiting both cities (one way to Brussels is about 20€ and 2 hours by train).

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4. Final comments I really enjoyed my stay in Rotterdam and Erasmus University. The city is very lively, international and open and there is a lot to see and do. It is also very easy for a Finn to settle in the Netherlands. If you’re looking for something very exotic or warm for your exchange or don’t want to study much, Rotterdam is obviously not the right choice. But if you want to go to a high quality business school in Europe, I can fully recommend RSM. At least the courses I picked were good and both the teachers and students were very motivated, which I personally really liked. During my stay, I learned a lot both in terms of my studies and as a person. No matter how clichéd it is, the best thing in studying abroad is meeting and working with different people from all around the world. I feel that I gained a lot of confidence that I can survive by myself in unfamiliar situations. For example, working abroad feels a lot more appealing now than before. One realization was also that Aalto students are just as capable as students from very good schools around the world. There isn’t many things I would do differently if I went to the same university again, but maybe I would try to be more active from day one in meeting Dutch students, travelling a bit more and stressing less about the studies. All in all, my exchange was a very good experience and I can recommend studying abroad for everybody.

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