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Universidad de Guadalajara

Mexico 2019/2020 Partner universities

Personal data
Mobility type:
study

Faculty at MU:
Faculty of Economics and Administration

Field of study:
Economic Policy

Level of study during period of placement:
Master

Language used:
Spanish

Summer/winter school?:
no

Period of studies:
spring 2020

Period of placement (from-to):
2020-01-15 - 2020-06-15

Number of months:
5.00

Activities before my departure abroad
Where can information be found about courses taught at the foreign school?:
University pages; they sent everything relevant by e-mail.

Which documents were needed for acceptance at the foreign university?:
CV, motivation letter, recommendation letter, passport copy, transcript of records, language certificate

How far ahead did you have to organise your acceptance?:
5 months ahead

Did you need a visa?:
yes

Documents and materials needed for a visa:
tourist visa on arrival for 180 days, no special documents necessary

Length of wait for visa:
-

Fee for the visa:
-

Studies
Did you have a Learning Agreement signed before your departure?:
yes

If not, why not?:

Before your departure did you know how your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
yes

During your stay did you change your Learning Agreement?:
yes

When and how did course registration take place? Are there any restrictions? Possibilities of making changes?:
officially changes are allowed only for special cases and during the first 3 days of semestre - in reality everyone was changing everything and they extended the deadline twice to approx. the first two weeks

Did you take any examinations at the foreign school?:
yes

Does the school use the ECTS system?:
no

If not then explain how the credits there were recalculated into ECTS:
ECON faculty has it own table to trasfer the credits and final evaluation, ask the ECON coordinator to send it to you :)

Describe the teaching methods (theory, practical and projects) and assessment of students:
classes were led mostly as discussions (= a lot of talking), homework was common but usually very simple (e.g. googling a simple statistic), presentations and mid-terms were common as well, 80% attendance necessary

Quality of teaching in comparison with home school:
lower

How did you receive study materials?:
directly from the teachers, ocassionaly from classmates

Can you recommend an interesting course/subject/teacher?:
Diferencias Culturales, Comunicacion para los negocios - you will receive a list of courses taught in english but beware, they are often taught in spanish anyway

How well is the school library equipped?:
well-equiped however isn't very english friendly

Availability of computers, internet access, level of software needed, requirements on notebook:
there are computers available in the library

Options from printing and copying:
on the campus

Does the foreign school/student organisation arrange special events for exchange students?:
yes

If yes then what?:
CUCEA doesn't as far as I know, CUCSH organizes various events - sightseeing in GDL, trips to Tlaquepaque, Tequila, ...
Trips with Connexion were popular too but in my opinion rather expensive
I got recommended mar-iguana tours but haven't the chance to travel with them :)

How would you assess your integration with the local students (evaluation like in school from 1 to 5 with 1 as highest):
5

or describe in your own words:
everybody is very friendly even if you don't speak a common language, they will find a way to talk to you

Practical questions on your placement
Where did you live?:
Private accomodation - a shared room in a house, it was located in Jardines Alcalde, this zone felt pretty safe

Cost of accommodation - monthly:
100 EUR

Additional comments to the price of accommodation (as to what the price includes):
the price included everything except water barrels, which we paid for separately

Describe the equipment. Tips for future students – what should they bring with them?:
my accomodation was furnished well, I missed nothing
don't forget to bring an adapter for the mexican sockets :)

How and how far ahead should accommodation be organised?:
i had mine a month or two before arrival, however some people were staying in a hostel/airbnb the first week or two and found accomodation after arrived

What are the catering options?:
there's plenty of streetfood but you need to know where to go, cheaper places also include fastfoods and taquerias, there's a canteen and buffets on the CUCEA campus

What are the rough costs of groceries (compare with Czech prices):
comparable with czech prices or slightly cheaper

Transport to location of placement:
I was mostly using buses, sometimes metro - you will need to use public transport as the city is enormous
At night I recommend using Grab or Didi, it's the safest option

Rough prices for transportation:
Bus 7 pesos per ride, metro costs 10 pesos

Tips for purchasing cheap tickets and other recommendations:
you can get student discount on campus to have cheaper bus fare however you would need to stand in a very long queue (i didn't do it)

What are the local transport options (public transport, cycling, on foot, rough prices):
if you stay directly in the center and go out at night you can walk, otherwise you'll need to use bus/metro/uber

What kind of formalities have to be arranged before arrival, for example residence permit?:
I dealt with everything after arrival, the university sent us an information e-mail with all info needed

What health insurance did you use? (rough price, advantages, disadvantages, is it necessary to arrange insurance at the university other than your home (Czech) insurance?):
UNION - 180€ for students fro 180 days

Did you have any experience with medical treatment abroad?:
only a small stomach issue, I went to the university doctor at CUCEA campus, it was fast, I got medication and a paper to justify my absence at school

Did you work during your studies?:
no, it's not allowed

What are the conditions for working for MU students?:
-

Tips for free-time activities:
Tlaquepaque, Tequila, Puerto Vallarta, Ajijic, Mazamitla, Huasteca San Luis Potosi, Yucatan, Oaxaca

Financial support and expenses
Total grant from Centre for International Cooperation:
100000 CZK

Monthly grant in CZK:
20000 CZK

Number of supported months:
5

Total number of months:
5

What other sources did you make use of to finance your placement?:
personal savings, the scholarship arrived approximately month after my arrival to mexico

If you received another grant, state which and how much in CZK:

 
Total fees associated with enrolment at the university:
70 MXN

a/ amount of enrolment fee:
70 MXN

b/ amount of tuition fees:
0 MXN

c/ amount of other fees (which):
0 MXN

 
What was your average monthly expenditure?:
8000 MXN

a/ of which for accommodation:
2500 MXN

b/ of which for catering:
2500 MXN

c/ travel and recreation:
3000 MXN

Any comments to the average monthly expenditure:

Recognition of foreign studies at the home faculty
How many credits did you gain during your studies (in the system of the foreign school)?:
32

How many ECTS credits were recognised at MU?:
20

Did you know in advance which of your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
yes

What problems did you have with recognition?:
none

Overall assessment
Assessment of personal benefit (1 = excellent):
1

Assessment of academic benefit (1 = excellent):
3

Evaluate the information and support provided by the foreign school (1 = excellent):
2

Did you encounter any serious problems during your stay:
my backpack was stolen once when I had it just put next to me and didn't pay much attention to it or to my surroundings - always be aware of your possessions and your surroundings
I also had an issue with my landlord who didn't like that I had a guest over, however we managed to talk it over

What would you recommend to take with you:
a socket adapter and a thin waistbag that you can hide under your clothes and where you can put your money, phone, ID, etc. - thanks to this I didn't lose anything valuable when my backpack was stolen

What most surprised you at the partner university in a positive way:
how friendly everybody was even when there was a big language barrier at the beginning

What most surprised you at the partner university in a negative way:
the inefficiency of the classes - some things that took 60-90mins could easily be done in 10-20mins

Further comments:
My instragram is eerymarymoe - if you wanna see some photos or ask a question, feel free to use it :)