Erasmus at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, a Report by an Information Systems Undergraduate
This is my report for the year abroad I spent in Madrid during the winter term 2021/22 and the summer term 2022.
Even before I started my Bachelor's degree in Business Information Systems, I knew that I would eventually spend a semester abroad. In fact, one of the reasons why I chose to study at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) was the excellent choice of partner universities offered by the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics as well as IS:link.
Because of my affinity for the Spanish language and Latin American culture, which I have always had, I had originally planned to go to the IS:link partner university in Bogotá, Colombia. Although my application for this university was accepted by IS:link, due to the fact that communication with the host university was very slow after the nomination by IS:link (probably due to the pandemic), I finally decided to pursue my second choice and go to the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), or more precisely the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Sistemas Informáticos (ETSISI).
I would like to use this report to reflect on my stay abroad, which is now coming to an end, and to take the opportunity to share my impressions with other students who are interested in studying abroad at this university, and also to give them some tips on how to make the most of their experience.
Preparation
I contacted IS:link for the first time many semesters before my departure to make sure that my stay abroad would happen sooner or later. The SITM staff will do their best to help you. However, there were times when I struggled with the Learning Agreement, the document that defines how the courses at the host university are credited to the UDE. The biggest headache was that I had to translate many of the UPM course descriptions, most of which are only available in Spanish, into German so that IS:link could check whether each subject could be accredited at the UDE. All in all, however, the process went well.
The International Office of ETSISI, on the other hand, was always extremely courteous. Responses to my queries from the local coordinator have been lightning fast and uncomplicated solutions to problems have been found. As there aren't that many compulsory electives in the advanced studies of my Bachelor's degree, I only had a few options to choose from. In the end, I did my entire specialisation here, the Studium Liberale and two compulsory subjects, which I can have credited one-to-one to the UDE.
Since I really wanted to stay here for a year, but didn't want to "lose" any time by taking too few subjects, I took two subjects online at the UDE during the winter semester. Since the education in Essen was almost exclusively distance learning anyway, this was possible without any major problems.
Accommodation
Rents here in Madrid are extremely expensive compared to Essen. Some of my fellow students here pay more than €600 a month for tiny rooms in the city centre, including utilities. Since the Erasmus+ grant is currently far too small at €390, I decided not to move into such an overpriced room.
Instead, I live in a shared flat with three flatmates outside the city centre, but still within the Madrid municipal area, in the heart of the Vicálvaro neighbourhood. Depending on the month, I've been paying between €360 and €375 (we've had to use the heating occasionally in the winter). I found the room through the Aluni agency. I chose this particular one because it was recommended on the website of the partner university.
My room is quite big at 12 m². I also have my own balcony, which is only accessible from my room. The large living room in the apartment has also helped me to get to know my flatmates. Some of them have even become good friends of mine, which I'm very happy about.
Another advantage of living in Vicálvaro is its proximity to the university, since Campus Sur, where ETSISI is located, is in the Vallecas district. It takes me about 30 minutes to walk to the university if I walk very slowly, or about 25 minutes by bus.
I would advise against staying in Vallecas as it is an area known in Madrid for being very unsafe. I think Vicálvaro is a good alternative as it is within walking distance of the university, has a good reputation for safety and is well connected to public transport.
Transport
One of the great things about Madrid is the excellent public transport system. The metro network is huge and covers the city very well. When I was looking for an apartment, it was very important for me to be close to a metro station. However, as there is an express bus that takes me into the city much faster than the metro, I use it more often. In addition to the metro, there is also a bus network (EMT Madrid) and a suburban train network (Cercanías). My suburban train station is about a 15-minute walk or two metro stops from my apartment. Depending on where you want to go, it may be a good idea to take the suburban train as it covers medium distances better with its few stops than the metro with its many stops.
There are no semester tickets. Instead, if you are under 25, you can buy a monthly travel pass, which currently costs €20 per month. With this card, you can travel as much as you like throughout the entire Autonomous Community of Madrid.
Studying at ETSISI
Once you get used to it, studying in Spain is a lot of fun. However, the beginning of the semester is much more chaotic than in Germany. This is partly due to the fact that during the first few weeks of my stay, the UPM apparently switched from hybrid to face-to-face teaching, which means that all my courses are face-to-face. The teachers were also a bit surprised, but after a few weeks the situation settled down and everything went more smoothly.
What I like about ETSISI is that everything seems more familiar here. It is quite a small faculty. You see the same people all the time and the teachers know you by name and say hello to you in the corridor.
In general, I have the feeling that the university here is more like a German Fachhochschule. Not only do you have exams, but you also have a lot of assignments throughout the semester, which are usually quite complex and make up a large part of your grade. As a general rule of thumb, 50% of the grade is based on practical work and the other 50% on exams. I have found that this system helps me to work much more continuously for the university during the semester, which is also reflected in the relatively good grades I have got here.
What you should be prepared for is that the marking of the exams is very strict. Small mistakes are sometimes punished disproportionately, so make sure you are as precise as possible during the exam to avoid getting a bad grade.
There are a few courses that are taught in English. I took two of them to save myself the trouble of translating the course descriptions for these subjects (see the Preparation section). However, I tried to avoid these courses so that I could meet other Spanish students and not get stuck in an 'Erasmus bubble', moving around the campus in complete isolation. After all, you come to Spain to experience Spanish culture, which includes the language. You should also be aware that many of the teachers here have only a very rudimentary knowledge of English, so some of the material may contain quite a few grammatical errors, which can be irritating when studying.
Conclusion
To sum up, I've had a lot of great experiences here in Madrid that I wouldn't want to miss. I feel very much at home in the Spanish culture and have made many friends here that I hope to keep in touch with for many years to come. Madrid is just a great city with so much to offer, so I would recommend staying here to anyone who wants to get involved.