How we see the way of teaching…

We come from different countries all over the Europe and the ways of teaching in our universities differ from what we’re experiencing here. We have 6 Dutch students in our group and the IBEX program is new for them as well.

The Dutch student’s opinion:

Probably, you all know how hard some subjects are to study when you do your normal course: you have to prepare thoroughly for your exams; school projects usually take a lot of time, there are tons of homework and etc. With IBEX it’s more about freedom than doing things within a strict schedule. Within the IBEX project we are allowed to make our own decision on how we want things to be done. That means that we are having additional challenges.

Normal courses usually have a lot of study hours; weeks seem to be very long and boring. Within IBEX instead of those “long” days you have the shorter ones which are full of practice and interactive lectures.

Teachers explain theory in more practical and appearing manner. This allows us to put what we’ve learned into practice - in our project.

Meeting new people is another reason for joining IBEX. In my class we have about 7 different nationalities, but there are people wi

th different backgrounds (half American/Germans and half Sweden/Namibians are some of the examples).

Now it is time for Dutch students to look for the internship abroad and I find an acc

omplishment of the IBEX program experience as a big advantage for my CV. Not just because of the fact it is an additional line in my resume, but because it reflects that I posses communication and business skills that are always appreciated by employers.

The Foreign student’s opinion:

When the IBEX semester started I experienced a shock from the study approach! This is completely different way of teaching comparing to my country. Imagine the class with 100 students sitting and trying to listen to the teacher who is 100 metres away speaking. This is impossible! Moreover, the teacher speaks in so monotonous manner that most of the students just leave the lecture. Too much homework to do, too many things to write during the lecture, to many reports to prepare at home, too many things to learn by heart… that is how it goes abroad. There is absolutely no time for rest, meet your friends during the week and sometimes even during the weekend.

The IBEX program is what I really enjoy! There is not that big emphasis on learning things than on understanding them. Teachers try their best to open up our minds and put ideas inside about how we can use our own potential. Lectures are interesting all the time; teachers prepare very creative assignments and case studies; students after working in groups come up with brilliant and funny ideas. I should say that being in the IBEX program is a lot of fun with the result for the future carrier. We do not have to write a lot while the lecturer speaks, because he presents his ideas in such practical and accessible way that it is already enough if you understand it. There is no need to learn books by heart.

So, as you can see, IBEX is appreciated not only by the foreign students, but also by the Dutch students who can see the difference in study approaches in the university!