Student testimonial

Reza - BSc Animal Sciences (Exchange in Norway)

Reza is currently on exchange for her minor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, Norway. She is following courses in genetics and breeding, but has only two hours of classes a day. So a lot of spare time remains to enjoy Norway's beautiful nature by hiking or ice skating.

I wanted to go on exchange to see what it's like to study abroad, to discover a new culture and to see if I would like to specialize in Animal Breeding and Genetics for my master's.

Currently, I am on exchange at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in Ås. Ås is situated approximately 30 kilometer below Oslo. Ås is very similar to Wageningen, a small village with mainly students. In Ås everything is within walking distance. Also, there is a train station at which you can take the train to Oslo, which takes around 30 min. There is a night bus back to Ås as well which makes it easy to go out in Oslo, where there are a lot of nice bars and clubs.

I wanted to go on exchange to see what it's like to study abroad, to discover a new culture and to see if I would like to specialize in Animal Breeding and Genetics for my master's. I chose Norway because of its beautiful nature, the tranquility, everything is well arranged and because it is a safe country.

I am following three genetic courses. The first is Statistical Genomics, this course focuses on the statistical methods around genomic selection. The second course is Animal Breeding Plans, the setup of this course is to learn by doing projects. So there are three big projects which you have to complete, after which there is an oral exam about the projects you did. The third course is The Theory and Application of Inbreeding Management, which is also a project-based learning course. These were the courses I picked before arriving in Norway. Together they are worth 25 credits. However, all the other students from WUR are doing 30 credits, so I decided to add another course, which is Economics for Environment and Development, which is an introductory course to economics.

The schedule here is completely different compared to WUR, I only have two hours of classes a day. So, you have a lot of free time during the day to enjoy the beautiful nature. There are a lot of hiking routes around lake Årungen, in the winter you could rent ice skates and ice skate on the lake.

So far, the exchange has been a great experience, I have learned a lot of new things and met a lot of new people. I would recommend everyone to go on exchange if they have the chance.

Hadde bra (take care)

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