All being well, no. 1 offspring is off to Denmark next academic year for a ERASMUS placement. He’s a bit vague on some of the details, and while it’s “a long time away” it won’t be long before we need to sort some real world stuff out.

I thin ge has a co-ordinator so that helps, with the uni bit – e.g. accommodation, but details like – should he open a bank account (and how) – should he second a second phone or simply a SIM card — these sorts of things would be helpful have guidance on as the parent that will be on other end of the line when things don’t go right..!

cheers for any input.

I did a year in Finland, had the best time. Studying was different that Uni in Bangor. Opened a local bank account, Finland had some amazing deals with phones. Our coordinator in Bangor was worse than useless but in Finland they were great. Accommodation was easy, filled in forms here and arrived and went to a com office and picked up the key.

Denmark should be great fun. Loads of cycling everyday.

Not Denmark but i had a chap stay at my villa a few years ago who ran the erasmus program for an american uni in valencia. He inspected all the accom and made sure the students on placement were integrating with family life and not just having a jolly. So they had to learn the language and spend time with the host families. I am sure the odd one slips through the net but i got the impression the students got a lot out of it.

Depends how long the placement is for. He shouldnt really need a bank account for just a few months. The best mobile set up will be country specific and i am not sure about Denmark I am afraid. The uni at both ends should be very experienced in managing this and he will have an erasmus exchange coordinator onsite to help.

A big thing is to ensure that he completes any class sign up as far in advance as possible as the classes often fill up and his home uni might not be able to accept an alternative as a class match. I have seen people put off doing this and then be pissed off when all the class places are gone to others who did the sign up immediately.

The other early thing is accomodation but if he has on campus that should be fine. Can he speak to the person who is currently out there on the exchange this year?

Hope this helps!

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I think it’s for an academic year Ginger, so Sept 17 til say June 18. I know they should manage it at the DK end as well — good point on the classes, I’ll get him on to that if he can (home for Easter anyway).

Not sure if anyone from his uni (strathclyde) is there at the moment, it’s not a straight exchange as such.

all good. cheers.

I had a big fight with Bangor not accepting Joensuu grading, you will want to get that nailed down before they go.

as in, accepting grades on return back? OK, cheers.

I did a term in Bilbao with Erasmus. BEST TIME OF MY LIFE.

1994 so it was a postcard home every couple of weeks. Leave them to it. You only truly learn when you have to sort out crap yourself.

Kcal yes exactly that

Opening a bank account in DK can be a bit of a pain unless you have a Danish social security number, which I guess he won’t. Probably the uni can advise as he won’t be the first one ever, but just make sure his cards work abroad!!

You can get a SIM-only deal from a company like Lebara – probably less hassle than signing up with a big provider. I found a suitable one by Google’ing …

Leku, I understand, leave them to it works for mist folk up to certain level. And he can manage most stuff pretty well – I guess high functioning autism is a close description, so it would be handy to have some pointers in advance to assist him.

DrJ – brill — that’s the sort of stuff – household stuff — that would ideal guidance.

Ahhh, Strathclyde. Which faculty?
(I work at Strathclyde)

comes under Mech. Eng I would guess. Aero-mechanical as headline course he’s on.

Opening a bank account in DK can be a bit of a pain unless you have a Danish social security number, which I guess he won’t.

Not sure if your advice is correct, as the new(ish) EU “basic bank account” directive may have made it easier. I’d still make sure that his UK cards work abroad though, just in case!

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/bank-accounts-eu/index_en.htm

That is a great course and engineering send more students on exchange than anyone else, so he should be in good hands.

I would suggest you get a list of the deadlines from him and help him manage completion of each step as early as possible. Engineering have quite a good peer support system so get him to contact his course director and ask if a message could be forwarded on to either the person out there just now or the one who went last year, so he can chat with someone in the know.

I am assuming this is a year 3 exchange but if it is year 5 let me know as i would have different advice.

Denmark is expensive so if he cannot cook, teaching how to make decent grub with basic ingredients will help him manage his money more easily and might make him popular with his new friends who can’t!

Hope this helps. If you run into any concerns feel free to email me.

My eldest daughter went to Montpelier and my youngest is going to Barcelona next academic year, both with Erasmus, I think it’s great experience for them, plus it’s generally cheaper than being in the UK, although I’m not so sure for Denmark. I’ve just got a new phone and contract for the youngest (old phone broken beyond repair) with the 3 network as it charges nothing for using your monthly allowance of calls, texts and data when overseas. It also keeps things simple when she visits friends in other countries and comes home at christmas etc, one number all the time. Make sure your lad accesses all the money and loans available, I’m banking on not having to give my daughter a monthly allowance whilst she’s away as the erasmus money covered this and more for my eldest, plus there can be country-specific schemes which subsidise student accommodation.
A local bank account can also avoiding charges for using ATMs.

to be honest he’s pretty good at cooking the stuff he wants to eat — and not bad at basic baking — and spot on for budgeting and so on, far far better than I was 🙂

I’ll look into switching to 3 as giffgaff – current network – looks pretty rubbish for abroad TBH.

Did one back in 2001, as others have said it was brilliant, will be an amazing experience for him. Main thing I’d be looking to find out is have students from Strathy been there before – we were the 1st year that went and no-one seemed to know what to do with us for the first month (though it was a lab placement rather than studying). If folk have been there before I’d imagine it’ll be fine, everything was pretty well organised when we went.

One thing I hadn’t thought of was that there wouldn’t be sheets/duvet provided – made for a fairly uncomfortable first night!

Oh, and prepare him for the fact that toasters and kettles may not exist over there!

yes, it’s details like that are are appearing on the list — bedding and such especially. It’s almost a given that one of us will head out with him for initial few days. Meanwhile other offspring may be starting college own the same day — head spinning already trying to work all *that* out!

By the time he goes out EU roaming charges should be abolished anyway… Though I don’t know what that’s going to mean for calling charges.

TBH there’s no hard and fasts for things like accomodation, bedding etc- just like UK universities in fact, these things vary wildly from institution to the next. But most erasmus exchanges are pretty established so his uni should know what to expect.

It sounds to me like maybe the whole uni -> son -> parent communications might not be great? Their relationship’s all with him and it’s kind of assumed that the student should be able to take care of himself by this time 😉

I wish I’d done one… It’s a pretty much unequivocally good idea. It does go wrong in various interesting ways but then so does staying at home.

@kal my daughter did a year in Copenhagen. Great news I hope he loves it, my daughter did and in fact more than her Gap year with 6 months travelling. Brilliant city and fun for parents to visit too.

As per Northwind wish I’d done one, met a guy who did his in Annecy and got in a lot of snow time !

She opened a bank account once there and she sourced her own accommodation. Obviously if your son has help on that all the better. She also bought a cheap bike and cycled everywhere which is character buildibg in the winter !

SIM – just get a local card and a cheap phone or switch SIM into his current one. WhatsApp is great for messages and with a bit of ingenuity with free wfi inc for calls you can get by with uk only phone imo

all good to hear and think you’re right Northwind, just baggy parents needing reassuring that it’s all in hand probably. Big step and sure all will be well, and relationship is good; various questions from us to said son do tend to get reply along lines of:
Q: Do you need to still apply through SAAS this year?
A: Yes. I think / I assume so..
and household stuff like ERASMUS grant, where it’s paid — happy to admit be be anxious instinctively, “what if” are my middle names 🙂

Leku, I understand, leave them to it works for mist folk up to certain level. And he can manage most stuff pretty well – I guess high functioning autism is a close description, so it would be handy to have some pointers in advance to assist him.

Fair enough. My parents were a bit more ’70’s parenting’

@headfirst – Three – contralctually its not for those living abroad and you get a nasty sms threatening to terminate contract number if you stay out of the UK fir 2 minths – been there done that. They have never cut me off but usage is pretty low. A student on lots of mobile data they may do so.

Cheers for that jambalaya, I’ll tell her to watch out for that! Don’t want to get clobbered with a big bill.

Double post

They have never billed me extra or cut me off but I have had two texts with reference to the contract clause 🙂 If you come back even for a day it two it seems to reset the counter

OP family erasmus movie – Melting Pot (Auberge Espanol) and if you enjoy that the second film Russian Dolls (Poupees Russe)

status update.

all seems well so far. in middle of induction week and seems positive.
I went out with him over the weekend to settle in to accommodation. Had a nice couple of days in Copenhagen beforehand.

Accommodation looks to be good. Support network hopefully also good. Mobile – his UK mobile looks like it will do roaming for as long as he’s there (no time limit). Bank account – possibly more hassle than it’s worth, he’s acquired a Monzo card (as have I for this and other travels) and looks like it’s going to work out pretty well without having to set up a foreign bank account with all the stress – and then having to close it down again in a little under a year..

🙂

We love an update.

Ah, this thread is bringing back fond memories! Former Strathclyde Aero-Mechanical ERASMUS exchange student here…

Unfortunately, I got a bit too hooked on living in the French mountains and it derailed my engineering career, but I’m not complaining…

🙂 when was that stevo? multiple career paths and all that!

I was at Strathclyde as well, but before ERASMUS was a thing. There were heaps of Norwegians about though not in our course (Comp Sci + Electronics).

@stevo one of my sailing friends did his in Annecy. TBH I had not heard of the programme until 10 years after I finished Uni I would have loved to have done similar (assuming it existed in ’81-85 )

A few guys on my course did an Erasmus exchange. Put it this way, when they came back they all had huge grins on their faces, and I felt somehow this was little to do with the coursework. Kettles, toasters and sim cards will be the last things on his mind.

My indirect experience of ERASMUS, is lots of them being housed on our campus. Great mixed bunch of nationalities, did a lot of stuff together. Massive shared meals, music, new weird drinking games.

And some really quite hot girls.

Timber +1

I may have acquired the nickname Uncle Erasmus 8)

Bangor early 90s, Marine Biology BLOODY BRILLIANT

Only sad that I didn’t go on an exchange myself.

kcal – academic year 98/99.