University of Groningen - RUG
speciality: International Business

I would highly recommend especially in a student city. The course organisation is very clear and the content is relevant. It also is nice how exams are every 4 weeks which helps to stay in line with your studies

Its a great uni. I really enjoy the material and the freedom along with the amount of diversity between students. I feel at home and have made friends that are like a second family to me. Highly recommend. However some professors are a bit monotone and boring.

Although I am in my 2nd Bachelor’s year, I can confidently say that the university provides you with a wise paradigm, backed by scientific research, that helps you understand the business world and its ever-expanding complexities. The course of International Business expands on your established understanding of business by demonstrating the interconnectedness of the globalized world and simplifying it into a model that you can apply in your future career.

University of Groningen (RUG) implements critical thinking and comes up with unique solutions to strenuous problems. As an International Business student, I am being prepared for a wide range of job opportunities in the field of management. The university provides highly qualified professionals, satisfying facilities, and an incredible international environment. However, the location can be improved since Zernike Campus is 4 km away from the city centre. Keep in mind that the university does not help you with the accommodation and it is up to you to find a place to stay!

Good university in a fantastic city. A very international approach with the best professors in their field. Besides this, the city Groningen is the best student city in the Netherlands. So I would highly recommend to study here.

The University is very research focused. There is not much practical focus. You really develop good analytical skills. However there is not that much attention accounted to Skills besides those analytical or research skills. I would like to have the option and the support of the University to pursue an internship during my bachelor studies. It would be nice as this would be the perfect addition to the many other theoretical skills we get to learn in the various courses and be able to apply everything learned in the real world. Furthermore I believe it is the paste of time that many employers value Work experience. Therefore I believe this would help students from my university to succeed even more as graduated to find jobs on the market.

The University of Groningen is an internationally focussed and very diverse university. This is what I like about the university. Apart from some administrative and logistic failures over the years, the RUG tends to be highly professional. The one things I would like to see differently is how the university tests our knowledge. The university is not training our problem-solving skills, but rather our memorizing skills. I think this is a lost opportunity. In America for instance, a lot of college education is given through open book exams and a second chance in order to repair your grade if necessary. This in order to learn the student it is okay not to know everything, and teach them how they can find the answer. This way their relevant skills are trained, rather than their memorizing skills. Another thing that could make the RUG stand out, would be to offer courses regarding the more practical side of the field. For me, it would be a managerial course focussing on the practice of the skill rather than on the theory. Of course, everything needs to be evidence-based, but it would be a nice addition to the standing syllabus.

Overall the university is a very friendly place for students who just graduated from high school. The city and the environment encourages going out and having fun although it being a very small city. The online platforms and services are very intuitive and easy to use. The first weeks and year of university are a very good start and overall a very fun time. However when entering the second and third year a lot of problems are faced along the way. Many deadlines are enforced to an absurd degree. Some courses can not be completed if one single tutorial is missed and there was a course where not attending to the starting lecture would result in failure of the entire course, disregarding of any health conditions or serious excuses. The deadlines the RUG set for itself regarding sending important documents to students and sending out grades however where reached very few times. Many courses were badly structured. The course IMM lead a majority of the top students to lose their cum laude, although the subject was overall not that hard. The organisation and the exam were very terrible and one can see this by the inconsistent grading in this course throughout the years. Many thesis supervisors seem uninterested with many giving out grades the same day as the hand-in day without any sign of being interested in their students work. The organisation around the COVID 19 virus was overall terrible. Although many students warned the faculty about the situation and asking for new exchange places the faculty ignored their pleas and ordered them to return and even tried to collect some of the scholarships handed out during the outbreak. Many negatives experiences stuck with me after the study. However it is unfortunate that many of the actually good and helpful professors do not stay long in my memory because there was definitely a lot of them. I also must give credit to the exchange office as they did reply to the countless of emails I sent out to them and I assume it was not their fault entirely as the university just stuck to the guidelines the government provided. While some of the above situations only indirectly had an effect on me I still thought they were important to mention. If I would look back on my degree I am proud of my self for enduring and finishing despite all the hurdles on the way. I recommend this university to students who want a good transition from high school to university and want to study in a small international city.