Semester abroad at the University of the Arts Poznan - Communication Design (B. A.)

The decision

The opportunity to live abroad for a longer period of time during my studies and gain new intercultural experiences was recommended to me by many people and was already a goal of mine when I was at school. The pandemic initially put a damper on my plans and in the meantime I doubted whether I would be able to do the semester abroad at all. But now I'm very happy that I've managed to get round to it! Originally I wanted to do a semester abroad in Scandinavia and decided in favour of Denmark, but in the end I ended up in Poland, which in retrospect I'm very happy about. Poland was a much better fit for my study profile and interests, especially in terms of the university and the programmes on offer, and gave me the opportunity to approach these areas from a different perspective.

Preparations

The application process actually went quite well, but unfortunately I had the misfortune that there was a misunderstanding with my first choice university in Sønderborg/Denmark and my degree programme no longer existed there. So I had to quickly change my plans after the deadlines had expired and apply to my second choice, Poznan. That was very frustrating and upsetting at the time. Looking back, however, I am very happy to have ended up in Poznan. Due to the late application, I unfortunately only received my acceptance letter very late, which made planning a little more difficult.

I learnt some Polish during my semester abroad with a language course app, but only a few basics.

Due to the short distance between Berlin and Poznan and the regular and cheap long-distance bus and train connections, travelling was very straightforward. It also meant that I could always go home or have visitors, which I really liked.

The accommodation

As a shared room in a hall of residence was not an option for me, I lived in a shared flat for two people during my time abroad. However, finding a room was much more of a challenge than I had expected, as demand was high due to the large number of Ukrainian refugees. I searched via the Polish platform OLX and Facebook and was quite frustrated as I received few replies and many cancellations. However, I finally found a room via Facebook, which was rather poorly equipped, but I was very happy with it in the end.

Studying at the university

The FHP is a very nice university with many studios, workshops and a lot of potential. Nevertheless, I would like to share some of my criticisms.

There was an introductory event at the beginning of the semester, but a lot of things were not mentioned, which would have been very important, especially for the very chaotic course selection. So, together with other Erasmus students, I spent two weeks struggling through many incomplete course plans and emails with professors, while the semester was already in full swing for the Polish students. Unfortunately, there was no support from local students as "buddies" or similar.

What I really missed on site were places where students could gather, hang out, work together or spend time. As a result of the pandemic, some of these places were probably closed, e.g. there was no canteen/cafeteria or similar and apart from a few chairs and sofas in the foyer and corridors, there was no opportunity to work on site. The rooms/studios were also only accessible during course times. Another remnant of the pandemic was the consultation-based teaching, which continued throughout the semester in most courses. In some courses, I didn't even have any contact with other students and didn't see any work other than my own, which I think is a real shame and means that so much potential to learn from each other and exchange ideas is lost. However, exchange was also hardly possible because, contrary to the expectation that all communication in the so-called "English taught programme" would take place in English, Polish was predominantly spoken, which often made me feel excluded and made it even more difficult to get together with other students. I am very satisfied with my projects that were created there this semester and grateful for new input, although this was sometimes very limited and the feedback was often rather superficial. However, this was probably partly due to the professors' poor command of English.

Everyday life and free time

As Poland is a very cheap country despite inflation, I was able to take advantage of many leisure activities and really enjoyed my time there. Poznan has many nice cafés, restaurants and bars. I often worked in cafés and met up with other Erasmus students in bars or clubs. I also signed up for the "Calypso" gym with a friend and went there regularly. The park in Św. Jana Pawła II was within walking distance of my shared flat, where I often went for walks.

Conclusion and tips

Even though I have mentioned many points of criticism with regard to the university, I really enjoyed my stay abroad and I am very happy to have decided in favour of it and would recommend it to anyone. Poznan is an incredibly beautiful city that offers many opportunities. The people I met and got to know have grown very close to my heart and friendships have developed that will definitely last beyond my stay abroad. The intercultural experience of living in another country and communicating in another language has also enriched my life. Despite my many criticisms of the university, I would not advise against spending a semester abroad there. As a rather reserved person, I found it difficult to communicate any insecurities or anger. However, I am sure that with more open communication, more direct questions and courageous dialogue with other students and professors or contact persons, you would get along even better. In addition, the choice of courses is also very important and you can endeavour to have as varied a course schedule as possible and, for example, attend more classes than I did instead of studios in order to get more in touch with other students. The UAP also offers the opportunity to get a taste of many other art and design degree programmes, which I would also highly recommend.