By: Madeleine Malone

Student life:

I am currently studying at Ghent University which is located in a vibrant student town in the Flemish speaking region of Belgium. The city is full of students, but every weekend, most of the local Belgian students go home to their families. This means that the city is a lot quieter on weekends which is nice and relaxing, and gives the exchange students more opportunity to explore the town when it is less busy. There is a very large Erasmus community (Erasmus is essentially the European Union exchange programme) in Ghent, there are so many events organised by the Erasmus leaders, specifically for international students. Every week there are multiple activities offered, many of which are either free for students or subsidised. These events range from pub crawls, themed parties, sports games, cultural activities and day trips to other Belgian cities like Bruges, or the capital city of Brussels. There are even organised weekend trips to neighbouring cities like Amsterdam in the Netherlands or Normandy in France, this network makes it much easier and safer to explore new places with other exchange students.

The events make it incredibly easy to meet other people and feel part of the student community, especially being so far from home. The international environment creates a really welcoming atmosphere, and there is always something happening for students who want to socialise. Aside from the Erasmus events, it is very popular for students to grab a beer after a hard day of study. Belgium is known for its extensive range of beers, but also has delicious fries and waffles too!

Papers I am taking:

I am currently in my sixth year of studying Law and Human Resource Management. I am only taking Law papers at Ghent University, and since Flemish is the primary language of the area that I live in, there were limited English papers to choose from. This meant that I was only offered papers taught in English at a masters level, despite being in a Bachelor of Laws in New Zealand. This had made it quite difficult as not only are the papers masters level, but they are also specific to European Union law. The lectures are very long compared to NZ, most of my papers have one class per week but they are 4.5 hours long. The classes can also run quite late, my latest class finishes at 8:30pm but there are some classes that run until 10pm!

The papers I am taking include Law of Armed Conflict, EU Social and International Employment, International and European Environmental Law, Industrial Relations and Fundamental Rights in Companies, and European and Comparative Company Law and Corporate Governance. These papers require a strong understanding of EU institutions and directives, areas I had very limited exposure to before coming to Belgium. As a result, I have had to adapt quickly, learn new legal frameworks, and adjust to a completely different teaching style. Overall, the experience has been challenging but I am hoping to start to get a better understanding by the time exams come around!