Mobility specification

Country:Poland

Institution:Pomerian Medical University in Szczecin

City:Szczecin

Program:Erasmus+ for study

Activity type:Study

Academic year:2024/2025

MU faculty/department:Faculty of Medicine / General Medicine

Study level abroad:Master

🎓Hit the books! How do you rate the university experience?

Can you enroll in a course where you can learn the local language?no

Does the university offer enough courses in English?they have tons

Are your credits converted?yes

Can you give an example?you will determine many subjects will differ in terms of credit e.g. Oncology at MUNI - 5 credits, PUM - 3 credits. I think the overall unania also depends on the subject, where I assume that the most problematic with recognition will be Internal Medicine, where I will have to make up the exam at MUNI because I miss parts like endocrinology and gastro.

Was there anything in the teaching methods that surprised you?They have quite a chaotic system. We have an IS system here at the muni, and we handle basically everything. Materials to learn, where and when we have classes, contacts for teachers. It doesn't work like that at PUM. Everything works on communication between the docs- Dean's office - the group leader (student)- who then forwards the information to the group at WhatsApp. Very many times there was misunderstanding and chaos in communication, which then resulted in either the students or the docs not knowing where and how the teaching was. Unfortunately I also had the experience of having a problem with an exam due to unnecessary mistakes. A lot of things we learned as we went along that we should have been told at the beginning(e.g. where to see the grades, that there was another portfolio we should have applied for).On the other hand, although it may seem scary,in the end everything was always sorted out it just took a few nerves and time but by the end I really knew that if something was wrong there would be a way to fix it.

Does the university offer international students' programs and activities outside of lectures and seminars to help them integrate more quickly?Since most of the Erasmus students came for the whole year, they definitely had more familiarization events in the first semester, especially in terms of orientation weekend, etc. We came into a more or less established environment, but we still found people and our pogram was almost always full. As for some societies there is ESN in Szczecin which organised a couple of events and then I perceived still student quizzes,boat parties, possibly Erasmus themselves organised a couple of events.

In which areas does the university offer support for students with special needs and strive to be inclusive?I haven’t noticed

💸Did you have to rob the bank?

Try to take a guess at what your monthly expenditures were:10000 CZK/month

Did you stay in dorms?yes

What about unexpected expenses? Did anything surprise you?I spent quite a bit on travel as well. It wasn't super expensive per se, but since I took several trips I spent a lot of money.

Do you have any tips on how to save money?Probably such a common-use application in grocery stores, I'm also a lover of choppers so I can save money there if one needs to buy something. Biedronka is pretty cheap. Frog is more expensive, but for me a great store.

🗺 Learn the ropes in a new city

How well did you manage to communicate in English?almost without problems

How does public transport work in the city?mostly fine

And what about transport outside the city?mostly fine

Where to find connections? How to buy a ticket?Great app is Jakdojade - you can buy both public transport and trains. With trains, sometimes it's better to use the ICC etc. directly where it's a bit easier to cancel and pick a seat, but the Jakdojade app is really great.

Did you deal with any health issues during your stay?no

🤠Help create the perfect bucket list

What is a must-see in the city?We used to go to the river a lot, it's very nice with smaller businesses and restaurants. The park/forest of Arkonska is also very nice.

What are the must-visit trip destinations?From Szczecin it is really easy to travel to many places. I definitely recommend other Polish cities like Gdansk, Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw, Hel peninsula. I didn't make it to Slowinski National Park in northern Poland, but I think it will be very nice there.

Share your best experience:There are a lot of those. I had a wonderful time with our group, where we often went to the water to relax and spent many evenings together. All in all, there was quite a bit of traveling, and while it was exhausting I don't regret any of it and I saw some beautiful places. Overall Erasmus is a really lovely experience that is worth trying and the whole stay was very refreshing to study and took me out of my "normal" bubble that I have in Brno , which was very good for me.

💅A nugget of wisdom to make the life easier

Did you need to handle a visa?no

How did you get to the place?Plane
Train

Is there anything to watch out for before the trip?The airport is a bit further away from the centre, but I had no problem with transportation. I used the train and bought my ticket on the spot through the Jakdojade app. Taxis or bus were also an option.

Can you pay by card?everywhere

🥳Summary

Whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨 Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey and for sharing your unique experience. Just one last thing. 🙏 How would you summarize your trip in one or two sentences?Energetic, active, unforgettable. It gave me a lot of life, not only a lot of friends but a lot of experience in life :)