Experience Report Erasmus Semester in Budapest

Academic Environment and Teaching Style

Met­ro­pol­i­tan Uni­ver­si­ty Budapest pro­vid­ed a very dif­fer­ent yet refresh­ing aca­d­e­m­ic expe­ri­ence com­pared to what I was used to at FHGR. The cours­es in the Art Pro­gramme allowed a lot of cre­ative free­dom, giv­ing stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to explore and devel­op their own artis­tic styles. The teach­ers were sup­port­ive, approach­able, and encour­ag­ing, always open to new ideas and eager to pro­vide con­struc­tive feed­back. The learn­ing envi­ron­ment was relaxed but stim­u­lat­ing, with a strong empha­sis on inde­pen­dent think­ing and exper­i­men­ta­tion.

The uni­ver­si­ty offered excel­lent facil­i­ties, includ­ing well-equipped stu­dios, com­put­er labs, and mul­ti­me­dia tools that were ben­e­fi­cial for my projects. Fur­ther­more, being sur­round­ed by oth­er inter­na­tion­al stu­dents and cre­ative minds pro­vid­ed end­less inspi­ra­tion and new per­spec­tives on media and art.

Accommodation Experience

For my stay in Budapest, I chose to live alone in a pri­vate apart­ment, which I found online before arriv­ing. Find­ing accom­mo­da­tion in Budapest was rel­a­tive­ly easy, as there are many options avail­able for stu­dents, rang­ing from shared apart­ments to pri­vate stu­dios. Liv­ing alone gave me a great sense of inde­pen­dence and allowed me to ful­ly immerse myself in the city’s cul­ture. I would high­ly rec­om­mend this option to future stu­dents who enjoy hav­ing their own space and flex­i­bil­i­ty.

Support from FHGR and the Host University

Both FHGR and Met­ro­pol­i­tan Uni­ver­si­ty Budapest pro­vid­ed out­stand­ing sup­port through­out my Eras­mus expe­ri­ence. From the moment I applied for the exchange, FHGR was always avail­able to answer my ques­tions and guide me through the admin­is­tra­tive process. The inter­na­tion­al office at Met­ro­pol­i­tan Uni­ver­si­ty was equal­ly help­ful, assist­ing me with any con­cerns I had and ensur­ing that I adapt­ed well to the new aca­d­e­m­ic sys­tem. Their quick respons­es and friend­ly approach made the whole tran­si­tion smooth and stress-free.

Cultural and Personal Impressions

Budapest is an incred­i­ble city with a rich cul­tur­al her­itage, stun­ning archi­tec­ture, and a live­ly arts scene. I was par­tic­u­lar­ly impressed by how the city com­bines his­tor­i­cal charm with a mod­ern, youth­ful ener­gy. The cre­ative atmos­phere in Budapest is palpable—whether in its ruin bars, art gal­leries, street per­for­mances, or design mar­kets, inspi­ra­tion is every­where.

One of the biggest sur­pris­es for me was the vari­ety of sub­jects offered at the host uni­ver­si­ty. The inter­dis­ci­pli­nary approach encour­aged stu­dents to exper­i­ment across dif­fer­ent fields, which was both excit­ing and intel­lec­tu­al­ly stim­u­lat­ing. The open-mind­ed and sup­port­ive envi­ron­ment allowed me to devel­op my cre­ative skills in ways I had nev­er imag­ined.

Benefits of the Experience

This Eras­mus semes­ter had a sig­nif­i­cant impact on both my aca­d­e­m­ic and per­son­al devel­op­ment. Study­ing in a for­eign envi­ron­ment intro­duced me to dif­fer­ent ways of think­ing and work­ing, enhanc­ing my adapt­abil­i­ty and prob­lem-solv­ing skills. Engag­ing with peo­ple from dif­fer­ent cul­tur­al back­grounds also expand­ed my world­view and taught me how to approach media pro­duc­tion from a more glob­al per­spec­tive.

On a per­son­al lev­el, liv­ing abroad helped me grow in inde­pen­dence, self-con­fi­dence, and resilience. Nav­i­gat­ing a new city, man­ag­ing dai­ly life in a dif­fer­ent coun­try, and over­com­ing lan­guage bar­ri­ers all con­tributed to mak­ing me a more capa­ble and open-mind­ed per­son. The friend­ships I made with fel­low inter­na­tion­al stu­dents and locals have enriched my life and pro­vid­ed me with valu­able pro­fes­sion­al and per­son­al con­nec­tions.

Would I Recommend It?

Absolute­ly! I high­ly encour­age any stu­dent con­sid­er­ing an Eras­mus exchange to take the oppor­tu­ni­ty. It is an expe­ri­ence that will chal­lenge and inspire you in count­less ways. The aca­d­e­m­ic ben­e­fits, per­son­al growth, and cul­tur­al expo­sure make it an invalu­able part of uni­ver­si­ty life. Budapest, in par­tic­u­lar, is an amaz­ing des­ti­na­tion for cre­ative minds, offer­ing a vibrant atmos­phere, afford­able liv­ing costs, and a wel­com­ing com­mu­ni­ty of stu­dents from all over the world.

Final Thoughts and Advice for Future Students

If you are think­ing about going on an Eras­mus semes­ter, my biggest advice is: don’t hes­i­tate! Tak­ing the leap and step­ping out of your com­fort zone is the best way to learn and grow. Be open to new expe­ri­ences, explore the city, engage with dif­fer­ent cul­tures, and take full advan­tage of every­thing your host uni­ver­si­ty has to offer.

Study­ing abroad is not just about academics—it is about devel­op­ing your­self, mak­ing life­long friends, and cre­at­ing mem­o­ries that will stay with you for­ev­er. Budapest, with its cre­ative ener­gy and inter­na­tion­al stu­dent com­mu­ni­ty, is the per­fect place to embark on this jour­ney.