Emma Akrich, Emma Bachèlerie and Jérome-Rémy Tiacoh came from the University of Bordeaux and spent the first semester of the academic year 2020/2021 at the Faculty of Pharmacy of UP.
Why did you choose Hungary and UP MS as a destination for your Erasmus mobility?
Jérome: I went to Budapest on a road trip with two of my best friends four years ago and when I saw that it was possible to choose Hungary for my Erasmus stay, I definitely wanted to try it.
Emma A.: I chose Hungary to discover a different culture in Europe less close to France. My university proposed this university to me, so I decided to come to Pécs.
Emma B: I came to the University of Pécs in Hungary because I wanted to discover an Eastern European country and its culture.
What is your overall opinion about your studies here? Have your expectations been fulfilled?
Jérome: I have to say that in this pandemic situation I'm sure that everything is different from a normal Erasmus. I took up ten subjects in Pharmacy, and I also enrolled in the Hungarian for foreigners course. I found Pharmaceutical pathology very interesting, although the whole course was presented in the form of videos. Pharmaceutical practice and management 1 was my favourite class, the teacher was really enthusiastic and tried his best to keep students interested and focused and it worked! I'm really thankful for the understanding of the teachers that owing to my Erasmus status they let me join the course Pharmaceutical practice and management 3 from the curriculum of 5th year students even if I had not had PPM2. I also enjoyed the subjects Pharmaceutical informatics and Pharmaceutical propedeutics and I particularly liked Innovation and management project from business view, a very instructive and interesting course. The rest of the subjects seemed a bit more difficult to me, but they were also impressive and useful.
What kind of difficulties have you had and how did you solve them?
Jérome: The Public health course had an oral end-of-term exam, which I was not used to having in France, but it was still an interesting experience. Pharmacodynamics 1 was one of the most difficult classes but still the basic of a pharmaceutical training. Although I had already had this class in France it was still a good thing to get through these basics again. Pharmaceutical applied immunology was extremely hard but also stimulating and a good choice to deepen my knowledge in this field, as I also had basic immunology in France during my 3rd year. Molecular biology of tumours was a challenge because of the lot of information but with a lot of study I managed to pass it well.
Emma A: I didn't have difficulties, because a lot of people were here to help me if I asked. I had a problem with my computer so for the exams I couldn't use mine, but I always asked the computer of my friends in Szántó dormitory.
Emma B: The few difficulties I encountered concerned all the administrative paperwork, which was a lot and the course registration etc… But once I understood how Neptun worked it made it all easier. I would like to thank very much the Erasmus office and my Erasmus coordinator who were of great help regarding these issues and extremely accessible!
How do you feel about Pécs?
Emma B: Pécs is definitely a very pleasant and beautiful city. The bars, restaurants were really good, the sights and other cultural entertainments are very nice as well! I used buses around the city and they served well. The connections to other cities/airport by train or bus were excellent. I had a great time road tripping around Hungary, especially Budapest which is one of the best cities I have ever visited.
Jérome: Pécs has got so many great sights: the TV Tower, Niké statue, the little Lake, the mountain and the architecture in the centre. Just the fact to be abroad was amazing! Before the lockdown I enjoyed many restaurants and the Hungarian specialities, which were really good, the bars and social life were well-organised with many different events. I also had the chance to go to great cities, like Budapest, Szeged, Villány and many others that were not that far with transport and not that expensive as the bus and the taxi cost so much less than in France.
What were your impressions of Erasmus life under these unusual circumstances?
Jérome: The most of my Erasmus life (even more with this covid situation) was to be in the dormitory. I made so many great friends, shared so many good moments, exchanged my culture and the culture of so many different people. I think, without Szánto Kovács dormitory and all the friends I made there my Erasmus wouldn't be same.
Emma B: The Erasmus life in Pécs was very nice, however, due to the pandemic it was pretty much compromised, concerning events, organised activities… Szántó dormitory was a great way to meet people from the faculty! The people made the Erasmus life.
Emma A: It is the best experience of my life. I met people from all around the world, I lived with them for 5 months, it was really intense. We were like a big family. I will always remember the Erasmus life. We made two road trips in Hungary, I visited almost all the country, and for me it was part of my dream when I was chosen to come to Erasmus to Hungary. This part of my life makes me grow up, and I feel really grateful to be able to take part of this experience.