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Olgu Dervişler (ECON)Groningen University / The Netherlands |
| “Erasmus term was the best period of my academic life. Do not hesitate to transform yourself into an Erasmus student. It is priceless to make an excuse as “Sorry, I am Erasmus” when you do not fulfill an assignment of a course. Worth a try!” |
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Muhterem Naz Arslan (IR)Malmö University / Sweden |
| “Erasmus is one of the biggest chances for students; I am really appreciating this program. I learn many things from Erasmus experience. The most important thing is that to learn how to manage your life because you are alone and you have to take care of yourself. The way to learn how to manage your life is really fun and it teaches you that you are not a child or teenager anymore, you are an adult. And also to learn new culture, new system and meeting lots people who are from everywhere. These are really elusive opportunity for our future. And one of the more enjoyable things is that you can travel alone and see a lot places so that you have knowledge about a lot of country, it bring you wisdom about cultures, countries, architects, artists etc. In brief, all of these experiences are added value for yourself.” |
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Filiz Yılmaz (IR)Maastricht University / The Netherlands |
| “Words are not enough to describe my Erasmus life in the Maastricht University. I remember I was little upset in my arrival day, however I cried more when I was leaving from Maastricht. I had really good friends. I turned back with never ever forgettable memories. I believe there is a certain Erasmus spirit between exchange students. To meet with different cultures also adopt the life in another country were the greatest experience in my life. All local people were really nice and friendly. Although the system in the Maastricht University was partly different then Bilkent University, it was not too difficult when you do self-study. To keep it short, Erasmus life in Maastricht was great! I shared the greatest moments of my life! I laugh, I cried, I became happy, Maastricht was like a dream for me just because of my friends and the incredible dreamland city!” |
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Emre Berberoğlu (IR)University of Tartu / Estonia |
| “To be perfectly honest, I didn’t have any clue as to where Tartu was, before I learned that I was going there for an Erasmus term abroad. Frankly, University of Tartu was not even in my first 10 choices. But after spending 5 meaningful months in this little city in Estonia (population: 200.000), I was more than happy with my decision to go there. During my time in Tartu, I met a lot of new people, and acquired friends from different parts of the world. In the end, I returned back to Turkey with unforgettable memories.” |
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Tuğba Erdoğan (IR)University of Turku / Finland |
| “Before I applied to University of Turku, I had some doubts about whether I should go, or stay in Ankara and graduate from Bilkent early. Now that I think back about it, I was wrong to have any doubts in the first place. My time at the University of Turku as an Erasmus student was the best part of my life. I know that if I had not gone to Turku, I would have regretted it all my life. It is difficult to imagine this without experiencing a term abroad, but Erasmus is the kind of life experience that makes you learn a lot. It gives you an opportunity to live in a different country, and familiarizing yourself with other people, share our cultures, food, languages, home, and life. Now, I can say, without any doubt, that I have really close friends from all around the world and I know that these friendships will last a lifetime. For me, the last week of Erasmus was the most difficult part. It is really hard to know that it is going to end. My time in Turku left me with thousands of amazing memories with my Erasmus family that I will remember all my life. If I were given the option again, I would never think twice to go back my Erasmus life in Turku and start it all over again.” |
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F. Batu Meftun (ECON)Mannheim University / Germany |
| “I was in Mannheim, Germany for the Erasmus Exchange Program in Spring,2013. My time in Mannheim was one of the best years of my life, if not the best.I think the Erasmus experience might seem be a bit scary at first, but it is an amazing experience for university students. Especially from faculties like economics, which requires that we participate in the global market after graduation. I totally believe this spectacular experience enriched me, opened my mind, and changed me for better.” |
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Hatice Mete (POLS)Amsterdam University College / The Netherlands |
| “Students who have been thinking about joining the ERASMUS program: just do it! You will enjoy parties and other activities, travel around Europe,and converse with many people! Also, don’t forget to attend the lectures. I hope your ERASMUS memories will be as unforgettable as my memories” |
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Yiğit Akay (ECON)University of Amsterdam / The Netherlands |
| “I don’t know how I can start, or where I should start, but studying abroad is one of the best experiences. I am very happy to be involved with the Erasmus exchange program. There is not a single word to describe my Erasmus experiences. If I have to talk about them, I will start by talking about my friends. During my exchange, I made really good friends which made it easy live abroad. There is no doubt that I learned many things from my friends, like new cultures, new lifestyles, and new hobbies. To sum up I strongly suggest that every Bilkent student do an Erasmus exchange at least one semester and create own their experience.” |
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Cihan Özkul (IR)Erasmus Student Placement in Young Men Christian Association(YMCA) Rome/Italy |
| “To be honest, at the first step it was so difficult to manage such an internship abroad, but I knew that it will be a meaningful experience for my career and I frequently reminded myself Abraham Lincoln’s motto during the negotiation process with my organization ”Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” It was truly amazing experience for me. I was an intern for the YMCA and I had been in 13 different countries, 27 different cities during my mission with the organization. We organized different kind of workshops for all young Europeans. During the internship I had chance to learn how to be successful in program management and how to organize events with a lot of people from different countries. I strongly recommend that all students who have the intention to go abroad should do an internship. It will be one of the most memorable decisions of their lives.” |
