Hi! My name is Alex and I am currently a first-year student in the Bachelor's Technical Computer Science at University of Twente. So far, my experience here has been amazing and I want to share with you why I consider this a great choice. Maybe this can guide and help you to find out answers to some questions that I also asked myself not so long ago.
Why I chose the Netherlands
First of all, I was debating between doing a Computer Science programme in Romania and going abroad for an international experience. After a while, I made the decision to push myself out of my comfort zone and to choose an international university because in the IT domain worldwide communication is a key aspect. Later, when I started my studies, I realised that this process of exchanging ideas with fellow international students is even more valuable than I thought.
After that, another decision that I had to make was about what country to choose. I ended up having to choose between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and this choosing process was a little bit more difficult because there are a lot of similarities between these two countries. In order to make things clearer I made two low cost trips: the first one to London for week while I tried to speak with locals and students to achieve something more than a tourist perspective. The second one was to Amsterdam where I tried to do the same thing. The conclusion after this was the following: while London can provide you a fancy, fun and unsettled metropolitan life but for me, the Netherlands was a perfect match. I really like a lot of aspects about this country from small things like bikes, tulips and cheese up to architecture, art, Dutch people’s creativity and the overall relaxed way of living.
Why the University of Twente
At that time, the number of Computer Science programmes completely taught in English was not that big, but during an educational fair I found that it is very possible to have the chance to be one of the first students who are doing this programme completely in English. Good news for me, but a lot of new questions started to circle around in my head: “Where is this university located? I like to be a pioneer in general, but is this programme good enough at its first iteration in English? Are there enough international students? How are the teachers?” and many more. For most of these questions I found answers only a few weeks after, during the Open Days. I really encourage you to participate in this event because it provides you an amazing opportunity to make a better picture about the campus, the student life and the general atmosphere here. About the quality of the study related questions I can say that everything is above my expectations day by day.
Technical Computer Science from my experience
I find the Technical Computer Science programme to be a challenging one. Maybe more challenging and innovative than I expected, but I really enjoy it. I have always been passionate about IT and the technical aspect of it in general, but here I feel that I am learning or relearning things in more solid and complete way. I like the fact that the lectures are combined with a lot of assignments, practical sessions and academic report writing. I feel like all of these activities combined provide me enough knowledge either for a job or for an academic career.