By Matteo Franco 1 year and a half ago, around the 20th of January, I was about start packing all my stuff. Where could this 23-years old male specimen from Bologna go? Well, I was about to move to Wageningen to start my MSc in Biotechnology. I came here by…
Pale skies and chilly nights Little nuggets of clear blue sky The world on this side is funny enough, As time seems to be passing by The roads run in wrong direction But men seem to be on the right With cheerful souls and happy thoughts They seem to…
When I first discovered Wageningen, I must admit I was a little turned off by the small size of the town. I am from Sydney, the largest city in Australia, a city constantly bustling with noise and new places to explore both on land and sea. A place that has…
Did you know that Wageningen is surrounded by extraordinary nature and the biggest national park of the Netherlands? Have you ever seen small sailing boats passing enormous tanks at the Rijn? If you negate at least one of the questions, you have to tie your hiking shoes or make your…
In February 2017 I left sunny Australia and took a 24-hour flight to the Netherlands. I remember landing at Schipol Airport at 6 am, absolutely exhausted and freezing as the temperature was around 5 degrees. After what felt like a long train ride, in the dark as the sun hadn’t…
by Julia Winkeler, student Plant Science from Delaware I started studying for my Master’s degree in Plant Science at Wageningen University & Research this past February. I feel very grateful to be able to study at the number 1 university in the Netherlands as well as the world’s top-ranked…
When I think back to my Wageningen days, the Annual Introduction Days (AID) period is among those vivid memories that I will cherish forever. Let’s be honest, some of you will agree that the AID week is an awesome time. Instead, most of you will agree that the AID week is…
By Eduardo Kaleb Zamora Garcia At some point of the year 2013, while I was working on a telecommunication company, I realised I was not yet ready for the long-term life of a full-time employee and I was actually longing for the experience of studying a postgraduate programme abroad….
As we march forward into an exciting world of new generation science, technology, economic advancements with breath-taking pace, we seem to be lagging on one quotient that has always aided humanity in the past. SOCIETY. As technology advances and internet takes over lifestyle, we seem to have lost touch with…
by Francisco Xosé Presas Basalo Many questions arise when you are considering moving to study in Wageningen. In this blog entry, I tell some of my experiences in the Netherlands. Some anecdotes are so general that all Southern European students will feel identified, while others are so specific that only…
A visit to a goat farm in Bennekom I come from a very agriculture-rich province in India, where we see many cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goat farms. Goats are primarily kept for their meat in India. It is usually a climate-dependant business and shifts sites from one place to another…
Christmas holidays at Wageningen provide a great opportunity for students to explore new places, especially international folks like me. This Christmas, I had a chance to visit Belgium with my fiancée. Unlike other tourists, we have an odd sense of exploring. We prefer zoos over monuments. After touring Brussels and…
While browsing aimlessly on the internet, I stumbled upon a blog written by a student in The Guardian about living together, the roommate culture, which got me thinking. I thought it will be a nice idea to write about this topic as Wageningen University, like so many around the world…
Cycling is not just a way of getting around in Netherlands. It forms an important part of the culture, almost like a religion. Considering the large, lush green meadows and flatlands, cycling is a very pleasant experience. In Wageningen, where a large part of the population is students, bicycles can…
There are 2 aspects of “studying abroad”; studying in classrooms and learning the new life out there. As an international student, you grew up in a different country so you may experience culture shock when you move overseas. Sometimes you feel like it’s not easy to change your lifestyle that…
“Never jump to conclusions”, they said. “I won’t” “Enjoy the new place and make new friends” “I will” “Don’t skip any meal, cook and eat whenever possible” And such is the last conversation that all of us international folks must have gone through, when we left our respective comfort zones…
By Raquel Lujan Soto For many of us, students who came to Wageningen to get the bachelor, master or PhD degree, social life is high in the hierarchy for having a healthy and happy life. In the beginning it might be a bit difficult to get used to the…
By Rinske de Vries Every year in the first 2 weeks of August a phenomenon takes place. You can see the signs of the Annual Introduction Days and the academic year are getting close. You can see cars with trailers filled with furniture. You will see a mattress,…
Hello everybody! It’s already August which means the 2016 academic year is about to start. I can see that international students are gradually coming to Wageningen for the Annual Introduction Days (AID) which is arranged to welcome all the newcomers to this ‘city of life science’. This wonderful weather of…