Dublin Business School Review (8)

Dublin Business School Review (8)

Europe

General

When choosing the country and my university abroad, I completely relied on my gut instinct and made few detailed comparisons. Before I started my semester abroad, I was sure that I would like to go to Great Britain. During my research, I came across MicroEDU relatively quickly and immediately arranged a personal consultation, as the Münster office was easy to reach. In the conversation we worked together to pick out possible universities in Great Britain and Ireland. After that, it was clear to me relatively quickly that I would go to Ireland, more precisely Dublin, should go. The decisive factor was not only the fact that I wanted to go to a big city, but above all the price. The tuition fees there were a little less compared to Great Britain. However, it is still not cheap. Now, after my stay abroad, I can say that I made everything right with my decision and that Dublin or Ireland was the ideal choice for me. Visit educationvv.com to get information about Griffith College Dublin student exchange program.

In almost four months I got to know Ireland as an incredibly diverse, friendly and, above all, beautiful country. Dublin itself is a very cool city, where you can experience a lot and do different things over and over again. Even if it cannot be compared in terms of size with metropolises like London, Berlin or Paris, for me it has absolute big city flair. There are always new cafes, bars, restaurants and, above all, pubs to discover and the cultural scene also offers a lot of possibilities. What makes Dublin special for me, however, is the quick access to beautiful landscapes. Ireland is known to offer the most beautiful landscapes in Europeand these are, because the country is not particularly big, to be reached super quickly and cheaply. That is why Dublin was an ideal city for me to spend a semester abroad there. There is an absolute big city feeling in the city, but it is still possible to experience pure nature within 30 minutes by train. Especially the coasts of Ireland can only be recommended.

About the course and the DBS

Here in Germany I am studying applied literature and cultural studies and since a semester abroad is a must for me, I had to choose courses in this area. Even if the Dublin Business School, as the name suggests, is primarily designed to be economical , it also offers some courses in the “Art Department”. Regarding the organization, however, you have to say in advance that you have to be very patient here. The Irish work very calmly and, above all, spontaneously. Before I left, I only knew when and where I had to be to register; I only knew how to proceed within the first week. And my final schedule was definitely only in my third week at DBS. In general, one also has to say that the DBS accepts an incredible number of foreign students who complete one or two semesters there. It was also noticeable during the first welcome of the “study abroad students” that there were a lot of Germans there. So if you definitely don’t want to have anything to do with Germans during your semester abroad, you have to make a little effort to avoid them. At least that was my impression.had my courses almost exclusively with local students. Most of the leisure activities organized by the university were attended by Germans and other foreign students.

In my case, the scope of the courses was relatively high. Since I had to achieve 30 credit points for my home university, I took a total of six courses with 5 credit points each. In Ireland courses take place three hours a week and are often split over two sessions.

And when it comes to leisure activities, you need to be patient and flexible again. But once you get used to the fact that the wide range of activities can change quickly, there is also a lot to experience here. In general, however, it can be said that not only my Irish fellow students, but also the lecturers, the Student Union (i.e. those who are responsible for the student events) and the staff at the university are super friendly and helpful people.

Accommodation and transportation

The thing about finding accommodation in Dublin is probably the biggest difficulty. Because the city is full of people who are looking for rooms for a short period of time and space is limited. So you can spend a lot of money for very little space, especially in the center. Before I went to Dublin, I read on many that they only looked for accommodation when they were there. In that case, however, I would recommend traveling to Dublin at least two weeks before the start of the semester, as many were looking for rooms during the lecture period. And very important, especially with private providers, never pay in advance, because business with desperate apartment hunters is booming.

Although it was also my plan at some point to look for accommodation on site, as my search from home was more than unsuccessful, I was lucky about two weeks before my departure day and still found a room. So don’t despair – you can also find something spontaneously. I found a room with an Irish couple through roomster.com. Living together can be described as a mixture of living in a shared apartment and subletting a room with a family, if that makes sense. For me personally, however, the situation was ideal. Regarding the location, I have to say that my accommodation was a bit outside, north of Dublin, in Raheny. But I was at the sea in 15 minutes on foot. It took between 30 and 60 minutes to get to the university by bus. The DBS is located in the center of Dublin. However, south of the Liffey, which means that one was always nice in the morning in rush hour traffic. With the Dart, the Irish version of the German S-Bahn, I was in the city center in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, when choosing accommodation, you have to set priorities. Because for the price I would have gotten much smaller and older rooms in the city center. Regarding the situation in general, it can be said that one often hears that the north of Dublin is dangerous. I would say, however, that it can get unsafe north and south of the Liffey. But I also met some students who lived in the areas mentioned and they were satisfied there and felt safe.

In terms of transport, it can be said that almost everything can be reached by bus. Since Dublin does not have a subway, everything takes place above here. Alternatively there is the already mentioned dart and the Luas, which act like a tram.

Leisure time & excursion possibilities

As already mentioned, I have experienced Dublin and Ireland as a beautiful and diverse country. In the almost four months that I spent there, I explored an incredible amount of the country, and yet I still haven’t seen everything by a long way. Here it is especially worthwhile to take advantage of the Student Union’s offers at the DBS. For example, in our third week we spent a weekend on the west coast and were able to take part in surf courses. Which was absolutely worth it and we probably couldn’t have organized it ourselves for the price. In general, the Dublin Business School offers some inexpensive excursion options. But organizing excursions yourself is very easy and cheap in Ireland. Since our excursions were limited to the weekend, we often went on bus tours organized by tourist offices, as these were the easiest and often the cheapest. My highlight, however, was the “reading week”. At the beginning of November we had a week off. We used it to explore the west coast around Killarney. The Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry were particularly worthwhile here. I will probably not forget the landscapes there anytime soon.

Attractions in Dublin and the surrounding area:

  • Howth
  • Coast walk from Greystones to Bray
  • Killeney Hill Park

Outside Dublin:

  • Killarney National Park
  • The Dingle Peninsula
  • Ring of Kerry
  • Belfast
  • Surf trip to Bundoran

Conclusion

For me, my semester abroad in Dublin was absolutely worth it. I haven’t regretted it for a second and would do it again anytime. I had few expectations of my time in Ireland and just let the stay come to me with a lot of anticipation. Just because of the friendliness and helpfulness of the Irish, a stay in Dublin is worthwhile. And the many inexpensive excursion options offer a lot of variety during your studies.

And if I haven’t mentioned it already, I have to say that I was more than happy with the care and help from MicroEDU. I felt well advised at all times and received the fastest possible, always friendly answer to every question. I would like to thank you again for this.

Dublin Business School Review (8)