Will these students be able to go on foreign exchange in September?
.jpg)
Over the course of this month, students are hoping for greater clarity about the likelihood of going on exchange in September 2021. ‘I arranged my exchange myself, so the UvA can’t cancel it.’
Tim de Boer
Urban Studies, 24, wants to go to London.
‘Actually I should already be in London since September, but that was canceled.
Instead, I was able to follow alternative education in the Netherlands this year. But my master programme also has the option to go abroad. I wanted to go to London because I loved my Erasmus exchange there during my bachelor's. I really clicked with England.
I'm basically just assuming my exchange will continue. The vaccination rate is high and by June everything in England should be running as normal. I would be very surprised if the UvA decides to cancel all exchanges this year because the differences per country are much greater now than before.’
Valentina de Waard
Law, 21, says she’s ‘going anyway’ to Colombia.
‘I arranged my exchange independently of the UvA because the university in the city of Manizales is not a partner university. The UvA is therefore not responsible and can’t cancel it.
My mother is from Colombia and I have a lot of family there, so I really want to go. It’s also a real student city with many parties. Although the corona situation isn’t good, I can enter the country anyway because I have Colombian nationality.
On the phone, the director of education told me that it’s 100 per cent certain I can come, although there is a chance that education will be online. And I may not be allowed to go out every day. It’s one of the country’s corona measures that you can go outside only on certain days according to your identity number.’
Lila Blankestijn
Law, 20, wants to go to Lisbon.
‘I estimate my chances as about fifty-fifty, although that’s just based on feeling. I’m not very nervous because I could still leave the second semester. If I can’t go in September, I hope I can in February!
Lisbon was quite a spontaneous choice. I first thought about England, Sweden or Portugal. They all seemed fun, but because I know someone who was wildly enthusiastic about studying in Lisbon, I chose Lisbon.
I wanted to stay in Europe because I thought I would have a better chance to get in. I've lived in Amsterdam all my life. Even if I went on an exchange to Groningen, it would be far away for me!’
