Experience in University of Crete, Greece by Marieta

Generally, what is University of Crete like?

For me, one of the most well-designed and maintained universities of Greece. Most of the teachers are young, no pay for tuition, books or class notes is required (usually everything is available on the website of each department and there is a free-book distribution policy for all students, but also a very well-organised library). Finally, each year, a pretty small number of students are accepted(about 100), so we have the opportunity to meet all of our classmates and cooperate more easily with them and the teachers too.

What are the facilities like?

The oldest buildings of the University of Crete were built in early 80s and the construction of the newest ones was completed in 2013. This is where the departments of mathematics, applied mathematics and computer science were moved, from their previous location. So, as you can see, the university is pretty new, solid and well-equipped. The laboratories, the classrooms, the auditoria, the library, the gym (contains a pool, a basketball/volleyball court, a room with fitness equipment and hygiene facilities) are spacious, new and well-maintained and certainly more beautiful than many universities that I have visited.

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What are the tutors like?

Most of the tutors are of a "young" age(around 50s), considering that in most universities, tutors are really old and stubborn.In my opinion, that is a fact that makes the student's life a lot easier. The communication and the understanding, between the teacher and the student, are favored and the tuition methods used by the younger professors show clearly that even though they may have the same amount of knowledge with the older ones, the first have the ability to transmit it better. There are always exceptions in both sides, but, as a general conclusion, I don't think that there would be a student saying that he/she has problems with the majority of tutors.

Are the lessons easy in University of Crete?

I would not characterize them as easy or difficult either. If you try and want to learn, everything is easy and there are options of every level. As an incoming erasmus student, one could get a great deal of help from the professors and the students so, she/he does not have to worry. The only problem is that teaching is done in Greek. Most of students and teachers will not have a problem to do them in English, in order to enable the erasmus student to attend the lesson, but there are some groups that may not be able to do so.

Does the University organise activities? If so, what are they like?

There are some activities organised every year by the university and many groups that one can attend:basketball and football teams(for boys & girls), a film group, a painting group etc and there is also an ESN team that can help erasmus students with their first options and choices. As for my department (Department of Biology), there are excursions organised within some courses(I think that it takes place in some other departments too) and you can always participate as a volunteer in the projects of some laboratories and as a member of natural history museum.It is not hard work and for me it was an unforgettable experience.

Do you think there is a good quality of teaching?

Well, yes! The only difference that I can find between the University of Crete and other universities is that the undergraduate studies last 4 years and they are not as specialized as in foreign universities. For example, in Biology department, we can choose between 2 different orientations(1. environmental biology and 2. molecular biology & biochemistry) and the specialization comes on our last year of studies, on the postgraduate level and afterwords.

Are there any stories you can share?

For me, the greatest experience is studying in Crete! It's a really beautiful island and it's just amazing to have the opportunity to skip half an hour of your lessons and just lie on the grass or sit with your fiends on one of the university's terraces, just to enjoy the afternoon sun! After that, you are in the mood to do anything, even if it is a course of biochemistry!

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