ERASMUS+ Information for incoming students

Erasmus semester at Gea College in Ljubljana was one of the best decisions I have made during my studies.

Gea College is a university with relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Thanks to the professors with numerous practical experience, mostly international, I got the chance to enrich my knowledge in the field of my study, but also in the area of self-development.

Ljubljana is cosy, students’ city, which has a lot to offer, just like Slovenia itself.  There were always things to do and I have properly enjoyed the time I have spent over there, together with my Erasmus friends, traveling through the main highlights of Slovenia. From Erasmus semester at Gea College in Ljubljana I am carrying away only good memories and I am surely coming back one day.

I did my winter Erasmus semester at GEA college and I do not regret it at all.

We were a small class of Erasmus students and sometimes we had classes with slovens students. We had lots of teamwork and oral presentations, we even did one in a sloven company. It was very useful to improve my English. Classes were very interesting and we had teachers from different countries around the world. They all try to integrate all Erasmus to their courses by using examples from our countries. Slovenia is a small country with beautiful landscapes and Ljubljana is such a great place to live.

For me, it was an incredible experience and I recommend this school and this country to students who would like to do their Erasmus semester.

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I really enjoyed my semester at GEA College, the different courses offered were all rewarding, based on real life and business stakes, and the teachers were very experienced in their fields. The mix between students from different countries and backgrounds is great. I met plenty of people during my stay and hanged out a lot in Ljubljana, which is a human-size and lovely city.  I definitely recommend GEA College.

There’s something about Slovenia that makes it feel so right. Yes, it’s a small city, but you still have pretty much everything you wish to have from a big one. It’s surrounded by green mountains and blue lakes, and it’s filled with nice people and lots of entertaining opportunities. And GEA College is one of those.

It’s a small university but that allows them to built an specific education program around the student unlike it usually happens in other colleges.The courses take a practical approach which is much appreciated for Spanish students that’s something we are not used to, but very welcome.

It’s been a once in a lifetime experience we wouldn’t mind repeating. In fact, we would very much love to do it all over again for the friendships created along the ride will never be forgotten.

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It is almost impossible to say in a few sentences all the positive experiences and emotions gained with the Erasmus program after returning to the family home. The easiest is one word-priceless! To be independent and responsible, be surrounded by people of different cultures, faiths and worldviews, and actually so many peers in which you recognize true friends for life-invaluable! With the obligation to communicate in English we have gained security and freedom to use it both in business and in private conversations. The organization of Erasmus on Gea college with almost individual access to each student, has greatly helped, even though sometimes because of many tasks and the preparation of presentations did not seem so. The wholehearted help of the professor was a great contribution to our success and passage in our exams. All staff on Gea college was here for us at any time. The city of Ljubljana, in general with its daily contents, which includes the cultural and historical contents of a beautiful little town, has a wide range of nightlife offers that meets the entire world population. All in all, Erasmus experience remains forever!

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I spend two wonderful semesters in Ljubljana. I really enjoy it. People are very kind and helpful whether in the city or in GEA College. A lot of events are organised and it’s not difficult to found some activities to do. Beautiful landscape, easy mobility, student boni, parties …. Slovenia is a very good country for Erasmus!

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Dear future Erasmus+ students!

I challenge you to be part of the most beautiful city Ljubljana, located in the heart of Europe, where I found myself comfortable studying at GEA College as it’s best. Instead of the studies part, this country has the availability of reaching even the sea, ski resorts, golf clubs, and many other attractions even in one hour or two! While as a first time steping in Ljubljana, I took in consideration studying as my priority, while attending regular classes at GEA, which i will say I liked the most, also second and most important I will mention Ms Majda and Ms Urška as very kind and organised coordinators that whenever you need something they are here for you!!! I aware you not to be afraid of studying here! Because you will solve the material through practical work, with very nice professors that will also help you and a lots of guest speakers. Because #YouOnlyOnceLjubljana ☺

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“Welcome to Ljubljana, Europe’s Green Capital 2016! “

These were the first words welcoming me at Ljubljana´s airport when I arrived in October 2016.
Slovenia?! You mean Slovakia? – Nope, beginner´s mistake. Slovenia?! – Yep, the small country between Italy and Croatia. Slovenia?! – You´re right! The country everyone heard of, but most people actually don´t have a clue about! (So did I)

You see: The adventure of making your Erasmus in Slovenia already starts the moment when you have to google where it actually is located to tell your friends and family. This feeling of discovering an unknown treasure not far from known territories was what made me first think about Erasmus in Slovenia. All the positive aspects as the diversity of the country, it´s beautiful nature and small towns, Ljubljana being a “hipster-city” you´ve probably already been informed about. Well, and surprisingly they´re all true 🙂

Ljubljana

What´s Ljubljana like? It looks like Vienna or Prague. It has beautiful old streets, bridges and a lovely castle. On the horizon you can see impressive mountains, parts of the Alps. It´s big enough for having a lot of things to do and see, but it´s small enough for running into someone known randomly. The city center has loads of beautiful cafes and bars, some clubs (if your main goal is only partying then Ljubljana might be too small and cozy ;)) and a lot of cool stores and projects. The Slovene people are really friendly and it´s interesting to get insights in their culture.

Traveling

Ljubljana – located in the middle of Slovenia – is a great base for traveling through Slovenia. Your schedule will allow you to go on extended weekend trips. In Slovenia you can travel to the Mediterranean coast for tanning and swimming, to the Alps for hiking, climbing and skiing, to the Pannonian Basin for winetasting and a lot more. Starting from Ljubljana everything can be reached within 3 hours by car and is extremely beautiful.

Slovenia – located in the west of Eastern Europe – is a great base for visiting countries as Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Hungary, Italy, Austria and so on. It´s super interesting to gain insights in the landscapes, culture and history of those countries!

The GEA College

I was excited to visit a college with small classes and the focus on entrepreneurship, even though I didn´t really know what to expect. It´s been a lot of fun studying with people from all over Europe and having such a great support by the staff of GEA College.
The schedule is Erasmus students friendly 😉 It will leave you time to discover Ljubljana and to travel. The professors often have two jobs, one in the business world and on teaching you. This fact enriches the classes with real live examples and guest lecturers the professors know from their job. Besides the final exam you usually have assignments and group works during the semester. The classes are mandatory, but if you´ve got something important that hinders you from attending the class the teachers cooperate 😉

This Erasmus experience has been amazing! GEA College, Ljubljana and Slovenia have got their own charm that is absolutely worth it experiencing!

Come and discover it yourself!

Lene

Some useful insider apps and websites:

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i feel sLOVEnia

When I started my journey towards the unknown country somewhere between the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps, I had no idea what to expect. I got sorted into the Erasmus+ Program in Ljubljana by chance but decided to stay open and positive. In retrospect, this has been the best thing that could have happened to me.

When I heard about the College I was going to attend, I felt quite excited to visit a school that would be focusing on the entrepreneurial part of an economics study. Due to the fact that this would fit my study in Germany very well and the many positive responses from students that had already been there before, I was critically optimistic that my semester abroad would be a time worth the little risk.

Even before I had arrived in Slovenia, the contact to my Erasmus Coordinator in Ljubljana was nice and always helpful. The organization on site was hats off great. For every question regarding the program, the studies, the agreements or grade conversions, an answer was quickly found. The lecturers were professional and the content of my courses really interesting. Especially the understanding of language difficulties made the shared time a success. Additionally, the college gave us international students a family atmosphere by providing us with very nice local mentors who made us feel welcomed and part of the city. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that the vast majority of international students felt comfortable and happy in the streets of Ljubljana with its bridges, small cafés, pubs and nice people.

In my opinion, Ljubljana is the best place to spend a semester abroad. The city provides you with an amazing community of open-minded young people, a vibrant nightlife and the best: the perfect location to travel through whole Europe! It will only take you a few hours by car to visit Budapest, Venice, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Vienna and many more places to see. Also the country itself will leave you speechless with its beautiful landscapes including mountain lakes or the cost.

147.445 minutes, 2.456 hours, 102 days.

It took even less to make me fall in love with this beautiful city!

Marleen

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“My ERASMUS semester in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at the GEA College was very nice. I’m glad that I had the chance to meet students from Slovenia and many other different countries. Slovenia is also a very nice starting country if you want to travel because everything is so close. I would definitely recommend a semester abroad in Slovenia!”, – Michael.

I really enjoyed my time abroad in Slovenia.

The lectures were professional and interesting.

The biggest benefit of our classes were the experience of our lecturers.

Our lecturers showed big commitment and made classes interesting because of many practical examples.

I am glad that I decided to come to Ljubljana and learned more about the country and culture.

I had a great time which i will never forget and it is for sure that i will come back!