Exchange students at BFH: “I love the flow of Switzerland”

Incoming exchange students Elisabeth Valkenhoff, 21, and Mikolaj Borowczyk, 22, are BSc International Business students in their 4^th year at Avans, their home university. During the autumn semester 2023, they were enrolled in the BSc International Business Administration degree programme at BFH.

The application process and the trip to Bern went smoothly for the two students. “The communication with our BFH contact was easy and the instructions were clear. We felt very well taken care of, even before our arrival,” says Elisabeth. Both of them liked that they could choose their modules freely from a wide range of subjects. Elisabeth chose to take mainly project-based modules, whereas Mikolaj decided to challenge himself with subjects he had not studied at Avans. “I was impressed by the high-quality equipment made available to students and by the inspiring lecturers.” The teaching team and a large part of the students have international backgrounds, making it very easy for foreigners to blend in. “Everybody speaks perfect English,” stresses Mikolaj. “As a result, you don’t need to speak German to take part in an exchange in Bern.”

For Elisabeth, the Welcome Days at BFH’s Business School just before the semester kicked off offered a great opportunity to meet the other exchange students. “It was fantastic! We all met at the beginning, making friends for the whole semester. Everyone had their own study plan, so we didn’t necessarily meet each other in class every day. But thanks to the Welcome Days, we knew each other on campus, stayed in contact throughout the semester and ended up doing a lot together. We even took a trip to Poland!”

Thanks to Bern’s central location in the heart of Europe and to the excellent rail connections, exchange students find it easy to see and experience much of what the continent has to offer during their stay.

The two students rented an apartment together. “But if I came to Bern on my own, I would rent a room at the Student Lodge”, points out Mikolaj. “We went to lots of parties there. International students can get a room very easily, they are quite nice and there’s always people nearby.” Another tip is to take part in the activities organised by ESN Bern, where all the exchange students at Bern universities meet to go to parties, events and organised trips.

Elisabeth loves Bern, its cute old town and its central location. Taking part in activities in the capital and in the Berner Oberland region was Mikolaj’s favourite pastime during the exchange. “For someone like me who likes to go hiking, fishing, skiing or mountain biking, there’s no better place! It’s all right here, or literally 30 minutes away from Bern. We call it the big small city!”

Both students also enjoyed the possibility to use the UniSport gyms at preferential student rates. All in all, they agree that prices in Switzerland were much lower than expected. “Before coming here, a few people warned us that Switzerland is an expensive country. You do notice a small difference in restaurants and places like that, but for the most part, it’s practically the same as what we’re used to. The quality is always excellent, whatever you take. And you can experience so much while here without having to travel far. You can for example go skiing on weekends.”

What else, if anything, surprised the students while in Bern? Mikolaj stresses again: the proximity of the things to see and do in and around Bern. “We were also surprised to find out that Swiss German sounds a bit like Dutch, but we don’t understand it,” he chuckles. Elisabeth does not have to think twice before answering: “The thing that surprised me is how much I loved it all. Bern, the way of life here and just the general flow of Switzerland. I’m so happy to have chosen BFH!”