Why the University of Lisbon?

I love the sea and my dream was to learn how to surf. Portugal was the perfect choice. I bought a surfboard and went surfing all the time. The waves and the vibe of the surfing places are amazing.

How was the teaching different compared to the University of Bern?

Because of COVID-19 I can only compare the online teaching. In Bern we had more lectures as podcast whereas in Lisbon the seminars were on Zoom and were more interactive. Everybody had to turn their cameras on. The downside was that the Zoom classes were not recorded. The exams were also different. Every 4-5 weeks we had to sit a small exam. If the average grade of those tests was sufficient then we passed the course. Those who failed were offered the opportunity to sit a big exam at the end of the semester.

How is the student-staff relationship different from what you are used to?

It felt a bit like being back at school again. The lecturers knew the first names of their students. We called them by their last names. During class the teachers would unexpectedly call upon a student to answer questions. It created a bit of pressure to be alert all the time. However, the lecturers still took the time to check in with us exchange students in case we were struggling with the language as all the classes were in Portuguese.

How has UniBE International supported you?

The first step was the hardest. I did not really know where to start because studying abroad is not really promoted to pharmaceutical science students. Flavio Caluori from UniBE International was very helpful and guided me in many phone calls through the application process. The checklist on mobility online was handy. All in all, I feel the opportunities for studying abroad could be explained better to first year students at the department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In my opinion studying abroad is an opportunity worth pursuing, even though it most likely results in having to study longer.

Which cultural differences would you highlight?

In Portugal people are happy to talk to complete strangers. One of the things I loved most was joining a crowd of people to watch the sunset. In Lisbon people spontaneously meet up at places called “Miradouros” to watch the sunset together. This was completely new to me as it isn’t usual for people to meet up in spots like the Rosengarten to do so.

Any adventures you would like to tell us about?

Since almost all lectures were online, I managed to travel a lot. Some friends and I went on a road trip along the coast of Lisbon to see all the surfing hotspots along the coast. I also travelled to the Azores, Madeira, Porto, Sagres and many other places.

What has the exchange semester taught you?

The most important lesson for me was to learn about myself, how I behave when I’m completely on my own and how I become a different version of myself while talking other languages than my three mother tongues. My semester abroad showed me that I would really like to study for my master’s degree at a university abroad. Maybe I will do my master’s degree somewhere by the ocean and take up surfing again.

Text: Caspar Bienek
Foto: Valentine Schmid