MY ERASMUS+ EXPERIENCE, FARIS HAZIĆ, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

My name is Faris Hazić and I am a student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Zenica. I had the privilege, honor and obligation to spend the 7th semester at the University of Jaen (Spain).

Let's start from the beginning. I am sitting with a colleague from the faculty and we agree that we urgently need some change in student life. Although we have talked about student exchange before, now that idea has been taken into serious consideration. We immediately undertook to follow all the competitions that will be available at the University. Just a few days later, a competition for student mobility opens for a university in Spain. First, the very country in which I could stay "moved me out of place", because I had already stayed in Spain before and that country delighted me. I knew I had to try to leave. The procedures for applying to Erasmus programs are nowhere near difficult for what you get by going to foreign universities. Of course, a big thank you goes to the Office for International Cooperation of the University of Zenica, as well as to my Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. After a certain time, I found out that I was accepted to this program, and then there was a period of waiting for departure.

Of course, that day also came, faster than expected, when I found myself at the airport in Madrid. From the airport, going to the hinterland of Andalusia, the city of Jaen, about which I knew almost nothing. But the first impression immediately charmed me. The city of Haen is surrounded by natural beauty, endless olive plantations and always warm weather. The city is extremely quiet, you feel as if you are on another planet. The University of Haen itself is huge, over 20,000 students from over 100 countries study there. It was a new dimension in the understanding of university frameworks. Immediately, in the first days, I made new friends from all over the world, from South Korea to India to the United States. This is actually the greatest asset of this Erasmus program.

Andalucia is the most beautiful part of Spain, and for me, the most beautiful part of Europe. I could never have dreamed that I would walk through the ancient Alhambra, the Great Mosque of Córdoba, the beautiful beaches of Malaga and enjoy the city center of Seville, but yes, that was exactly what was happening.

Erasmus also gives you the opportunity to visit many places, so I visited Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon and many Spanish cities with my friends.

Studying was in synergy with the acquisition of new knowledge and skills with the establishment of multiple contacts and relationships with professors and experts from various fields. But I keep coming back to the fact that the people I met there are the greatest asset I have acquired and will carry with me for the rest of my life. I will forever remember going out together, having dinners together, sharing experiences and many other things we experienced together. The Erasmus experience is probably the period that will be the most beautiful stone in the mosaic of my life. I want to say to all those who hesitate and have dilemmas whether to try this plan that Erasmus provides the best opportunity of a lifetime to upgrade your knowledge, abilities and skills, learn a new language, visit beautiful places, meet many new people and cultures and enrich their social capital. Why not take advantage of it?