Important Information about Cordoba and Amiens from MESC 10

Q: Let's start with the positives. What are the things that you like about
Cordoba/Amiens in general? (Please specify the city you are referring to)
a. Amiens, - Small, quiet place but has all the things you want. - It is only 1hr from Paris, and has
many transportation methods to access other major European cities; By Train (Brussels = 1.5 hrs,
Amsterdam - 3 hrs) or by Flight (Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Budapest, Lisbon, and Malaga,
for tickets as low as 30) - People were generally friendly - The Cathedral!!!
b. The weather in Amiens.
c. Cordoba is a very nice city from the architectonic point of view but also from the point of student's
life. Cordobese people are smiling,willing to help you even if there are always exceptions. Also,biking
in the city is a nice and healthy way to compensate the oily grilled andalucian cuisine.
d. What I like in Cordoba are the weather, nice people, great food, fiesta and siesta. The city is
beautiful! Go to La Mezquita! Explore Andalucia!
e. The semester in Cordoba was in some extent more friendly in terms of the interaction with the
professors. They show a more open attitude to our questions and doubts about the topics of the class.
The online platform Moodle was a great tool for organizing the content, materials and extra resources
relating the course. Besides some exceptions, the evaluation system was fair and transparent.
f. Amiens is a good place for study--small and peaceful, no too many clubs. It is close to Paris.
i was in cordoba, i liked the city. its small but supper nice city. everything is cheap as well specially
compare to France cities.
g. Well there are several advantages about spending your important MESC semester in Cordoba.
First of all, the classes there focus only on what you need to know and everything is centered around
nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion. You don't need to spend too much time on classes
that you are not interested in. It means that you have more time and energy to think about what is
really important after the 3rd semester; mater thesis and PhD or job afterward. Remember for those
who want to apply for a PhD in the US, you will need to do it during the 3rd semester, but how can
you do so if you are too busy with classes and everything . Moreover, there are only 7 classes in total,
and you only deal with 5 professors. It means that you get in close contact with them (if you want to,
of course) which is good for future collaboration, and more importantly, you will get to know their style,
and you can even predict what might appear in your exam paper. Apart of academic aspect, you will
enjoy the great weather of a beautiful Andalusia city that is rich in culture, enjoy delicious food, meet
with very friendly (and crazy) people, especially Erasmus students.
h. Cordoba I liked the city and the people and of course weather :)

Q: Kindly describe the university life (nightlife, accommodation,

Cordoba/Amiens. (Please specify the city you are referring to)

etc.)

in

a. Amiens, - Really good nightlife... the International Student Organization recently got into ESN
(Erasmus Student Network), which means more parties, outdoor events, and other activities for you to
engage with local and Erasmus students. Most students are good with English, and help you to
improve English. Many pubs and clubs to enjoy the nights out, and you have the chance to party with
Paris Erasmus too! - Castillon Residence is generally a very sociable place...it has many international
students, and have a small room where they have theatre, concerts and even parties.
b. - Amiens weather was generally quite nice till end of November, then it got colder. This can be a
little downer, but you can survive...right now, its amazing! (So think about the 4th semester as well ;) )
c. Classes in Cordoba starts usually at 9:30 AM. You need to take a train to go to the university which
usually takes around 10 minutes. Nightlife is awesome since most likely you are going to live near the
city center. The city is small, which can be good if you like meeting familiar faces on a daily basis.
d. Cordoba has quite good night life, there are bars every three meters,they offer delicious
salmorejo,tostadas,patatas bravas and other cordobese specialities during the day and during the
night there are people on the streets until early morning even in the week days. There are various
type of mainstream and alternative bars. For the accomodation, living in an appartment is a very good
and cheap choice. The best way to search for is just to look in the streets for announcements and ask
people.
e. Nice Weather, accomodation awesome! Cheap and nice flats in the city center of Cordoba are easy
to find. Nightlife..its Spain! Nothing else to say xD
f. Cordoba might be one of the most famous city for Erasmus student, so the Erasmus organization
there is really strong. There organize many activities including trips to Morroco and nearby cities,
paintball, flash mop and of course, parties. There are something to do almost everyday throughout a
week. About accommodation, you can live in a very good flat (100 m2) for less than 300 euro or you
can own a studio for yourself for more or less the same price. However, it might be a bit difficult to find
a studio because most of the people prefer to share a flat, and there are lots of good flats.
g. ---h. In Amiens, room is ok, but the internet is very slow. The dorm is close to campus, 10 min on foot.
In Amiens, the accommodation is good, officiers are very nice. The nightlife is not that vivid.
i. Cordoba The city is very beautiful, and if you like to travel Andalusia is the best place. I am totally
recommending, the quality of social life is very good, everyone is living in the flat because is cheaper
and more comfortable. City is small so you can stay together, its cheap comparing to France, so you
would be able to aford for everything. the transportation to university is easy and fast.

Q: Kindly describe your workload throughout the third semester. Are the
requirements justifiable or just too much? (Please specify the city you are referring
to)
a. Cordoba there are a lot of presentations and some labs which were interesting and useful. All the
semester you have to work; prepare some reports and presentations, in amiens all the exams are in
the end, but in cordoba at the end we had just 4 exams, because the other subjects were done
before, so that is good point of Cordoba.
b. A bit busy. We have too much lectures every week. However, it is worth.

c. i think for me it was too much. we had something to do every week.

d. The workload in Cordoba is soft at the beginning, but increase when approaching the end of the
semester. Its constant: small exams, lab reports and presentations during the whole semester. It is
good in the sense that at the last 2 weeks the final exams are ok with the load but it is bat in the
sense that there is no totally free weekend during the semester that allow you to travel, at least if you
are not so good organized like me.
e. The workload in Cordoba was really tough. Starting from October,we had to prepare every week for
a test or a presentation, a fact that was puting stress in our life and we could not really enjoy the nice
city combining learning with enjoying. The course grades were all separated in parts,so there was
always a stress to cover each part. I believe that making less exams would help students have a
better mood and consequently viewing the university in a more positive way and learning more.
f. In Cordoba, there are some works to do of course. It's hard to say whether it's a lot or not. It
depends on how you manage your time.
g. In Amiens, there are quite a lot work to do. But it is good for me since I want to learn more.
h. Amiens -The workload was not an issue, and was decent. The professors here were the best,
specialists in their fields and has many industry connections. Networking with them would be
awesome for future. - TU 18, which is the Bibliography project, include an opportunity to work with a
researcher in the lab, like a mini thesis, and this would give you a good idea into masters thesis work,
PhD work and even set a foundation for future. You get to do experiments with CNRS researchers
during the 3rd Semester. - You can definitely Travel, Party and Work, all at the same time, while
getting a proper sleep and food...
i. Although there are exams, presentations and lab reports, the workload in Cordoba is still not as
lethal as what they have in Amiens :D

Q: How are your professors like in Cordoba/Amiens? (This is the part where you can
say the negatives, but no name-dropping please :D) (Specify the city you are
referring to)
a. in Amiens, most prof are very nice, while some are not quite passionate to help us.
b. The professors in Cordoba, I believe, are welcoming and will pretty much entertain any questions
you have no matter how stupid they may be. I don't think any of them can be classified as terrifying.
They are nice generally. The quality of teaching, I must say, is not as good as I expect it to be.
There's one or two professors that teach really well. You will find out who they are soon.
c. As I said before, there are five professors in Cordoba and I only like three of them. The other two
are not really good. Anyway, the classes there are linked together. So, you have a chance to learn
about the same topic taught by different professors. there are only two professor that i liked in
cordoba.
c. Professors are very nice. I learnt a lot during this semester, especially during the lab project.
d. Cordoba. As mentioned before the professors are helpful and friendly. They are good researchers
but it doesnt mean they are good professors. Two of them are really good, but the others are just
dropping some information in boring presentations where you need to memorize many details if you
want to have a good mark. The learning process is not very efficient since the classes are not held in

an organized structure and the professors sometimes cannot answer properly to your questions. Its
not the best place if you aspire to have a world-class teaching scheme.
e. In Cordoba the professors (with one or two exceptions) were not actually close to the students even
if they were apparently talkative. They were not treating students as responsible adults,on the
contrary i felt that i was still in the high school. The grades were given based more on the capability of
memorizing things and less on thinking. However,the fact of having a lot of powerpoint presentations
it was very helpful.
f. Cordoba In general the atmosphere is very enthusiastic, the proffesors are nice, trying to help. In
Corodoba is a lot of presentations, so definitly at the end of semester you will improve that skills. The
best subject is crystallography, information are given very clear and in the interesting way, sadly the
other proffesors sometimes cannot answer for the questions and they have some confusions.
g. Amiens, - Really good professors; specialists in their subjects. - There will be many of them, but
you really get to learn very specifically. - No one was bad...but sometimes you may not finish the full
amount of classes they were supposed to do...but they wouldn't ask beyond what they taught, so you
are fine.
h. - Amiens professors are very involved with industry and they are very well recognized. You will get
the chance to network with them and get very good opportunities after MESC, including PhDs with
them, or Recommendations for PhD and Work.
i. - Amiens is not just for battery people...battery research is only one part of solid state chemistry
which they do in Amiens, LRCS..they have a good Photoelectrochemical group and Modeling/Fuel
Cells group, and really good professors who work on synthesis of materials.

Q: What can you say about your overall study experience in Cordoba/Amiens? Was
your decision worth it? (Please specify the city you are referring to)
a. I guess I have learned well in Cordoba. It's a place where you can chill, study, party and still learn
at the same time. I am definitely sure my decision is worth it. I've had enough pressure from
Toulouse, I had to enjoy my third semester. I'd like to think that in MESC, it's the experience that
makes one happy, not the grades.
b. Cordoba The semester was good, but compared to Amiens we didnt have that opportunity to have
classes with some well recognize proffosors which can teach very good. I have the impression the
Amiens people had higher level of teaching. In Cordoba we have more work, labs, reports and
presentations.
c. its not bad
d. In Amiens, it is a beautiful time in my life.It is totally worth the time for me.
e. Life was great in Cordoba. but I have to agree that people in Amiens study more than us.
Nonetheless, it doesn't mean that we learn less than them. We know what we need to know.
f. Amiens, I have no regrets being in Amiens, - Weather wasn't like in Paradise, but it wasn't hard on
me - The classes were super educational, and I improved my grades and ranking, especially for
someone without bachelor level exposure to chemistry and electrochemistry or physics. - I made most
of my Erasmus friends in Amiens, and I really had a great time with them. - Nearly all the Saturday
(sometimes even Friday) mornings started with a hangover...so I had a good time at night ;)

g. Generally I do not regret of choosing Cordoba as it is a curious city that needs time to explore it in
contrast with Amiens that it seems to be much more smaller. From the academical point of view,there
were both some interesting and innovative subjects, and some less motivating and less useful
courses
h. My decision to go to Cordoba was totally worth. Comparing with the wild semester my colleagues
had in Amiens, i prefer to be in a place with a more distributed workload so I have time to learn. For
people that are afraid to extreme timelines and pressure, Cordoba can be a good option. You dont
receive high quality lessons (except one or two professors which are really good) but at the end you
learn by your own.
i. I learnt a lot, not only on battery, but also on hydrogen storage and other areas.

Q: In summary, please enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of your

chosen city.
a. In Amiens, the strength is I learned a lot. I don't see much weakness even there are some small
problems. Mais c'est la vie.
b. Strengths of Cordoba 1)Nice and friendly city 2)Sunny weather even if the winter is not too warm
because of moisture 3)Fiesta,siesta,tapas y cervezas 4)Some subjects are really very motivating
Weaknesses of Cordoba 1)Even if is nice,is not so big, not a metropoly 2)Train schedule
unconfortable enough to reach university 3)There was not a real interaction with many professors
4)Exams and task pressure during the whole semester but also in the end
d. Cordoba Strengths: - cheap, good weather, nice people, lighter workload, very good nightlife,
located in Andalucia, nice professors generally (except for one or two maybe in terms of grading LOL)
Weaknesses: - quality of teaching, a professor not teaching well and gives low grades (whose will be
kept secret *wink*), people don't speak that much english
e. Cordoba: :) Awesome place to live (cheap food, historical places, landscapes, nightlife, weather) :)
Friendly Professors and organized way to provide the material for the class :) Transparent and fair
evaluation system :( Not organized way to teach :( Not recommendable if you are looking to the best
teaching :( Not the best experts in the field (like in Amiens, there are the big names) In both places
you will have to work hard! But in Cordoba the sun help you xD
f. I think Amiens is much underrated in MESC, since most people who went there in the past, just
focused on studies, and never did much to enjoy the life outside studies. For me, I enjoyed the
parties, the travel and the life, just as much as the studies and learning. So there are many good
things in Amiens that never got mentioned, or went unheard under the loud noises of how the other
city was the best... Nowhere is perfect, and this goes to Amiens and Cordoba too...for me, I think I
had an overall experience in Amiens, with good education, good friends, great life and travel. For the
future after MESC, Amiens, UPJV and LRCS will be a good place, since compared to Spain, which
has no visible opportunities for PhD or work, being in Amiens can open the doors for many good
opportunities for you.
g. Read the previous answer :))
h. from the academic point of view in Cordoba you can get some skills, the proffesors are nice, they
orginize for us the trip to Sevilla to abengoa to see solar panels, the quality of life is good, is cheap,

sunny and the social life is very nice. the wekaness is that proffesors were not very clear sometimes,
and the level of teaching was not very good, but some subjects were very interesting and useful, we
learnt a lot from them
i. Amiens Good points: lectures cover various areas. Have more chances to enjoy a research life.
Weakness: too many exams during the last two weeks. Too many professors who are giving lectures
about their researches, but there is no strong connection between each other.
--

Q: In one word,
Cordoba/Amiens.

describe

your

third

semester

experience

in

Contradictory
AWESOOOOMMMEEE!
i had a great time in cordoba
fantastic
Challenging
busy
good
Choose Cordoba
Transformational

Q: Is there any word of advice you want to give to MESC 11 students?

Write them below. THANK YOU!!!
a. Close your eyes, recall what you have read and heard...and who will go with you...make an overall
decision, and don't look back!
b. Wherever you go just try to find interesting things to explore,to feel the pulse of the city and to
make good and deep friendships. When you finish the semester (at least at Cordoba) you realize that
the stress for accomplishing all tasks and exams was not worthy. So, just try to live.
c. If you want to learn more, please choose Amiens.
d. Contact me personally for more detail discussion
e. you need to think what is really important for you. i did the table with the pro and contra and check
the result, that is really usefull,
f. Decide according to your preferred rhythm of study: if you are used to work very hard and against
time, and you want the best contacts, Amiens is for you. If your rhythm is more soft (which is not bad,
all of us have our own rhythm) and you dont care too much about the quality of the content and the
teaching, but you want just to enjoy the life in the city, Cordoba is for you. No matter what you decide
it will not make huge difference for your master thesis, you usually have to learn things about your
own topic from the beginning and it doesn't matter where you were for 3rd semester, you will survive
and you will do a good thesis for sure. May the force be with you :)
g. Choose prudently.

h. Choose whatever your heart tells you! Good luck and don't forget to have fun.