Anna Vatterodt: Agricultural University of Iceland

Why did you want to do an exchange?

I was very interested to do an exchange and when I researched for opportunities and found out about the Erasmus exchange. I wanted to make connections with new people and explore the beautiful nature and culture, as well as getting a new perspective for my studies.

Which courses did you take?

In total I did 7 courses, distributed over two short terms with 30 credits in total. I took both bachelor and master courses. My courses were Ecosystem ecology and Sustainable management, Icelandic culture and language, Issues at the artic edge, Grazing ecology and management, Forest ecology in a treeless country, Sketching and observing the environment, Artic circle. All of these courses were taught in English and mostly taken by international and Erasmus students. The education in my host university was similar to the one at SLU. We did a lot of excursions and also some practical work in most of the courses.

What was the student life like outside your courses?

Besides the courses we traveled a lot through the whole country. The international students became all close friends and whenever we had a few days off, we planned trips to explore the island and to go hiking around the campus. We also did a lot of sports. On campus there was a small gym, football field and a frisbee gold course, as well as a sports hall where we usually played some balls games in. We also organised things like movie nights in the school and cooked a lot together. In the closest cities Borgarnes and Akranes we met up to go to the pools and bouldering halls. In Hvanneyri (Town of the campus) there was also a pub, which opened twice a week, were the students went to hang out.

What was your best experience during your exchange?

I experienced so many good things during my exchange and it was such a great time. One of the best things I did was riding Icelandic horses at the beach together with my friends.

What was the biggest challenge during your exchange?

Because we did so many fun travels and had so much free time, it was a bit hard for me to motivate myself for studying.

Advice for future exchange students

The campus is located very remote and does not really have a public transport, so the students are advised to take their own car with them to reach stuff like the grocery store. I did not have my own car and most of the other exchange students either and it was not a problem at all. The Icelandic students all have a car and are open to take people with them to the closer town. In my case there was a teacher that rented her car to us exchange students which was really helpful. If you have more questions contact me: annavatterodt@gmail.com