Being a foreign student can be sometimes quite daunting. Discovering a new culture, languages and way of life, as well as tackling all the administrative tasks (particularly in Belgium) may scare away prospective students. We thought that sharing the experience of an Indian student arriving in Leuven (not even Brussels!) could help others to take their leap of faith.

Here under you can find a short interview of Vivek, an Indian MGM Leuven student.

For how long have you been in Belgium? And in Leuven?

I arrived in Belgium on 21^st august 2015 and came to Leuven the same day.

 How do you cope with the cultural differences for the moment?

I have changed schools six times for various reasons. Although it was not a change of culture but still it meant a great lot for me at that time. And because of such experiences in the past I am now used to changes. What I do to cope up with the cultural differences here in Belgium is that I try to copy whatever I see and act as if that is what I have been doing all my life. And sometime when I mistakenly do something do hurt someone then I try to be as direct as possible and explain the situation to that person to avoid any kind of miscommunication.

What strikes you the most in Belgium compared to India?

Living a happy life is more important for the people of Belgium than money. People enjoy their lives. Had you been rich in India, you would either be showing of your money in whatever way possible or trying to increase your wealth assuming that it might bring you happiness someday but here in Belgium, as long as people get their beer and can party, they are happy. And it is because of this reason that I might want to live here in Belgium and pay taxes for its population.

Do you feel like the education system is different from where you studied?

From what I have heard, other students used to study the same way in the universities as I used to in India, bunking classes and going out quite often. So there is not much of a difference there.
The scoring system might be a bit different but the level of difficulty that I would have to face in a business school of similar calibre in India is, according to me, the same.

What advice would you give to an Indian student coming to Vlerick?

I came here just after completing engineering and didn’t work. This is adding to my problems in getting a job here in Belgium. I would advise him/her to consider working for a while before coming here.

Also I would suggest him/her to start learning either of the languages (Dutch /French) before coming here so that it can be easier for that person to mix up with the locals, who are a big majority in the college, and also it would help a lot in of job related matters.

Thank you, hope you’ll keep enjoying your stay here !