Incoming Students
JOHANNA HEROLD-EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITY TÜBINGEN, GERMANY
My time at the Istanbul University was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a not-so-typical Erasmus time. The insights I gained and the people I met totally changed my understanding of Turkey and the life of its citizens as well as of intercultural cooperation. Istanbul is a great city where there`s always something more to explore and it never gets boring.
If you want to see something entirely else you can easily travel around the country and find new amazing historical places with amazing nature and a lot of adventure.
It may sound cringe, but my time here helped me a lot for developing as a person and I am sure I will keep my friends from here for a lifetime.
When you come here, just dont forget to take as many ferry rides as possible.
ANGELA RISTOVA-UNIVERSITY GOCE DELCHEV STIP,NORTH MACEDONIA
I am Angela Ristova, a final year student of general medicine of in Macedonia.I attended the Erasmus program for three months at the Istanbul University. The program not only offered me new experiences in my field, but also I met and made friends from all around the world. I was able to learn from highly experienced doctors and professors, that made a big impact in my future career. I trained at differed departments such as anesthesiology, obgyn, and surgical department. I was positively surprised from the hospital overall organization and the hospital interaction with the patients. I am very grateful to all the personal that let us learn and work along with them. This was a huge experience for me that it impacted not only my professional, but also my personal life. I would recommend this program at the Istanbul University for any student that wants to learn more, because it offers a lot and the experience is unforgettable.
MILOSZ KOSECKI-UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW, POLAND
My experience at Istanbul University and in Istanbul was a life trip adventure. I have spent here together 9 months, and I really do not know when I realised that I am going home soon. All the people that I have met during my staying here, were very interesting, nice, and helpful. The city in itself is just amazing, there are no words to describe this place, you just have to come here and see, and experience this by yourself. At Istanbul University, I have learned, a lot of new, and valuable stuff, which will help me in my future life. Thanks to the Erasmus Office for taking care of us, Erasmus students, without you it would be much harder.
ANATOLE CLEMENT-INSTITUT LIBRE D'ETUDE DES RELATIONS INTERNATIONALES, FRANCE
It was an incredible experience for me, on both a human and educational level. I met incredible people and participated numerous very qualitative courses provided by the Istanbul Universitesi.
ASILBEK KANDAKHAROV-UNIVERSITY OF LODZ,POLAND
It was the first time for me to attend Erasmus and come to Turkey, After studying online in Poland because of the pandemic, Offline studying at Istanbul university gave me an unforgettable and wonderful experience for my whole life, I can say I felt like real student life when I came here. In addition, I explored beautiful Istanbul city which is old Constantinople and I learned about Turkish culture. I loved “Iskandar Kebab” which is a traditional Turkish meal. In short, it would be the best time of my life.
ADELINA DRESHAJ-HEINRICH HEINE UNIVERSITY DUSSELDORF,GERMANY
In my opinion it was one of the best expierences that I have could made so far. I have met a lot of different People from different countries. I have made good friendships. Though the Erasmus Program I have made Friends around Europe! Istanbul as a City itself is amazing. A lot of opportunities for visiting, staying and enjoying their time.
MARIJA COJIC-UNIVERSITY OF NIS, SERBIA
Erasmus mobility program is the best experience in my life. I have improved my knowledge in medical science, thanks to the most inspiring and kind professors in Çapa hospital. Also, I met so many friends from the whole world and now we are in touch. I learned to live in a country with very different culture, religion, rules and I felt very comfortable in my skin during the whole mobility of 2 months. Now when the mobility is finished and I am at home, the only thing I can remember about Istanbul is happiness, so I miss my life there so much. My absolute recommendation is Erasmus program in Istanbul, at IU, it is the best decision you can make.
This was my first erasmus+ ,and it was the best experience that I have had in my life as a student.Istanbul university is a great opportunity and I am very thankful to all of you for giving me this opportunity.I wish all the best to all my Erasmus professors and the coordinator of Erasmus Mustafa Kaplan for being there every time for everything that we needed as Erasmus students and foreigners of Turkey.
I had the most beautiful time in Istanbul. The city itself offers various activities and has so many things to see, that I miss now that I'm back. I was student on Erasmus traineeship in Çapa hospital. The staff has been very kind and opened to foreigners, especially Department of Neurosurgery. I had the best communication and teaching with people from that department. The Erasmus Office was there to guide me through the process and to make it easier for me. Therefore, I hope to be a part of Erasmus exchange in the future again. And I recommend absolutely everyone Istanbul University.
ALEKSANDAR SPASESKI-UNIVERSITY GOCE DELCHEV STIP,NORTH MACEDONIA
Erasmus is one of those adventures which can't be forgotten, once Erasmus - always Erasmus. It was an experience of a lifetime, filled with joyness, happiness, knowledge, new friendships from all over the world, a lot of adventures etc. The collaboration between me and the receiving institution was excellent and always on time I had a response for every single question. The Epithet of the best University in Istanbul, has kept the name through numerous training, all-day practice and the unreserved commitment of professors and doctors.
Last but not least, someone said: "if we don't change, we don't grow" and it's definitely true.So my advice for anyone is, if you are given the opportunity, even if you never have thought about going away before, do it!
ANNA HORMIG-UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE, GERMANY
My Erasmus experience in Istanbul was just perfect. I learned a lot, not only in university but also during my whole stay in Istanbul and through the people I met here. Istanbul University was a great host university in which I loved to study. The city of Istanbul became one of my new favorite cities in the world as it is - in my opinion - the perfect choice for Erasmus students since it has just everything to offer. I’m already looking forward to return to Istanbul and Turkey one day.
Erasmus in Istanbul happened to be one of the most precious and valuable experiences I’ve ever had so far. The city itself has a lot to offer not only from touristic point of view, this is evident given the rich culture and history, but also when it comes to the academic performance. The classes were held entirely in English and most students were at ease while speaking it and that helped us a great deal to integrate into the student community. Everyone would be very helpful and eager to facilitate our life to the maximum. The city is enormous with thousands of diverse activities and there was no day when we wouldn’t know what to do with our free time (I’ve even discovered a new hobby which is pottery). In sum, I highly recommend Erasmus at the University of Istanbul, the most prestigious one.
I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to be an Erasmus student at Istanbul University and to spend my last semester of medical traineeship at Istanbul University, Medical Faculty of Çapa. The medical doctors were very keen on teaching us and sharing their medical experience with us and I am very grateful for that. Also, the staff at the Erasmus Office was always very helpful and quick to respond to any questions related to my traineeship. I will always cherish all the moments and memories from Istanbul, my five months of stay were filled with excitement, fun and many new adventures. I have become very fond of Turkish culture and Istanbul will always have a special place in my heart.
FRANCESCA ASTRID PELLIGRA- UNIVERSITY OF SALENTO, ITALY
My experience in Turkey began with the warmest and sweetest of welcome. Even before actually coming here I had already spoken with some locals who were waiting for me with unprecedented enthusiasm: that was just a small forecasting of the warmth, kindness and hospitality of the Turkish people. I mean it from the deepest part of my heart, I was seriously moved by how welcoming Turkish people are, sometimes also in a way that made me rethink my Italian sense of hospitality… these people will really treat you and make you feel like family. I come from a small town in Southern Italy and I was amazed by how energetic the Istanbul youth is. There’s never a dull moment with them: these kids know how to enjoy their life, be it going to techno clubs, listening to live traditional music or just enjoying the sunset with some cay and pumpkin seeds in one of the many beautiful parks the city offers. I immediately appreciated the culture and at the same time felt like I had lived my whole life here. I never –and I say never!- felt like a foreigner. The cherry on top of Istanbul Universitesi is Mustafa Kaplan, the Incoming Students responsible. He’s realiable, serene and always knows how to get the job done to help the students. I really liked that he created a Whatsapp Group with all of us (during my Erasmus in Valencia nothing like this could have ever happened, I received a really different treatment there).
Unfortunately, as we all know, not all that glitters is gold: the downsides of Istanbul, in my opinion, have been an incredibly cold and long winter, a really unstable economy and, let’s say, not the best of the political scenario. The last one especially definitely broke my heart, not because it affected me, but because I could see and feel how much locals were suffering because of this and how drastically their life have changed. It is such a mean injustice: people so nice and lively and kind having to deal with such a wrecked politics. For what regards the cold, my Mediterranean heart was broken, but with some nice isothermic clothes provided by Decathlon and an abundant dose of sahlep, corba and sometimes also wine, I managed to survive.
As much as I like and relate to Turkish people, one thing that really bothered me is how stubborn they can be; considering also the meaningful language barrier, sometimes this has been something incredibly annoying to me. But again, no one is perfect and not all that glitters is gold.
I studied in the main campus in Beyazit and I must admit that all buildings from Istanbul Universitesi are well kept, clean and architecturally beautiful. Even if I’m a Migration Politicies student, my heart will forever belong to Edebiyat Fakultesi: a chill, colourful place with all kinds of people. I felt really tied to that place, as it allowed me to go back to my roots (my bachelor is in foreign languages and literatures) and thanks also to the Textual Analysis teacher, Buket Akgun, I spent such a nice time with stimulating classes and a professional, kind and engaging teacher to motivate me and other students to give our best. I cannot say the same for the Political Science department... I strongly suggest a better organization for International Students and a better formation for teachers. I found the education level low, poor and also useless at times. I hope that with time the department could align to European Standards, in order to provide an effective and improved experience to international students.
Generally, I can affirm that my experience in Istanbul has been almost excellent. If it hadn’t been so cold during the winter months and if the economy wasn’t so broken that almost everyone tried to scam me, I would say that it’s maybe heaven on Earth; it’s not, but it’s something really close to it, especially when you walk along the Bosphorus at sunset listening to Altin Gun.
SOLOMIIA BILA-UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW,POLAND It was one of the best periods of my life. I have met a lot of new people all over the world, opened for myself interesting world of new cultures, traditions, religions, history. My worldview has changed a lot, I became more open-minded, extraverted, brave, more open for people from totally oposit cultures from mine. As a conclusion, I can say that Erasmus is an amazing opportunity for everyone to find new friends all over the world, improve communicative skills and start to feel yourself as the citizen of the world.
LORENA RUSU-BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES,ROMANIARegarding my experience here, Istanbul University has excellent quality of education. My lecturers were helpful, they gave students a lot of advice, reading materials, and they took really seriously the obstacles we might face when it comes to learning courses and tried to solve those with the students. The courses I have taken at the university are very good in general and very well thought out.
MERYEM ŞÜKRİYE ŞAHİN-RUHR UNIVERSITY BOCHUM, GERMANYIn my opinion it was the best choice to take part in the Erasmus program and have this experience in Istanbul. The Istanbul University made this time easier for me, but despite everything it also taught me a lot for my studies and also for the rest of my life outside of my studies. I am very thankful to have had this experience.
HİLAL YILDIZ-HOCHSCHULE FUR WIRTSCHAFT UND RECHT BERLIN,GERMANYFirst of all I am really happy to make an experience as an exchange student at the Istanbul University. I was at the Avcilar faculty, which is a little bit far from the center of Istanbul. The main campus in Beyazit is very beautiful and in the heart of Istanbul. Nevertheless the lecturers at the Avcilar University we’re kind and most of them were also courteous. Some courses I chose were online and some of them were face to face which was really pleasant because of the free-time I had. I also want to say thank you to Mustafa Kaplan, who helped me out when I had questions. All in all it was an enjoyable time for me. I just wished sometimes the faculty wasn’t that far away from the center, but Avcilar has some beautiful sides too, for example some beaches and malls.
ARIANA LUIS DE DESUS CAPELA-INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DE VISEU, PORTUGAL
I loved it, I had really nice professors and they were so kind! Istanbul it's a unique city and I can't wait to return here again. The university it's incredible and they were always ready to help. My experience in one word, Incredible.
ARIANA LUIS DE DESUS CAPELA-INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DE VISEU, PORTUGAL
I loved it, I had really nice professors and they were so kind! Istanbul it's a unique city and I can't wait to return here again. The university it's incredible and they were always ready to help. My experience in one word, Incredible.