Students become actors

Four new videos will give foreign students a true impression of the housing, study support, the journey from Schiphol Airport to Rotterdam, and the student associations in Rotterdam. It seems that students who are studying at Erasmus University do not always have a clear view about life in this place.

The videos look video clips and current international students of Erasmus University play a role in them; they have even been casted. “One simply lives up to its promise on screen better than the other”, laughs Marlous Janssen, international relations officer. She has arranged everything about the videos and is confident about the final result.

No real marketing goal

The videos are meant for students who already made the decision to study in Rotterdam, and have no real marketing goal. “Instead of being just informative, represent the videos the atmosphere of the campus and the city”, explains Janssen. “That is why the style of the videos differs from the other, more objective ones on our website.”

Investment

The Erasmus Student Service Center payed about twenty thousand euros for the four videos. Quite a lot of money, but Janssen thinks it is worth it. She expects that the investment will pay for itself: “If the videos will succeed in preparing internationals for their stay in Rotterdam they have answered their goal. As an ambassador of Erasmus University in their home country, we hope that those students contribute to a growth in the number of foreign students.”  

Disappointed about housing

The four themes have been chosen by the Committee International Students, who based their choice on the results of the International Student Barometer 2010. That showed, among other things, that foreign students did not have a reasonable view about housing facilities. As a result, many students are disappointed, for example if they can only find a room for a high rent. The housing video therefore shows what student rooms in Rotterdam look like, where they are located and what you have to pay for them. LJ

Watch the videos