{"id":107689,"date":"2019-12-20T20:11:46","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T19:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=107689"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:38","slug":"sitting-an-exam-at-the-ahoy-complex-i-have-to-admit-i-actually-found-it-kind-of-cool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/12\/20\/sitting-an-exam-at-the-ahoy-complex-i-have-to-admit-i-actually-found-it-kind-of-cool\/","title":{"rendered":"Sitting an exam at the Ahoy complex: \u2018I actually found it kind of cool\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you enter Ahoy, soft music is coming from the speakers, and you can just make out the legendary voice of Nat King Cole crooning \u2018The Christmas Song\u2019. Small Christmas trees with fairy lights and a red carpet add some Christmas atmosphere to the wide corridor that leads to the various halls. In this festive cheer, more than 2.700 first-year students of the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) and the Erasmus School of Law (ESL) get to sit their final exams of this term.<\/p>\n

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One of the examination halls at Ahoy<\/span><\/p>

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For the first time in thirty years, EUR\u2019s exams are being held at Ahoy. \u201cToday, 7.035 students will be sitting exams,\u201d says a university spokesperson. \u201cThe exam rooms on campus are booked solid.\u201d EUR\u2019s Professional Services Unit has been at the venue since 7am, preparing for the exams to be held at Ahoy, a major event centre that often hosts concerts, trade fairs and sporting events. \u201cWe transferred all the things we needed from the campus to here and hired folding chairs and time display devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relaxed students<\/h2>

Students Nienke, Emma and Brechtje are posted at the entrance to the examination halls. They were hired by EUR to show students to their rooms. \u201cSome students, mainly the internationals, have never been here before,\u201d says Nienke. \u201cSo we hope to prevent them from ending up in the wrong hall.\u201d Thankfully, the students didn\u2019t seem too stressed out by the novel experience, Nienke found in the morning. \u201cThe students look really relaxed,\u201d she says with a smile. \u201cThere\u2019s a supermarket opposite Ahoy, and at least one in ten students popped in there to get a cheese roll before entering the venue.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Students Nienke, Emma and Brechtje (from left to right) show students to their rooms and hand out chocolate bars after the exams.<\/span><\/p>

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\u2018God, that was hard\u2019<\/h2>

By now the students have been going for an hour. The first exam, \u2018Introduction to Business Administration\u2019, is over, and first-year students are emerging from the hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod, that was hard,\u201d says Business Administration student Jeppe Louwerse. \u201cI didn\u2019t do a lot of revision, but that\u2019s fine. I\u2019ll be able to re-sit the exam in a few months.\u201d He\u2019d prefer doing that resit on the campus, though, rather than here at Ahoy. \u201cThe hall here was a little noisy,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a lot further from my student house in Kralingen.\u201d<\/p>\n

His fellow student Hellen Li is also considering a resit. \u201cI think I did an OK job, but I\u2019d like to re-sit the exam to improve my mark. It won\u2019t be until March, so I\u2019ll have plenty of time to revise.\u201d Hellen didn\u2019t mind Ahoy. \u201cNot every university gets to hold its exams at a concert venue like this, so I have to admit I actually found it kind of cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing wheelie suitcases into the room<\/h2>
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Alex is leaving for Schiphol immediately after the exam.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

For their part, the International Business and Administration (IBA) students found their exam quite hard, as well. \u201cThe questions were so detailed. At one point I began to wonder if my answers were actually correct,\u201d says South African student Alex Govender. This morning Alex left home much earlier than usual. \u201cI wanted to make sure I wouldn\u2019t be late for this exam,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it was a good thing I did, because even though this place is easy to reach by public transport, I had some delays on the way here, so I only got here just in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t have much time to reminisce about the exam, because he has a train to catch. \u201cI brought my wheelie suitcase, because I\u2019m leaving for Schiphol straight away,\u201d he tells us. His flight for Johannesburg is departing at 3.10pm. \u201cI\u2019m going home to celebrate Christmas and New Year\u2019s with my family. I don\u2019t have any special plans for the holiday, I\u2019m just going to lie on the beach and not think of my studies or anything hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fun experience<\/h2>
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Capucine and Alice are leaving this afternoon, as well \u2013 for their home country, France.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Capucine Bora, a first-year IBA student from France, also entered the examination hall with a wheelie suitcase this morning. \u201cI\u2019ll be taking the train to my parents\u2019 in a bit. I don\u2019t have any plans for my holiday, but my parents live in Paris, so I won\u2019t be bored.\u201d<\/p>\n

The international student didn\u2019t mind sitting her exam at Ahoy, either. \u201cI think I did a pretty good job. It\u2019s just that the examination hall was really cold. I wanted to put on my coat, but it\u2019s pretty uncomfortable, answering exam questions while wearing a thick winter coat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her fellow student Victoria Geenen didn\u2019t mind the cold. \u201cI actually enjoyed sitting an exam here, because usually, we do it in a large room in the Van der Goot Building. This is more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another IBA student, Roos de Vries, agreed. \u201cIt was a fun one-time experience. People come to Ahoy from all over the country to attend concerts, and now we get to say, \u2018Sorry, I actually sat an exam there.\u2019 That\u2019s kind of funny, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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