Student Support
Dear Esperians,
We are Celine Prins and Lina Amelung and as of this year we will be Esperia’s Student Support. We are there for all kinds of questions.
Think of housing in Groningen, letters sent to you by the Dutch official authorities, health care, insurances, bank issues and other practical matters. Is your question more general about living on your own for the first time? Like how does your washing machine work or what’s the best place to study in Groningen? Don’t hesitate, you can ask us anything!
Please do keep in mind that we are not professional problem solvers, but our experience may help you out: Celine works for the municipality and Lina has experience in settling in Groningen as an international student. And if we don’t have the solution, we can always refer you to the right person or organisation. You can contact us by sending an email to studentsupport@svesperia.nl, or ask a board member for one of our phone numbers!
A small disclaimer: the Student Support is an advisory body and, therefore, is not responsible and cannot be held accountable for any consequences that might arise from your issue.
The University of Groningen offers a lot of useful information on their website about things you need to arrange when studying in the Netherlands and life in Groningen in general.
- Groningen life | Admitted students | University of Groningen (rug.nl)
- Before you arrive | Admitted students | University of Groningen (rug.nl)
- After you arrive | Admitted students | University of Groningen (rug.nl)
- Handbook for Students of the Faculty of Arts
If you have any question regarding the study programme of ELC you can contact the following people:
The website of the municipality of Groningen provides you with some general information about housing.
Linked below are some website on which you can find offers for student rooms:
International Housing Websites:
Find information about housing allowances on the website of the government of The Netherlands here.
Have your administration in order with these useful links:
- Student registration in the Netherlands
- Moving to/within Groningen
- Emigration
- Request a BSN (Burger Service Nummer)
- Opening a Dutch bank account (BSN required)
- Request a DigiD (BSN required)
- Sign up MijnOverheid (DigiD required)
- Health insurance – it is legally required to have this while studying and/or working in the Netherlands!
- Healthcare allowances
Other things that are good to know:
- Is my drivers license valid in the Netherlands?
- Can I work in the Netherlands?
- Can I vote in the Netherlands?
- Getting a bike: at De Ganze Fietsen you can get 10% off a purchase under €250 as a member of Esperia!
- Lost your bike? Here is what to do!
- Where do I find a doctor and/or dentist?
Are you looking for a placement for the 2nd semester? Do you want to contact an organization but are you hesitating how to start? Please join one of the two free workshops in November 2023 at the Faculty of Arts ‘Networking: the key to your Placement’. Sign up here.
After you find a placement, please ask your supervising lecturer for approval. The name is to be found online.
Don’t forget:
(1) the first step towards your placement is enrollment for the placement course code in Progress. The enrollment for the second semester opens the 28th of November 2023.
(2) The second step is registration in Mobility Online. This is the platform where the administrative processing of your placement takes place. Use the flowchart in step 4 of the step-by-step plan on Study Info (under placement and Career) to select the correct ‘workflow’ (your own placement file in Mobility Online). (Please read the grant conditions carefully. If you do not qualify for a grant, you will have to start over in the workflow ‘placement without grant’.)
If you need personal advice, you can make an appointment with the faculty placement coordinator.
Good luck, kind regards,
Office for Study Affairs (BSZ, red desk 1st floor, stages.let@rug.nl)