Mr Erwin de Bruijn and Mr Sep Schraven, VUT’s exchanged students

Joining VUT Marketing third year students for the first semester as part of the exchange programme for international students are Sep Schraven and Erwin de Bruijn, both from Fonty’s University of Technology in The Netherlands.

Sep said he is excited to be in South Africa; they love the weather, the people and the food and he is hoping to finish the semester with good grades while also looking to make friends and experience South African parties!

Edwin said he wants to be part of the community, experience how people live and explore his new surroundings.

Venessa Bradbury, Senior Administrator at the International Relations Office, said: “We received our first exchange group of students in 2013. Most of them come from France, Germany and Holland. The overall exchange programme is a fundamental necessity. The energy these kids bring to our children is amazing and we love seeing the cultural exchanges. Yes they get confused and look lost at first, but the way VUT students make sure they fit in and accommodate them within the VUT community, is a wonder to watch.”

Exchange students are identified by their institutions and their application forms get sent to the VUT International Office. These are then sent to the relevant Faculties for approval. Once the applications have been approved, the International Office finalises everything and arranges the visit.

The International Office has sent VUT students on Scholarships, and courses in countries such as Russia, Sweden and United States of America.