Erasmus+: Zuzana discovered Prague through marketing and art. The experience taught her to step out of her comfort zone

Erasmus+ doesn’t always have to mean traveling to the other side of Europe to provide valuable experiences. Zuzana Katarína Sihelská, a third-year student in the Department of Mass Media Communication at the FMK UCM in Trnava, knows this firsthand; she decided to participate in a mobility program in the neighboring Czech Republic.

At Ambis University in Prague, she experienced a different teaching style with a stronger focus on marketing, got involved in creative projects, and explored the city’s cultural richness along the way. Despite the proximity of the two countries, the Erasmus program represented an important step outside her comfort zone and gave her new perspectives on her studies and on herself.

Which courses or projects appealed to you the most, and how did they differ from the teaching at FMK?

Since I’m studying mass media communication at the FMK UCM, where I took courses related to marketing and management, the difference was quite significant. We were given creative assignments, such as designing a marketing campaign for a brand or coming up with a fictional company that was expanding abroad. I really enjoyed that.

What appealed to you most about the teaching style, the teachers’ approach, or student life?

What impressed me most was how helpful and accommodating all the teachers were. In every class, they gave us time to ask questions and always assured us that if we needed anything, we could contact them at any time. I never felt like I was bothering them.

The classes were more active and creative; the teachers asked us lots of questions and engaged us in discussions. I was worried that the classes wouldn’t be interesting since we were “just” Erasmus students, but that wasn’t the case at all. Quite the opposite.

Has anything—positive or negative—surprised you in the academic or cultural environment?

What surprised me most was probably the fact that we had a different schedule every week. Sometimes we even had a week-long break between classes. Many of my classmates found part-time jobs because they didn’t know what to do with so much free time.

However, this meant that we had one class for three hours, usually from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Even though I really enjoyed the classes, the timing didn’t really suit me, because I had trouble concentrating in the evening.

What has been your best experience there so far?

As an art lover, there was truly so much for me to discover and admire in Prague. I probably consider one of the exhibitions at the Kunsthalle to be my best experience. It was an exhibition about the artists Anne-Eve Bergamann and Hans Hartung. It was about their life together, apart, and how they found each other again. I really enjoyed it.

How did your studies at the FMK UCM prepare you for your stay abroad?

Thanks to the fact that I took a digital marketing course at FMK, I had a solid foundation. It helped me understand what was being discussed in class. As part of my studies at UCM, I also attended a few marketing workshops, which were helpful as well.

In what way did Erasmus help you grow the most—professionally or personally?

I think Erasmus helped me mainly by making me more open to new opportunities. After all, it meant stepping out of my comfort zone almost every day.

But it was precisely being surrounded by new people and the change of scenery that also gave me plenty of new food for thought. I would say that, thanks to that, I’ve grown a lot as a person.

We're very close to the Czech Republic, but is there any food you'll miss?

I didn’t really seek out traditional Czech cuisine, since I’m already familiar with those dishes. But I enjoyed trying Asian restaurants, of which there were plenty to choose from in Prague. But what I’ll miss the most is pho. Since I was on Erasmus during the winter semester, there was no better feeling than going for a hot bowl of pho after a long, cold day.

Photo source: Zuzana Katarína Sihelská