You don't just come to a school, you come to live an experience.

Cecy Rico, from Digital Design, was awarded a scholarship for a semester stay in Brazil. Here is her experience:

When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
Yes, but I did not know what they consisted of.

Did you think you would go live and study abroad in your first semester?
It never crossed my mind the idea that in some semester of my career I could live an exchange.

Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
No, never.

What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
The cultural investment that is gained by living and learning about the way of life in a different country, in addition to growing my professional resume when I return to Mexico.

Why did you decide to study in that country?
Because within my career there were things here in which I want to develop and that called my attention, besides the language motivated me to learn it living here and the culture of the country, it was something very interesting, there were people I knew from the uni who had already made the exchange to this country and they had told me of very good things of their own experience.

How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
Fear and excitement at the same time, it was something very interesting to begin to realize the differences and similarities that exist within Mexico and Brazil. I know that although they are similar countries in some ways, I found a wide culture gap where everything I saw for the first time seemed surprising.

How have you been received at the university where you arrived?
Wonderful, I think we received a lot of attention from mobility and that somehow is a support when you need someone to turn to, I know now that I can count not only with mobility, but with teachers who in the same way have been able to teach me very interesting things and students and staff in general that make my experience something unique. For 6 months it was my home of studies which I will always carry in my heart and in my knowledge for the rest of my life.

What will you miss most about Mexico?
Tacos and hot sauce.

What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience?
I really do not know where to start, I think the first thing is to have come to live completely independently, having that freedom that comes with travel, is a challenge but at the same time is still something totally interesting and full of learning, another thing that marked my stay here was definitely the school, as I think it has been one of the best choices of my life, come and learn what you can learn in another country, I am absolutely sure that this was an investment in my professional development and my vision within it; To meet people, students like me, foreigners who come with the same aspirations, doubts and motivations with which I arrived here, to understand that we live many things in common, whether they are French, Japanese, German, American, Mexican or Brazilian. In the end I think that is also the true essence of traveling because you don't just come to a school, you come to live an experience that will open your senses to the fullest and that will test you in all aspects of your life.

And the hardest part?
The most difficult thing from my point of view has been the fact of having total control of my person, the fact that I need to be the one who prepares food, who gets up alone for school, who works, who knows how to manage money, who delivers everything in time and form within the faculty, who has to pick up a house, do laundry and many other things that I am sure there are many students who are accustomed to having all that done at home. The most difficult and at the same time the most important challenge has been to become a more responsible person and that brings with it an enormous personal growth. I got sick several times while I was here and I think it was one of the worst things I had to experience being away from home.

What do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
As a person I have the absolute certainty that it made me grow in a thousand ways, I know that the person who came at the beginning is not the same person who will return because you do not just come to a school, you come to live a complete experience and to absorb a different knowledge that could only be provided in Mexico, making trips like this is to make investments that will bring rewards to your future life, in all aspects of your life.

Do you recommend these opportunities provided by Uni to your colleagues?
Definitely

You see Mexico from another perspective

You see Mexico from another perspective

Fátima Vaca García, a Business Administration student, is studying for a semester at the Universidad Mayor de Chile and tells us about her experience.

When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
Yes, I remember when I entered Uni they mentioned it to me.

Did you think you would go live and study abroad in your first semester?
No, I hadn't thought about it until I applied for the scholarship.

Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
No, this was my first international experience.

What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
Learning about another culture and above all the experience of being away from home and my comfort zone.

Why did you decide to study in that country?
For recommendations and to learn more about South America.

How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
I felt a little homesick since it would be the first time I would be away from home for so long, but I was very excited to live this experience.

How have you been received at the university where you arrived?
Incredibly, since I applied to the university they were very attentive to my whole process, they were always very kind and willing to solve any doubt I had.

What will you miss most about Mexico?
Definitely the food.

What about the Uni?
The modality of the classes and the way of grading.

What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience?
Make new friends that without this experience I would never have met, and that in the end became my family.

And the hardest part?
Housing, from the moment I arrived, was a problem, but in the end I learned from that and now it's funny.

What do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
Acquire knowledge that I might not have had in Mexico.

Do you recommend these opportunities provided by Uni to your colleagues?
Completely, it makes you change your perspective, see Mexico from another point of view and open new horizons both personally and professionally.

To feel the immensity of the world is the most incredible thing.

Paulina Origel Herrera, Industrial Engineering student, spent the previous semester at the Pontifical University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and here she tells us about her experience.

When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
No, in the second semester I found out that I could go to another country and I started to have the idea of leaving.

Did you think you would go live and study abroad in your first semester?
I never, ever thought I would be away from home for so long, studying in another country with a language different from my own.

Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
No, I had never studied outside Mexico

What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
First of all, learning another language, meeting new places, meeting new people and getting to know other cultures.

Why did you decide to study in that country?
Many of my classmates had gone to Brazil and always talked amazing things about the country and their experience, also learning a different language.

How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
I felt a lot of fear but at the same time an inexplicable emotion.

How have you been received at the university where you arrived?
The people in charge of academic mobility at PUCRS were always amazing and very kind, in college at least my classmates were a bit closed but my teachers were always very patient and nice to me.

What will you miss most about Mexico?
The FOOD!!! No doubt.

What about the Uni?
I never thought I would say it but to my classmates, it is much more fun to be in my classroom in Mexico than in Brazil.

What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience?
To travel to places you don't know and feel the immensity of the world is the most incredible thing, to see how small you are and how huge this world is, the sensation you feel when you step on places you thought you would never know, it's incredible!!!!!

And the hardest part?
I think the hardest thing to do is to manage, you can't have money for everything.

What do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
This program helps you grow as a person to change your way of thinking and become more self-sufficient, it opens your mind and you realize what is really worthwhile and as a professional, learning a language is always a plus!
Do you recommend these opportunities provided by Uni to your colleagues?
Very much, if you have the opportunity, do it, I think it will be the best experience of your life!

I wanted to have a global vision.

Zaira Rivera, from Digital Design, tells us how she wanted to broaden her vision and was able to achieve it thanks to the Uni scholarships.

When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
Yes, I knew they had these programs and it is part of what I liked about Uni.

Did you think you would go live and study abroad in your first semester?
I had wanted something like this all along but was too afraid to do it.

Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
I had never had this experience before, the whole time I was close to home.

What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
I wanted to have a global vision and not just look from a fixed point, but to complete panoramas at a global level.

Why did you decide to study in that country?
I was struck by the level that the country of Chile has in America.

How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
I felt very confused as if I was afraid, you arrive in a country that even though it is your own language they have idioms that you do not understand, the food is totally different from what we have in my country.

How have you been received at the university where you arrived?
Wonderfully, I have friends not partners, people that I will have to leave because we are all from different countries.

What will you miss most about Mexico?
From Mexico its food and my loved ones

What about the Uni?
From Uni everything, my university now I check that it has a very good level because everyone liked my work.

What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience?
I think going to the end of the world, visiting the Paine towers and almost touching the south pole is magical, you really feel alive when you see such beautiful landscapes that even seem photoshopped, but no, they are there and they are real.

And the hardest part?
The most difficult part was the lodging. We had to stay with friends from Monterrey for 3 days because we ran out of an apartment.

What do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
As a person I think I have changed a lot, the person who took the plane to Chile is not the same person who returns to Mexico. I feel very confident, eager to do things and with new ideas for my career, new design influences.

Do you recommend these opportunities provided by Uni to your colleagues?
If you should all live an experience like this, believe me, these are things that you will never regret in life.

Mejora y vuele a intentarlo.

Andrea Rendón Ramírez estudia nutrición en la Uni y es una de las primeras estudiantes en realizar el programa de doble titulación con la Universidad de Lleida en España. Aquí nos cuenta su experiencia.

When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
No, la verdad no sabía que existía este tipo de programas hasta que en un buen día en clases entro Gaby a hablarnos sobre ellos.

Did you think you would go live and study abroad in your first semester?
Jamás, nunca me imaginé que tendría esta oportunidad.

Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
No, never.

What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
Me impulsaba la emoción y curiosidad de vivir la experiencia de estar en otro país y aún mejor sumarle que te darían un doble título, desde que escuche sobre la opción de hacer la doble titulación en primer semestre solo pensaba en lo increíble que sería, pero nunca me imaginé que yo que iniciaría con esta movilidad tan extraordinaria. Ahora entiendo más que nunca la frase “Estudia para que llegues muy lejos” por parte de mis padres, maestros y familia, tenían razón y les agradezco tanto ya que sin ellos no estaría hoy en España.

Why did you decide to study in that country?
Porque siempre había sido un sueño llegar aquí, de pequeña cuando jugaba con mi hermana a tener mi casita mi opción para para vivir siempre era España.

How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
Al principio sentí un poco de miedo porque no conocía como moverme desde el aeropuerto, pero al ver que había más jóvenes como yo pensé       -bueno si ellos pueden yo también- ese miedo se transformó en asombro al ver cada de detalle de todo lo que estaba a mi paso.

How have you been received at the university where you arrived?
Increíble, todos han sido muy amables y considerados con nosotras.

What will you miss most about Mexico?
Sin duda alguna la comida y mi familia.

What about the Uni?
A mis amigos y maestros.

What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience?
Viajar y meterme a un lago congelado en Finlandia.

And the hardest part?
Decirle adiós a los amigos que conocí aquí y con los que conviví tanto que ahora son como parte de mi familia, pero por otra parte es emocionante porque sabes que los volverás a ver y ahora será en su país.

What do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
Crecer, espero ser mejor como profesionista y persona, romper mi propio record y hacer las cosas aún mejor.
Do you recommend these opportunities provided by Uni to your colleagues?
Totalmente, es una experiencia que debes de vivir y como la escuela ya te da todos los programas, opciones y facilidades es solo cuestión de que des el salto y digas ¡Va, yo quiero!
Si no quedas seleccionado a la primera no te decepciones, mejora y vuele a intentarlo.