Testimonial International Alumni Ambassador

Name: Alessandro Maria Balice
Country: Italy
Program: MSc Marketing Management

About Studying in Groningen

It is difficult to describe the city with simple words. People can read everywhere about how wonderful and amazing it is for students. However, in order to really believe in these words, you have to try the Groningen experience out for yourself.

Compared to one year ago, before starting my master in marketing, I feel more like a man now, conscious about my capabilities and finally ready for the work life. With a stimulating environment that forces you to plan everything and perfectly manage your time here, you can always find many things to do. The small and cozy city is full of positive energy among the young students and there is plenty of choice about what to do at night. People initially considered as normal classmates become friends after the first weeks together and become a constant part of your life. It is very easy to make new friends and there are many student associations that let you enjoy the time here with people from different countries. The internationality of this city makes it unique and opens your mind to a world full of new discoveries.

I personally find the teaching system more difficult and more focused on specific aspects of the subjects studied so far compared to the one we have in Italy. This way, you can have a deeper knowledge of each subject and understand better the various concepts, with practical examples taken from articles and real business cases that constitute a large part of the study program. Study can be tough sometimes, but professors here are also really open and it is very easy to have direct contact with them, always providing useful feedback in case any problem appears. This is also one of the reasons why I am really glad I made this choice and decided to come here to study.

Great and stimulating teaching system, international environment, plenty of things to do at night at affordable prices and a gym for students only. There is nothing more you can desire for an experience abroad!

Biography

Alessandro was born in Rome, Italy, in 1989. After his Bachelor ’ s degree in Economics and Business Administration he decided to continue his studies in Groningen, where he recently obtained a Master ’ s degree in Marketing Management.

He has always been interested in other cultures and languages and that is one of the reasons why he has studied English, Spanish, French and still wants to improve his Dutch. He has worked part time as event planner and disk jockey in Italy and practiced different sports at a high competitive level, such as golf, kickboxing and snowboarding.

His decision to become a student ambassador was also taken after he realized how wonderful it was to help other students and how this made him able to improve his interpersonal skills. One of the factors that contributed to this choice was the creation of a marketing group on Facebook (still the largest one online), where students still rely on him and where prospective students are continuously asking for help to make their decisions about the faculty. A simple idea that started only to share useful information with the first friends here, developed into something bigger that made him become a sort of mentor for prospective students and a very reliable person for his colleagues.

His last experience abroad significantly changed his life and he is willing to spread and share the extremely positive experience he had in Groningen, giving a small contribution to the knowledge of the University abroad.