Dear prospective student in Erasmus Mundus QEM, be aware of some things before you make a choice "to change your life". I have made that choice to study QEM and I want to share my experience with you. Since you cannot really get any insight on this program just by reading the web-site - believe me it is a job well done, and what you will read will seem amazing - this program is actually far from amazing for students who really want to pursue a professional career:
1) The first semester I spent in Paris, and it was all about mechanical repetition of very old notes by very old professors, who actually could not speak English well. The whole teaching experience was missing: no dialogue students - professors since unknowingly why French professors do not care what you want, for them is important to finish the lecture and to go to the office. There was one professor who had saliva coming down his mouth, and he treated students outrageously bad i.e. The professor: "Switch off your computer (in class), and leave the room!", The student: "I am taking notes", The professor: "I don't care, take notes by pen!". Furthermore, the administration is terribly bad to students, and they do not answer to emails even if you say in the title something like "I do not have where to live".
2) The second semester in Barcelona was the worst time of my life. The program that calls itself IDEA, they think they are the best, so we as students there had to "live up to their expectations". In the beginning lecture the coordinator came up to greet us. We were all smiling and being kind, and she simply added: "Don't think you are here on holiday!". What a warm welcome! Basically, since it is difficult to describe I will present you facts: studying everyday all day, writing 3 problem sets each week accounting for the lousy 15-25% of the final grade in the subject. The professors did not care about students at all, since they think they are the best in the world, which reflected on us, the students, being totally stressed out all the time. Some people got psychological problems, others got two failing grades, and the final result was the same: THEY (about the half !!!) ALL HAD TO LEAVE ! Dreams shattered indeed! Then by the end we organised each other and made an official protest, by dedicating time explaining how the program could be improved, all the people had their hopes on that, what we received was: "YOU ONLY LIKE TO PARTY AND NOT TO STUDY. WE PAY YOU SO YOU HAVE TO WORK" namely in the language of the QEM coordinators: We pay you scholarships every month and your ass is ours. CONGRATULATIONS !
3) Later on, in my third semester in Venice, I can "gladly" say I met the most hypocritical of QEM all. First off, you get something they call "mandatory subjects" which basically means: "WE DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR INTERESTS ARE, WHAT WE DO CARE ABOUT IS THAT THE CLASS OF THE PHD STUDENTS IS FULL, AND THE PROFESSORS HAS MORE MEAT STOCK IN THERE". Yes, we studied with PhD students. In the beginning things looked different though. We were asked: "What do you want to specialize in?" And I chose finance. Ok, well, by the end of the course I had my "mandatory subjects" in things anti-finance like Behavioral Economics and Empirical Economics. So, then what? Oh, yes, I chose one professor for advisor, then in the end he suddenly dropped me, and reassigned me to a person that actually did not read my work at all. Also, did I mention that professor stopped responding to my emails totally ignoring me. So, it is about time to mention about the attitude of the Italian professors, if you think French are bad, then DO NOT come to Italy. For example, the professor will never say NO, what he would do is to keep you on the hook, waiting... waiting... you ask again... he does not reply... waiting... and then suddenly the deadline is gone. Ops.
4) The program is not really coordinated well. The "coordinator" is in Paris, but I can tell you that the guys in Barcelona and Venice are their own coordinators, they do not care what the Parisian would say, because they have the attitude: "We are the best, they cannot tell us what to do". This of course reflects on the students.
5) The psychology of the QEM students once in that environment changes. The process is straightforward - the months starts in anticipation of the new check in the bank account, and continues like this. It is the money that make up for the previous 4 points. BUT if so, then think about it whether it is worth it:
- you end QEM without any specialization, so actually you study your ass off 2 years, but since the program is not well organized the result of your studies is a broad superficial coverage on topics from behavioral economics to time series etc.
- you graduate and if you are in Venice, nobody can help you find a job - no career service for foregners, since you do not know Italian, the mandatory Italian course you take is actually both a money mint for the teacher and another bureaucratic formality for the coordinators here.
- the consortium jiggles you from country to country simply because the money of the EU is on your tail, and each university wants a share of the big pie. The result, as you might now, psychological ... because of all the changes, the new languages, the new cultures, the new coordinators you have to deal with (very difficult) etc.
- the worst thing is that the QEM coordinators are willing to do anything just to keep the status quo, and therefore the EU money mint flowing meaning they distort the reality behind QEM, and are very skilled in manipulating the current students. For example, when there is a decisive meeting in Brussels on the program budget every year, there are QEM students representatives, but carefully selected and manipulated so no objections are raised in front of the guys in the EU - the money mint launcher.
In conclusion, QEM Erasmus Mundus was the worst choice of MSc program in my life, and right now I am in a delicate position finding a job, and in general meaning behing all 2 years of hard studying. If you respect yourself, and you do not look only after the generous money package on your tail (remember, this program is all about it, your money tail, NOT you), then think twice before applying to this program.
