Hello, I am Ali Mehdiyev, 2nd course Computer Engineering student at Khazar University. It is my great pleasure to share my Erasmus+ student exchange experience at the Manisa Celal Bayar University of Turkey! My exchange period is the 2021-2022 summer semester (from February 2022 to June 2022). It was one of the best experience that a person can have in their life because both education and campus vibe is different from Khazar University, and I met many foreign students both at the university and at the university guesthouse. Meeting people from various countries and getting together with them in the same location had some advantages. Firstly, I improved my English language accent and fluency, since we didn’t have any other language in common. Secondly, it is a great opportunity to learn about new nationalities from foreign students and present information about your country.

The most important advantage is that, since all Erasmus students are new in the city, it’s easier to make conversation with them and hang out in the city when you arrive in the city. When we talk about Manisa, its nature is very great, and you can see the top of mountains from all places. People are also very friendly and hospitable, especially when they know you’re from Azerbaijan. Transport is cheap when you get your student card, and it has a schedule that makes it easier to use.

There are great historical places a little bit far from Manisa which you can take the bus and visit those visiting places. One of them is Izmir which is situated approximately 30-40 minutes far from Manisa and it is very huge. You can take both the train and bus if you wish to visit Izmir. Izmir have also great places for visiting like "Ephesus", "Teleferik" and so on. One last thing, you don’t need to worry about expenses, because Erasmus+ Programme provides a grant that covers the whole exchange period. After one week that I arrived in Manisa, I received 80% of my scholarship and 20% in the last week before I returned to my sending university. I highly recommend everyone to experience this exchange at least once in their life, it will change their mind.