Torstein - Norway

I stayed in Grenoble, and studied at ENSIMAG from fall semester 2005 until spring semester 2006. I never regretted taking a year as an exchange student in France and Grenoble, and I will strongly recommend others to do the same as I did. It was a great experience, and I feel enriched as a person after my year in Grenoble. The reason why I chose France in the first place, was because of the language. I had learned some French at high-school, but not sufficiently. Therefore, I thought that a year in France at a French school would make me speak more fluently French. Then I looked at the map over France, and possible schools that had cooperation with my school in Norway. Eventually I decided Grenoble and ENSIMAG. Mostly because of all the mountains and possibilities for skiing, I must admit. But I also heard a lot of positive things about the school. After having settled down in Grenoble and after taking a 4 week intensive language course, my life at ENSIMAG started. To be honest it was quite hard for me to get used to the French school system. Almost everything was different from what I was used to from Norway, and in addition I had to concentrate quite hard to understand the language in the beginning. Even though I had some trouble getting used to how things were done at ENSIMAG, I got the impression that the courses were at a high level, and the professors were skilled. Talking about Grenoble; the city and its surroundings lived up to what I had hoped and expected. I went a lot of skiing and went to some of the beautiful mountains which surround the city. I will conclude with saying that I am really pleased with my stay in Grenoble, and it is an experience I can strongly recommend. Torstein Tønnessen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway