This year we are 6 SUTROFORs studying in Montpellier - which is
the most they have ever had so a lot of varying experiences :) It's nice to be so many because we show a lot of solidarity towards one another and can band together if we want something to happen!
Anyway... after much thought, I have come up with the following plus and minuses of AgroParisTech in my own humble opinion...
Plus:
- Montpellier is really a very nice little student town - pleasant and full of life. The climate is quite nice - I mean it gets cold but rarely goes below 5C.
- The AgroParisTech campus is surrounded by olive groves and is around all sorts of research centers...
- GEEFT students and Sutrofor students all take the same classes in the same classroom - so you really get to know your fellow classmates.
- French and African students are easy to get along with and friendly... get ready for a lot of parties :)
- The classes are taught by professors here as well as a variety of researchers from different research centers such as CIRAD, IRSTEA, IRD and various NGOs (WWF, Greenpeace, Rainforest Alliance, etc)... so that allows you to build a nice network, especially when you are later looking for an internship!
- There's a lot of focus on social sciences - sociologie de l'action, negociation, politique de la nature, economie et politique forestiere, economie de l'agroforesterie but it's also nice for students that are relatively new to forestry as there are nice introductory classes on GIS (very hands-on), R software, dendometry, inventory, sylviculture, forest management...
- Staff are friendly and willing to help but they are quite busy...
- Your class schedule is quite flexible and so is the staff.... Some of the exams/papers can be written in English/Spanish... and the professors are often happy to translate things during class if foreign students do not understand.
- Internships are paid in France - about 400 euros per month :)
Con:
- Sutrofor students were quite confused at the beginning of the year as to what classes to take... It depends on which school the students attended in the first year - you thus get a personalized schedule... but you need to ask for it...
- For students from Dresden - they had almost a month off in December because they had already taken classes in Dresden on the various subject matters... so a lot of overlap overall with 1st year institutions...
- AgroParisTech in Montpellier is quite small - it's a couple of buildings located quite far from the town center - about 35-45 minutes with tram and bus from the center which includes a 10 minute walk to the school...
- Because it is so small, their "library" is quite small with limited opening hours. However the librarian is likely to buy a book for students if it's not available.
- Just like in high school, you will spend all day from 9am to 5pm in a classroom being taught at with the same 30 students all year long. Most students are 20-22 year old with a few more mature African students. You are also basically treated as if you are still in high school and not as an adult, which can be a bit disconcerting for more mature students. For instance, the rules state that you must ask for permission if you would like to miss a day and present a proper doctor's note if you are ill...!
- We are told about exams a couple of days before they take place and do not get any time off to study for them...And just like high school, the exams consist of spewing back definitions and course material that you have to learn BY HEART... There are some exceptions of course...like the Sociologie de l'action class (with fieldwork which includes interviews all around the area) and the ecology course which is more team-oriented.
- Classes only last from 1 week to 2 weeks can be a bit superficial.
- Schedules for classes are often not available until the week before so it does not make planning easy. Two students missed classes because the schedule got changed at the last minute and they had already book their plane tickets for christmas...
Anyway... after much thought, I have come up with the following plus and minuses of AgroParisTech in my own humble opinion...
Plus:
- Montpellier is really a very nice little student town - pleasant and full of life. The climate is quite nice - I mean it gets cold but rarely goes below 5C.
- The AgroParisTech campus is surrounded by olive groves and is around all sorts of research centers...
- GEEFT students and Sutrofor students all take the same classes in the same classroom - so you really get to know your fellow classmates.
- French and African students are easy to get along with and friendly... get ready for a lot of parties :)
- The classes are taught by professors here as well as a variety of researchers from different research centers such as CIRAD, IRSTEA, IRD and various NGOs (WWF, Greenpeace, Rainforest Alliance, etc)... so that allows you to build a nice network, especially when you are later looking for an internship!
- There's a lot of focus on social sciences - sociologie de l'action, negociation, politique de la nature, economie et politique forestiere, economie de l'agroforesterie but it's also nice for students that are relatively new to forestry as there are nice introductory classes on GIS (very hands-on), R software, dendometry, inventory, sylviculture, forest management...
- Staff are friendly and willing to help but they are quite busy...
- Your class schedule is quite flexible and so is the staff.... Some of the exams/papers can be written in English/Spanish... and the professors are often happy to translate things during class if foreign students do not understand.
- Internships are paid in France - about 400 euros per month :)
Con:
- Sutrofor students were quite confused at the beginning of the year as to what classes to take... It depends on which school the students attended in the first year - you thus get a personalized schedule... but you need to ask for it...
- For students from Dresden - they had almost a month off in December because they had already taken classes in Dresden on the various subject matters... so a lot of overlap overall with 1st year institutions...
- AgroParisTech in Montpellier is quite small - it's a couple of buildings located quite far from the town center - about 35-45 minutes with tram and bus from the center which includes a 10 minute walk to the school...
- Because it is so small, their "library" is quite small with limited opening hours. However the librarian is likely to buy a book for students if it's not available.
- Just like in high school, you will spend all day from 9am to 5pm in a classroom being taught at with the same 30 students all year long. Most students are 20-22 year old with a few more mature African students. You are also basically treated as if you are still in high school and not as an adult, which can be a bit disconcerting for more mature students. For instance, the rules state that you must ask for permission if you would like to miss a day and present a proper doctor's note if you are ill...!
- We are told about exams a couple of days before they take place and do not get any time off to study for them...And just like high school, the exams consist of spewing back definitions and course material that you have to learn BY HEART... There are some exceptions of course...like the Sociologie de l'action class (with fieldwork which includes interviews all around the area) and the ecology course which is more team-oriented.
- Classes only last from 1 week to 2 weeks can be a bit superficial.
- Schedules for classes are often not available until the week before so it does not make planning easy. Two students missed classes because the schedule got changed at the last minute and they had already book their plane tickets for christmas...
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| Jose |
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| Felipe |
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| Our classroom |
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| In front of the APT sign |
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| Mali and Jose enjoying class |
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| Field trip for agroforestry |
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| Sunset at the campus... |
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| View around the area of Pic Saint Loup where we got to drive around and interview farmers, hunters, etc. as part of Sociologie de l'action |
