Did you know that Pitt works together with the University of Groningen (RuG) for their ‘study abroad’. program? No, me neither! And I have been a liaison for Pitt in the Netherlands since my graduation in 1990. So that’s a lot of wasted years that I could have helped, but glad to discover this now!
Students are offered a full year abroad in Groningen starting in the Spring Term.
I’ve sent an Email to their contact and offered to work together, so the Pitt alums in the Netherlands can potentially help out these PItt students with life in the Netherlands.
It would be trivial to meet up with a student in advance of their stay or upon their arrival and welcome them. Tell them where to get good stuff, what an affordable place to rent is, how much rent is acceptable in your neck of the woods and how to get around in your city or region.
As a seasoned international citizen and having lived in four countries so far, I know first hand how time consuming it can be to get up and running. Finding local government offices, getting paperwork and permits arranged, knowing which forms you need for what, where can I can a public transit permit or card, getting a bank account and card, can I borrow a car occasionally or where could I rent one, how hot or cold will it get during your stay?
Having a fellow (former) Pitt student levels the playing field, it removes hurdles, you speak a more or less common language. For the alum getting fresh information about PItt will mean a great deal, many us have left part of their hearts at Pitt. For most of us, it was a great time in your life. For the student, it is a great time in their life becoming even greater by going abroad for a semester.
So teaming up with a student abroad in your home town will be great. We get to be student again for a little while to a certain degree. For the student, it will mean first-hand inside information about the place they travel to and live in, something that will otherwise take months to learn and find out for themselves.
Are you interested in helping out a Pitt student who’s in your area through Pitt’s Study Abroad Program?
Are you a student who’s in Europe or travelling to to Europe soon through Pitt’s Study Abroad program and would like to meet a Pitt alum to help you around and show you “the ropes”?
Leave us your Email address and we will get in touch with you.
Disclaimer
Please note that we will check with the University if you are indeed enrolled in the program or a known Pitt alum. For that we will share your Email address with the appropriate University’s department.
The get-together of Pitt alumni in the Netherlands last Sunday was a success! The mixer in the trendy Streetfood Club in the center of Utrecht was the location of an assembly of alumni from around the Netherlands with people coming in from Eindhoven, Oss, Amsterdam, Bussum, Almere and more.
A WhatsApp group was started with everyone opting in to be included so it’s easy to get in touch with fellow alum in your town or area. If you’re in the Netherlands as well and would like get in touch with Pitt alum here, use the contact form on the site to send us a message that includes your (local?) phone number and we’ll facilitate that.
One alum, Judith, had left Pittsburgh less than 3 weeks ago so she was our source for the most current UPMC/Pitt details. Of course, UCIS international affairs director Jason Kane had even more current plans and projects for us – most notably the plan to make Bigelow boulevard into a one-way street with bicycle and pedestrian pathways – but the brand new Global Hub in the Student Union with touch screens showing videos from Pitt alum around the world was also met with great enthusiasm. More on that later…
In a week there will be 11 confirmed Pitt alumni gathering in the Streetfood Club in Utrecht center for a get-together with some drinks and bites.
Come join us and catch up with Pittsburgh “affairs”, share your Pitt experience, get to know fellow Pitt Panthers in the country and enjoy the fabulous food and ambiance of the award-winning Streetfood Club.
The Streetfood Club interior
Please RSVP using the comments and sign up for our mailing list, right here on the site. That way you’ll be alerted of future events and other news about the University of Pittsburgh in a European context.
We plan on holding these events once per quarter, i.e. every 3 months.
We are happy to announce that to celebrate the end of the Summer and welcome the Fall, Pitt Europe will hosting a get together, happy hour or “mixer” on September 1st in the Netherlands (Utrecht) for all Pitt alumni living or visiting the country at that time.
Please keep an eye out on social media for a #pitt #alumni #meeting in the #netherlands! #h2p #cmu
We know of approximately 45 alumni in the Netherlands, but records are by their nature stale. Eleven of you are in Amsterdam, but we assume you know that city better than we do by now. Five are between Amsterdam and Utrecht and three in Utrecht. So it would be a great opportunity to venture off the beaten path and get to know Utrecht better!
Sunday, September 1st 2019
15:00 – 18:00 (3-6 PM) , possibly dinner after at your own expense
The Streetfood Club, Utrecht city center
Easily reachable by public transit (please don’t come to Utrecht by car!)
The Streetfood Club
Help us spread the word by sharing the news and like our Facebook page or sign up to the mailing list to stay in the inner circle!
The event will take place in Utrecht, it central to almost everything in the Netherlands and very lovely that time of year as well as less touristy than Amsterdam. It’s where the cool kids are. 😉
If you have a spouse, partner or kids with you here in the Netherlands, please bring them along. No need to show up alone as a Pitt alum, the more the merrier.
History has shown that CMU alumni are also very present in the Netherlands. If you are in contact with one and you’re friends, no need to keep them away as there is no politically incorrect label in the Netherlands. We’re both from PIttsburgh and it’s always good to share that background with others.
