The Belgian city of Ghent has earned the “Erasmus Destination of the Year 2023”, leaving behind some of the most popular destinations for students, such as the Italian region of Padua, Spain’s Valencia, in addition to the Austrian capital and Europe’s largest centre for aerospace, Toulouse.
Ghent was awarded as the best destination for the Erasmus student exchange programme during the Erasmus Generation Event, hosted in Bucharest, and was acclaimed for the good cooperation between the University of Ghent (UGent), higher education institutions, city authorities as well as groups representing international students’ interests, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
“We certainly owe this award to the fact that we take care of students so well and help them with issues such as housing. It is not easy for international students to find a room in Ghent,” a short introduction presented by Ghent representatives to the attendees explained.
EUfactcheck confirms that claims of Ghent’s current housing conditions being difficult and that with such rates, 40 per cent of all inhabitants won’t be able to buy a house on the private market, are mostly true. This indicates that the authorities are working hard to accommodate international students as the city deals with the housing strait.
However, the new title granted is expected to affect the East Flemish city’s new arrivals, potentially encouraging more international students to view Ghent as a study destination.
“We suspect that this will have an impact. At UGent, there is certainly still capacity to receive more foreign students. There are 1,500 Erasmus students in Ghent each year; we could take a few more,” Frederik De Decker of Ghent University told VRT News.
Currently, around 1,500 students pick Ghent as the destination to pursue their academic careers, with Spaniards, Germans, French and Poles being among the most prominent nationality groups.
Despite being a popular student destination, Ghent isn’t the typical tourist city, indicating that it is a great option for those that prefer visiting calmer and educational spots. The city is packed with plenty of history and unique activities to attend and experience.
What makes this destination even more attractive is that you can walk the entire city during the day or take a bike to get around the city, just like the locals do. There are canal’s wide paths where tourists can take a walk or visit interesting sights.
The city is slightly less expensive than other destinations but mainly stays within the same range as other parts of Europe.