BEST Courses

Here are just a few testimonials from students from Timisoara that participated in BEST Courses. Since BEST Courses have been around, hundreds of students from Timisoara have returned with incredible memories and stories of their experience, here are just a few:

Alexandru Mocanu, Brno, 2008

All I can say about these 2 weeks is that they were the happiest of my life. I made friends from all the corners of Europe, I could intensly feel on my own the cultural diversity that “The Old Continent” has to offer. I could also take part in some workshops, laboratories, courses and captivating visits at companies. The BEST experience changed my way of seeing some things and made me wish for more.

Last year I participated at a winter course in Istanbul and it was great: an experience i’ll never forget. First of all, you get the chance to meet a lot of people from all the corners of Europe and then you can get an idea about the traditions of each of them… It’s a sort of experience exchange if i can name it like that. My only big regret is that i couldn’t apply to other course because of money issues, but those who can shouldn’t hesitate! They’ll leave with a lot of great memories, with a lot of knowledge about that place and with a lot of new friends.

To put it in just a few words, this course has been one of the most beautifull experiences in my life. I’ve met new people, made new friends and we had fun togheter. The course I participated in lasted 10 days, it was held in Brusseles, Belgium in february 2009 and the subject was : “Artificial Inteligence”. I had the oportunity to see another city from another country, as the city is on a ordinary day, without feeling like a turist, more like a guest of the belgium students that organized the event. It all went by so fast, I saw some incredible things, it was so beautifull and I hope I get accepted this summer again Maybe the most important things is that it opened up an appetite for living every day as intensily as I lived those 10 days in Belgium.

The course from Torino was one of the best experiences I had lived till then… The group was great and we still stay in touch and we still try to see eachother again. Last year, 9 out of 20 participants even managed to meet again in Spain for a couple of days (they organized the meeting themselves)… The parties were great and so were the interactive games when you felt a quarter drunk ), it was brilliant. Apply!

Why apply to a BEST course? Probably everyone’s wondering why all this comotion about them. Well,I applied because I was promised a Yo-Yo! I got home and started thinking about the motivation letter, I wrote some ideas that went through my head then and I waited for an answer. After a while I found out that I was on the Waiting List. Then the summer exam session started and I honestly forgot about my application until the night before my last exam when I get an email from the organisers: someone couldn’t come anymore and I was next on the list (the course was to begin in 7 days).

Total euphoria, phoning parents, friends etc and then worries. I forgot to mention I had already made plans for the summer: I knew when I wanted to do my internships at a company, I was a maid of honor for a friend’s wedding (the dress was already made).After more phone calls i solved these problems too.Ok…Now, how do I get to Athens? By plane? Hmm… I never flew before and I don’t know the airport procedures, but then again it’s more exciting like that… So I decide to go by plane.

Every participant receives a so-called “Survival Guide” which contains info about the place where the course will be in, how to get there, where to meet with the organisers. At first we were told which bus/metro we can take till the meeting point which meant: 9 metro stations (changing 2 lines) plus 4 bus stations, in total half an hour from the airport. I was planning how to take a cab because I didn’t think I could do all this itinerary. Later on, I found out that we were divided into groups and that every organiser would wait for us. I arrived on the airport of Athens and the madness began… On the way to the campus I ask the organicer that waited for me about how were the rooms divided The answer: they weren’t. Why? Because there was a SINGLE room… Wow…22 participants in a single room; that meant 3 hours of sleep per night.

The course was a unique experience. In fact, for me it was the most important experience I have till now. Why? Because you get the opportunity to do things you wouldn’t normally do, you get the opportunity to meet loads of new people, you learn a lot. BEST Courses don’t mean just fun. Through such a course you get a certain number of hours of lecture for the theme ( mine was aeronautics).
And what did I learn? Well, besides theoretical things we got the opportunity to spend some days in the airport and visit all the important departments (the best part was visiting the control tower).

I’d like to tell more but you’ll have to see for YOURSELF what it means to participate in a BEST Course.
I’m not trying to convince you but one thing’s for sure: after 15 days spent in Athens it was the first time that I felt richer, and that’s not because of the souvenirs but because I could gather more knowledge, happiness, friends…

Italy… the country of pizza and pastas! I spent 11 unforgettable days in Napoli in the autumn of 2008 at the “The Good, The Bad and The QUALITY” course. What memories i have left other than 300 photos and some european friends?

• my first flight – i was a bit nervous while going and i slept all the way while coming back
• that it was so cold the day we visited Pompei – it was raining and we all had thin cloths on us
• the pizza and pastas from every lunch/dinner were delicious!!!
• “mama mia” and “che cazzo?” – the most used lines by italians
• the weekend we spent in Calabria – do you remember the song “Destionation Calabria”? Well, we were there and we bathed altough the water was rather cold in October
• The party from the International Evening – when all got scared because of those 2 litres of romanian palinca!!
• the testdrive on a FIAT 500 on a circuit!! – the instructor was telling me to stop, in italian, and i couldn’t understand
• the karaoke night – most organiserc like rock music and the main organizer even had his own band and a great voice
• going by rented cars and listening to Virgin Radio (rock music of course!)
• the visits to airspace companies – i’ve seen the largest wind tunnel from Europe
• the tasty Limoncello – that was the reason for a french guy’s nickname Clemencello ?
• and not least IMBUTO – the thing that “helps” you drink easier!

It’s hard to gather some words to describe my memories in all their splendour . Novi Sad is so close and yet so different! We made firends, we had fun together, we worked together and we all cried through the saying goodbye. It’s obvious I’ll go again to see them!

The Summer Course from Lund 2 years ago helped me understand what it really means to trully have fun. I was in a gang of 24 participants from almoust all the corners of Europe and we spent more than 2 weeks together, always smiling, free to think, to dance and to act without beeing judged.

What I liked the most is that your in a continuous move and every day comes along with smth more interesting or exciting. I was at the Nordic Sea, we did scouting in the forest, we tasted marshmallows made at the camp fire for the first time and we also experienced how it’s like to be a viking , we got to take part at the swedish ceremonies for the BEST Nobel Prize… and not to mention the very FUNNY parties where there’s no way you could ge bored . All of these combined of course with everyday lectures about Robotics and practice related to building your own Lego.

It was a unique experience for all of us and I can say that from all the 24 participants I’m not sure if there was one who didn’t cry while saying goobye or someone who regreted to have been there. Honestly… The organization trully deserves the name BEST!!!!!