After a dozen hours of flight, twelve Chinese China-EU School of Law (CESL) students arrived in Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport at around midday local time 31 March 2019. Then they took the shuttle-bus to the Conference Hotel of the Central European University. The accommodation is located in the eastern suburbs of Budapest with a kitchen, a study room, a computer room with printers on every single floor (students benefit from the printing service), a swimming pool, a fitness room, a sauna and a table tennis room on the basement level. In Budapest, the public transport is very convenient and a monthly pass for using the bus, subway or trolley bus only costs 9,500 forints. The school-bus between the dormitory and the central business district is also convenient.

The next day we had a busy schedule. Ms.Bukta helped us initially register and showed us around the school campus. Then the teachers and students of the law school held a special welcome ceremony for us. The Central European University is located by the Danube River with other buildings in the city center. This university has a high proportion of international students and is very inclusive. Students in the class come from different countries and the number of students on every course is around ten to twenty. When class begins, the tables are always set in a circle to enhance teacher-student communication and interaction. In the corridor there are some carrels for studying. Every teacher posts course materials on the CEU learning website and students can download it for studying. The Central European University has fully equipped teaching facilities. For example, every single floor of the teaching building is equipped with printers and students have their own accounts for printing on their student card.

We started the first class at eleven o’clock. Twelve students selected different courses according to their own research specification, such as International Business Law or the Human Rights Act. In Budapest, we embraced our new life of studying with gusto and hope.

CESL students with Prof. Tibor Tajti

CESL students with Prof. Markus Petsche

Article submitted by Xie Shuai, Jiang Yan, Zhang Jieyu (CESL Double Master from 2017 intake)

Translated by Zhou Yu (CESL Double Master from 2018 intake)

Edited by Caoimhe Cotter