There are so many things about this university that impressed me, that I don’t even know where to start!  Let’s start with the educational approach. Though many countries in eastern Europe still primarily use frontal instruction, Mendel University takes a more progressive approach.  Most courses include a seminar component and incorporate hands-on and practical work in addition to theoretical knowledge. The school has large agriculture and horticulture faculties, with a focus on sustainability. They have their own vineyard, brewery, and forest that students in the different master’s degree programs use as labs of sorts. There is talk of adding an English-taught agrobiology bachelor’s program in the future, but nothing official yet. Each faculty (department) has its own culture of sorts. The Faculty of Development and International Studies, which provides two of the three English-taught bachelor’s,  is known for being especially dynamic, and progressive. Professors are accessible to students outside of class and are even known to socialize with groups of students from time to time, like their counterparts in Northern Europe. The other benefit to studying in this faculty is that the building has its own dorm (with guaranteed housing) and canteen, along with classrooms. This building is less than a ten-minute walk from the other parts of campus. Students take this walk through the university’s botanical garden, which is only accessible to those connected with the school.  I saw these gardens in February when nothing was in bloom outside of the greenhouses, but they were very peaceful and I imagine that they are breathtaking in the spring. Equally impressive are the resources Mendel University offers international students They provide fairly standard offerings, but take them up a notch. For instance, like many schools, they offer a buddy program for international students. They make this more successful by matching students to the buddy intentionally as opposed to randomly.  Of course, they offer a separate orientation for international students as well. In addition to the centralized international relations office, each faculty has at least one international student advisor. Further, the international relations office staffs a 24/7 helpline for international students. This is something I have not heard about from any of the other schools I visited in Europe and really speaks to the level of care given to international students. Excursions and events are organized by the international relations office, different faculties, and the very active ESN chapter.