Anjou and Angers in a few words
As capital of the Anjou region and gateway to the Loire Valley, Angers is famous for both its history and its cultural and economic dynamism.
Ranked the 16th biggest city in France with a population of 156.000 at the heart of an agglomeration of 270.000, Angers is a youthful city with a student population of more than 30.000
Angers is located 2h30 from Paris by motorway, 1H30 by TGV and 1H30 from Nantes International Airport and the Atlantic Ocean.

Accommodation (Price guidelines)

• Room at the ESAIP Group campus (10 rooms available) : 210 € / month
• Private or shared accommodation : from 250 € / month
• Home stay room (close to campus): from 150€/ month

Landlords require payment of a deposit. Generally this sum is equivalent to 1 or 2 months rent depending on the type of accommodation. The deposit is refunded on departure (if no damage has been caused).

Depending on certain conditions, all French and international students are entitled to national accommodation benefit (Aide Personnalisée au Logement - APL).

Residency Card
Any student from outside the European Union who plans to stay longer than three months should request a residency card.

Insurance
Exchange students from within the European Union are exempt from social security charges. These students should request the European health insurance card from the social security department of their home country or from a private insurance company. The card is valid for the duration of their stay in France. Students from outside the European Union are not exempt from social security charges whether they are already covered in their home country or not.

Opening a bank account
We strongly recommend students to open a bank account for healthcare reimbursements and to obtain a credit card and chequebook.
International students can open either a non-resident account (in Euros or other currency) or a residence account (in Euros or other currency) if the duration of their stay justifies this. We would advise students to check whether their home bank has partners in France, in order to facilitate the procedure.

Cost of living

• Accommodation : from 200€ per month
• Food : from 5€ per day
• Entertainment : example, student rate cinema ticket: around 6€, concert: from 10€

Useful information
Payment by credit card is accepted by most shops from 15 € minimum. Cash dispensers can be found in most public places (in town, in shopping centres...)
Payment can also be made by cheque; however, foreign cheques are very rarely accepted in French shops.

Transport

• Train : return ticket Angers-Paris (1h30)around 80€ (young person 's reduction: from -25% to -50% with card)
• Bus : around 1€ the ticket - reduced fares with season ticket available
• Car : cost of fuel: around 1,30 € /litre depending on fuel type

How to get to ESAIP from the SNCF railway station
Take bus number 4, 7, 8 or 9 to Place Lorraine at the end of Boulevard Foch. Then take bus number 3 to Saint Barthélemy d'Anjou. Get off at the "8 mai" stop. You only need one ticket which costs around 1€.

Eating

• Shopping : shopping centres close to campus
• University refectories: 3 in Angers, meals for around 3€
• Snack bars, restaurants: close to campus and in Angers

Medical Care
There is a doctor's surgery close to campus

Services for students with specific needs
ESAIP has welcomed blind and visually impaired students since 1999.
The institution is equipped with a wheelchair lift.

Student jobs
Non-EU students holding long-stay visas, students from Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia require a work permit.
The permit is delivered by the Direction Départementale du Travail et de l'Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle (Departmental Office for Work and Professional Training) (address upon request)

Student Information Office
ESAIP Group Modern Languages & International Relations Department welcomes foreign students and provides them with all necessary information for a successful stay in France. The department is assisted by ISA (International Students Association).
The Young People's Information Centre (Centre d'Information Jeunesse CIJ): provides information about sports and leisure activities in Angers.

Learning resources
ESAIP Group students have access to the following equipment : Electronics, data transmission, automation, local networks, artificial vision, chemistry, biology, environmental sensors and computer laboratories, language laboratories, a multimedia room and multimedia documentation centre, videoconferencing rooms, lecture theatres, a research department, wi-fi.

International Exchange Programmes
ESAIP Group has developed a network of partner universities and institutions in 20 countries. Two types are programme exist for incoming students :

• ERASMUS, open to students from a European Union member state.

Students join an ESAIP Group course of study, with French students, during semester 1. During Semester 2 it is possible to undertake a work placement in a French country, professional organisation or research laboratory.

• Bespoke courses for students from our partner universities
• Tailor-made, short-stay programmes designed according to the specific needs of our partners. Such courses generally consist of a taught programme with cultural and company visits.

Practical Information for foreign students arriving in France
Before departure from home country :

• Dispatch of information packs and course catalogue to partner universities
• Dispatch of letter of acceptance after study of candidate
• Contact with a « sponsor » from the International Students Association

On arrival in France :

• « Sponsors » meet students at the station and take them to their accommodation
• Introductory meetings, presentation of courses, meetings with course leaders
• Presentation of different student associations at ESAIP Group
• Information meeting (assistance with rent application, opening a bank account...)
• Follow-up of presence in class
• Score transcript

Language classes
French, English, Spanish and German classes available on campus.

Work placements
Placements in France and overseas are an integral part of the course of study at ESAIP Group. They may be undertaken in a French or foreign company or in university research laboratories. Throughout the work placement, a staff-member of ESAIP Group tutors the student.
Upon completion of the placement students submit a written report and give a project presentation to an exam board.

Sports facilities
Close to campus in Saint Barthélemy d'Anjou : Facilities sports hall, football pitches, gym, equestrian centre, running track, roller-blade park, swimming pool
In Angers, city centre and suburbs :

• Football, hockey, rugby pitches, basketball, handball, volley-ball courts, running tracks
• Sports halls, climbing wall, swimming pools, tennis courts, ice rink, shooting range, archery, Skate Park, velodrome, judo, canoeing, rowing, pool, golf course...

Leisure and free time activities
Gateway to the Val de Loire region and UNESCO world heritage site, Angers cleverly juggles past and future. A City of Art and History, the capital of the Anjou region has many incomparable assets with its rivers and vast open spaces. There is enough to make the most of your leisure time and link cultural tourism and discovery.

Nightlife : « Mardis cafés » (a weekly event, in a different café, on Tuesday evenings for international students in Angers), cinema, theatre, auditorium, exhibition centre, festivals ...

Places to visit: Angers Castle and the Apocalypse wall hangings, Museum of Fine Arts, David d'Angers Gallery, Natural History Museum, Jean Lurçat Contemporary Tapestry Museum, Cointreau Museum, Museum of Communication ...

Tourist Information Office : www.angers-tourisme.com
Nightlife, cultural events : www.angers.fr

Student Associations
The ESAIP students' association is called the BDE (Bureau des Elèves). The association is made up of a dynamic team whose objective is to make life at ESAIP as convivial as possible.