Introduction

In this post I am going to talk about my experience in the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Big Data Management and Analytics (BDMA). I will try to give you an overview of the program, the application process, and the different universities and specializations you can choose from.

Please note that this post is based on my personal experience and that the program is constantly changing. If you are interested in the BDMA, I recommend you to check the official website: https://bdma.ulb.ac.be/. In addition, me being European makes some of the information I provide not applicable to non-EU students, specially regarding VISA procedures and paperwork.

The BDMA logo.

What is the BDMA?

The BDMA is a 2-year Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) in Big Data Management and Analytics. It is a joint program between the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Université Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD), and Technische Universität Eindhoven (TU/e). The program is coordinated by ULB.

The BDMA is a full-time program, and it is taught entirely in English. The program is divided in 4 semesters, each one taking place in a different university. The first semester is taught in ULB, the second one in UPC, and the third one in your chosen specialisation university among the other 3. Finally, the fourth semester is dedicated to the master thesis, which can be done anywhere where you are able to find a thesis topic and a supervisor, with agreement from your specialisation university.

This is a very high level overview of the program. So let’s dive into the details.

Application process

The application process is quite straightforward. You have to fill an online form, and provide all the required documentation. The application period is usually open from November to December, and the program starts in September. By mid-February you should know if you have been accepted or not.

Note that around 1K students apply every year, and only 25 are accepted as scholarship holders. So the acceptance rate is around 2.5%. However, there are also self-funded students, which are not included in the 25 scholarship holders. So the total number of students is between 25 and 50. For example, in my cohort we are 24 scholarship holders and 2 self-funded students. I am aware that for the next cohort, there are 25 scholarship holders and 15 self-funded students, so the total number of students will be 40.

What I am trying to say is that the number of students, compared to the amount of applications, is very low. This means that for sure, much more than 25 students are qualified to be accepted, and luck plays a big role in the selection process. So don’t get discouraged if you are not accepted, and try again next year!

Getting ready for the BDMA

For non-EU students, there is a lot of paperwork to do, regarding VISA and that kind of stuff. I have not gone through this, so I cannot give you any advice. However, for EU students, there is not much to do. Just book your flight and find a place to live.

My recommendation: start looking for an appartment as soon as you know you have been accepted. In Brussels, finding a place to live is not easy, and the sooner you start looking, the better. The ULB will probably offer you some place to live, but as of what I have seen, this option is not amazing.

This year, ULB offered us a place at Studeopolis residence. I didn’t go there to see it, but I have heard that it is not a great place to live. It is quite far from the university, and it is not very clean. It is also not cheaper than other places, and people struggled to get their deposit back. So I would not recommend it.

I think this year they have offered them to go to Residence Xior 365, which is quite close to the uni (~10 minute walk). I am staying there for my Summer internship (I will talk about this later), and I think it is OK for one month, but I am not sure if I would like to stay there for a whole semester. The price is around 550€/month, which I’d say is above average for Brussels. I am staying at building F, where rooms are quite OK, but bathroom is shared with 3 other people. The kitchen is shared with the whole building, so you can guess how clean it is. I have heard that they have individual studios in other buildings, but I don’t know how are they. As a side note, I have heard that during the academic year, the building is full of Erasmus students, and parties are quite common. If you want to focus on your studies, this might not be the best place to live; if you want to have fun, then this might be a good option.

As for me, I found accommodation using Jeronimmo, which is a company that rents kots (student rooms) in Brussels. I stayed in Boulevard Général Jacques, 41. It was just 5 minute walking distance from the uni, and the room was quite big. The kitchen and bathroom were shared with 3 other people, but it was ok. The price varies depending on the room, so check them out. For me, the experience was quite good, and I would recommend it. Specially if you can arrange to live with other BDMA students, which is what I did.

Finally, take into account that Brussels is a very cold place. I am from Spain, and I am used to warm weather. But Brussels is cold, and it rains a lot. So bring warm clothes, boots, and an umbrella. You will need them.

1st semester: ULB

The first semester is dedicated to set the basis for the rest of the program. Basically, you will master the SQL language, and you will learn the basics of data mining and machine learning. The courses are:

Advanced Databases (by Esteban Zimányi): in this course, you will review the basics of SQL, and you will delve into the advanced topics of the language. You will learn how to write complex queries, and how to optimize them. You will also learn about NoSQL databases, and you will have to do a project consisting on benchmarking two NoSQL technologies. The course is quite interesting, and Esteban is a great professor.
Data Warehouses (by Esteban Zimányi): in this course, you will learn about data warehouses, and how to design them. You will also learn about ETL processes. The project is divided into two halves, and it consists on implementing the TPC-DS and TPC-DI benchmarks on a chosen database technology. This course is also very interesting, and Esteban himself is one of the researchers behind many of the concepts you will learn.
Data Mining (by Mahmoud Sakr): this course discusses different data mining algorithms, and how to implement them. You will learn about classification, clustering, and association rules. The approach is very practical, without lots of theory, but rather focusing on the ideas behind the algorithms and their applications. The lab sessions are not very good, though. The project is about using the learned algorithms to solve a real problem proposed by a Brussels-based company. The course in general is very nice, and Mahmoud is a great professor, with high expectations from his students.
Database Systems Architecture (by Mahmoud Sakr): this course is about the internals of a database system. You will learn about the different components of a database system, and how they interact with each other. You will also learn about the different techniques used to optimize the performance of a database system. This course is very theoretical and probably the hardest of the semester. The project was about implementing a PostgreSQL extension in C, for which you need to understand a lot of the inner workings of the database.
Management of Data Science and Business Workflows (by Dimitris Sacharidis): this course is about how to design, analyze and optimize business processes. It focuses a lot on the BPMN standard, and how to use it to model business processes. The final part is about how to apply those concepts to data science workflows. Also, some responsible data science concepts are discussed. There is no project, but rather different assignments that you have to do during the semester. The course is the chillest of the semester.
French: yes, you have to learn French.

Overall, this semester was super interesting for me. Going to class felt like a privilege, and I enjoyed every single course. The workload is quite high, and you will have to work hard to pass the exams. But it is totally worth it. Also, the professors are very nice, and they are always willing to help you. So don’t be afraid to ask them if you have any doubt.

In addition, doing well this semester can be very nice for you, since the professors offer 5-6 internships for the summer, and they usually choose the most performing students. So if you want to do an internship in Brussels, this is your chance. Also, this internship is quite nice, because as they are part of the program, adapting it to your schedule is not a problem. As an example, getting a 1-month internship in a company is quite difficult, because they usually want you to stay for at least 3 months.

As a conclusion for this semester, I would say that the experience depends a lot on what you expect from the BDMA and the Erasmus Mundus experience. For instance, I came to the program with the idea of learning as much as possible, so I sacrificed some of the trips that my classmates did. This is your call to make and there is no right or wrong answer! If you want to travel and get to know Europe, that’s fine! If you want to focus on your studies, that’s also fine! Find your balance and enjoy the experience.

If you want to practice some sports, there is a gym at the ULB for 50€/year. The gym is quite small, but it is ok, and taking the price into account, it is a good deal. Also, it gives you access to all activities organized by the sports department of the university. I didn’t use any of them, but some colleagues tried futsal and basketball and enjoyed it. For me, the most I enjoyed was a climbing gym which is 15 minutes from uni by walk. It is called Le Camp de Base and it is a very, very nice climbing gym, opened almost 24/7. The price is 10€/day, or 40€/month. I went there almost every day, and I loved it. I would totally recommend it, specially if you find a climbing partner.

2nd semester: UPC

The second semester is dedicated to learn about Big Data technologies, Machine Learning, and with a great focus on a joint project that combines all the knowledge acquired during the semester. The courses are:

Viability of Business Projects (by Marcos Eguiguren): this course is about how to create a business plan for a startup. You will learn about the different aspects that you have to take into account when creating a startup, and how to create a business plan. The course has some interesting parts, but some others are quite boring. Attendance is not exactly mandatory, but when too many people miss the class, the professor takes note of attendance. The project is about creating a business plan for a startup idea that you come up with. The grading is based on the business plan and several presentations that you have to do during the semester. I felt like the grade was very dependant of whether the professor liked your idea or not, and the criteria was not very clear, so be careful with that.
Big Data Management (by Alberto Abelló and Sergi Nadal): this course is about the different technologies used to manage Big Data. You will learn about Hadoop, Spark, and other technologies. The course is very theoretical and the lab sessions are about solving exercises with pencil and paper. The project is about developing the data infrastructure for the startup idea that you come up with for the joint project. Every day, there is a Kahoot before the lecture, so you have to prepare the material beforehand. This makes the classes quite boring, since after the Kahoot, you are basically repeating the same material.
Machine Learning (by Marta Arias): this is a very theoretical approach to machine learning, with the mathematical development of the different algorithms. I think that the course could be much more interesting than it is, because the material is very interesting, but the way it is presented could be improved. The project is about applying the learned algorithms to a real dataset.
Semantic Data Management (by Anna Queralt and Óscar Romero): this course is about graph databases and the Semantic Web, and how to use them to manage data. You will learn about RDF, SPARQL, and other technologies. During the course, there are three mini-project that have to be solved using the different technologies. Another part of the course is with regards to the joint project, where you have to apply some of the learned concepts to your project.
Ethics of Big Data (by Óscar Romero): this course is about the ethical implications of Big Data. During a 5 weeks span, you will have to prepare 5 topics for debate, and you will be ‘randomly’ assign to be in favor or against the topic. The debates are quite interesting, but it is a bit stressing to have to prepare a debate every week, but it is only for the first month at least! Then, you have to do an ethical analysis of your joint project.
Big Data Seminar: this is not really a course. It comprises several talks from different companies and researchers. The talks are mandatory to attend, and some of them might be of your interest. Those given by companies were usually offering some internship opportunities, so it is a good chance to get to know them. In addition, there are the specialization talks, where you can learn about the different specializations that you can choose for the third semester. Finally, you have to write a 10-page state of the art on a selected topic, and present it in the summer school, eBISS. This is where the grade comes from.
Spanish/Catalan: if you already know Spanish, you have to take Catalan lessons. If you know both, I think you are exempted from this course. The Catalan course was very chill and short, so it is not a big deal. If you are not very interested in the language courses, you might want to choose the Catalan one, since the Spanish course is longer and more demanding (according to my classmates).

Overall, the semester at UPC helps you to deepen your understanding of how Big Data can be handled and exploited. Nonetheless, the workload is quite high during the whole semester, and sometimes it felt like I was just working for the courses, without much reward. The joint project requires lots of effort, but in the end it is very dependent on luck, which I hated. The summer school was pretty nice, and you get to know the PhD students from the DEDS (the doctorate level equivalent of the BDMA). It is a good opportunity to learn about some hot research topics in Big Data, and to do some networking.

About sports: the university gym, called Diagonal Sports Centre, is very good. I think it was something like 30€/month and you had access to very good gym facilities, and to different classes and activities.

Choosing the specialization

As I explained before, you will receive a talk from each specialization, and you will have to choose one. This will happen during the first month of the second semester, and the decision is made around mid-February. The specializations are:

Business Process Analytics at TU/e: basically, this is Big Data Analytics applied to business processes. You will learn about how to analyze business processes, and how to improve them. The university seemed super nice, and the courses sounded interesting. Nonetheless, I felt that the scope of the specialization was too narrow, and I wanted to learn about other topics, so I discarded it.
Statistics and Deep Learning for Data Analytics at UniPD: in this specialization you delve into the foundations of machine learning and deep learning. You will learn about the mathematical foundations of the different algorithms. A great asset of this specialization is that the paperwork is handled by the university, and they also provide you with accommodation. I was doubting between this one and Paris, because I felt very leaned towards all the statistics and mathematics of this specialization. But in the end I chose Paris because the specializations did not seem very different, and I thought that Paris would offer me more opportunities.
Decision Support and Data Analytics at Université Paris Saclay: the specialization is similar the UniPD one, but instead of statistics, there are a data visualization course and a course about decision modelling, which is basically multiojective optimization. The university looked amazing and the courses seemed super interesting. In addition, the internships in France are paid by law, so you will get a salary for your internship. I chose this one because I thought that it would offer me more opportunities than the other two. Note that some people have found trouble finding the accommodation in Paris, so you might want to start looking for it as soon as possible, and not rely on the university for this.

All in all, all three choices are great, and there is no way to be wrong here. Think about what you want to learn, where do you see yourself, and choose the one that feel right for you.

What about summer?

In summer, at the beginning of July, you will have to attend the summer school, which is mandatory. For us, it was the first week of July.

After this, you are free until your specialization semester starts. The timing will be different for each university, but you will have around 2 months of vacations (maybe almost 3 if you go UniPD). You can use this time to do an internship, to travel, or to do whatever you want. I, together with other 4 classmates, are doing an internship with ULB professors at the ULB in Brussels. We are basically conducting some type of research for one month and a half. This is a great opportunity to get to know how life is as a researcher at the ULB, and to get to know the professors. In addition, you will get a salary for this internship, which is a nice plus. I would definitely recommend you to do it if you have the chance.

If that’s not the case, don’t get discourage, because other students are doing equally interesting internships in companies. And honestly, I would say that those who are not doing an internship is just because they didn’t want to. There are plenty of opportunities, and the professors will help you to find one. Also, the profile of the students is very attractive for companies, so you will have no problem finding one.

Some other people are using this time to travel around Europe, or to go back home for a few weeks to see their families.

Conclusion

This is my experience so far! I feel super happy to have taken this opportunity. For all the experiences, the knowledge acquired and specially all of the nice people I have met. I would totally take the same decision again, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Big Data and wants to live in a dynamic and multicultural environment.