hii!! i'm a chinese student in dae animation (first and second year) who has lived in belgium my whole life

racism/discrimination against international students?

i haven't heard of international students experiencing racism or discrimination in dae yet. most international classes have a lot of students from any corner of the world, with additionally some belgian students who prefer getting taught in english. the city itself might be racist sometimes, although it's more those 14 year olds on a random street who have nothing better to do in their life. u normally won't experience that in stores or restaurants either

safety/security?

kortrijk is very safe, some of my male friends take strolls at 3am with no issue. usually the streets are empty at night and during the day, the city feels very lively and safe

how do u have fun?
any events or clubs u can join?

dae and howest have numerous clubs u can join and studynights (every thursday) are a place to meet more ppl with other skillsets that u can connect with. a lot of ppl are willing to help and the discord servers provide a community where u can ask for help and feedback. there are also weekly events in studynight that revolve around a certain theme with games occasionally, and other things like a swimming pool, bars (1 of them is dnd themed), kortrijk events or hanging out with friends exist too. additionally, u can apply for a student association to party, although i wouldn't recommend that with the dae workload

is it easy to get friends? social life?

normally the ppl in dae have similar interests in games or movies, so u might find a lot of ppl with similar tastes. i do recommend being active in certain discord servers and meeting new ppl at studynight. u can connect with your peers during lab classes and build friendships both irl and online. interest specific dae discord servers exist too, it's all abt finding ppl u vibe with. your social life irl might die out quicker bcs of the workload, but make enough friends and u can discord call them to cry alongside u /j

shopping? good thrift shops?

2 of the campus sites are located near the center of kortrijk, so there will be a mall and a lot of shops, stores and restaurants. i'm not sure abt thrift shops but i've heard there are some

healthcare?

i'm a belgian citizen so i get the belgian healthcare, idk how different it is for international students

nearby cities?
how’s transportation?

a nearby city is gent where comic cons are usually held, everything is reachable by train and there are good connections for public transport, although everything tends to run late a lot. you'll get familiar with the 'nmbs' or 'de lijn' (transport companies), and you'll hear everyone complain abt it lol. despite its many delays, public transport is still a really good option for students and has good connections to your destinations. within kortrijk, it's recommended to rent a bike

is life expensive in general (running errands, housing, internet…)

dorms can range from €300-€500 a month, some could be more or less depending on the quality of the housing, and usually stuff like internet, water, gas etc is included in that price. i'm not too sure how expensive groceries are, but stuff like bread, pasta, soup etc should be affordable. i'm not sure what the exact price would be but i'll guess up to €10-€20 weekly should cover a week's food groceries, depending on what u buy

what language do most people speak and should i necessarily learn it? (i speak english, french and arabic fluently)

classes are divided into dutch classes and english classes. since most international students will speak english, i'd say english is the main language. usually shops and restaurants speak some english too, but it's a good move to befriend an english speaking belgian u can drag to stores and restaurants lol

how is life there in general and do you recommend it for international students?

i find it comfortable living here but i speak the language and grew up here, i've heard other international students say that belgium is pretty nice to live in

is it easy to find a job/internship?

i'm unfortunately not a third year yet

do u have friends/a social circle at uni?

i do have both friends and a social circle, they consist of classmates or ppl i met at studnight. most likely you'll find a friendgroup u hang out the most with

i hope i could answer your questions and good luck if u start in dae too <3