Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid, Spain

I am currently doing an exchange in Madrid, Spain. Madrid is a lovely city with incredible culture, architecture and night life. I am studying at [Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid] doing electives in Business administration.

The university has multiple buildings scattered through one part of the city, much like UTS in Sydney. The classes are small up to 50 people and lectures are given in classroom style rooms rather than lecture halls. For my subjects, they are mostly lectures with individual and group assignments along with midterm exams and finals. As I have chosen to do electives, I am learning Spanish which is really helping to assimilate into their culture and is forcing me to use Spanish in every situation possible. Something I wasn’t prepared for before coming to Spain was the fact that not many people speak English, or prefer not to, so learning Spanish is in my opinion the best way to dive into their culture. One aspect about Uni life in Spain versus Sydney is the fashion. The usual outfits consist of button up shirts and a smart casual vibe which is vastly different to Sydney where it is usually more casual and laid back.

Since being in Madrid, I have done a few weekend trips over to Valencia, Ibiza and Toledo exploring different parts of Spain from the coast to smaller towns. However there is plenty within Madrid to also explore. The usual spots such as Plaza de Mayor, Gran Via and the museums are a must do. I have recently been going to El Retiro which is a massive park with beautiful structures scattered throughout and lots of paths. There is also a glass library inside the park which is always full of students. I have future weekend plans to go to Morrocco, Granada, Barcelona and Copenhagen, which just adds to the fact of how easy it is to travel during the semester.

Advice to students considering, the obvious is do it. However I’d recommend to get an international drivers license before going. It’s super easy and cheap to rent a car for a day with mates to drive to towns outside of your city. I did this with Toledo an hour south of Madrid. Also with regards to Uni, stay on top of communicating with the host university and ensuring your enrolments are set in place. I didn’t receive my timetable for the first week of my classes so I had to constantly ask the Uni for it.

Overall, I have absolutely loved the experience so far, the people I have met along the way and the places I have visited would not be without this opportunity.

Josh Baker
Bachelor of Construction Project Management
Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid, Spain
Spain

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.uts.edu.au/thinkglobal