UTS Think Global

Hallo from Maastricht, The Netherlands!

December 2, 2019

I have been in Maastricht for just over a week now and I have already fallen in love with this beautiful little city in the south of The Netherlands, right next to the Belgium border. When deciding where I wanted to go on exchange, I wasn’t sure whether to choose a big city like London or a small student town, and now that I have spent some time exploring Maastricht, I couldn’t be happier with my decision! The people are really friendly, it’s easy to get around by foot or by bike and every street you turn down is so quaint, it feels like it should be on a postcard. There are also so many old churches and monasteries that have been converted into all kinds of things, including lecture theatres, bookstores and gyms. I even found out the other day that people buy the old churches and live in them!

I am staying in building C of the guesthouse (Brouwersweg 100). Since this building is only for exchange students, it is really easy to meet people from all over the world who are in the exact same situation as you, having left home to study in a foreign city. There are communal kitchen and living areas in building C so you can easily get to know the people living around you as you’re bound to run into someone in the kitchen or when walking through the corridors. It’s also only a 20 minute walk to the city centre or the School of Business & Economics, however after arriving in Maastricht, I quickly realised that everyone rides bikes. There are people of all ages riding bikes all over the city; because of this, there are few cars and buses on the roads – this was so surprising to me coming from a busy city like Sydney. I recently bought a second-hand bike so I’m looking forward to truly embracing Dutch culture and riding my bike around everywhere.

I will be studying within Maastricht’s School of Business & Economics, where I will undertake a few management and marketing subjects as part of my Business degree. Since I focused on accounting and finance during my studies at UTS, I am excited to learn something new in my last semester of university. Maastricht University uses the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method in their tutorials, which I am looking forward to experiencing next week when classes start. From what I understand of PBL so far, it is where students are expected to lead and actively participate in tutorials, with the tutor only stepping in where the students start to go off track.

After such an amazing first week in Maastricht, I can’t wait to find out what the next 4 months will bring. Feel free to email me at 12554883@student.uts.edu.au if you have any questions!

Vanessa Klepac
Bachelor of Business
Maastricht University
The Netherlands

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Ryerson University, Canada

November 29, 2019

Life in Toronto is a lot of fun, there are so many people around all the time! It’s always bustling. There is so much to do and there are heaps of nice food places and bars around, there are also heaps of students running around. It is also surrounded by so many parklands so leaving the city for the day and going on a hike in the mountains is really easy and relaxing. I went to this carnival called the CNE where we went on rides all day and ate yummy foods.

Ryerson is very much like UTS in the sense that it’s in the heart of downtown Toronto, there isn’t a defined campus as such it’s more of cool buildings all around the city. I haven’t started classes yet but at the orientation everyone seemed very welcoming and happy to help you. I`m staying in Neil Wycik and it’s very basic but worth the money that you pay. It was a little dirty at first but I’ve cleaned it and its fine now. Heaps of other exchange students are staying here as well so seems like it will be a lot of fun. They have free coffee every morning, a gym, yoga sessions and so much more. It’s also right across the road from the uni so very easy to get to. I’m thinking of taking up some of the free sport options but haven’t done so yet, there is also free gym membership included in tuition and the gym has extremely good facilities. The most interesting thing about Toronto has been the amount of activities you can do, there is always something happening or an event to go to within the city and the city is always filled with so many people. You can also go out every night of the week and find a pumping club, last week we went to a drag queen club on a Tuesday night which was so fun!

I also found the number of homeless in the city to be very surprising, the city is beautiful and I always feel safe but due to the competitive housing market there is a large number of homeless around the city, feels like more than Sydney which is something I was not expecting.

I was only able to study business subjects however I have picked real estate and economics which are different to my normal accounting and finance degree.

Shannon King
Bachelor of Business
Ryerson University
Canada

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Sun Yat-Sen University, China

November 27, 2019
When given the prospect of potentially being able to study abroad, I initially was interested in a non-committal way. It was something I could do but believed in the back of my head it would never truly occur. So I kept submitting papers just to see how far I would get before I chickened out; I made it one year out with my first submission of documents, 6 months out with nominations for universities, 3 months out and receiving admission notices, 1 month out and looking at various flights and then finally I was 1 week away and the reality hit. It wasn’t someone else going on to live abroad, it was me and it was very soon.

Despite the sheer daunting nature of exchange, I knew I wanted to go to China. I had been learning Mandarin for a year at university and wanted to be able to understand and experience a country which not many people know about.

And so off I went.

And here I am, finally.

The easiest part of my experience so far is academic life, believe it or not. The classes I take are through Lingnan college, a prestigious and exclusive college in Sun Yat-sen University. The facilities here are great; projectors in every room, air conditioning for the humid September summer and plenty of space for class wide discussions. The teaching style here is similar to UTS, although they do not have separate lecture/tutorial classes. I’m studying similar content to what I was back home with classes such as Global Business Management, Consumer Behavior and Business Logistics Management. All classes are taught in a lecture style (though of smaller class size) along with seminar style class discussions and interactions. Despite the classes I take being in English, majority of them are filled with local students and only a small number of those on exchange. This is really a great chance to mingle and get to know local students who can help you if ever you’re confused or need help.

Orientation was a bit messy, however, the local students helped immensely through the universities ‘buddy program’. I play a lot of sports and so joining some teams was a big goal of mine and so far, I’ve officially joined the volleyball team and play casually with the basketball teams. Off campus, you are right next to the Pearl River, a beautiful area to enjoy biking along at night. There is a major textile market near the South Gate, the Canton Tower is in walking distance and always present amongst the city’s skyline as well as plenty of restaurants and shops that is easily accessible.

I live on campus in the international student dormitory; however, all the other exchange students live off campus in apartments they’ve rented themselves. This had something to do with whether their universities had specific partnerships with either SYSU or Lingnan College (UTS is partnered with SYSU). There are many campus canteens that are insanely cheap and with a great variety of delicious food, though you will need to use your campus card and figuring out that can be quite annoying. Nevertheless, the campus is insanely beautiful and walking/biking around is a great way to relax. There are supermarkets and bakeries in most places, so everything is so convenient.

Some hot tips!
- Bring an umbrella everywhere you go for both the sun and sudden heavy rainfall
- Know that you need WeChat and Alipay because these two apps will be your best friends
- Food delivery, taxi services and online shopping is a paradise here (Taobao has anything you ever need and 饿了么 is a food delivery app that once you start using it’s almost impossible to stop)
- Try and make friends with local students and don’t just hang out with your exchange friends
- Please, please, please, learn some Chinese before getting here, the Chinese mean well but do not know any English, even in tourist areas (which means it’s good for learning and practicing your mandarin!)
- Keep an open mind and find cultural differences humorous, if you come with negative images and attitudes towards China and Chinese people, you will not enjoy yourself, the people are lovely, the lifestyle is amazing, and the food is so good
If you have any questions on going on exchange at SYSU, China or just in general, please don’t hesitate to send me an email and I will happily share whatever knowledge and experienced I’ve gain from this amazing opportunity.

If you’re considering going on exchange, I highly suggest taking the time to consider places like China, everything is cheap, everything is convenient, everything is fun, and you will learn so much.

Mikaela Dragicevich
Bachelor of Global Studies
Sun Yat-Sen University
China

Australian Government New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant recipient.

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Salut from Strasbourg!

November 25, 2019

I am currently studying at EM Business School which is a part of the Université de Strasbourg. I’ve been here for about a month now and am really enjoying life in Strasbourg! The town is incredibly beautiful with a historical centre called “La Petite-France” filled with colourful buildings, cobble stoned streets and canals.

Strasbourg is a medium sized French town located on the border of Germany. Germany is only 20 minutes away by tram and is where most students buy their groceries as it is cheaper! Strasbourg is the second largest student town in France, after Paris, making it a really fun place to study with lots of boulangeries, bars and boutiques scattered around the town. It is also really easy to get around with the tram network and bike lanes. Travelling around Europe is also quite easy from Strasbourg with several airports nearby to choose from (Stuttgart, Basel, Baden-Baden or Frankfurt) and a good train network, which is perfect for day trips.

I’m living in a university residence called ‘Paul Appell’, which is a 10 minute walk to the business school and 20 minutes to the centre of town. The residence itself is pretty basic and quite old, all of the residences are. There’s a communal kitchen with a stove and microwave, a little fridge in each of the bedrooms and a university run restaurant next door if you don’t feel like cooking. After two trips to trusty IKEA I’ve managed to make it feel quite cosy and am really enjoying living there. Many people also live in private apartments which you can find online. A few friends struggled to find accommodation but if you start looking early you shouldn’t have any problems.

The university has been really helpful for meeting other people with lots of organised events e.g. Oktoberfest, trips to the wine region and the mountains. They also arrange for a local student to pick you from the train station and take you to your housing which is nice. Every Monday night there are drinks and every Wednesday night a party along with plenty of other events throughout the week making it easy to meet new people! It’s really nice to now have friends from all over the world.

The subject offering at Strasbourg university is really varied – one of my subjects is a 4 day grape and wine course where we go to a winery in France! There’s also lots of opportunities to practise French with French subjects, evening courses and a program called “tandem” where you partner with someone to speak the language that you are learning. Every week I meet up with my tandem partner and we speak for roughly 30 minutes in French and 30 minutes in English! It’s been a really nice way to practise French and to also make a local friend.

I’m so happy with my choice and would highly recommend Strasbourg for anyone wanting to experience life in France!

Charlotte Elliott
Bachelor of Business
Université de Strasbourg
France

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Hej from Aarhus, Denmark!

November 22, 2019

I arrived in Aarhus mid-September and was extremely lucky to enjoy the last of the good weather before the rain set in. It rains every other day here in Aarhus, so remember a raincoat! (I didn’t…) My host uni (DMJX) is fairy similar to UTS. It’s a much smaller school and campus but class sizes are the same, except no big lectures. It’s very hands on, practical journalism, much like UTS.

My accommodation is dorm style with my own room and bathroom but shared kitchen and living space. It’s such a great way to meet Danish people and luckily, I live on a very social floor with lots of organized parties and events. As for the dorm, its nothing flash but has everything you need and quickly feels like home. Denmark is a fairly expensive country, similar to Sydney. Buying groceries and cooking for yourself is definitely the way to go. Save your money for going out or visiting one of the many art galleries or museums in Aarhus.

The first weeks are jam packed with events and lots of school but meeting people and getting to know them is so easy. All universities have “Friday Bars,” which are a super fun way of meeting people and drinking cheap beer.

Here in Aarhus, everyone rides their bikes to get around. I bought a cheap second hand bike and am very thankful that I did. You really need a bike here. Aarhus is a hilly city though, so working on your cardio is recommended.

Overall, Danish people are usually very friendly and fun. At first, they can seem reserved but once you break through that, they are really fun, sweet people. At first, I was really worried about a language barrier, but I soon found that almost everyone speaks really good English. Finding sources for stories is a little bit of a challenge at first, but usually people are keen to practice their English with a native speaker.

I’m finally starting to properly settle in here and feel at home. Hanging out with my dorm mates and class mates has definitely been the key to that. Oh, and study too.

Erin Ewen
Bachelor of Communications
Danish School of Media and Journalism
Sweden

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

November 20, 2019

Hi, my name is Andrew and I am currently an Exchange student studying in Singapore.

Overall, life in Singapore has been a blast. Upon arriving here, I have been surprised by the high standards of safety, cleanliness and friendliness the city has brought. Coupled with the cultural diversity brought by its assortment of South-East Asian food and cultural festivals with its tendency to host worldwide events such as F1 and the South-East Asian games, it truly is the official East-meets-West destination to go.

My arrival to my host university, NTU, has been a smooth ride. The local student executives and staff were extremely helpful in my settlement to the university, where I checked in to my on-campus student hall in my 3rd day of arriving to Singapore.

The facilities at NTU are extremely abundant. We have two fully equipped gyms, an outdoor lap swimming pool, an athletics track, hundreds of lecture theatres and tutorial/seminar rooms, so many hall canteens and supermarkets, it really is such a pain and an adventure to navigate around the campus.

The teaching style in NTU is generally quite similar to UTS. However, some lectures have a very long duration, up to 4 hours, which can be exhausting at times. Teaching style is well-structured, with content introduced in a timely manner. There is more focus on theory, rather than practical work, which I think is the main teaching style at UTS. I also do have tutorials, which reinforce and consolidate the content taught during lectures. These function quite similar to UTS style teaching.

The subjects I have undertaken at NTU are quite interesting. I have taken an introductory course in Artificial Intelligence, which is great as it will provide me with solid foundational knowledge of what I want to research for my Capstone project.

I have also taken a few activities while on exchange. I have joined my hall’s table tennis club, where I play competitively every school week. I also have undertaken some cooking classes, where I could experiment with new cuisine that I never thought I would be able to do. I even got out of my comfort zone, and decided to take beginner salsa classes which, despite my lack of body coordination, I was able to make a few moves in the end.

The most surprising thing to me about Singapore is how well-developed it is. Despite the country’s small land mass, the government’s well-thought out city planning and urban development of residential and commercial infrastructure; coupled with the vast greenery it provides with its national parks and recreational areas; has made the city such a wonderful environment to live in. I am also in awe of the high standards it places in hygiene. A great example is reflected in their hawker centres, where authentic south-east Asian cuisine can be enjoyed without hesitation for an economical price. And at last, Singapore is the geographical hub of Asia. This means that travelling anywhere in Asia is at most a 3 to 6-hour flight away. This makes it such a great starting point to explore the greater neighbouring region within a short timeframe.

If you are interested in travelling to a modern, clean and friendly city within the heart of Asia, I highly recommend Singapore as your next destination for exchange!

Andrew Cai
Bachelor of Engineering / Bachelor of Business
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore

Australian Government New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant recipient.

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Studying at IE University in Madrid, Spain

November 18, 2019

Hola !

Since I started my degree in 2017 I knew I wanted to go on Exchange. It was the one thing I’d constantly talk about with friends and family.

Now that I’m here I never want to go back.

Madrid is everything I’ve ever wanted from a city. The Spaniards wake up late, have naps during the day and stay out until the early hours of the morning. While I’m yet to have a good proper Spanish meal I can confirm that the ramen and noodles here are as cheap and as good as they are back home.

I’m staying in a student residence 5 minutes’ walk from my university that’s run by an external company because IE university does not have student accommodation. The accommodation itself is nice, it’s a long room with all the essentials for the low price of 400aud a week :O. No but seriously, staying with other students is amazing and you hardly spend any time alone in your room so no matter where you go try to avoid feeling bad about prices because the memories you’ll make are well worth it.

University orientation begins next week so I have no comments on that except that I’m so keen to meet all the other exchange students.

Anyone that plans on going on exchange to a country where they speak another language. !!!D O W N L O A D D U O L I N G O NOW!!!!

I started practicing Spanish casually 6 months ago and it has been invaluable. Being able to ask basic questions when in need and understanding conversations has been amazing and if I could go back I would have practiced more and earlier than I did.

While I left Australia around 2 months ago and traveled all over Europe starting in Turkey, followed by Hungary, Greece, The Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany and then finally Spain I don’t recommend it. I booked my initial flight to Turkey very far in advance (before confirmation that I was going on exchange) and it made the weeks before I left incredibly stressful because I didn’t have enough time to apply for my visa and caused a number of other issues. Save travelling for just before, during and after exchange to make your life as easy and relaxed as possible.

Before I go, I’d just like to say that these past few months have been some of the best in my life and I will always be grateful to the people who helped make it so amazing. Thank you to UTS for the experience, you’re the best !!

Erol Aziz Candan
Bachelor of IT
IE University
Spain

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Ghent University, Belgium

November 15, 2019

Upon arriving in my exchange city, Ghent in the Flanders region of Belgium, I was immediately enchanted by its medieval and stunningly beautiful town centre which includes four gothic churches and a castle. Although not a large town, having a population of only 250,000, it comes to life during the start of the semester as 80,000 students return to study. The city is the perfect size of being big enough to remain exciting and have everything you could ask for, but small enough that you do not feel lost in a big city.

I sourced our accommodation through Airbnb, a less traditional method, and have been living with another Australian exchange student, around a 10min walk from the university and city centre. Initially we were apprehensive to not apply for student housing in case majority of students were living there and we might miss out on socialising activities. However, this has not been the case with a huge portion of other students also living in private accommodation. I would recommend investigating whether AirBnB is a suitable option for you; it has several benefits like an extended stay discount that was over 40% of the cost and having cleaners.

Although initially daunting meeting other students has been comfortable if you put yourself out there and don’t say no to any events that are organised by the University and student societies. I have recently begun playing on the rugby team and have been asked to help coach which has been a great experience sharing a sport that I am passionate about with people from cultures where it is not as popular.

What I have found most surprising is the relative lack of culture shock I have experienced, although sometimes not speaking Dutch can be challenging all the locals to speak English well and are very friendly, while all the university students are happy to talk in English to you. We have enrolled in a Dutch course, and they appreciate the effort you make, I feel this is important to do. Besides the language barrier most things are pretty similar, and the town has a very laid back relaxed atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable.

The subjects I have taken are relatively similar to what we do back home, and this is due to some restrictions Gent University has for taking inter-faculty courses. Another thing to note is the difference in time-tabling that is used, wherein classes run once a week, and there are not multiple sessions to choose from so a bit of flexibility is lacking.

Kayne Domanko
Bachelor of Accounting
Ghent University
Belgium

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Korea University, South Korea

November 13, 2019

It’s been two months since I’ve arrived in Seoul to study at Korea University and so far with partying, studying, and meeting new people from across the world, I’ve been enjoying every minute of it. Korea is such a beautiful place that’s always thriving, even though the early hours of the morning. It’s a perfect blend of fast, exciting technological developments and rich traditional history and culture.

One thing that surprised me is the structure of classes at Korea University differs from UTS. In Korea University, there is usually one set time and day when a specific class runs. Therefore you don’t really have control over your uni timetable, as opposed to UTS where they are usually tuts running in 2-hour increments a day for you to pick from. Most of my days started at 9 am or 10:15 am, of which I’ve learned to really not mind because it sets up the whole day for me to do things. And I’m glad so because there are so many things to do in Korea. It’s only been a month, but I’ve had many valuable experiences here. From exploring Korea’s history at the Bukchon Hanok Village, to looking at Seoul’s impressive landscape at the Seoul Tower, to exploring the nightlife in Hongdae, I don’t think I’ll be running out of things to do anytime soon.

Before coming here, I was told that the social life in Korea University is absolutely thriving and I am glad to say that I have not been let down. Korea University has a buddy association called KUBA which organises events and dinners from exchange students. They also assign students into a KUBA group of about 100 students (I’m in Group 3!), and then to a “buddy” who oversees about 10 students and is there to answer any enquires and become friendly with you! You shouldn’t be worried about not making friends as KUBA is huge (there are about 800+ students each semester) and so you’re bound to make at least a few friends. KUBA usually has a weekly lunch and dinner, and I’ve found that the dinners especially, fosters a great sense of community and friendship not only between exchange students but also students and buddies.

Aimi Vi Bui
Bachelor of Communication (Public Communication)
Korea University
South Korea

Australian Government New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant recipient.

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au
Bienvenue à Strasbourg !

November 11, 2019

I’ve been in Strasbourg for about a month now and am enjoying every minute! The town centre is incredibly beautiful and it’s very easy to get around. The university is great, especially having an extra week off and only a few classes in the first couple of weeks (Au revoir Strasbourg there are just too many cheap flights). If you are considering Strasbourg or are already going, I’ll try to keep this post pretty succinct and as helpful as possible!

ARRIVAL

Strasbourg is very central in Europe and so it is easy to arrive from nearby countries. I got the train from Paris which took about 2 hours, but Strasbourg has its own airport, or you could come from other airports that are nearby, e.g. Basel, Stuttgart, Frankfurt or Baden-Baden. EM also provided the option to have a buddy pick me up from the train station which was a great way to learn how to use the trams and meet a French student from EM!

STRASBOURG

Strasbourg is a gorgeous town, there are heaps of boulangeries, it is quick to walk everywhere, and the trams are easy to use. I highly recommend going to Petit France, it is the most beautiful part of Strasbourg not including the Cathedral. There are bike lanes everywhere so if you end up living a bit further away, it would be a good idea to get a bike. Strasbourg feels very safe during the day and mostly at night. It is very central in Europe and you can be in Germany in 20 minutes by tram (groceries are much cheaper here).

HOUSING

The student accommodation is ok but is still pretty average. I chose to stay privately and I found an apartment on Housing Anywhere (I found the link on EM’s intranet: https://housinganywhere.com). I found a room in a 4 bedroom apartment with a shared kitchen and living room that I could rent for 4 months. My housemates ended up being all girls on exchange at EM also which was fantastic. I would get in early as accommodation sells out quickly and there is a huge demand (there is a chance you may not get in to the student accommodation).

ORIENTATION

EM Strasbourg fortunately has lots of events on for exchange students. The orientation week was pretty long and was dragged out across 4 days, however there was lots of extra curricular events like scavenger hunts which were a great way to make friends. There are also Erasmus events on every Monday and Wednesday nights each week which are a good way to catchup with friends you have made and meet new people. Because there are so many events it is pretty easy to make friends, my advice would be just go to lots of events and talk to the people next to you at orientation, everyone is in the same boat and is eager to make friends. You will definitely end up running into people all around the city!

Strasbourg was a great choice for me for exchange and I have thoroughly enjoyed everything so far and am looking forward to the next few months (especially the infamous Christmas markets)!

Grace Cox
Bachelor of Information Technology
University of Strasbourg
France

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au

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