A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: semester exchange

  • Nikki Conradie at Queensland University of Technology, Australia

    Nikki Conradie at Queensland University of Technology, Australia

    Pre-Departure

    An exchange semester in Brisbane, Australia? I don’t even know how to express what an amazing experience this was. From the host university, to the travels, the people and even the studies…. I really believe that this should be on everyone’s bucket list.

    Firstly, I decided on Australia based on the fact that they speak English and I really believed that this would help me to make local friends and connections that I feel would have been more difficult in other countries. Also, take a look at BRISBANE, the city as a destination is probably one of the most picturesque places I could ever imagine. Another big factor that I considered when choosing QUT, in particular, was that they offered a really cool opportunity called “WIL” (Work Integrated Learning). This is an opportunity to work in a company as an intern in place of an academic/ theoretical module. I really saw the value in this as getting work experience behind your name, especially as a South African, is very difficult – and wow, it really was one of the experiences where I’ve learned the most and can highly recommend it to everybody!

    Other than that, going abroad was my first time on an international airplane – quite a big jump for someone who has never traveled internationally, to moving completely to live abroad for 6 months. But it really taught me so much about the world and all the admin involved in traveling. Having said that, here are some of my top tips in terms of preparing for your adventure.

    1. Start early with the visa application. Australia’s visa processes are all done online and you get no physical stamp in your passport. However, make sure that you have all your documents ready before applying. You will also need to see a doctor in Cape Town to do a health check on you and a TB scan – the tricky part about this is that there are only about 3 doctors in South Africa who can sign off on those requirements for you. That’s why I emphasize that you apply early because there is normally a long waiting list to get an appointment and you also need to consider the drive to Cape Town into your planning.
    2. Pack light, I would suggest only one warm jacket and a few pullovers, Australia is such a warm country and unlike our European exchange friends, the temperature never drops below 22 between August and December. Brisbane in particular is very hot in the summer. I also noticed that Brisbane is more of a trendy and on-the-go city. So, leave your plakkies and shorts for the beach. Smart casual is the in-thing on that side of the world.
    3. Check out different flights when booking your round trip. A return trip to Australia for my dates was around 25k at the time, but I decided to play around by booking a trip to Thailand on my way to Aus and then stopping over in Munich on my way home – I stayed with other international business students who were doing there exchanges there and all those flights together worked out cheaper than a one way to Australia. Try to find a loophole in the system – there are some good deals.

    Experience at the host university

    I don’t think you will ever meet a person who was more passionate about this exchange than me. I absolutely LOVED everything about Brisbane from the moment I stepped off the plane. The people of the city are so lovely, the city is so neat and beautiful, and everything is so safe and works really well together.

    For my first month, just to settle in, I stayed at a home stay. This can be arranged through the QUT International Student support office. They link you with families that suit your needs and then you can choose which one you would like to go to. It is a bit pricey at 2500 a week, but food and everything is included – you just basically fall into their family. This was a lovely experience for me to see how a typical Australian family lives and to adapt into their culture. They also took me out on weekends and showed me around Brisbane. I got the opportunity to go watch the kids play sport at school in the evenings and never had to worry about preparing my own dinner – this was lovely and I believed it really helped me settle quite easily into the new life. It was also great coming home and not being alone.

    Furthermore, the academic program at QUT offers a special Work Integrated Learning unit that gave me the opportunity to undergo an internship at an international company as part of my course. I highly recommend this as it was one of my most valuable experiences in learning how the corporate world operates.

    Overall, I will say that the workload at QUT, for my chosen units, was much less than at SU and definitely more research and project based. Classes are also two hours compared to the 50-minute lectures at SU. However, the lecturers are really engaging, and I was able to build personal network relationships with all my lecturers. They also provide so many opportunities for post study jobs and are very involved in keeping you connected with industry partners – very different to the mainly theoretical components of studies at SU.

    QUT further offers amazing networking events and opportunities to link with industry professionals. I found these events so valuable in building a network of people to contact in the future.

    Beyond studies, Brisbane is a beautiful and sunny city with so much to offer. It is possible to walk to most places, otherwise the public transport will definitely get you there.

    Unfortunately, eating out, excursions and accommodation are not small expenses, especially in Brisbane. The city has a very vibey, and business orientated core with an upmarket and classy lifestyle. Along with this come classy prices too. Australia is not the country for budget living – so be warned. However, I felt that the amount I received from SU was enough to cover all these costs and along with my part time waitressing job, I was able to do all the travelling that I wanted. Another thing – getting a job in Aus is much easier than back home. Minimum wage is also over R200 per hour, which turned out to be enough to keep me up and running very comfortably. So if you are worried about finances, I definitely recommend that a part time job.

    Return to SA

    After falling completely in love with Brisbane and all the city had to offer, it was quite a hard hit coming home to SA. It was definitely an adjustment coming from a country where everything works together so well, everything is safe and where things to do are abundant and exciting to come home and the first thing I noticed was the lack of service and slow pace of things at JHB International airport. However, home still has a special place in my heart and no matter how much goes wrong in our country – we all have each other, together in the struggle and I think that in some way shapes us all to be go-getters and plan-makers. My world has definitely been opened to see that there is so much more out there beyond what we know and the ease of life where an economy is thriving, is definitely noticeable.

    This has inspired me to look beyond SA for future endeavors, but to also link my experiences with the 1st world and see how we can make changes in SA from a business perspective. I have also learned to appreciate SA more after so many of my international friends have said that SA is on top of their bucket list – how cool that our country is a destination of choice for people around the world!!!! My goals for coming back are now focused around seeing and experiencing South Africa in the eyes of an “exchange student” and to know that even though it may only be a temporary return, SA is beautiful too.

    My biggest struggle in the adjusting back phase was missing the constant adventure and fast pace of things. I missed my international friends who were always willing to travel and explore and in missed my job and internship experiences. However, my mindset has changed, and the world is no longer such a big place – I know that so much awaits, and it is all only a flight away.

    I would definitely say that this exchange has changed me as a person for the better. I’ve learned so much about the world and myself, learned how to deal in difficult situations, learned to handle admin (visas, flight bookings, international transfers, budgeting etc) by myself. Being thrown into the deep end all alone in Australia, I can feel that I have improved my interpersonal skills and learned to interact with so many different types of people. I’ve also gained corporate experience and feel more confident in business settings.  There are so many benefits and over and above everything I had the privilege of being able to see world wonders like the great barrier reef, the Sydney opera house and so much more with friends from around the world who I now consider as family.

  • Natasha Smith at Renmin University, China

    Natasha Smith at Renmin University, China

    Pre-Departure

    Preparation is key. China is not like any other country and if you have not been there yet, you will definitely experience some culture shock. You will be extremely dependent of your phone, so make sure you have enough space/storage on your phone for all of the following apps. I recommend you download these BEFORE going to China, as you might struggle to download some of them there.

    • Wechat – this will be your main form of communication and payment. China does not really work with debit or credit cards, they use WeChat pay and Alipay and occasionally cash. This app is A MUST HAVE.
    • Alipay – another form of payment
    • Beijing Metro – this is an app with all of the metro lines and routes, this is the easiest and cheapest form of public transportation, also very safe.
    • Microsoft Bing – when your VPN does not work, this is the closest you have to Google
    • TripAdvisor – not a must have but nice to have to see where the nice places in Beijing are
    • Didi (The Chinese Uber) – this is the Chinese Uber, very effective and safe also
    • Translating app / have a google translate shortcut
    • Mobike, OFO, Meituan – you will make use of public bikes a lot, the more apps you have the easier you can get bikes, it is very cheap and very effective.
    • Taobao / JD – this is the ebay/ take-a-lot of China, super cheap and super-fast delivery. Everything is in Chinese though, so you will have to get a Chinese friend to help you.
    • VPNs – have at least 3 or 4 VPNs on your phone, China blocks apps like Whatsapp, Instagram etc. I would recommend ExpressVPN, you have to pay for it but it is most reliable.

    In terms of packing, I am going to give my advice as a girl, so this might differ for guys, and will probably be easier for them. If you use any chronic medication, take enough supplies for the time that you are there. I recommend taking things like pain medication, flu medication and other basic medicine, because it is a real struggle to get medicine in a pharmacy because of their lack of English and they only use traditional medicine, which some people do not prefer. All of the foreigners I met here struggled with their stomach the first month, because the food is quite a big adjustment for your stomach. If you are gluten sensitive or have a sensitive stomach, come prepared with the correct medication!

    China does have brands like Nivea, Pantene and other popular brands that we have in SA, so do not worry about taking all your toiletries for the 6 months. But for girls, I would recommend taking your sanitary products if you have enough space in your luggage, because it is quite expensive in China and also difficult to get “normal” ones. Other basic things to remember are plug adapters and a portable charger (if you have one, because the VPN’s really drain your phone battery). If you have the opportunity to learn some Chinese before you go to China, DO IT. Beijing, unlike Shanghai, is not very accommodating to foreigners. The people in Beijing speak very little to no English and it can be very difficult to get by if you don’t understand any Chinese. Shanghai on the other hand is more international and accommodating.

    Experience at the Host University

    I did my exchange semester at Renmin University of China’s Business School. It was an amazing experience, but not what I expected at all. They have a complete different approach to academics than Stellenbosch University, and this took some time getting used to. You will do a lot of presentations and “small tests” and projects like we are used to at Stellenbosch. The difficulty level was lower than I expected, which allowed for a lot of traveling during the semester. However, class attendance is compulsory, and just because the difficulty level is not as high, doesn’t mean you won’t have to put in some work!

    I was really lucky to have met the most amazing group of friends while I was on this exchange. Most of them were also exchange students from different countries. I came to China expecting I was going to make a lot of Chinese friends, but Chinese people are extremely shy and don’t feel comfortable talking to foreigners as most of them are not confident speaking English. So be aware of this when coming to China, nothing is wrong with you or them, it is just their culture.

    Do as much traveling and sightseeing as you can in the beginning of the semester before all the deadlines and exams start! China has so many amazing places to see (make TripAdvisor your best friend), and it is really easy to travel on a low budget by staying in hostels (make use of hostelworld.com) rather than hotels. China also has a bullet train which makes traveling between cities really easy, cheap and fast! Make a list of the places that you want to see before going and try to prioritize seeing those places first, because time really does fly when you are on your exchange and before you know it you are on your way back!

    As mentioned, the language barrier can be a very big problem if you cannot understand or speak any Chinese! However, there are many local people on campus who are willing to trade English speaking classes for Chinese speaking classes! Make use of this opportunity, take my advice on this, it will make your life 10 times easier in China if you can understand even just the basics. I also experienced that Chinese people are more willing to help or assist you in stores or when you are lost when you are trying to speak Chinese to them. If you ask for help in English the chances are they will walk away because they don’t understand you. If you ask for help in broken Chinese, doesn’t matter how wrong it is, they will usually try their best to assist you even if it is just with hand signs. You will gain a lot of respect for speaking or trying to speak Chinese.

    Return to Stellenbosch

    Reverse culture shock IS A REAL THING.

    Coming back to Stellies has been bitter-sweet, more sweet than bitter though! The first week or two is extremely overwhelming because you will be asked the same question 10 times a day, “How was the exchange!?”, and they will expect you to summarize the experience in one sentence, because the reality is, they only want to know if it was good or bad, they don’t want to know everything. This can be extremely frustrating and a big anti-climax. You just (hopefully) experienced the best few months of your life where you saw so many things and grew so much as an individual while meeting the most interesting people, while most of the people at home just went on with their normal lives and routines. Unfortunately this means that they won’t necessarily share in your excitement and relate to any of your stories. This is neither their fault nor yours, and it is extremely important to be aware of this before even going back to SA. It helps so much to keep contact with the people you met there or the other International Business students that went on exchanges because you will be able to relate and talk about your experiences.

    In terms of academics; haha wow. As I mentioned before, the difficulty level in China was not very high, so it was a very big academic shock being back in Stellies and adapting to the heavy workload and difficulty level. It is however manageable, and you get used to it quickly.

    Coming from China, which was extremely safe and I never experienced any problems in terms of crime and safety, back to South Africa, was probably one of the most difficult adjustments. In China I was dependent of public transport and got use to not being overly cautious when walking alone, etc. It has been difficult to adjust my mind-set to be more aware and careful. When you are abroad you sometimes forget about all of the bad things happening in South Africa, because you miss the good things so much.

    One of the most important things I have had to focus on is maintaining my self-growth. I experienced a lot of self-growth while on the exchange, so coming back to an environment where the people around you have mostly stayed in the same mental space as they were before, can be very difficult. That’s why it is so important to make a conscious effort to keep growing and not to regress and fall into your old ways of doing things.

    This exchange is one of the best things to have ever happened to me, it changed and broaden my perspectives on so many different levels.

  • Marion Kretzschmar at Reutlingen University, Germany

    Marion Kretzschmar at Reutlingen University, Germany

    In December 2017, which was the end of my third year of my bachelor’s degree program in Industrial Engineering, I started to conduct some research about Stellenbosch’s partner universities in Germany.  My dream was to either complete my full masters at a German university or at least attend one semester.  Throughout my research, I coincidentally stumbled across Reutlingen University.  This university works in close collaboration with the Industrial Engineering department, offering a relatively unique opportunity for the master’s students:  a double degree program.  The Digital Industrial Management and Engineering master’s program is an exchange program where students have the opportunity to attend three semesters at their home university and one semester as an exchange student at the host university (German students would come to University Stellenbosch and the South African students would go to Reutlingen University).  In my view, this was a WIN-WIN situation, as I would be able to commence an exchange semester, while also receiving an additional master’s degree from a European university as well as one from Stellenbosch.

    Pre-departure

    Fortunately, I have a European Passport, which spared me from the tedious Visa application process.  Since I am also an international student at Stellenbosch, I was relatively well prepared regarding the application and registration process in a foreign country.   With help from our German study coordinator from Reutlingen, the application process was relatively simple.  He also put us South Africans in contact with the Reutlingen International Office (RIO), who contacted us regarding the accommodation.  We were lucky enough to apply for the student dormitories, situated directly on the campus grounds.

    Once I was accepted, I started conducting my research about the university.  One disadvantage was that the program we enrolled for is a very small degree program, and therefore only limited information could be found on the university website.  However, the German study coordinator was very helpful and helped a lot with all the arrangements in Germany.  He also informed me about all the different documents I need for the registration process at the university at the beginning of the Semester.  Surprisingly enough, even though Germany is a first world country, no documents are accepted in a digital format, only as a hard copy.  Luckily, throughout my past five years at University Stellenbosch, I have found it to be very useful to keep a digital backup of all documents, but also a file containing all the hard copies of all the documents that might be required by the university.  Through this, I was able to handle all unplanned and unforeseen situations successfully and seamlessly.

    The admin part aside – now the actual travel arrangements had to be done.  Since I was not entirely sure when my semester in Germany would start nor end, I only booked a one-way ticket to Germany.  I was lucky, and for me, it worked out relatively well regarding the pricing and time, but I would recommend to all the future exchange students to rather book a return ticket and also do it far in advance as it will, most likely, turn out cheaper.  It now seems like a girly thing to say – but packing turned out to be rather challenging.  One piece of advice – don’t bother to pack too much of your South African wardrobe – you won’t be able to use them.  Rather buy a nice winter jacket and a pair of boots in Germany, as they are geared for such temperature drops.

    Experience at the Host University:

    As I mentioned earlier, I am an international student at Stellenbosch as well, so I am used to being far away from home.  Therefore, the far distance from home did not bother me at all.  An additional advantage was that I also speak German fluently, so I did not experience any language barriers at all.  When I arrived in Reutlingen for the first time, thanks to google maps, I found the university very easily, without experiencing any problems.  I have arranged a meeting with the study coordinator in advance, who assisted me with the registration process as well as the key collections for the dormitories.  He showed me around the campus and also informed me about the different courses I will need to attend in order to meet the prerequisites of the program.

    Stating with the accommodation, I lived in a relatively new and modern building, directly on campus.  I shared a kitchen and two bathrooms with five other international students, two of them being the other South Africans attending the same course as me in Reutlingen.  We did a lot of different activities together, such as hiking, visiting different Christmas markets, or attending various events organized for the international students.  The university did not only offer events for international students, but also for the local students to join.  This made it very easy to meet new people.

    The academic courses that I attended were mainly focused on the new topic Industry 4.0 – digitisation, digitalisation, and digital transformation.  The classes were relatively small, ranging from five to twelve people per session.  Because I was enrolled in a double degree program, I was put in contact with one of the German professors, who became the co-supervisor of my master’s thesis.  He assisted me with my research project.  The courses were very interesting and informative as the subject matter is directly related to my research topic.

    As expected, because of the exceptionally well-functioning public transport system, traveling has been made very easy.  I have purchased the Naldo semester ticket, which is a ticket you purchase once-off and can travel throughout the surrounding areas without additional costs.  For longer distances, I would recommend Flixbus or BlaBlaCar.  Reutlingen has the advantage that it is situated relatively convenient – Stuttgart and Heidelberg are very close, and Munich is not too far away either.  Furthermore, Switzerland, as well as Austria, are also travel destinations, I would recommend to everyone, especially if you would like to have the full winter wonderland experience.  There are a few shops and pubs to visit in Tübingen, which is only 10 minutes by train and has a great nightlife.  It reminded me a lot about Stellenbosch, as it is also a rather smaller city and very student oriented as the whole city mainly consists out of the university.

    Return to Stellenbosch:

    Once I came back to South Africa, I had to make use of my car again in order to get somewhere further away.  The accessibility of long-distance locations is definitely made so much easier in Germany with public transport.  However, I have missed our beautiful Stellenbosch, the fact that all shops and clubs are within walking distance away from the university and my flat, my friends, our campus and also the beautiful Winelands and mountains.  I am grateful that I had the opportunity to go to a foreign country, meet new friends, widen my network, and also experience some kind of personal growth as well.  I have learned to be more open towards meeting new people and also not being too shy to ask for help if needed.