A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: semester exchange

  • Inance at the University of Bologna, Italy

    Inance at the University of Bologna, Italy

    Pre-departure:

    For me the semester abroad meant much more than just an exchange. Living abroad, specifically Italy, has been something I thought about often but I never dared to explore the possibility. However, I knew that I would one-day regret not pursuing this dream. So, for about a year and a half before my exchange I started studying Italian, simply because I liked the language and the Italian way of life and I had a hope to perhaps have a use for it someday. Little did I know that an adventure of a lifetime was waiting for me…

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  • Gerard at the University of Zurich, Switzerland

    Gerard at the University of Zurich, Switzerland

    Pre-departure:

    SU International has an excellent preparatory programme for all the exchange students. A meet-and-greet session allowed the exchange candidates to meet other students going abroad and it was there where I met students who would be travelling to the same country and institutions as I was. This helped to lay the foundation for some great friendships before leaving abroad. This event was proceeded by a short departure workshop which was full of useful information and insight into the life and mind-set of an exchange student and was highly beneficial.

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  • Vanessa at the University of Helsinki, Finland

    Vanessa at the University of Helsinki, Finland

    Pre-departure:

    Thanks to the hard work of everyone at SU International, the pre-departure preparations went smoothly. The team made sure that we had all the information we need. In terms of preparing for the trip itself, the travel bursary was really helpful with paying for flights and the trip to the Finnish Embassy in Pretoria. The Finnish Embassy has a wonderful website where you could apply for your Student Resident permit (for people staying longer than 3 months) which made things a lot easier. No paper work was involved, so glad I could save a few trees.

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