A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: semester exchange

  • Mvelo Nzimande at Bern University, Switzerland

    Mvelo Nzimande at Bern University, Switzerland

    Mvelo Nzimande

    LLB Student

    Semester Exchange in the Second Semester, 2022 at Bern University

     

    Pre-departure:

    I decided that I wanted to end my final year in a rather ceremonious way by going on exchange. Before this exchange experience, I had never even been abroad (unless you count Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique), so this was very exciting for me but also anxiety inducing. Also considering that I’m also doing probably my most challenging module (Company Law 471) this year, and so I had the added stress that I might struggle to keep up with the course work and potentially fail the module while on exchange. This fear alone almost made me decline the offer to study at the University of Bern, however I’m very glad I made the decision to go.

    There were many things that I had to do before I left. For starters, I had to find a new tenant to take over my lease in Stellenbosch, and because I was going back and forth in deciding whether to even go on exchange, I began this process rather late. However, luckily enough I found a tenant one month before my departure. Second on the agenda was getting my Visa, which for Switzerland, one can only get from Pretoria. This meant that I had to travel via plane from Cape Town to Pretoria (and back) twice to get my Visa: the first time to drop-off my application documents (since they don’t work with courier services) and the second time to pick it up after it was processed. I remember when I had to go pick it up, it was a day before my second Law of Evidence test, which meant that I unfortunately had to study on the plane.

    Third on the list of predeparture prep was buying the plane tickets to Switzerland. This was rather easy as I buy tickets from home (Durban) to Stellenbosch (and back) almost 6/7 times a year. The only tip I could give is for people who like me have never been abroad, to not be afraid to ask your parents to come with you for the first week. I was lucky enough to have my mom fly with me and help me settle in at Bern. This made that initial entry into a new country a little less scary. I had her and my exchange partner with me every step of the way. In general, my biggest word of advice would be to start all pre-departure prep as early as you can (i.e., VISA, plane tickets etc.) as this gives you a sort of buffer time for contingency plans in the event that things go awry.

     

    In Bern all of my courses were international law courses, and more interestingly they were all Master level courses since these were the only English options. My modules included international trade regulation, international investment law, international intellectual property and European data protection. In addition to these courses, I still continued with company law and the law of evidence remotely. What was nice about this arrangement, is that my academic work was shorter than what it would have been had I stayed in Stellenbosch and not gone on exchange. For instance, I had no lectures on Fridays. Of course, I still had my work cut out for me, however it was nice to have a three-day weekend to travel and catch up on anything I had not completed during the week.

    Bern is a lot like Stellenbosch in that there is a lot to do, maybe even more to do since it is much larger. I am happy to say that a lot of shopping and site seeing happened – I mean when the public transport is so reliable you can’t help but explore. One can swim in the Aare River, take walks in the Könizbergwald forest, visit the Rosengarten for views of the old city of Bern, visit the Gurten hill for panoramic views of the entire city and much more. Might I add that these places look even more magical when it snows.

     

    Bern, under snow

     

    With regards to how the academic strain compares Stellenbosch, I can say that it is both easier and more difficult. It is easier in that there are less hours of class per week, the course content is not as difficult e.g., I found contract law, law of delict, law of succession, company law much more challenging. However, I think this might be because the only courses I could do were international law courses as opposed to the substantive law of Switzerland – which I can imagine is as difficult as South African substantive law. Further, for all of these courses I did not have assignments, or tuts, or requirements for class attendance. The catch is that for each of them there is only one exam that makes up all of your marks for that course.  So, in essence you only have one opportunity to pass, which makes it more challenging than Stellenbosch.

    Many of the lecturers also did not have English as their first language or their home language. For example, my lecturer for Investment was from Chile with a very strong Chilean accent. So sometimes it was hard to understand what he was saying. Lastly, all the exams were oral exams and were all scheduled in one week and although I enjoy oral exams it gets tough when you have four different lecturers who conduct them in four different ways. So, this was interesting to maneuver but I’m glad I did so successfully.

     

    Exchange has most definitely given me the travel bug. I know that most definitely after my articles I will be travelling and perhaps even relocating to another country–maybe even Switzerland. I just love how everything works there and how easy life felt there. And because I’ve made so many friendships from exchange, I know that wherever I relocate to abroad I will have a friend nearby.

    My return back was not too bad. I think a part of me was missing home a little and my family and friends. Obviously, December in South Africa is a festive season, so you know that everyone is making the most of their summer holiday, which was tough to miss out on. The only part that was difficult was saying goodbye to all my exchange friends as others were staying in Bern for a yearlong exchange.

    What made my return back home all the better was seeing my entire family at King Shaka airport with balloons, flowers and huge cards. This was so lovely to see after a long 16 hours in the sky and 3 hours in Dubai. It was nice to know that my family missed me as much as I missed them.

     

  • Suzaan Hobson at Wageningen University, the Netherlands

    Suzaan Hobson at Wageningen University, the Netherlands

    Suzaan Hobson 

    MSc in Food and Nutrition

    Semester Exchange in the First Semester, 2022 at Wageningen University

    Pre-departure:

    From the start of my degree, it has been a dream of mine to do a semester exchange at Wageningen University since they are considered to be the best food and agriculture university in the world. Choosing a host institution was therefore a breeze, but there is so much admin and planning that happens predeparture that you almost neglect being excited. My exchange had been cancelled twice before due to Covid, so everything probably only really sunk in when I was sitting on my flight to the Netherlands. Till 2 days before I flew, I was required to quarantine, but luckily the rules changed by the time I landed.

    A tip is to not waste energy on stressing about minor details and wondering whether everything will work out. Book your appointments early, and then focus on being present around the people you will soon have to greet. I booked my Visa appointment for my MVV visa 3 months before I flew. I would really recommend booking it ahead of time because I felt a lot less stress once my visa had been approved. The Dutch immigration office is super-efficient, and Wageningen University also guided the process. In my experience flight tickets only get more expensive the longer you wait, so prioritize that too.

    I was very lucky to have been given a Zuid-Afrika huis bursary. However, I could only receive my first payment once I had arrived in the Netherlands and organized my Dutch bank account. It took me longer than expected to open my Dutch bank account as I had to wait for my BSN number. A tip is to organize a personalized OV chip card (their travel card) and Dutch bank account as soon as you arrive. I had to pay my first month’s rent and deposit, health insurance, flight tickets and visa costs before receiving my bursary. Stellenbosch University generously gives you a travel bursary which covers most of these start up fees. I would however advise that you plan to go overseas with a safety net of money. Spoiler: day to day life in the Netherlands is very expensive. Every train you take adds up fast. So, if you are doing an exchange to the Netherlands, you should most definitely apply for the Zuid-Afrika huis bursary.

    Student accommodation, actually accommodation in general, in the Netherlands is viewed as a national crisis. Luckily, the university helps exchange students by giving us priority on the housing system called Idealis. I would recommend registering early on Ideal is and organizing accommodation through them instead of trying to sublet or get a room through Facebook groups. I chose a student room in a residence close to campus called Dijkgraaf. We are 12 in a corridor that share a kitchen and bathroom. I chose this set up because it is cheaper than self-contained rooms but also you get a chance to interact with your corridor mates while making food.

    Experience at the Host University:

    Wageningen University campus
    Amsterdam, from Suzanne’s trip

    Return to Stellenbosch:

    Returning to Stellenbosch, it felt as if everything and nothing had changed at the same time. It was so lovely to see Stellenbosch as full of students as it was pre-covid. The first thing I did when I got home was go for a mountain bike ride with my mom (I missed the mountains in the Netherlands!) and bought an affordable post-ride cappuccino.

  • Wouter Bezuidenhout at University of Zurich, Switzerland

    Wouter Bezuidenhout at University of Zurich, Switzerland

    Wouter Bezuidenhout

    MCom in Economics

    Semester Exchange in the First Semester, 2022 at the University of Zurich

     

    Pre-departure:

    The University of Zürich (UZH) has an excellent international exchange where an exchange coordinator assists you in preparing all your documents. This is facilitated through their “Mobility Online” platform. After filling in my application and sending documents to UZH, I received a letter of acceptance from them that I had to send to the Swiss Consulate in Pretoria together with my passport. I received my passport back within 1-2 weeks along with my entry visa. Due to UZH’s assistance, this process was greatly efficient.

    Using the Mobility Online platform, I also applied for housing at the UZH/ETH housing office, and I was allocated a room. The housing office has a partnership with WOKO, a non-profit company that provides housing to students in Zürich. I stayed at the WOKO in Casar-Ritz-Strasse 1, and from my experience, this is where most of the exchange students got placed. I am glad that I chose to stay in the WOKO as one meets many international students who are keen to combine plans and travel together etc. It is also affordable, I paid CHF541 per month.

    Choosing subjects is a tough decision from so far away, but nothing is set in stone as changing subjects once at UZH is really easy. UZH and ETH are positioned right next to another. ETH is the technical university and is world-famous. One cannot do an exchange from SU to ETH, however, once at UZ Hit is really easy to register as a special student and do a few classes at ETH. I did two subjects, and I am really glad that I did. The subjects were part of the Management & Technology (MTEC) master’s programme, which is comparable to an MBA.

    Being an exchange student means you automatically have access to the ASVZ, which are the sport and gym facilities of UZH & ETH. This is a great opportunity to try new things and enjoy it. Lastly, and most importantly, I applied for a scholarship/bursary with the Heyning-Roelli foundation. This is a detailed application process, but it is so worth it. This is for anyone studying in Switzerland. You can google their name for the website and see the forms you need. I received a bursary of CHF5000 of which CHF300 was paid after my exchange experience report was handed in following the completion of my exchange. I therefore received CHF4700 into my Swiss bank account.

     

    Experience at the Host University:

    I think if you’re in finance, economics or interested in business–then I would definitely not look further than Zürich. It is the hub of financial excellence, entrepreneurship, and banking. I had an elective course taught by a UBS banker for example. It was excellent. Zürich is phenomenal, and I would recommend it highly. The only downside is that Switzerland is expensive–but the bursary goes a long way. It is also possible to save money on train tickets if you are quick. Once I arrived at Zürich Airport, I immediately went to the SBB office to buy my train tickets. There are certain advantages to being under 25 when buying train tickets, and because I was turning 25 two weeks after I arrived, I bought annual passes upfront. I bought the Zone Ticket for Zürich (Zone 110) for a year-pass, I bought the Seven-25 ticket, and the Half-Fare ticket. The Zone ticket is a no-brainer, whilst the other two depend on your objectives. TheSeven-25 ticket allows you to travel the whole Switzerland for free after 7pm and before 7am. I am happy I got this as I did many domestic trips to other parts of Switzerland and the ticket quickly became cost-effective. The half-fare ticket gives you discounts on tickets purchased–and in my case was used for discounted prices on longer trips or shorter trips outside the zone. This is up to you, but it is a must if you don’t take the Seven25.
    At the school, I chose subjects that were part of the Quant Finance Master’s programme hosted by both UZH & ETH. This is a well-regarded programme that is very rigorous. I did Advanced Credit Risk Modelling, Quant Finance, and Swiss Financial Regulation. I would look at the subjects on Corporate Finance too. At ETH, I did Design Thinking & Lean Startup. I would recommend Design Thinking highly. It gave me substantial exposure to different institutions and people by doing modules at ETH & UZH, and I would therefore really recommend it. As I said previously, changing subjects is easy–and therefore enroll for a few subjects and figure out which ones fit your schedule best.
    Europe is really accessible for travelling so I did a lot of it, and I was really happy about this. I travelled to 9 countries in total besides Switzerland. Flixbus is your friend, and so are Easy Jets, Ryanair & Wizz Air. I also went skiing in Switzerland, and that was really a highlight. Zürich has a lot happening all the time. During summer months, there are many places to swim by the lake. I watched the Zürich Football derby, FC Zürich vs Zürich Grasshoppers–and it was great. I would have loved to watch the ice hockey too; the Zürich team is good. In the first two weeks after arriving, there is an Intensive German course offered. I did not do this–because I still had a lot of SU work to finish up. But it is something I would recommend if you wanted to quickly meet a lot of people who are exchange students.
    Wouter on a trip
    Also, quick tip: once you arrive, you need to go to the Kreis Buro to register for your residence permit – this replaces your visa and is NB. I recommend you do this on your first or second day. There is quite a hefty fee you pay for this, however once you are given a temporary residence permit, you can use this to open a bank account. I opened an account with UBS as they have a completely free account for students.

    Return to Stellenbosch:

    I am on my way back to SA now, and I am already missing Zürich. An exchange is a good experience because one is immediately completely responsible for your whole person. So, there is an opportunity to really grow and learn to become stronger. An exchange also gives you academic freedom to explore, and this is important. I transitioned from Economics towards Finance using the exchange as a platform.  It is an incredible opportunity to network too, both professionally and socially. I have made a few good friends who I hope to stay in contact with. Switzerland stands in large contrast to South Africa. One sees in Zürich the level at which things can operate and how well. But one also really appreciates the tight knit communities in SA and the spirit of South Africans.