A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: semester exchange

Charissa Beukes at Xiamen University, China

Charissa Beukes

Chinese Hons (Virtual Exchange)

Semester Exchange in the Second Semester, 2022 at Xiamen University

Pre-departure:

I am part of the 2021/2022 Chinese Honours class, and a requirement of our degree is to spend a Semester at Xiamen University. Unfortunately, my classmates and I were not able to go to our host country, China, for our study abroad due to COVID-19 but virtually attending Xiamen University’s classes was definitely a different and interesting experience. For this it is very beneficial to make contact with your classmates or someone who has prior knowledge on studying abroad or travelling overseas in general. This really helps in the first steps to studying abroad because you are guided, instead of doing it on your own, which could make your study abroad lonely.

The first step you should take, which really helped me, is to sit down and find out everything that needs to be done, and then making a checklist. For example, in our case we needed to fill in a lot of forms for Xiamen University, send our passports, work with our lecturers to help us with the forms, download all the necessary teaching platforms of our host university, become familiar with the new teachers and so on. I think it’s very important to make sure you’re up to speed on anything because when you’re studying abroad, in-person or virtually, things can become lost in translation and quite confusing. I also strongly advise making sure you have enough translating apps.

From my experience of travelling to China, Beijing and Xiamen specifically, with my lecturer and classmates in 2019, I learned that it is very important to work together as a team especially before departure or before beginning classes virtually, because you can then all be on the same page, and you know you have people that you’re familiar with and that you can rely on. Something that is also important is to always be as prepared for new things because you will be entering different countries and therefore different traditions and cultures, so make sure to familiarize yourself with these customs in order to gain knowledge on them and also respect. I always tried to be as prepared as possible as it wasn’t always known what our class schedule will entail because of the different in schooling culture. What I did notice is that countries appreciate when you know and respect their culture and way of doing things, so it is very important to be mindful of your actions and be respectful.

Charissa with the Hons class in China

Experience at the Host University:

I really wish we could have been able to go to China, as I believe it would have improved our Chinese-speaking ability greatly and we also would have been able to do the SAGL short course more in-depth. This is because we would physically be able to experience things abroad and therefore be able to apply it to our journals in a much better manner. However, we were lucky enough to virtually attend Xiamen University’s classes and this was still a unique experience because it was very different to our normal classes with Stellenbosch University. China has a much different way of doing things, as their schooling schedule and work pace is much faster and is propped with much more work. It was therefore very difficult to keep up at first, and it very intimidating. However, once we got into a routine, though, things gradually became easier, and I felt more comfortable communicating with our lecturers. This was especially because of the teamwork with my classmates, we would always help each other out when one was confused or unsure of what we should do. I honestly am so grateful for their support, and I believe it is very important to try and establish a support system for yourself it your host university so that if you have any questions or problems, you can ask that person for help, and this will also develop your relationship and also your position as a global citizen.

Charissa with her classmates.

We had classes three times as long and three times more often than what we had at Stellenbosch, it was from 6:50 to 12:00 in the afternoon most days, one of my classmates even had class at 2am due to the 6-hour time difference between China and South Africa, as we did 5 lessons in one week. It was hard to keep help, especially with it being 99% in Chinese but eventually we became comfortable. Writing mid-terms and finals was also stressful because the test format and instructions were completely different from what we were used to but, in the end, we overcame our obstacles and got through it. What helped me through the experience was trying not to be afraid of asking questions because things can get very confusing with a study abroad, especially if you are physically in another country. However, it all pays off in the end because you’ve gained an experience that many others have not.

Return to Stellenbosch:

We of course did not get to go to China, our host country so this will not be a long section. When our Xiamen University classes ended, it was a big shift from every day 4-6 hour classes to no classes. This of course can be seen as a very good thing but because we were so fully focused on our host university’s busy class and exam schedule, we were not able to fully focus on what we had to do for our own university, which was to complete our thesis. Of course, we completed it and handed it in by now, but to shift from busy virtual study abroad to focusing on our thesis, was a bit difficult but I think I speak for all of us in saying that we benefited from our study abroad as it helped us complete a big part of our degree – our thesis. It also helped us grow, along with all the knowledge about being a global citizen, our position in the world, SDGs, inter-cultural competence etc. that we learned in our SAGL sessions.

Us not going to China definitely changed my future plans because I relied heavily on the fact that being in a constant Chinese-speaking environment and attending classes every day would increase my Chinese-speaking ability and also listening comprehension. As hard as I’ve have worked so far, it is difficult to become fluent in language when you are not always in that speaking environment. I definitely want to go abroad, whether to work or study, as I believe Stellenbosch University, Xiamen University and this SAGL course specially helped me gain the skills and knowledge to do so.

September 12, 2023
Ruth O’Sullivan at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Ruth O’Sullivan

BCom International Business Student

Semester Exchange in the Second Semester, 2022 at the Trinity College Dublin

Pre-departure:

Before I left to travel abroad for my semester at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, I made a list of everything that I needed to prepare. Something that I did not need to think about, I am so grateful to say, was a visa. My grandfather was born in Dingle on the Southwest coast of Ireland and because of this, I was the last generation to receive an Irish passport in my family. Little did I know how valuable this would be. I therefore cannot advise anyone on the logistics of applying for a visa, but I do have other tips for those preparing to study abroad.

My biggest tip would be to apply for accommodation early. I left mine last minute (although I thought it was a reasonable time to start looking) only to find that most student accommodation rooms in Dublin had been booked and the only ones left were astronomically expensive. So, in order to find affordable, nice accommodation in a good location, start searching as soon as you get your placement from Stellenbosch (maybe even get yourself on a few waiting lists beforehand). Some good rooms in Dublin can be found at Kavanagh Court, Point Campus or any of the Yugo buildings. I was too late to secure a room at any of these places but was lucky enough to find a room in a lovely lady’s house in the suburbs of Dublin 7. The area is more relaxed than the city, I am a three-minute walk from the train station, my room is much cheaper than the student accommodations that my friends are in, and I have more amenities as well as free laundry while they have to pay for this. So, while student accommodation is fun, don’t rule out homestays if the things I listed sound more enticing to you.

Ireland, and most of Europe, is a lot more expensive than South Africa, to say the least. I recommend sitting down with your parents or guardians, whoever will be funding the majority of your time abroad and decide on a weekly or monthly budget for this time. Budget for items such as groceries, public transport, coffee and eating out, entertainment, shopping and travelling. This will help you stay on track and avoid overspending when you get to your destination. My final pre-departure tip is to pack for the weather! I knew coming into this time that Ireland got quite chilly and was known to be rainy, but I didn’t take this information as seriously as I should have. Umbrellas do not last long here so a good-quality raincoat is essential. During the winter months, thermal clothing comes in handy to wear under your normal clothes and some durable, waterproof boots will do you well. Good luggage is crucial if you are planning to travel around Europe during your stay as you don’t want it to break after the first trip.

Ruth on a trip in Paris

Experience at the host university:

My experience at Trinity College has been one I will never forget. One thing that I wasn’t expecting was to make friends with more international students than local students. This is mostly because international students arrive a week earlier than the local ones in order to tour the campus and go through a sort of “orientation”. Naturally, this means you will often make friends with the people that you meet throughout this time. Also, we are studying with those who are in their third year at Trinity College and have probably had the same friends since the first year–it is understandable that they wouldn’t feel the need to make friends with international students. Another thing that adds to you making international friends (and was a bit of a shock to me) was that student accommodation here is filled with about 95% international students because the cost of rent and living in Dublin is so high that most of the students live at home.

I thoroughly enjoyed the academic programme at Trinity College, to equate credits I landed up taking five modules and one elective. Each has two hours of lectures per week, and some have an extra one-hour tutorial slot. Each faculty had its own building – the business building was incredibly advanced and had its very own café where you could buy coffee and lunch and sit down to work at a table or in a cubicle. The campus itself takes your breath away, there is even a contemporary art gallery at Trinity! I found the modules here to have a majority assignment-based approach to the syllabus as opposed to Stellenbosch’s primarily exam-based approach. Only one of my modules has an in-person exam, two have online exams and the rest have only assignments.

I actually really enjoyed this as it allows one to plan out their workload more efficiently and brought a nice practical aspect to the module content. For example, in my Creative Thinking, Innovation and Entrepreneurship module we had four main assignments where we had to elevator pitch an idea for a business, come up with a Minimum Viable Product (or demo) for the business, perform actual customer research for the business and then create a Business Model Canvas to finalize the business idea. It was so enlightening as I have learnt the theoretical side of entrepreneurship for three years but actually had no idea how to go about starting a business until now. I found classes to be smaller than at Stellenbosch as well. The teachers are so passionate about their modules that it is inspiring. Societies play a big role on campus, there is a whole society fair at the beginning of the year where students can join societies ranging from horse-riding to scuba-diving to political parties – it was incredible fun.

A castle in Ireland

Apart from the academics, I cannot recommend enough to travel while you are abroad– Ryan Air flights will be your best friend. If you come to Trinity College, do make an effort to go and see the rest of Ireland, it is such a beautiful country that you will find Dublin to be the least impressive of it all.

Return to Stellenbosch:

I return to South Africa in about a week and I am so excited. I think that it is going to be a weird adjustment going from cold, rainy Ireland in winter to sunny South Africa, but I can’t wait to lounge by the pool and soak up the rays. I am not, however, excited for the long plane trip from Dublin to Dubai, Dubai to Johannesburg, and Johannesburg to Durban followed by another two-hour car drive back to my little farm town called Greytown.

I can already see how my perspective of South Africa has changed since I have been abroad. Many people back home speak about Europeas this magical place where everything is perfect and runs smoothly and so it has been eye-opening to experience it for what it truly is–Europe has problems just like South Africa. Governments here also have disgruntled citizens, there is still crime and an energy crisis. On my return, I do think that I will be equipped with more practical knowledge–in life and academics. I think that I have had so much exposure to other cultures that my self-awareness and awareness of the sensitivities of others have increased a lot. This experience has taught me critical thinking, to be open-minded and has made me even more willing and excited to learn about the experiences of others as I go forward.

Academically, I’m excited to go into my final year at Stellenbosch with all of the new knowledge that I have gained during my semester at Trinity College. I wish to major in marketing during my final year and the marketing module that I took here this semester has given me a completely different perspective on marketing management by analyzing the digital, artificial intelligence and automation aspect of contemporary marketing– it is brand new information, and I am so excited to apply it to my marketing modules in 2023. Going forward, I think that this time will allow me to see South Africa through new eyes – when you live in a country for your whole life it is easy to take for granted its beauty and cultures and only remember the bad things about it, that is until you have to leave it for some time. I will be less harsh on my beautiful South Africa, this time away has only grown my love for her. As for my future plans, being away has made me realize just how much I want to eventually settle and raise a family in South Africa.

September 12, 2023
Christiaan de Wet at Bucerius Law School, Hamburg

Christiaan de Wet

LLB Student

Semester Exchange in the Second Semester, 2022 at Bucerius Law School

Pre-departure:

The pre-departure preparations were daunting at first, but if one follows the steps provided by the International Office, everything should run smoothly. The International Office was very helpful with any questions I had, and they helped where they could. It is definitely advisable to start preparations as soon as possible, as leaving fundamental requirements, like visa applications or accommodation to the last minute will only add to the already stressful atmosphere of leaving the country for a few months.

Even though pre-departure is full of excitement, it does come with a lot of unavoidable stress, so make sure to have everything in place as early as possible. I personally left my accommodation to the last minute and ended up paying a LOT more than I originally budgeted for, so I would definitely advise that one sort it out as soon as possible. DISCLAIMER: if you decide to go to Bucerius Law School and you want to stay in their dorms, fill out the form within the first few seconds, because I filled it out within five minutes, and it was already full.

The visa application for Germany was pretty straight forward, and I received my visa within a week of my appointment, but I guess it depends on the country you’re visiting. You just have to make sure that you follow the directives given for the application and that you have all the necessary documents. But again, I would definitely try and sort out the visa application as soon as possible, because you never know what might happen. I visited Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, and they were very helpful with giving us all the information with regard our pre-departure preparations. This included information about housing, insurance, module registration etc. So, I would advise that one utilizes all the information and make sure that you stay up to date with any new information that the host university might send your way. What worked well for me was to make a list of everything that I needed to do before I left and to systematically tick the boxes. You just have to make sure that you actually do what’s on the list (unlike me with my accommodation…). And then lastly, just enjoy the last few months with your friends and family and don’t let the nervous excitement eat you up, because I can promise you, you are going to miss them.

Experience at the host university:

My experience at Bucerius Law School was amazing to say the least. Talking about the academic program specifically, it exceeded my expectations. The classes were extremely interesting, and they had top class lectures teaching the classes; to give you an idea of the caliber of lecturers that we had, the Business Mediation lecturer, Prof. Dr. Lars Kirchhoff, teaches mediation and ADR skills at the United Nations as well as at the German Federal Office and the Arbitration lecturer, Prof. Dr. Stefan Kröll, is the Director of the Center for International Business Resolution.

I would advise you to go out of your comfort zone and to take classes that you don’t normally get to take in South Africa as this really broadens your perspective on things, and it keeps you interested. A lot of the classes also required practical participation by the students, and I would definitely encourage you to take these classes as it allows you to work with other students and to get to know them a lot better, in an academic sense. Classes were also quite small (between 15 and 40 students), so you were forced to participate in class, which made it a lot easier to focus in class. This also forced me to do the readings before class, in order to be able to participate.

Christiaan with friends at Volkspark Stadion

Also, the International Office at Bucerius was extremely helpful and they went above and beyond to accommodate everyone and to help with any questions we had. You could literally go to them with any question, and they were extremely welcoming; they really made us feel at home. Another interesting aspect of the program was that they offered seminar styled classes, that ranged between5-to-9-hour classes. These were very intensive classes, but you only had three of these for the whole semester, wherein you would cover all the work, which was quite enjoyable. The University also offered a lot of extracurricular activities for the international students, like day trips to nearby cities, excursions to concentration camps and visits to Christmas Markets. You merely had to register for the activity, and most of it was free of charge. Bucerius Law School is definitely an excellent choice, academically, but on a more social level, the City of Hamburg is something to experience; but that could be whole blog post on its own…

Return to Stellenbosch:

It is inevitable that you will miss your friends and family during your time abroad, but I never thought that I would miss South Africa itself as much as I did. It is hard to pinpoint one thing about the country that I missed in particular, but as soon as I was back, I knew I was home. The exchange program really broadened my perspective on a lot of things, and honestly it was an experience that I would not trade for anything in the world. I met so many amazing people, that I hope to see again one day, and I feel that the whole experience really enriched my life academically, socially and intellectually and I am eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to do it. That being said, I realized that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and that I am extremely happy with what I have in South Africa. I always thought that I would one day move abroad, but I realized, despite all the struggles that we face in South Africa on a daily basis, I would still not want live anywhere else in the world.

September 12, 2023