Personal Development
I learnt a lot about myself and about others during my experience. I gained independence, strength in challenging situations and a new perspective on the world: at the end of the day we are all human and depsite nationality or language we are all alike. With this perspective I made many valuable friendships with people from all over Europe and was lucky enough to travel and explore amazing places with them. I have returned with a new sense of independence and confidence in myself and with lifelong connections across the world.
Academic Development
It was a nice change to be a part of an academic system that is completely different to UQ, although it was challenging at times. Architecture at KU Leuven is much more creative and art-based rather than being highly theoretical. This meant I was able to do creative projects that I would never get the chance to do at UQ. However, as I was not used to thinking in this way it was quite challenging and took a lot of work to shift my thinking. Workload in general though was less demanding than UQ which allowed me time to enjoy living abroad.
Professional Development
I now have experience working on projects with a different set of environmental and cultural constraints, which will be beneficial to future employability. I have also developed the skill to adapt to these new ideals despite being unfamiliar to me. In general, I have developed a more mature outlook on life and have gained valuable experience in managing myself, dealing with challenging situations independently and being able to connect to people despite language barriers or cultural differences.
