Motivation
My motivation for participating in this experience was to pursue both personal and academic growth. The opportunity to study in a foreign country would allow me to meet and work with a huge range of people, creating international connections for the rest of my life. I would also be able to immerse myself in a new culture and have the opportunity to adventure and travel a new part of the world, furthering my own personal growth and cultural understanding.
Personal Development
While participating on my university exchange, I had the opportunity to live in a close-knit community of international students. This experience had a profound impact on my personal development. Living independently in a foreign country forced me to be resilient to tough situations and adaptable to the way of life required. For example, some tough situations included living in such a cold environment with only a bike as transport and managing a new healthcare system while being sick. However, this experience also allowed me to make long lasting friendships with people from all over the world, who I studied with, lived with, experienced Swedish culture with and explored Europe with. I will forever be grateful for this experience because of this. I am now a more confident, resilient and happier person because of everything I have been through. I also have a newfound appreciation of the power of an exchange program and how they can truly be life changing.
Academic Development
I studied under a completely different education system to what I was used to at UQ. This deepened my understanding of certain academic topics in my field and furthered my academic development. I studied some courses that I would never have had the opportunity to take at UQ, like Microsensors where I was able to work in a cleanroom to see their fabrication process, and Memory Mapping for Machine Learning where I gained a deep understanding of emerging memory technologies. This could be challenging at times as I had never learnt topics like this before, however, by learning together with other students often through groupwork in my classes, this made learning significantly easier. Workloads were at times similar to UQ; however, deadlines were much less strictly enforced, providing a less stressful university experience. Overall, the unique opportunity to study topics unlike any other I have done before with a group of international students from all around the world allowed me an academic opportunity I am appreciative for. I think I have become more adaptable in my learning as I had to adjust to a different academic system and have improved my teamwork abilities.
Professional Development
During my exchange program, I encountered numerous opportunities to develop skills and attributes that are valuable for my professional development and future employability. I completed projects with students from a range of diverse backgrounds, fostering international connections and improving my ability to communicate effectively in a global context. Adapting to a new academic system, cultural environment, and daily routines taught me to be more flexible and open to change. Additionally, balancing academic responsibilities with personal life and extracurricular activities improved my time management skills.
Costs
To budget I cooked almost every night and used a second-hand bike as my mine form of transport. A lot of my shopping was also done at second-hand stores. Overall, on the experience I spent about $22000. This includes 6 weeks of travel after semester.
Breakdown:
Return flights 3500. Accommodation 4500. Food 1500. Transport 500. Appliances, repairs, other shopping 1500. University events and events with friends 2000. Travel 8500.
Advice:
I’d recommend spending money right at the start that will save you money in the long run. Like buying a bike and cookware so you don’t spend as much on eating out and travel. If you do want to travel there are great cheap ways to do it that are worth looking into (for Europe Ryanair, FlixBus, etc). But always be prepared that you may need to spend more than you budgeted for and it’s very important to have some spare money in case you end up in a difficult situation.
Funding
The funding was so important to me to have a non-stressful experience. For example, having extra money helped me more easily make some difficult financial decisions. Such as when I was sick, I was more willing to spend money on medical supplies and transport that saved me from becoming more sick. Or when I had transport issues, I was more willing to spend money on safer ways home as opposed to walking home late at nigh or in the freezing cold. But most importantly, the money allowed me to make the most of my experience, whether it was eating out with friends, going to university nation events, or spending money on things that promoted my study.
Accommodation
I found out about my accommodations through the university website. My living arrangement was a shared apartment. It had some pros like a good location, I was living with a good friend and it was affordable. But it also had cons like minimal space, a very limited and small kitchen, and a very small bathroom. For future students housing, I would recommend not living by yourself, you’ll make friends regardless, but if you’re living with people you’ll make close friends so easily.
Highlight
It’s hard to narrow it down to just one highlight, but I think it would have to be the exchange student culture. It felt like a close-knit group of people who would always be willing to do something all the time, whether it’s having a BBQ, exploring the city, or travelling, people would always be wanting to do it. I made so many great friends and this was definitely the best part of exchange.
Advice/Top Tips
Do it! It will be one of the best experiences of your life. And make the most of it. Whether you want to travel, meet new people, or learn something you’d never be able to at your home university, it doesn’t matter, just make the most of it. And in the first few weeks a great way to meet people is to go to university events, particularly exchange student events.
