Motivation
I was extremely excited about the chance to study at the University of St Gallen through the exchange program with the University of Queensland. My main motivation for choosing the University of St. Gallen (HSG) was due to its standout reputation in business and economics. I was hopeful that one of Europe's leading business schools would offer me a fresh perspective that's different from what I've learned back home in Australia. Although I had travelled to Switzerland before, the chance to experience Swiss culture in more depth and the option to travel easily throughout Europe and the UK was definitely a benefit!
Personal Development
I was fortunate enough to travel through countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and the UK in the two months leading up to my Semester 2, 2023 exchange at St. Gallen. This meant that by the time I arrived in Switzerland, I had already ticked off many destinations as well as having lots of incredible experiences during the European Summer. One of the benefits of this was that I was able to stay within Switzerland for much of my exchange and really explore what the country had to offer in terms of culture, beautiful scenery, and interesting people.
Something I was conscious about upon arriving in Switzerland, was that I spoke very limited German. However, due to Switzerland's excellent education system, I found that almost everyone I spoke to could understand and speak English. I also found it interesting to discover how different Swiss-German is from regular German. At the beginning of each semester, the HSG offers a week (roughly) long German intensive class that is tailored to exchange students.
During the first two weeks at the HSG, I made sure to attend almost all of the HSGBUDDY System events that were offered to exchange students. At these events I met a number of very interesting and like-minded students that I was able to connect and keep in touch with throughout my semester there. Furthermore, living in an apartment offered by the HSG meant that I was able to experience living with some great people from France, Italy, and Germany.
Personally, my experiences travelling before and after my exchange program, as well as living and connecting with people in the City of St Gallen have greatly contributed to my well-roundedness as a person. The ability to learn and appreciate so much about different cultures was eye-opening and something I will always treasure.
Professional Development
Throughout my exchange to St. Gallen, I developed a number of skills that will help me in my professional career. For example, I developed my time management skills, my academic discipline, and my cultural knowledge.
Funding
The accommodation at St. Gallen is around 800 CHF per month for a one room, shared apartment when booked through the university. If you are able to organise an apartment with other exchange students, then it is likely to be much cheaper. In terms of food, drink, and transport, I worked off the rule that everything is twice as expensive in Switzerland when considering the value of the Australian Dollar. The other consideration you should make is that rail transport between cities in Switzerland is extremely expensive, so if possible, try and by the half-price travel card.
Accommodation
Accommodation when booked through the University was simple and minimalist. Depending on your budget, you could find yourself walking about 30-40 minutes to the centre of the city (not a large city by any means) or near the central train station. I lived in a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom single level apartment at Langasse 49. It was a clean, but simple apartment and my room contained a single bed, desk with chair, and cupboard. However, everything that you might need in terms of cooking wear was provided.
Highlight
The highlight of my experience was joining the HSG Rugby Seven's team (Silverbacks) and attending the games and numerous social events that were held throughout the year. We also continued the tradition of producing a charity calendar for Pro Juventute which involved some very interesting and revealing team photos.
Advice/Top Tips
1. Ensure you have lots and lots of courses credited and you are as familiar as possible with the HSG bidding system.
2. Stay on top of your studies, most courses have 100% final exams which occur all around the same date towards the end of the semester and can be extremely stressful.
3. Create a budget and stick to it, remembering that train travel throughout Switzerland is highly expensive.
4. Beware of fees, every administrative service you use in the Canton will require payment of some description.
6. When registering at the cantonal office, ensure you have all the documents ready. The Swiss do not much around and you will save yourself a lot of time if you can get it done in one sitting.
7. Join all the Freshers Week events at the HSG, this is where you will meet the other exchange students and where you will form most of your connection. The Swiss students are great, but they may not connect too deeply with you if you are only there for one semester.
8. Work hard and take every opportunity to enjoy yourself and network!
