Motivation
I had never travelled overseas before and had done most of the elective options that interested me in my law program at UQ, so once I had confirmed that funding was available and that it would count as credit for my degree, I was all in!
Personal Development
I was surprised at how quickly I built connections with other students and have already been in touch with them since returning to Australia. I also got the opportunity to travel outside of my host city within and outside my program, so I also got to see the cities of Bern, Lausanne, Lucerne, Zug and Chur in Switzerland. I think the biggest change in my outlook having completed the course would be that I am more open to looking for work or studying overseas, rather than confining myself just to Queensland or Australia.
Academic Development
The topic of the program (sports law) was something I had never encountered and a fascinating area of the law, and I would definitely consider practising in the area in the future. Teaching was much more lecture-focussed and due to the intensive format, and classes ran from 9am-5pm most weekdays. Despite this, I felt the workload was quite a bit lower than what I would expect at UQ, with the emphasis much more on participation and engagement in classes than written assessment pieces (which I greatly preferred).
Professional Development
My ability to interact with others and build relationships definitely improved as a result of the experience, and the Moot Court component of the program also helped a lot with my public speaking skills and gave me a potential taste of what to expect in my future career.
Budget
I was told by several people before I left that Switzerland works on a different scale when it comes to cost, and it did not disappoint. I had to top-up funds twice during my experience, even keeping an eye on what I was spending throughout. There's no real way around this fact, but I found it helpful to use a travel card (I used Wise) that allows you to pre-convert currency, so that you can spend in the local currency and don't have to constantly try to work out the equivalent in AUD.
Rough breakdown:
Accommodation - 800 CHF (included in course cost)
Transport - host university provided transport card (valid for central city zone for duration of experience) - this was really helpful!
Food - 150-200 CHF/week (even without eating out!) - host university provided discount card for university cafeteria (lunch only)
Other costs - attractions such as museums/galleries (30 CHF), train tickets for trips outside city (50 CHF)
My advice would be to minimise advance costs (accommodation, flights etc.) as much as possible, and set a flexible budget for costs during the experience. There's no sense missing out or regretting not doing something because of the cost while you are there.
The OS-HELP Loan funding I received covered the course cost (2,450 CHF) as well as return flights to and from Europe, and the $800 IGET grant covered some of my living expenses (food etc.) while I was away. Both of these funding sources were a huge help, though I did still have to "front" a lot of these costs while waiting for the OS-HELP loan approval to come through.
Highlight
The personal highlight for me was the great group of like-minded people from all over the world that I met and got to know. Academically, hearing from a wide range of guest speakers from international organisations was really eye-opening, and an experience that I feel like I would not have been able to get in Australia (as most of the organisations are based in Switzerland).
