Student Profiles
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Exchange for UTAS Students
Jenabi Ling
Bachelor of Environmental Design
International Student Exchange
Krakow University of Technology
The first few days in Poland were a combination of being fantastically exciting and just plain terrifying. Having to set foot in a foreign country speaking a foreign language, you couldn’t help be a little intimidated.
The time I had in Poland passed ridiculously quickly but it feels like 5 minutes ago that I was going to the student exchange office enquiring about exchange. I’m glad I went! I’ve learnt so much and had so many amazing experiences that I’m grateful for. I made quite a few ‘friends-for-life’ over there. It’s not only Polish students I’m talking about, there are many exchange students from other countries like Italy, Korea, Spain, Holland, Portugal and Canada. Trust me, you’re not the only exchange student there - th
ere are tons of them and race doesn’t matter anymore. You get to understand different cultures, beliefs and experience different delicacies prepared by them!
Another benefit of doing your exchange in Europe is travelling! Just a few hours ride and you are in a totally new country, new environment and culture. Getting to stand in front of the architectural wonders that you usually only see in the text book is simply mind blowing. What is travel, if not the greatest educator of all!
I’ve come back wiser with a brand new frame of mind and with broader horizons!
Don't be afraid of making mistakes; the exchange is all about learning and absorbing the culture like a sponge. Don’t dwell too much on missing family and friends because they will be there when you get back. You only have a limited time to enjoy the new culture. Do it! And don’t forget your sense of humour and smile.
Angie Magill
Bachelor of Engineering
International Student Exchange
University of South Florida
"Going on exchange to Florida for two semesters was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. I made so many new friends and spent a fun year living the life of an American ‘college’ student on a huge and busy campus. I got credit for engineering classes and was able to take a few classes that aren’t offered at utas.
One of the reasons I chose to go to the US was because I was curious to find out what America was really like. I think going on exchange is much more interesting than travelling as a tourist because you are totally immersed in the culture, rather than just seeing the sights. My preconceptions about Americans and life in America were totally wrong. Every one was so excited to talk to an Australian and to ask me the same questions over and over again (‘do you really eat kangaroo?’) , but it went so far beyond that. Students I met were excited to show me around, drive me to the ‘grocery store’ whenever I needed and invite me to their family homes for meals and holidays. Everyone was genuinely friendly and welcoming. I experienced the cliches of campus life – football games, fraternities, Starbucks, dormrooms and Halloween parties, but was also involved in the annual USF ‘Stampede of Service’, where thousands of students volunteer their time on various projects in the Tampa area. I went to Nashville on a Spring Break service trip and experienced a totally different side of American life helping out with homeless people and inner city kids.
Other highlights included travelling during winter break with another exchange student from Denmark – we went to Disneyworld, Washington DC and spent New Year’s Eve within sight of Time Square in New York. It was freezing cold, but the atmosphere was unforgettable. The US is an incredibly multicultural place. One good friend from class is originally from Costa Rica and invited me to travel there for a week, which was an opportunity too good to miss! I did spanish during my exchange, so I was even able to stumble through a few sentences while I was there.
I would definitely recommend doing an exchange – for a year if you can. I don’t think it matters where, it’ll be an amazing, challenging, eye-opening and exciting adventure and you’ll make friends for life!"
Chris Blake
Bachelor of Business – Bachelor of Laws
International Student Exchange
University of Ottawa, Canada
“I highly recommend you say goodbye to Tasmania for a while and take advantage of the great exchange programs that are offered throughout the world!!!”
In the second half of 2008, Chris Blake, a combined Bachelor of Business – Laws student did just this. Chris completed four of his law elective subjects whilst on exchange to the University of Ottawa, Canada.
“Leading up to my trip I was constantly imagining what the university was going to be like, who I was going to meet and what great experiences I was going to have. I can now say looking back that my expectations were far exceeded. UOttawa has a huge exchange program with a great diversity of countries, which provided me with an amazing life experience that you could never have in Australia.”
“Ottawa being the capital of Canada, is bi-lingual, so French and English are spoken, which added to my experience being given two cultures in one city. Overall I had the most amazing/epic and beyond experience, the people I met and things I did I would never be able to do at home.”
Georgie Burgess
Bachelor of Arts - Bachelor of Laws
International Student Exchange
University of Helsinki, Finland
“In January 2009, I went on exchange to the University of Helsinki in Finland to study foreign reporting. I had never been overseas before so it was very exciting, and when I arrived I felt like I’d entered Narnia, there was snow and pine trees everywhere! It was incredible having to walk to uni in the thick snow everyday, and I loved rugging up.
“I made great friends with my class, and the other exchange students living at my accommodation, and one of my fondest memories is celebrating Australia Day with them in minus 20 degrees. One thing I soon discovered was that it does not matter where in the world you are, a uni student is still a uni student, and we were certainly kept busy with socialising, sledding, and went to several traditional Finnish University dinners known as ‘Sitz’ where we sang traditional university songs, drank vodka, and ate Finnish food.
“The Fins spoke English very well, so I had no problems with not knowing much Finnish. People were really excited to meet someone from Tasmania, and were very interested to hear about it. As part of the course the class went to Estonia for a week, and we also did a trip to Sweden for the weekend.
“I also got the opportunity to meet not only Finnish people, but all the other exchange students who were from all around the world, including America, Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland and France, so now I have friends all over the place! There are always people to share the experiences with when you are on exchange, and because you are all away from home the bonds you make are even greater.
“Overall it was an amazing experience and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for some adventure and a change from the normal life!”
Suzette Pullinger
Bachelor of Music – Bachelor of Laws
International Student Exchange
University of Ottawa, Canada
If I had to sum up my exchange experience in two words, it would be: life changing. I strongly encourage anyone thinking about doing exchange to take up the challenge and do it!
I studied 3 law units and 1 Music unit while at the University of Ottawa. My favourite unit I studied was called “Music in the Movies”. The thing I liked about the subject was that our professor always had a funny story to tell about famous composers he had met (such as Howard Shore or John Cage!) This made the subject really engaging for me.
Outside of the study experience, there were always lots of opportunities to meet people and socialise. There was an ice skating rink at the gym that my friends and I used to meet at every Thursday; and I also joined an indoor soccer team. The Canadians on my team nicknamed me “Aussie” and thought I had a funny accent!
There were a lot of student tours offered by uOttawa and ISX tours (such as Whale Watching in Quebec, hiking in Algonquin Park and a trip to Niagra falls and Toronto!) I also had the opportunity to do some travelling of my own which worked out pretty cheap from Ottawa. I even travelled with some friends to New York and Cuba!
I encourage anyone studying Music or Law to consider doing a semester or two overseas. Ottawa is a great place to study Music, not only because of its brilliant Music program; but it is also within reasonable travelling distance to places such as New York, Montreal and Cuba which are all famous for their unique music styles. Ottawa is also a great place to study Law because it is a diverse capital city, where the residents speak both English and French.
I made so many friends from countries such as Canada, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Norway, Denmark (& even Australia!). In my future travels, I look forward to revisiting all the great friends I made during my 6 months in Canada.
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