Student Report
Name of the University: Queensland University of Technology
Exchange semester: Fall, 2014
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
After I had been offered a place in the Student Exchange Programme at Queensland
University of Technology - QUT Business School (QUT) by BI Norwegian Business School
in mid February, I received an email from QUT Study Abroad and Exchange office in late
March with a detailed application guide. The guide included everything I needed to know
about applying to study with QUT, namely the academic calendar, application procedures,
application timeline, important deadlines and other general information for my exchange
experience. I then completed my application, sent it to QUT via email and got the official
letter of offer from QUT in early April.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
QUT provided me with the Student Visa documentation (The Confirmation of Enrolment
form(s) - eCOE) for Non Award Sector: Temporary Visa (Subclass 575) in late April after I
completed and sent my Acceptance of Offer and Overseas Student Health Cover receipt.
Since then, I started applying for the visa. I got all information about the visa application
process, checklist and other requirements on the official website http://www.immi.gov.au/.
As I am an international student, I cannot apply for the visa online like Norwegian students.
Instead, I have to apply through the embassy. At the end of April, I sent all the required
documents by post to Australian embassy located in Berlin since there was no Australian
embassy or visa office in Norway. The visa itself cost about 3000 NOK (535 AUD).
Moreover, as an international student I also needed to make an appointment with the local
panel physician at Oslo Akutten (Rosenkrantzgate 9, 0159 Oslo, Norway) for medical
examinations (one of the mandatory requirements of the visa application) via the email
address: lege.bht@osloakutten.no. This examination included both examination by doctor
and X-ray, and cost 2250 NOK. Be aware that Norwegian students who have been living in
certain areas connected to tuberculosis also have to make these tests. To get the eCOE from
QUT and apply for the visa, I also needed to buy Overseas Student Health Cover which cost
around 1780 NOK (301 AUD).
It took me approximately 3 weeks to be granted the visa (3-5 working days for the documents
to reach the embassy in Berlin, and around 2 weeks for the visa to be processed). Therefore,
my visa was granted in late May.
Travel
Right after I had been granted the visa, I booked the ticket to travel to Brisbane. However, I
did not fly straight to Brisbane but came back to my home country first at the end of June and
then travelled to Brisbane in mid July. I returned to Oslo (directly from Brisbane) in late
November after the final exam period at QUT had ended. I flew with Emirates in this return
flight. The flight took around 22 hours and cost me approximately 6000 NOK (I booked the
ticket in late October). For both flights, I made the booking directly on the websites of the
airlines.
Housing
Most students in Brisbane live in units, apartments, houses or shared accommodation; as well
as stay with an Australian family as part of a home-stay placement. Although QUT does not
have accommodation on campus for students, QUT provides students with accommodation
service including information and advice on finding and securing accommodation during
their stay in Brisbane. The school is also willing to assist all students in case of any problems
arising from their accommodation arrangement. On the website, there are some suggestions
made by QUT about student accommodation providers (College/full-board accommodation,
student complexes, agent-operated student accommodation); home-stay accommodation;
emergency accommodation; Counselling Services and International Student Services that
provides information, welfare support and financial advice for students with emergency
housing needs.
I found my own housing with the help from some old friends who were studying at QUT as
full-time master students. I rented a single room in a shared house and lived with other girls
from Australia, New Zealand, England and Vietnam. The rent was 160 AUD per week. The
house was situated in Stafford, a suburb that was quite far from QUT. It took me about 30-45
minutes to get to QUT. Even so, this house was a great place to live. We had a big shared
kitchen and living room with all necessary equipments and appliances. There was also a large
dining room in the back yard where we often gathered and had dinner together on weekends.
We cooked food originated from different parts of the world every weekend to explore the
cultures and cuisines. Besides, this suburb was truly quiet and peaceful. To get to school, I
often took the bus near my house to Kelvin Grove, one of QUT’s campuses, and then took
QUT’s free shuttle bus from there to Gardens Point Campus.
Costs
The amount that I spent per month on rent, books, food, transportation, and other personal
expenses are approximated and shown in the following table:
Rent
4000 NOK
Books
600 NOK
Food
1500 NOK
Transport 400 NOK
Other
500 NOK
Culture and language
In a few first days after arriving in Brisbane, I had difficulties understanding Australian
accent. Sometimes, I could hardly understand what my lecturers were saying in class. I have
been using American English all the time when speaking and writing since I started learning
English. In some courses at QUT, the lecturers and tutors required us to use Australian
English in our reports or essays. Hence, I needed to switch to Australian English in all of my
assignments. However, time after time, I gradually got familiar with Australian accent and
Australian English, and therefore no longer encountered any language problems. QUT
provided us with individual support for academic writing and communication, which was
very helpful for us to develop our skills and meet the requirements of each course.
During my exchange semester at QUT, I had a huge number of opportunities to experience
the country and the culture. Every two weeks, International Student Services (ISS) often
organised trips for international students to travel to Queensland’s most popular tourist
attractions like Gold Coast, Mt. Tamborine, Springbrook National Park, Toowoomba, Fraser
Island and Rainbow Beach. I got the information about the trip and registered online through
the link on ISS newsletters sent via email or Facebook page “QUT Study Abroad”. In the
mid-term break at the end of September and after the central period exam in mid November, I
also travelled around to other cities to explore the country and obtained a lot of memorable
experiences. EastWest QUT, a student engagement community, offered us many interesting
events to enhance our student life. We could make new friends from different backgrounds,
experience new cultures and get involved in a variety of campus activities such as weekly
Global Cafe, cooking classes (Kitchen Hero) and language communication classes. Thanks to
those trips and social events, I got to know more about other cultures, made new friends and
improved my English proficiency.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
QUT is well known as one of top Australian universities providing quality undergraduate and
postgraduate programs as well as “a university for the real world” due to its close links with
industry and applied research. There are three campuses at QUT - Gardens Point, Kelvin
Grove and Caboolture. QUT has nearly 40.000 students, including 6.000 international
students, together with over 4.000 staff members. The university has exchange agreements
with 150 partner institutions in 35 countries around the world. At QUT, there are a wide
range of specialist research and teaching areas, namely Business, Creative Industries,
Education, Health, Law and Science and Engineering. Each semester lasts for 13 weeks with
a one-week break. In some courses, besides the lectures, there are also tutorials in which the
students join in group discussions, consult their tutor and prepare for the assignments.
Course registration
When all the courses I selected were approved by both QUT and BI, I enrolled into my
chosen courses in May (the online enrolment process was open since late April) and
registered for classes and tutorials in early June.
For fall 2014 semester, some key dates of the add/drop period include:
1 August 2014: The last date to add units without incurring a late fee.
2 August 2014 - 15 August 2014: You can add units with payment of a $50 late fee. Units
can't be added after this date.
15 August 2014: The last date for international students to withdraw units without being
liable for 100% of the fees. Charges may apply to withdrawals before this date.
15 August 2014: Census date is the date in each teaching period by which you need to have
your enrolment requirements finalised. Failure to satisfy your enrolment requirements will
result in cancellation of your enrolment.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
12 July
First day of the semester:
21 July
Last day of classes:
24 October
Examination period:
30 October - 13 November
Any special events/holidays:

11 August - Royal Queensland show (for
Caboolture campus only)

13 August - Royal Queensland show (for
Brisbane campuses only)

6 October - Labour Day

14 November - G20 public holiday (for
Brisbane campuses only)
Other:

Classes in lieu of public holidays

27 October

28 October
Arrival
QUT provides new students with arrival pick-up service. We can book the airport reception
online at least 3 working days (Monday - Friday) before we arrive. When we arrive at the
airport, QUT will take us to our pre-arranged accommodation.
In fall 2014 semester, the orientation week started from 14th July. Students can get their
personalised orientation program on Orientation Planner through QUT Virtual. Essential
events, the ones students must attend, include (at least) Campus Tour, QUT Connect and
QUT101 session - the essential information every QUT student must know. Recommended
events are also very useful and informative, such as Academic writing at QUT, Study
overseas and New to Brisbane. Besides, there are several social events: Sunday Social,
Orientation Lunch, Official Welcome Party, a free concert, many games and competitions.
Exchange students also need to attend the Study Abroad and Exchange Program Orientation
which is a huge chance to acquire all information about exchange student life in Brisbane as
well as to meet new friends from all over the world.
The International Office
As an exchange student, I received sufficient and relevant information from the International
Office at QUT. I could contact them easily via email or by coming to their office. The staffs
there were always nice, supportive and helpful in giving me detailed instructions or email
responses.
Promoting BI and Norway
When taking part in the Study Abroad and Exchange Program Orientation, Farewell Function
for exchange students, other social events and trips organised by QUT, I had chances to meet
a lot of new friends and talked to them about BI as well as student life in Norway. I hope I
could help inspire other students from all around the world to apply for an exchange or full
time program at BI in particular and in Norway in general.
Social activities
There was a wide selection of social activities for exchange students at QUT. For examples:

The Brisbane River Cruise & Island Dreaming Orientation Camp

Mid-Week Bar Night

Byron Bay Trip

Surf Trip

Moreton Island Weekend Trip

Photo Competition (Take a photo around campus and upload it to Instagram using the
hashtag #QUTOweek)

Video Competition (Capture your memories of your international study experience on
video)

Farewell Function to celebrate your achievements, your special moments and the
friends you’ve met along the way.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style is both theoretical and practical. Most classes are divided into lectures and
tutorials. In the tutorials, we discuss issues around the topics mentioned in the lectures, do
some in-class activities and group work, or discuss individually with the tutors concerning
our own assignments. The lecturers and tutors encourage us to apply theories to analyse realworld case studies and support our arguments with contemporary examples.
The level is a bit easier when compared to that at BI. However, the workload during the
whole semester seems to be greater than that at BI. There are generally 3 assessments each
course. They can be in the form of online multiple choice exam, report, essay, literature
review, group project, case study analysis, strategy development, etc. Group work is less
widely used than at BI. The third assessment may be assignments due in the last teaching
week (week 13) or final exams that take place in the central period exam. For each
assignment, there are detailed outline and requirements that students are recommended to
follow in order to get satisfactory results. Students often receive feedbacks for their
assignments when the grades are released.
Course material
The course materials used and their level are different across courses. They can be books,
journal articles, case studies and Powerpoint slides. On QUT Blackboard, students can find
all the information about the course materials needed to be prepared before class or used to
discuss in class.
Exams
The exams were all based on the course materials, the lectures and discussions in tutorials.
How the course was evaluated depended on each course. It was normally assessed by
individual assignment and online test; group work and presentation; and a final exam which
was commonly in the form of a written exam. The final exam may include short-answer
questions or multiple choice questions, or both of them.
Library and technology
Students can get easy access to the library online through QUT Virtual or in person at the
school library (V Block). QUT library is very well-organised and equipped with high-tech
facilities. The library provides a large quantity of books, databases and other studying
materials for all students. Computers can be found easily in the library and some other
buildings at QUT. There is also a computing lab in the same building with the library that is
available to students 24 hours a day.
Description of courses
Course code &
Master/
name
Bachelor
AMN401:
Master
Integrated
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved Comments
as
- 2-hour Mid Semester
None
Major
Exam (Multiple choice)
Marketing
intensive and
practical. There are
- IMC Strategy
Communication
The course is highly
many discussions and
Development (2000 words)
debates as in-class
- 2-hour final exam (short-
activities in the
answer questions and
tutorials. The amount
multiple choice questions)
of knowledge to be
acquired and applied
is large.
AMN447:
Contemporary
Issues in
Marketing
Master
- Literature Review (1500
words)
- Marketing Issues Group
Project (2000-word report ;
15-minute presentation)
None
Major
The course is of
moderate difficulty. It
is practical rather
than theoretical. It
covers all emerging
issues and trends that
- 90-minute final exam
are impacting
(short-answer questions)
worldwide on
contemporary
marketing practice
and theory.
AMN465: Public Master
- 1-hour Online Multiple
Relations
Choice Test
Management
None
Major
The course is very
intensive throughout
the whole semester.
- Report (2000 words)
All tutorials should
- Essay (2000 words)
be attended to get the
detailed explanations
about the criteria for
each assignment.
Theories,
terminologies and
tactics are totally
new, but very
practical as we have
chances to apply
them into
contemporary cases
in our assignments.
MGN409:
Management
Theory and
Practice
Master
- 90-minute Multiple Choice None
Exam
- Environmental
Analysis (1000 words)
- Case Study (3000 words)
Major
The course is
relatively intensive.
There is no tutorial
and the lectures are
often long. Students
can easily get advices
from the tutors in
class or via email.
To sum up, an exchange semester at QUT is a precious opportunity for me to achieve a great
number of life-changing experiences. I have developed myself both academically and
socially. I have gained more in-depth knowledge of strategic marketing management in a new
academic environment and also explored new places, new cultures. I have made more friends
from different parts of the world that make hard times much easier and good times even
better. I think studying at QUT contributes a lot to the development of my future career,
language skills and global awareness.
Note: Some of these comments can be used as testemonials in future exchange
brochures.