GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
Student Report
Name of the University: Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Exchange semester: Fall, 2012
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
When and how did you receive information from the exchange university?
- I received good information from QUT study abroad and exchange service; you receive
many emails with information on what you have to do before going to Australia. They are
also very helpful with all the queries you might have.
Any difficulties in preparing (application, housing, contact, courses, etc)?
- I did not meet any difficulties, but you should be prepared to fix some things when you
arrive. I travelled down without knowing where to stay, (mainly because you need to be
presented yourself to be able to rent an apartment)
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
How did you apply for your visa?
- You apply for visa online; it’s a pretty straightforward process.
What problems, if any, did you encounter?
- No problems.
How much did the visa cost?
- Approximately 3000 Kr.
Travel
How did you travel to your destination? Any problems?
I booked my plane tickets after QUT confirmed that they accepted my application, (I wanted
to book earlier, but I did not get the 100% confirmation from QUT before May).
As advice by QUT I arrived prior to the start up week, (which is one week prior to the first
teaching week), as an international student you link up with other likeminded and the first
week is roughly to get settled down.
Most universities in Australia have their own representatives at the airport during the weeks
when they expect students to come. When I arrived I had not booked any pickup but the
QUT representatives at the airport were very helpful and gave us directions to the QUT
campus.
Housing
Was housing provided by the university, or did you have to find your own housing?
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
QUT does not have student accommodations, but they have an accommodation service
which helps you with finding a place to stay. The help they can provide for you is showing
you around to possible accommodations.
Since I arrived one week prior to the start of the semester, most of the accommodations
were already taken, so I would recommend you maybe to travel down a little earlier.
But some good tips too keep in mind:
- Some of the people showing you around give you pretty bad deals.
- Check out Urbanest:
http://www.urbanest.com.au/home/accommodation/brisbane.aspx
- Most of the deals in Australia Brisbane are minimum 6 months lease.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 9000
NOK 1000
NOK 4000
NOK 600
NOK
Culture and language
Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
- Some of the units had lecturers and tutors from overseas, which I found difficult to
understand at times.
How were the possibilities to experience the country and the culture?
- Australia is an expensive country, but there are a lot of possibilities to travel around. You
can easily go to the airport and take a weekend in Sydney or Melbourne, you can even go to
New Zealand, train and busses are also good ways to travel.
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
How do you think the exchange experience will affect you from a cultural and social point of
view?
- I think that the exchange experience have given me a wider perspective, while on
exchange I have also got friends from other parts of the world not only students from
Australia.
How do you think the exchange experience influences your future career possibilities?
- I think it is very positive for the future career possibilities, that was one of the main
reasons for me to go abroad, and I am positive that it will have a good influence on
my career!
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
School and surroundings:
QUT is located in the Brisbane city, near the river, and close to a botanic garden. You can
also easy walk to the south bank beach just across the river.
Current faculty divisions and special areas:
Approx. number of students (graduate and undergraduate) and number of exchange
students:
QUT have about 42 000 Students, from where 28 000 is full time. About 6000 are students
from overseas.
Study structure:
The structure varies from course to course, but mainly the structure is based on lectures
mostly 2-3 hours, and then a one-hour tutorial to go deeper into the lecture materials. The
final grade is calculated from mainly three parts. A mid term exam, a written assignment and
then the final exam (this varies from course to course).
Course registration
Were you able to register for courses before arrival?
- Yes, you receive a username and a password, which you can use to log in to the
students web site. And from there you can register.
If not, when did you register? Any difficulties?
- I enrolled all my units when I arrived, I choose to use the first week to attend 8-10 different
units, so I could “taste” the unit before I totally committed to it.
When and how long was the period for adding/dropping courses?
- One week
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
12 July
23 July
26 October
3 – 17 November
24 – 28 September
The International Office
QUT have an international office which provides good information in English, and are also
prepared to help you with almost everything you need.
Social activities
How was your relationship with native students?
- Good, I made some friends in some units, but as an exchange student you spend
most of the time with other exchange students.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
How was the relationship among the exchange students?
- The relationship is good, of course it depends on how much you get involved.
Is there a student organization, and if so, are the exchange students a part of it?
- There are many organizations, but I did not participate in any of them.
Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students?
- Yes, there is. The international office have some gatherings in the first week that is good to
take part in. there you can meet up and get to know fellow students.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
Describe the teaching style.
- The lectures are pretty similar to BI. You have one lecture that lectures the course material,
and then you have tutorials, where you go deeper into the material.
Language of instruction? Any problems?
- The language is of course English, but many of the lectures and tutors are from Asia, and
therefore their accent can be difficult to understand.
How would you evaluate the level of study in relationship to the level at BI? / How is the
workload compared to that at BI?
- It depends, many students who studies abroad, choose courses that are not to difficult, and
then the level is “lower” but if you choose courses from where you can learn I think the work
rate is the same. But I would say that the quality at BI is a little higher.
Is the teaching primarily practical or theoretical?
- Mostly theoretical.
Did professors use cases, group work or lectures (or a combination)?
- In some of the units cases and group work was used!
Describe the relationship between professors and students.
- Good, they really want you to understand and learn. They have consultation times, and
answer you mails if you have questions.
Describe the relationship between the students in the classroom.
- It depends on how big the class is, In 50% of my units we had really good relations in the
classroom.
Course materials
Describe the course materials used (books/literature, online articles, Powerpoint, etc).
- All the units have different books on the book list, I did not use all of them, because
the PowerPoint provided was good enough. In some of the units we also used
relevant articles.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
In which language were the course materials?
- English
How do you estimate the level of the course materials in comparison to BI?
- Some of the books and articles were really good.
Were materials used for detailed knowledge or a broad overview of a subject?
- The books was very detailed, which gave you the opportunity to gain detailed information.
Me personally like to get the broad overview and then go deeper into some subjects.
Exams
Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
- Lectures
How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
- Mainly the evaluation came in three parts: Mid-term exam, written assignment, and
the final exam.
- But some of the units had quizzes in addition, and also participation in classes was
used in one unit.
Library and technology
Do students have easy access to the library and its resources?
- Yes
Were computers provided around campus/in the library?
- Yes
How is technology used in teaching or to distribute information?
- Mainly they use PowerPoint and the white board. So there is room for some
improvements here.
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange, including as many details as
possible. Your comments are extremely useful for BI and for future exchange students,
include information on the level of difficulty, relevance to your studies, if the course was
practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code & name
Example:FIN123
Finance
EFB 240 Finance for
International Business
EFB 307 Finance 2
MGB 309 Strategic
Management
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
None
Bachelor
4-hour written
exam
2 - Hour
Bachelor
Bachelor
2 - Hour
2 - Hour
EFB210
(BSB119 or CTB119) or
BSB116, and (BSB113 or
CTB113) or (BSB123 or
BSB122 or CTB122)
MGB200, MGB211,
CTB211, MGB222, or
CTB232
Approved
as
Elective
Comments
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE STUDENT REPORT
MGB 340
International Business
in the Asia Pacific
Bachelor
2 - Hour
MGB225, IBB205, IBB217,
or IBB208
I had to find two courses that was similar to two of the units at BI (Strategy and Finance)
therefor the two units Finance 2 and Strategic management was the two units that I had to
take abroad.
When I was choosing the other two units I tried to find some units that could be relevant to
my exchange stay in Australia, therefor I found International Business in the Asia Pacific very
relevant, and Finance for International Business was also a fun unit to have.
One advice to give: if you find a unit that you would like to have, but there are some
prerequisites that you don’t have. You can easily argue with the administration at the
business school and tell them that you won’t have problem with taking the course.