Experience report
ANR: 703218
Name: Ingmar Meijdam
E-mail: i.w.meijdam@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: 1
Academic year: 3
Host University: The University of Melbourne
Country: Australia
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
How was your arrival organized? Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? Was an orientation or
introduction activity organized? How was accommodation organized? Does the university provide you with
accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university provide? Did you have to book your
accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place to live after you arrived?
The University of Melbourne offers an airport pick up service for arriving students (arriving at tulemarine
airport) and this bus will drop you off at your accommodation/hostel. In Melbourne it is possible to arrange
accommodation in three different ways.
-On campus in a college, this gives the real living on campus feeling but is really expensive (400 euro a week).
Meals are included and people eat together a dining hall.
-Through Uniloge/RMIT (partners from the university), they offer furnished student accommodation close to
the campus and is a good alternative since it is cheaper and it is possible to arrange it before departure.
-the private market, this option gives probably the best price-quality an arranging housing in this way can save
you some money. From what I have seen people find accommodation in Melbourne quite fast and therefore
arranging it while you are in Melbourne is possible.
Personally I booked accommodation before I arrived in Australia at Unilodge on Villiers, the advantage of
booking before arrival is that they bring you straight to your accommodation and you are immediately setup.
The disadvantage is that it is probably cheaper to arrange accommodation while in Melbourne and based on
my experiences everyone found accommodation relative quickly. If you are intending to arrange
accommodation while in Australia I suggest maybe going 1/2 weeks earlier and then staying in a hostel while
searching for accommodation.
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? What is the best place to go to
eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? What are interesting things to see and do in your host city? What was
different than in Tilburg?
Melbourne is a multicultural diverse city which is often voted as one of the cities in the world with the highest
quality of living. The city offers everything you want: beaches, sport facilities, a lot of restaurants, nightclubs,
bars, parks and Architecture. The University of Melbourne is really good located, just outside the CBD, and it is
just a 4 minute tram ride to the city center. I would definitely suggest going to the MCG (Melbourne cricket
ground), where they play Australian football and watch a few games. Flinders street station, The shrine of
remembrance, the state library, the parliament of victoria, St Kilda beach, Mornington beach, Eureka sky
tower, Victoria market, Crown casino, Albert Park, Yarra river, Australian open, Botanical gardens, Art gallery,
European beer café, Asian beer café and the free city tour tram are all also definitely places you should have
visited before you return home.
TOPIC: Academics
Which courses did you take and why? Which courses would you recommend? What did the courses add to your
program at Tilburg University? How does the university compare to Tilburg University concerning the level of
the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? Overall, were you happy with your academic
achievements during your exchange? Please describe the campus of your host university.
I think the level of the courses in Melbourne is really high. The courses are thought by motivated and
experienced professors who have organized there courses really well. It is important to keep up with the
homework, readings and assignments throughout the semester, but this helps to stay involved and do well at
the final exam. Most of the tutorials were mandatory and they checked for homework, but I think this is a
good way to stay on top of your studies.
I took the following courses:
-Derivative Securities, this course was about the application and valuation of derivative securities, such as
forwards, futures, swaps and options. This course was very well taught and has helped me understanding the
mechanics behind derivative securities. Most students consider this course as difficult but I think when you
keep up with your homework it is not too hard.
-Intermediate Macroeconomics, this subject was about models for economic growth in the long run, evidence
of economic growth and its implications, flexible price macroeconomics and short term macroeconomics. I
think this subject was my toughest subject and it requires a lot of mathematical skills. Even though it was hard
I will recommend it and I think macroeconomics 1 is a good prerequisite to be successful in the course.
-Corporate Finance, this subject extends the analysis of capital budgeting, capital structure, dividend policy
and corporate risk management. It is quite similar to the course finance 2 at Tilburg University but it goes
further and has a lot of different insights in most of the fundamentals. I would also recommend this subject.
-Generating the Wealth of Nations, this subject provided a summary of economic activity in the world in the
past 300 years and was a really interesting subject. The course was really well thought and the professor was
enthusiastic and organized it really good. 50% of the final grade consisted of assignments and therefore the
final was not that hard.
The campus of the university is really beautiful and consists of a combination of old classic buildings and new
architectural buildings which give the campus an unique atmosphere. The facilities are great and the location
of the campus is just outside the CBD which is convenient.
TOPIC: Social life
Which social activities organized by the university or students? Did you have contact with local students? Did
you have contact with other exchange students? How did you get along with the local students and other
exchange students? Did you travel to other places/countries during your exchange?
For the exchange students the University of Melbourne has the exchange student society called MUSEX.
MUSEX organizes a lot of activities like pub crawls, sport matches and others and I definitely recommend
signing up for this. I also attended the Melbourne Welcome introduction week witch was an introduction week
organized by the university before the start of the semester. During this week you stay in a residential college
at the campus and you have the change to meet other international exchange students while doing fun
actions.
Since I was involved in the exchange society a lot of my friends are international students from literally all over
the world. I think this is one of the greatest things of an exchange and it really gives a better perspective of the
world and people from different places. Most of the people who go on an exchange are really open minded
and it is therefore easy to become friends with a lot of people as long as you are open for it yourself.
One of the greatest things about Australia is the travel opportunities that the country offers. There are lot of
possibilities and people often travel within Australia, go to New Zeeland or travel within Asia (relatively close).
I personally made the choice to stay in Australia and I have seen a lot of the country. I went to the dessert in
Uluru (central Australia), travelled around Melbourne, did a road trip to Sydney along the coast and I travelled
down the East coast from Cairns to Sydney. In summary there are many travel opportunities in Australia and it
is definitely worth it to travel after you have finished classes.
TOPIC: Living costs
How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University? What
were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? What did you spend most of your money on? What
would you advice future students to spend their money on? Please outline your approximate monthly budget
whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc.
As TISEM student you are not able to get a grant from Tilburg University and I therefore financed my exchange
period with the normal grant from DUO, support from my parents and some savings. Living in Australia and
Melbourne is really expensive and therefore you can expect your living expenses to be much higher than in
Tilburg. Most expensive in Melbourne is rent and I spent around 950 euros on rent each month. Food is also
expensive but when you do your groceries at ALDI and the victoria market it is possible to save some money.
Alcohol is also really expensive (8 dollars for a beer in a bar) so it is therefore important to do some pre drinks
and search for good deals.
I think the expenses in Melbourne relative to Tilburg are much higher. Everything is more expensive and I
would say that my monthly expenses were 3 / 4 times as high as in Tilburg. I would advise people to not spend
too much money on accommodation and try to save money for travelling.
TOPIC: Culture
Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? How would you compare your host culture to your own
culture? What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? What was different about your host
culture than you expected? What did you like and not like about your host culture? Do you feel you learned a
lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? How would you describe your host
countries culture? If you travelled to other cities/countries during your exchange, were they different than your
host city/country, and how?
Australia is a western country and therefore adapting was easy and I didn’t experience any difficulties while I
stayed in Australia. The people in Australia are most of the time friendly and easy going and that made it nice
to live there. According to my experience most people who are on an exchange are mainly hanging out with
other exchange people and therefore I didn’t meet a lot of Aussies and most of my friends came from Europe
and the United States. I think I met most Australian people during my travelling and therefore I would
definitely recommend travelling after the semester.
TOPIC: Personal development
What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? Would you do things differently if you had
the chance and what would you do differently? What was your best experience, and what was your worst
experience? What will you remember forever about your exchange period? What was the most important
lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period?
I think an exchange is a really interesting and rewarding experience; I met a lot of wonderful and interesting
people which definitely changed the way I view the world and developed my view of myself and what I want in
life. If I would do it all over I think I wouldn’t do anything different and I am happy with how it all went. Living
in another country on the other side of the world in a whole new environment is in my opinion something that
learns you a lot and made me more independent and confident to travel and do things outside my comfort
zone. My worst experience was during my first days when I arrived in a country where I didn’t had any friends
and realized how far away I was from home. Ironically my second most difficult days were my last days in
Australia when I realized it was over and I had to say goodbye to people.
My best experiences are with the people I met and the friendships I have made. I think the most important
lesson I learned during my exchange period is to be more open towards others and to easier connect and
interact with people from different cultures.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
Would you recommend an exchange period? Would you recommend your host university? What should
prospective students bring with them/leave behind? What preparation is required for going on exchange to this
destination? Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn’t do?
I would highly recommend the University of Melbourne and think it is a great choice. The University is highly
ranked and offers great facilities/education at a beautiful campus. Melbourne is also a really great city to live
in with high living standards of living and the city has so much to offer. Another advantage from Australia is
that the semester ends in November and that the county offers all the possibilities do to some amazing
travelling afterwards.
TOPIC: A picture is worth a thousand words
If you took any pictures or made any videos that you would like to share with future exchange students, please
include them (or e-mail them separately). Pictures that show your daily life or symbolize your exchange period
are especially interesting for future exchange students.