Experience report
ANR: 298275
Name: Charlotte Nijland
E-mail: charnij@hotmail.com
Exchange semester: Fall
Academic year: 2014-2015
Host University: Peter B. Gustavson school of Business, University of Victoria
Country: Canada
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?
I arrived a week before the semester started. This was usefull since I had to find a house off-campus.
I took the shuttle bus from the airport to the hostel (Ocean Island Inn) where I stayed the first week.
There was an introduction weekend organised for the business exchange students which I would
recommend to everyone who’s going to UVic. The university provides dorms and clusterhousing. I
would recommend the clusterhousing, which is really fun since you share a house with 3 other
students, the only thing is that you have to subscribe really quickly to get a place there.
I lived off-campus in a Canadian host family which was pretty fun, since they made me dinner and
teached me things about the Canadians. I found this place via the off-campus website from the
uvic.ca website. Be careful that you don’t make any payments for landlords if you’re still in the
Netherlands, it’s better to visit the place first.
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?
Victoria is a beautiful place to live in and the people are super friendly. The university is outside the
city, it’s about 20 min by bus to downtown. There were a lot of activities (parties) organized for
business/exchange students which were really fun, besides there are enough clubs and pubs where
you can have a great time. The sport facilities are good arranged, you have a huge amount of
different sports which you can join. Besides there are sportsteams with which you can play games for
fun with and you have the Vikes teams which is the school team.
Different sightseeings in Victoria and surroundings are hiking at Mount Douglas, Goldstreampark,
thetis lake and many more. Besides I really enjoyed to just walk downtown Victoria, it’s beautiful with
the flowers in the summer and the christmaslights in the winter.
Everything is different compared to Tilburg. You have a city surrounded by a beautiful nature and
mountains and really friendly people. Though the universities are kind a similar if you look at their
goals and those kind a things.
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.
Canadian business environment: I learned a lot about Canada in this course which was really
interesting since it’s nice to know how people think in the country where you are living in. So I would
definitely recommend this, besides no final exam;).
Leadership strategies: Super interesting and the teacher is really funny. We had to watch some
movies about different leaders, had a midterm and a term paper+ presentation. I would definitely
recommend this course.
Management Information Systems (selected topics in management): It was okay since I never had a
course like that, but the classes were pretty boring. We had to make an assignment every week (
which wasn’t hard at all), a midterm, a finalexam and a video presentation.
International environment of Business:Good teacher what made it interesting and fun. But the classes
didn’t had anything to do with the book and the 2 midterms where about the book, so that was a bit
weird. Next to the 2 midterms we had to make 2 big group assignments and two small individual
assignments. I would recommend it.
Entrepreneurship and small business for the non-specialist: The teacher was great and really
inspiring, we had to make 3 assignments which was fun to do. Though there are two teachers for this
course, I’ve heard that the other teacher has a total different structure. I would definitely recommend
this course.
Overall it’s pretty easy to score a high grade compared to Tilburg without doing much. So I’m really
happy with my results there. The campus is huge compared to Tilburg University, it’s all green and
beautiful but everything is easy accessable. The chances are high to spot some deers;).
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?
Like I said before there were several parties organized by the business faculty, besides you can
subscribe for the buddy program which I would recommend. They link a Canadian with a exchange
student with who you share different activities with. Next to that I joined the tennisteam where I met
some other Canadians which was really fun because you both have total different lifestyles. The
exchange students are all ‘carpe diem’/ YOLO and the Canadian students are just like us when we
study in Tilburg, more ‘serious’. Since they arranged a lot for the exchange students we had a lot of
contact with each other and made friendships for ever!
I had some nice trips during my exchange semester, I went to Tofino (Vancouver Island), Cowichan
lake (Vancouver Island), Kauai+ Oahu (Hawaii), Vancouver and Whistler which were all amazing.
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.
Apparently tisem students don’t receive a grant from Tilburg, so don’t take that into account.
Approxamately the costs are about the same as the Netherlands of course it depends on what kind of
products. I spend $800 a month on housing, included food, about $200-$300 on going out and
shopping and those kind of things and $2500 on travelling and ofcourse you have the expenses of
your health/travel insurance etc. from back home.
Prices of groceries seems all pretty high, but you have to keep in mind that it is in CAD and not in
Euro’s, which eventually is the same price. Besides all the prices are excluded tax which is kind of
annoying.
Books are expensive, but I only had to buy 3 which I found on Amazon.ca for a nicer price. The
professors often don’t like books so that’s good;).
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?
I love the Canadians. They are all so friendly and interested in you, the Dutch people can learn
something from this. In my first week I was lost and instead that I had to ask people the directions,
they asked me if I needed help. In addition everyone says thank you to the busdriver. No I didn’t have
a culture shock, since a lot of things are the same the only thing is that they are the friendly version of
us.
The things I didn’t like were the bussystem and the way some things are organized. In Hawaii half of
the people were nice and the other half was pretty grumpy and more egocentric.
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 for ever about your exchange period? What was
the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period?
The nice thing about the people I met on exchange was that everyone was the same, it didn’t matter
what country or family you’re from. I wouldn’t do a thing different, it was the best experience ever! The
best thing was that I met all those awesome people and the different trips I made and my worst
experience was that I couldn’t find my friends at the airport in Honolulu and that I was alone at 11 pm,
so I had to find my way to a hostel in an unknown city. Eventually it was a great lesson. The most
important lesson I learned about my self was that sometimes it’s good to just do whatever you want
and enjoy life more.
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 definitely recommend an exchange period, it 100% worth it. UVic is a great school with really
nice people and I would love to go back. There is not really preparation required for going to UVic only
the paperwork from both universities. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!
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.