Student Report
Name of the University:
Exchange semester:
University of Stellenbosch Business School (“USB”)
Fall, 2012
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
I received my admission letter from USB by e-mail on May the 2nd; about one month after my
application was sent.
I had a great dialogue with the host university’s coordinators who were very helpful and
welcomed on whatever question I had. The only disappointment was the course registration
process as you get enrolled in the full-time MBA group and have to attend whatever courses
they are taking during that semester. I did already know about this before I applied, but the
inflexibility in this respect is nevertheless a drawback.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
I applied for my study permit at the South African Embassy in Oslo (close to Skillebekk), and
this process was honestly a pain. I got a list of documents that needed to be submitted with my
visa application (contact them by phone on +47 23 27 08 15 and request it). This list included
radiological report to document you don’t have tuberculosis, police transcript of your criminal
record, documentation of sufficient funds (a statement from Lånekassen of what you will get
during the actual semester will be sufficient, so apply early), flight details etc.
At the time when I was preparing the documents, the police had decided to strike, so for a
couple of days I was afraid to not get the transcript in time to get the visa before my planned
departure. Things did however work out quite all right. The Embassy clerk was very nice and
gave me some slack due to the strike. The lesson learned is nevertheless to apply as soon as
possible due to the documentation needed and the fact that many students need a permit at this
time of year. It is probably a good idea to request the document list even before the
admittance letter is received. Also, read that list carefully so you don’t have to go to the
embassy more than once.
It costs about NOK 500 to apply for the permit, NOK 900 for the radiological report and
another NOK 400 for the general medical report, so it will probably cost you about 2000
NOK in “application costs”.
Travel
I got on a flight with Qatar Airways via Doha and Johannesburg, and don’t think you can get
the same level of comfort for the same price with another airline. If you’re as tall as me, you
might even be upgraded for the longest stretch. I paid about NOK 7 000 for a one way-ticket,
booked late due to the uncertainties related to the police strike, plus I wanted an open return.
If you on the other hand know when you’d like to go back, I think you can save a lot on
booking a return ticket right away. Anyhow, book early. If you know you fulfil USB’s
requirements for admittance I would even recommend gambling on getting in as not many BI
students apply due to the job requirements (minimum 18 months of relevant, full-time work
experience).
Housing
There is some housing available nearby school, but you don’t want to live there. The campus
is located in Bellville 20 minutes outside Cape Town and there is absolutely nothing going on
there. The school is very small and crowded by MBA-students approaching their 40s, so don’t
expect a vibrant student community in that area. It’s worth the money to rent a car with some
of the other students and drive from Cape Town the days you actually have classes.
USB’s exchange coordinators organized a Facebook-group for the new exchange students
which proved to be very useful to organize housing etc. upon our arrival. They also put us in
touch with landlords and students from the previous lot in order to make the accommodation
process as smooth as possible.
I ended up with three French girls and a Swedish in a townhouse in Sea Point. The living
standard there was not of my expectation, besides the neighbours are annoying and you never
know who your next house mate might be or when they will come, but it’s a great place to
live. The location is ideal (5 minutes’ drive to the city bowl and 10 to the beaches and
hotspots in Camps Bay), it is safe (no break-ins despite the lacking security measures), and it
is social (you’ll have another five students living next door). It’s really an easy way to get a
big social network. Contact Cheryl on cherylsplace@webmail.co.za, she is a nice lady, funny
and looks after you as long as you pay your rent and behave well.
Distances are relatively small in Cape Town (more or less as in Oslo), but Sea Point is
probably the best base due to its proximity to everything. However, there’s not really much
going on there, so you might also consider the Gardens and Observatory. The Gardens is in
walking distance from the city, very charming, and the distance to the beaches is not a
problem as long as you got a car. Some would probably argue that Sea Point is safer, but I
firmly believe you’ll be fine as long as you don’t do something you wouldn’t in Oslo. The
stuff you read about in the newspapers happens in the townships which you only will see from
the highway unless you go there on purpose. Observatory (“Obs”) is a bit far from everything
but the University of Cape Town, and unlike USB, that’s a real university with a lot of student
life happening around it. It is closer to the dodgy areas though, and I’ve heard stories of
students being forced into cars to withdraw cash before they were let go. That being said, I’ve
been there during night several times, and it didn’t feel very scary. If you got money and want
to live like a king, you should have a look at Camps Bay where you got beaches, flashy
nightclubs and “expensive” restaurants, but again distances are small here, so you can easily
access these facilities from other areas without having to live in a Barbie world 24/7.
Costs
Cape Town is cheap, and the exchange rate was in my favour while I was there, though that
doesn’t mean I didn’t spend a lot. You just need to adjust your lifestyle.
The fanciest three-course meal I had was about NOK 250, and from what I’ve heard a sevencourse at the best place in town is apx. NOK 600 (wine not included).
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Internet
NOK 3 000
NOK 3 000 (readings for the electives are included in the
levy you pay at the beginning of the semester)
Eat three meals a day in restaurants for less than
NOK 150
NOK 600 (car rent) + taxi
NOK 100-500 (depending on your standard, generally very
Cell phone
slow and unreliable)
NOK 500 will probably last your whole day if you only call
and sms
Culture and language
Everyone speaks English, but it may take some time to adjust to some of the accents. That is
almost not worth mentioning though, just take your time and don’t be shy.
Speaking of time, things go slowly. Just get used to it. You’re the visitor.
Culturally, the stay will be what you make of it. You got great nature, urban life and cultures
from all around the globe at your hands, so it all comes down to your preferences.
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
Living in Cape Town has definitely broadened my horizon. It is probably one of the most
diverse places you can visit and the slow beat and light spirit of the people you meet does
undoubtedly affect you. On the other hand, the social differences in South Africa are
enormous and you will have to learn to live with it. I believe it makes you more humble to see
extreme poverty with your own eyes. You can’t save them all, but you can at least treat them
respectfully. If nothing else, you’ll probably have a different attitude towards beggars when
you come back.
It remains yet to be seen whether going to South Africa was a good career decision. I already
knew English, so I didn’t open new doors in terms of linguistics (even though I improved).
I’m neither too convinced employers in Northern Europe can relate to my experience.
Furthermore, there was certainly more academically rewarding learning institutions I could
have gone to than USB.
On the other hand, Africa is probably the next economic growth adventure, and having firsthand experience may prove very valuable somewhere down the line. If you’re going to
specialize in African markets anyway, it’s pointless to do it from France, Italy or the U.S. You
got to experience the realities yourself to understand.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
As mentioned the school is located in no man’s-land a 20 minutes’ drive outside of Cape
Town and the school feels more like an office building than a university. I’ve been told that
the USB has around 1 000 students, but I have certainly not seen more than about 150 of
them. The program I was enrolled in was a full-time MBA program consisting of about 20
students who all had several years of work experience + a group of 20 exchange students
ranging from 22 to 28 years of age.
Course registration
As mentioned, course registration was easy. You have to take the core courses you are given.
You will also be encouraged to sign up for three electives from a menu of choices. I missed an
adequate description of these courses, but the way they were named turned out to be a good
enough indication to choose a combination I was happy with in the end. In fact, my fourth
choice was cancelled as not enough signed up for it. I believe the cut off limit was a minimum
of ten students per course. The administration was very flexible throughout the process, and I
think it would have been possible to make changes up until the electives started at the end of
the semester, as long as that wouldn’t cause the total number of students to drop below the
limit.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
July 5th
July 15th
30th November
Throughout semester +
papers due to January
15th
Two two-week breaks
Arrival
The exchange coordinators were tremendously friendly and helpful and made the first days
easy. The introduction week was eventful and well organized, but as we dependent on cars to
go, it wasn’t as casual as I would have hoped.
Staff and students were in general very hospitable, including and invited us to social events.
The International Office
The information provided was sufficient and relevant.
Promoting BI and Norway
I did not get the impression USB sends their students on exchange as the full-time master
students all are enrolled in an intensive one year-program.
Social activities
Our relationship with the native students was good, but as most of them have a quite heavy
work load on top of private commitments to spouse and kids. So you shouldn’t expect them to
be available very often. On the other hand, all of the exchange students lived close to each
other and spent a lot of time together, so I never found myself lonely, especially since I lived
in a rather busy house.
I am not aware of any student organizations connected to USB. We had one sports day with
MBA-students from University of Cape Town.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The lectures were in English and generally quite similar to what I was used to from BI, but a
bit more focused on group discussions and cases. The main difference was the examination
structure. Rather than having four or five courses running simultaneously, you have one or
two running intensively for about six weeks. You’ll have your final exam, paper or group
work at the end of the course. I liked this structure as it allows you to be more focused on the
individual topic, and it also allowed for a break of three weeks before we went on with the
next bulk. We also had a series of smaller tests throughout the semester that counted for some
share of your final grade.
Academically, the level of the core courses, lecturers and the economic knowledge among the
native students were at a lower level than I am used to from BI. I also felt too much time was
spent on group discussions and case works, and that some of that time would have been spent
more wisely on lecturing. I do however realize that this was a MBA program for students that
came from a practical background and that the form thus would and should differ from the
theory-oriented program I’m enrolled in back home. However, the electives were no less than
fantastic. As all the electives are taught in one week, USB is able to attract some highly
skilled speakers like former trade minister, Prof. Links, who was the chief negotiator of South
Africa’s trade agreement with the EU which I had previously written a paper about and had
the pleasure to discuss with him. Furthermore, the course “Business Strategies in Emerging
and Frontier Markets” was one of the best I have ever attended.
The informal relationship between lecturer and student alongside the small classes is a big
strength of the USB model. Skilled scholars are easily accessible to you and they usually
appreciate relevant interruptions during lectures, being questions, comments or objections.
The work load didn’t feel very heavy along the way, and we had more than enough time to
socialize and explore the city, but when I look back at the topics covered it appears we
learned quite a lot.
Course materials
As a student of political economy I found the course literature too heavily weighted towards
text books, and would prefer to have seen more research articles in the curriculum. The books
on the reading list were in my opinion of a rather introductory character and used too many
words to get to the point. Hence, I relied mostly on own lecture notes when preparing for
tests. The number of pages we were supposed to read was probably close to what we have on
BI, but as I experienced them as less relevant, I took a different approach. Anyway, as cases
and group works was a big part of the work load, a lot of the learning came from own
research.
Exams
In my experience, exams and assignments were mainly based on lectures rather than course
materials. The evaluation method varied between courses, but I came across all of the
following:
o Final exam (written, home assignment and/or presentation)
o Mid-term exam
o In-class quizzes throughout semester
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentations
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
Library and technology
The library was on campus and easily accessible, but small and not too impressive compared
to the archives in Nydalen. Stationary computers were available in dedicated zones of
campus, but I usually just connected my laptop to the WiFi.
Students are expected to check their campus e-mail regularly as information and course
materials often is distributed electronically.
Description of courses
Course code
& name
Operations
Master/
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequis Approve
ites
d as
Comments
Old-fashioned
and
Information
Management
MBA
6x online
assignments,
2x 90 minutes
exams, final group
work and
presentation
2x 1 hour exams,
2x in-class quizzes,
final term paper
2x essays,
final group work
and presentation
None
Core
teaching style. Useful
for students interested
in value chains and
logistics
Business in
Society
MBA
None
Core
None
Core
MBA
2x essays,
final term paper
None
Elective
Innovation for
the Bottom of
the Pyramid
MBA
In-class
assignments,
final term paper
None
Elective
Business
strategy in
Emerging and
Frontier
Markets
MBA
Group work and
presentation,
final term paper
None
Elective
Intuitive. Dealing with
ethics and the role of
companies in society
Dealing with strategy
decisions in a
globalized world and
international trade law
Maybe old-fashioned
teaching, but
interesting. Mainly
concerned with
geographical and
cultural issues across
the African continent
Eye-opening. How to
design products for the
poorest that can
benefit both consumer
and producer
One of the best courses
I have ever attended.
Enthusiastic teaching
based on first-hand
experiences from
doing business in
emerging markets and
how that differs from
traditional economic
thinking
International
Management
and Trade
Systems
Doing
Business in
Africa
MBA