STUDENT REPORT
University of Newcastle
Exchange semester: Spring / 2015
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
Before leaving Norway we received information from University of Newcastle by e-mail. It
was practical information about the university, how to apply for visa, traveling advice and
checklist before you leave. If you have questions you can talk to the international office or the
university. If you are sending the university an e-mail you should expect some delay for the
reply since they have summer break and also because of the time difference.
Applying for a visa
The visa application procedure is done online through the government’s pages. The visa costs
approximately AUD $540. You should apply for visa in good time before you leave. The
process is pretty simple. If everything works fine you should receive the visa documents by email in a few days. The only challenge we faced when applying for our visa was to choose the
right application type. You should choose the one called ‘TU575 Student Non-Award Sector’.
Also remember to save all the documents received from the university because an e-mail with
the CoE (Confirmation of Enrollment) number will be sent to you from the university, and
this number is required in the Visa application process.
Travel
We traveled with plane from Oslo to Sydney. It took around 30 hours because we had two
stopovers. Our plane tickets to Australia cost around 5000 kr and we booked them in midNovember (it’s essential to be early). When you arrive Sydney the easiest way to travel to
Newcastle is by train. The train goes from the Central Station to either Broadmeadow or
Hamilton station. This train ticket only costs around $4 if you get the concession price, and
the ride does not take more than 3 hours or so.
Housing
We lived off-campus in a region called Tighes Hill. This region is between the city (beach)
and the university with approximately 5 kilometers each way. We lived in a so called ‘student
accommodation’ with several apartments in the same yard. However there were not only
students living there, and where we lived there were both international and local residents. We
were happy with the location. The only problem was with the bus system as the buses don’t
go nearly as frequently as you are used to in Oslo, and they were often late. The bus rides to
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both the city and the campus took approximately 20 minutes. If you are looking for a place
off-campus we would recommend looking on these two sites:
1. https://flatmates.com.au/?gclid=CKHdt6mL9cUCFU2VvQodKxcAyQ
2. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-property-for-rent/newcastle/c18364l3003313
If you want to live at campus it is important to apply early as these accommodations will get
filled up. When applying for an on-campus accommodation you will have to choose between
different houses, like Evatt House, Edwards Hall, International House, New Residences, etc.
The International house is most common for exchange students, but you will also find local
students here. The New Residence apartments were finished in 2015, so they are new and
fresh. The different houses vary in prices, and some houses also include meals in their prices.
Living on-campus is a good alternative as you will move in with a lot of students in the same
situation as yourself, and therefore it is easy to make friends there.
Costs
The prices in Australia are in general very similar to the Norwegian prices. The rent for the
accommodation was $180 a week which adds up to $720 a month (In Australia they usually
pay weekly rents, but it should be possible to arrange differently). The food prices we found
slightly cheaper than back home, but no big difference here. The one thing that was definitely
cheaper was eating and drinking out, which were almost half the prices from back in Oslo.
When it comes to expenses related to school we didn’t use much, because we didn’t have
schoolbooks as our courses relayed on course materials received in class, mainly PowerPoint
presentations.
Monthly payments (Convertion rate: AUD/NOK – 6.2)
Rent
NOK 4500
Books
NOK 0
Food
NOK 2000
Transport
NOK 500
Other
NOK 1000
Culture and language
The Australian people are very nice and welcoming. It was no problem making new friends
and get in contact with new people. The school is also arranging an orientation week where
you meet other new students, however the O-week cannot be compared to ‘fadderullan’. In
the O-week you will not be divided into buddy groups so you have to attend all the events by
yourself. The Australian accent was a little hard to understand sometimes, but you will get
used to it. We were traveling around in Australia before the semester started, in the weekends
and in the break to see and experience more of the country and the culture. We discovered
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that Newcastle is something very different compared to the large cities like Sydney,
Melbourne and Brisbane. Even though Newcastle has around 500,000 inhabitants (depends on
how you count) it is not a large city, and we were a little shocked when we first arrived from
Sydney. It was weird to travel from one of the biggest cities in the world to little Newcastle.
But frankly we learned to love the place. The things we really liked about Newcastle are the
chill atmosphere, the beaches, the nice people there, and the fact that there are a lot of
students there. In addition there are a lot of different things to see and do around Newcastle so
you never get bored!
ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Description
The school is in Callaghan, around 40 min outside the city. The campus is big, and it can take
you 20 minutes to cross it by foot. However there is designated shuttle busses on-campus that
can drive you from one place to another if you want to. The study structure is very different
from what we are used to. You have assignments, group projects, mid-terms tests and an
exam in the end. All of it is a part of your grade.
Course registration
We registered our courses before we left Norway. You will get an e-mail from the university
when they open for registration. When picking your courses you will have to choose lecture
and tutorial times yourself, so make sure you don’t double book any courses. If you encounter
any difficulties it is possible to e-mail any inquiries to the staff at Newcastle University.
Academic calendar
Start of O-week
16. February
First day of the semester
23. February
Last day of classes:
4. June
Examination period
9. June – 26. June
Any special events/holidays
6. April – 17. April (mid semester break)
Arrival
The orientation week is one week before the semester starts. In the orientation week they help
you with things you wondering about. They show you around campus, help you with
enrolling, and they have activities you can attend to. We recommend attending the activities
although some of them sound boring. It is here you meet all the other people that are on
exchange. This is the people you are going to hang out with the rest of the semester. The
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information you need about the O-week will be provided through e-mail, so stay tuned here,
and make sure you don’t miss any sign up deadlines for the different activities.
The International Office
We received sufficient and relevant information about our exchange semester. We got
information about the campus, where to go if we needed help, and about Australia. If you
have any questions, they say that you can e-mail them. The international office at campus,
located on the Shortland side, can help you when you arrive. Things they can help you with
are: enrolling into classes, how to attend orientation week (O-week), receive your student card
and any other school related inquiries.
Promoting BI and Norway
We participated in an I-lead program, which included promoting BI. However this is not
mandatory, and is only an extra course which gives you an I-lead diploma.
Social activities
The week before the university begins they arrange an orientation week (O-week). This is
when you get to know other students on exchange and you get information about the
university. Everyone is in the same situation and it is easy to make friends. It is many
international students in Newcastle. Most of our friends here were international, but some
were also from Australia. It is many social groups that you can join at the uni for activities.
We joined the rugby and soccer teams at the uni. This is highly recommended as you will get
a better and closer relationship with the Australian culture when joining such social groups as
most of the students on the team were Australian. You will meet many nationalities in
Newcastle. The locals say it is always many Germans there, but this semester we were many
Scandinavians too. We did not experience any language problems.
ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style is somewhat different to what we were used to at BI. The difference is that
you have both lectures and tutorials in every course. In the lecture the lecturer talks about the
subject and have a PowerPoint, and this is the same as what we do at BI. In the tutorial you
discuss and answer questions that should be prepared before the tutorial class, and here
everybody are expected to attend orally.
Course materials
In most courses you don't need the book. The lecturer gives you information about this. They
use much PowerPoint and you get the articles you need to read. They also use video clips and
questions in the lecture.
Exams
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In Australia you build up your grade throughout the semester. The grades are based on a
percentage system were 100 % is maximum. When you hand in reports and assignments in
the semester you will build up this score, and when the final exam comes it will only count
for around 30-60 % of your grade. This ensures you will have to perform all through the
semester to obtain a good grade, but it also makes the examination period less stressful.
Library and technology
The university has two libraries at campus and one in the city. You also have free access to
the library resources online outside school, but you need to log on with a username and
password that you get. It is computers all over the campus that you can use. The university
uses Blackboard to give out assignments, course materials and grades. In many ways
Blackboard is very similar to @BI.
Description of courses
Course code & name
Exam form
Prerequisites
ECON 3008
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
2,5 hours
ECON1001
ECON1002
ECON2001
ECON2002
ESLA 1901
Bachelor
2.5 hours
IBUS 3003
Bachelor
2.0 hours
OPSM 2000
Bachelor
2.0 hours
None
IBUS2000
IBUS2001
None
Approved
as
Elective
Comments
Elective
Pretty heavy
course for
second
grade
students
Easy
Elective
Okay
Mandatory
Okay
CONCLUSION
Our semester in Australia has been an amazing experience. When we arrived late in January
the weather was perfect, over 30 degrees, and the beaches on the Australian coast are so
beautiful. If you like sun, beaches and a chill atmosphere Australia is definitely something for
you. This opportunity is something we would recommend to everybody that has the chance.
You will meet new people, a different culture, improve your English and overall just have a
freaking good time.
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