Name of university: University of Newcastle
Exchange semester: Fall 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
We received information from University of Newcastle by e-mail before we left Norway.
Before we got the offer from the university in April we had to fill out several forms. The
university provided us with a lot of necessary information, and it was easy to contact the
international office if we had any questions.
Applying for visa
The visa application procedure is done online. The visa costs approximately 3000 NOK. If
you have lived in certain places of the world for more than 3 months during the last five
years you have to undergo complete medical assessment and chest-xray in order to get the
visa application approved. And if you have had an Australian visa before you need to add
some information (visa number, etc.) in the application, which was a bit hard for one of us to
obtain.
Travel
We travelled with plane from Oslo-Sydney. When we got to Sydney we took a HappyCabby
to Newcastle, which took us about 4 hours and cost 80 AUD. But we recommend taking the
train instead, because it is both cheaper and takes shorter time.
Housing
We chose to live off-campus because we wanted to stay close to the beaches and the city,
and the university is located “in the middle of nowhere”. When we arrived in Newcastle we
stayed in a hostel a couple of days while searching for a place to live. We went to the
accommodation hub at the university the week before orientation week, and we got some
good help to find a place to live.
Costs
The price level in Australia is almost the same as in Norway, just a bit cheaper. Rent varies on
the location and standard, we paid 175 AUD a week. Academic books are a bit more
expensive than in Norway, the price was about 100-150 per book. Transportation is cheap,
exchange students get a concession card, which gives you half price on the trains and buses.
The greatest costs we had were related to travelling around in Australia.
Culture and language
Since Australia is an English speaking country it is easy to understand the information given
during orientation week. But some of the Australian lecturers talk a bit fast, and we also had
some lecturers that were not Australians and were a bit hard to understand sometimes.
Australia is a great country to travel around and experience, and we recommend you to
travel as much as you can while you are there. Newcastle is located only 2,5 hours from
Sydney by train and the train ticket is only 4,20 AUD if you have the concession card. There is
also a lot of nice places close to Newcastle that are worth visiting.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The school is located in Callaghan outside of the city of Newcastle. It is approximately 35 000
students at UoN, and about 7000 of them are international students. It takes 10 minutes by
train to get to the university from the city. The campus is big and sometimes you have to
walk across the whole campus to get to your lectures, etc. and this takes 15-20 minutes(!!).
But there are shuttle buses running all day if you are too lazy to walk.
The study structure is pretty different from what we are used to at BI. There are several
assignments/quizzes throughout the semester, which will be a part of your final grade and
the final exam will be less worth than we are used to. The semester is over 13 weeks with
lectures and tutorials before the exam period. A lecture is theoretical like a “forelesning” in
Norway, while a tutorial is more practical and it is where you learn how to use what you
have already learned in the lectures.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of orientation week (international students):
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
July 13, 2013
July 22, 2013
July 29, 2013
November 1, 2013
November 11- 29,
2013
Semester break
from September 20October 7, 2013
Monday October 7is
a public holiday
Arrival
The week before semester start, all international students had an orientation week. During
this week we get a lot of information about the University and how things work there. In
addition, the University arranged a lot of social activities for us who were going on
exchange/ studying abroad. We strongly recommend you to join these activities because it is
a great way to meet new people in the same situation as you. People we met this week are
people we spent much time with throughout the whole semester. The school will email you
about the program for the orientation week a couple of weeks before. They will also
encourage you to pre- book each of these activities online as they can get full because of
limited spots. We met some people who could not join these activities because they were
too late signing up. So do it as fast as possible!
The orientation week consisted of Tree Top Adventures (climbing and ziplining high up in the
trees), Shopping day (taking a bus from school to a big mall), BBQ, Campus Quest (rebus on
campus; getting to know the school site), Reptile Park visit (including kangaroos, koalas,
crocodiles), tour/ sightseeing in Newcastle etc.
The International Office
During the whole time (after getting accepted at University of Newcastle) we received
sufficient and relevant information about our exchange semester. We got information about
campus, the city Newcastle, Australia in general etc. If we had any questions, they would
reply pretty fast by mail. But as that is said, neither of us needed to ask so many questions.
Everything was covered in the information we received from the school by mail. Some of the
documents were longer, but take your time and read through it, everything is covered there.
When you arrive in Newcastle, go to the International Office at campus (located in the
Shortland building), and they will welcome you to Australia and help you with everything
you need. If you are not enrolled in classes or signed up for orientation week, they will help
you. They will also show you where to fix your student card, where to get help to find
accommodation and give you a map over campus (it is huge, but you will quickly get used to
it).
Promoting BI and Norway
None of us were involved in any promotion of BI and Norway. Neither did they ask us about
it.
Social activities
During our classes (lectures and especially tutorials) we got to know some native Australian
students as well. But most of the time I believe exchange students hung more together just
them. The relationship between the exchange students is really good. Everybody is open
and receptive for new friends. It is easy to find someone to talk with. We recommend you to
go to activities arranged by the school, this makes it even easier to meet new people. When
we went to Bar on The Hill (bar at campus) native students were there as well. I guess it is
about how much effort you put in; you can get as many native friends as international
friends if you want to. Austrlian people are relaxed and friendly, and taking life as “no
worries”, so it is not hard to make friends.
We lived in a share- house with other international students. This made it easy for us to get
into the international environment, but this is far away a must to get to know people. The
first week you will probably meet some international students living in the Hostels in
Newcastle if you do not have an accommodation before arriving. I know people who met
randomly at Hostels decided to find accommodation together.
During the semester, the University has several activities, not only for international students,
but for everyone. Bar On The Hill is the place to be a Back to School party, Authonomy- Day
(daytime party where people start drinking early in the morning), Halloween etc. They also
have days such as International Week, Chinese day, October Fest, International Food day
(free food from countries represented at University), etc.
The University also has a student organization for international students. From their place
(located next to Bar On The Hill) international students have free access to white toast,
coffee/ tee, etc. Stop by for a look, they can help you with renting school books, signing you
up for cheap fruit/ vegetable box once a week, free binders, support etc.
During the first week of semester, all organizations on campus will hold a stand to promote
their activities. This is everything from sports teams, to religious organizations, to the gym
and the international office. If you are planning to sign up for a sports team, be quick. After a
certain date they do not let in new people.
If you live in the city you have short access to a free lunch every Tuesday (might change the
day next semester). This is next to Civic Station and CityHub. It is a voluntary organization
that arranges free lunch for students in a church every Tuesday. A lot of us international
students went there every Tuesday at noon if we had time.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
A lot of our teachers had international background. This was both an advantage and a
disadvantage. They might tend to talk slower and clearer than an Australian lecturer, both at
the same time their original accent can be very strong, and therefore their English hard to
understand. However, this was not a major problem.
The teaching style is similar to what we were used to at BI; the lecturer talks from a power
point. However, at the University of Newcastle they divide each subject in lectures and
tutorials. In the lectures we normally sat in an auditorium (the size would vary due to what
kind of subject it was, but most classes are smaller than what we are used to from BI). In
these classes the communication is mainly one way; teacher talk, we listen. In the tutorials
we were divided in smaller groups (12-16 students) where a two/ way communication was
much more used. In these classes we had group work, discussions, cases, presentations etc.
Tutorials were more informal and practical, while the lectures (like at BI) were more formal
and theoretical.
You have the same, fixed tutorial group the whole semester, and it is the same time every
week. Some of them are compulsory to attend so make sure you go to them. Just
attendance can be a part of your grade. You chose tutorial classes, as well as lectures, on
myHub (you will get sufficient information about this from the University). Normally, the
tutorials are used as supplementary help and repetition of what you lecturer has been
talking about in the lecture. It is also normal to have group presentations in tutorials (which
counts on your final grade).
The University of Newcastle does not have exams where one exam alone counts 100 %. It is
normal to have different things due throughout the whole semester. This makes the
workload bigger compared to BI, but at the same time it is not so difficult. By having smaller,
but more things to do, we did not have to worry about one exam counting for the whole
grade (which is ok when you are studying abroad, because you still want to pass your
course). Most things counting on the grade is not difficult to do, but it might take some time
and effort. This is because assignments (essays) and group work (essays and presentations)
take some time to prepare.
Course materials
All of our lecturers used powerpoints in their teaching. Sometimes they spiced it up with
video- clips, articles, questions etc. Normally, these powerpoints together with lecture notes
and additional articles they posted on BlackBoard, was enough for our learning outcome.
Neither of us bought any books throughout the whole semester, and it worked fine. Of
course, this depends on what kind of subjects you chose.
From the subject we have been taken, the course material has not been to difficult. You
might find it challenging to speak/ write English in the beginning, but this will be easier by
the time. The University also provides English- help for international students if it should be
a problem.
Exams
Since neither of us had the books, but mainly used the lecture slides when preparing for
exams, it is hard to tell what they mainly based the exams on. But we both did good on
exams just by using lecture notes/ slides. It is possible to rent books from the library. The
lecturers and the tutors will specify what the exam will be about.
The courses were evaluated by several things. In almost all of our subjects the final exam
counted 50 % or less (normally 30 or 40 %). The rest of the grade is made up by things like
in- class quizzes, big assignments, small assignments, reports, presentations, group work and
sometimes class attendance in tutorials. The final exams were in each subject written (like at
BI).
Library and technology
There are two big libraries at Callaghan Campus. At both places staff is helpful if you have
any questions. There are computers and printers to use. Be aware that it cost money to print
(you put money on your student account; more information will be given by the University).
It is free wifi on the whole campus (next to buildings) to use for students. You log on with
your student ID and password.
Since we did not live at campus, but in Newcastle city, we frequently used the so called
CityHub next to Civic station. This is where master students (studying business) mainly are.
This little hub also has a library and facilities such as computers, printers and free wifi.
Description of courses
Course code &
name
ESLA1901
English for
International
Students
MKTG3000
Strategic
Marketing
Management
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
2 individual essays
1 individual
presentation
1 group discussion/
presentation
Final exam 2 hour
written (30%)
None
+ attendance in
tutorials
1 individual essay
1 group essay
1 group presentation
Final exam 3 hour
written (50%)
Approved
as
Elective
Comments
Marketing
courses
A marketing
course (but
it is also
similar to
strategy)
Management
courses
Elective
Learn how a
business should
develop and make
their strategy from a
marketing
perspective. A good
marketing subject,
but some knowledge
about marketing is
essential.
This subject is
similar to English
and Organisasjon og
Ledelse at BI. Even
though, it is a handy
course to take
abroad because we
learn about culture
differences and
negotiation in a
international
context.
Easier if you have
had the logistics
course at BI earlier.
A lot of work
through the
semester, but
relatively easy to
pass.
Easy course. Very
+ attendance in
tutorials
IBUS3000
Cross Cultural
Management and
Negotiation
Bachelor
1 group presentation
1 group essay
1 reflective journal
Final exam 2 hours
written (40 %)
+ attendance in
negotiations
(tutorials)
OPSM3000
Managing
Logistics
Operations in
Supply Chains
Bachelor
1 quiz (10%)
10 tutorial summaries
(30%)
1 written assignment
(30%)
Final exam written
(30%)
None
Strategy
course
STAT1060
Bachelor
6 quizzes (25%)
None
Elective
Easy subject. Gives
us some tips about
academic writing
and presentation.
Similar to the
English- course we
have at BI.
Business Decision
Making
ACFI3140
International
Finance
Bachelor
2 assignments (15% +
10%)
Final exam 3 hours
written(50%)
1 quiz (25%)
1 assignment (25%)
Final exam (50%)
Finance
courses
similar to the
statistics courses at
BI + økonometri. Not
very challenging.
Finance/eco A hard course that
nomy
requires a lot of
course
work. You will learn
about exchange
rates, arbitrage
opportunities, etc..
This semester, and these 5-6 months, have without any doubt been the best time of our
lives. No matter where you go on exchange we can almost guarantee you an amazing time.
When going abroad you meet so many new people and you get friends from the whole
world. You learn to see things in a new and different perspective, you get a greater cultural
understanding, but most important: you get to know yourself in a whole new way. You will
grow and develop as a person, not only in an academic perspective, but also as a human
being.
If you ever doubt if you should go on exchange, do it! Time fly by so fast, and we can
guarantee that you never have been that social in your life before. People from different
nations all over the world come together and want to learn and get to know each other.
Being a part of an international environment like this is nothing you ever will experience in
Norway. This is definitely an advantage you will take with you later in your profession. We
have learned that we in Norway live in a little “bobble” in the corner of the world. Even
though we have great lives in Norway, we should widen our horizons and explore the rest of
the world we live in. Not everything is as home. We have so much to learn from other
countries and cultures, and by being on an exchange like this, in a safe environment with
students like ourselves, we all learn from each other. In the global world we now live in, we
do ourselves, our country and our world a favor by going abroad because we take part of
influencing the future.
Taking a semester abroad is something we never will regret, and we encourage everyone
who can, to do the same. It will be a life- time memories and you will get a lot of new
friendships!