Student Report
Name of the University:
Exchange semester: Fall 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
Applying for a visa was surprisingly easy and went without any difficulties. Everything could
be done online, and I got my visa just a couple of days after I had applied. It was quite costly,
at 450 AUD.
Travel
I travelled with KLM to Adelaide. My route went from Ålesund – Amsterdam – Kuala
Lumpur – Adelaide and took approximately 40 hours, due to a lot of transfer time on each
airport. I booked my flight tickets about two months before my departure date, and the price
was approximately NOK 12,000, return tickets included.
Housing
I stayed at Flinders Living, which is Flinders accommodation on campus. I stayed in Deidre
Jordan Village, in a unit with five other students from Flinders. We were a mix of boys and
girls and both international students and students from Australia. The village is located only a
two minutes walk to the main library, and about 40 minutes by bus to the city centre of
Adelaide. The nearest shopping centre and supermarket is a 10-15 minutes bus ride away
from campus. The public transportation is not the best in the suburbs of Adelaide, so it was
often a lot of waiting time for the buses.
If I were to choose again, I would probably find an apartment to rent a bit closer to the
city. The fairly long distance made it more difficult to do things in the city and I feel that I
missed out on a lot of what the city of Adelaide has to offer. The price of Flinders Living is
also higher than to rent an apartment (depending on location and standards). With that said,
living on campus is great for the social aspect. It is very easy to get in contact with other
exchange student, since it is mostly international students living on campus. Also it was good
to live close to the University.
Costs
- Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food,
transportation, and other personal expenses?
Rent
Books*
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 4500
NOK 1200
NOK 2500
NOK 200
NOK 1000
Culture and language
Since the language spoken in Australia is English, I did not have any difficulties
understanding the spoken language. Keep in mind that there is some stronger Australian
accent which might be a bit more difficult to understand than others, but usually it was no
problem at all.
The Australian culture is not very different from other western countries. The biggest
difference was in my opinion that Australians are very open and outgoing, always wanting to
include you and always with a friendly attitude. A great way to experience the Australian
culture is to rent a camper van and drive through the country. We drove from Darwin in the
Northern territory all the way down to Adelaide, and learned and saw amazing things as
breath taking national parks and we also spent time with the Aboriginals, which was very
interesting.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
Flinders University is located on top of a hill south downtown Adelaide. It is divided into two
campuses: Sturt Campus in the north and the main campus in the south. The on-campus
accommodations are located between the two. The University is about 40 minutes by bus to
the city centre of Adelaide.
Current faculty divisions:
- Education, Humanities and Law
- Health Sciences
- Science and Engineering
- Social Behavioural Sciences
Study structure:
I found the difficulty level to be about the same as at BI. However, the work load is bigger
and more intensive, with assignments due almost every week.
We experienced two different forms of teaching. One form involved attending lectures and
tutorials while the other form involved mandatory seminars.
The lectures were similar as at BI. The lectures of one course were available to view online,
which was helpful if you missed a class, or for review purposes. The tutorials involved
completing exercises and discussing them in the tutorials. Your participation in the tutorials
counts towards your final grade. There were one or two lectures for each course per week and
one tutorial. An essay had to be completed in these subjects and we were given a midsemester multiple-choice exam.
Seminars were a much smaller format than courses with lectures. It was more like the size of
a high school class. Participation counted a great deal towards the end grade. There were
weekly homework assignments that were discussed in class and we had to both write essays
and hold presentations for this format.
The final grade depends on work done throughout the year. The exam itself makes up
between 30-60% of the final grade.
Course registration
I started registering for courses the first days after I arrived in Adelaide (I arrived just a couple
of days before the semester started). I got a lot of help from the international office at Flinders
University, and also specific topic coordinators. There are a lot of helpful people working at
the enrolment offices in the library that guides you through everything. The add/drop period
ended about two weeks after the first lecture.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
24.July
29.July
1.Nov
1.Nov-24.Nov
Two weeks midsemester break
Arrival
As I arrived very close upon the start of the semester I did not have the chance to settle down
and get to know everything before the lectures and classes started. I would recommend
arriving at least one week before the first day of the semester. There were a lot of happenings
and trips the first week with other international students, planned by the ISSU (International
Office), which is great to take part of if you want to get to know other exchange students. The
first week of the semester is O2-week, which is packed with social activities and parties for
the students at Flinders Uni.
The International Office
The ISSU is the international office at Flinders and it is responsible for incoming exchange
students. The staff is very friendly and helpful.
Social activities
I spent most time with other international students, and especially other exchange students.
This felt natural since it was mostly international students living on campus. However, all my
courses were with mostly just Australians, and they were usually very friendly and chatty. I
made a good Australian friend that I ended up travelling around Australia with after the
semester.
There were a lot of social activities and gatherings arranged by Flinders Living for all the
residents living on campus, so it was always something to take part of if you are of the very
active and social kind.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
All courses are taught in English, though the Australian accent of some of the lecturers can
make it hard to understand sometimes. The high level of international and especially Asian
students makes professors aware of this however and all are happy to repeat their points or
explain further to make the point more clear.
I feel that the level of study is a bit lower than at BI, but the work-load is much higher during
the semester. We had a number of mandatory essays and presentations that are a big part of
the total grade as well as needing to prepare weekly tutorial or seminar. This is much more
work week to week than BI has.
The courses with a lecture structure were primarily theoretical in nature, with some practical
examples to illustrate points. The seminars were much more practical with discussions of
current affairs connected to the subject being common place.
Teacher-Student relationships at Flinders are very relaxed and on a first name basis and seems
to me much closer than in Norway. This is partly due to the smaller class sizes for some
courses, partly due to many students having the same teachers in the third or fourth year
(many bachelors in Australia take 4 years) and the generally relaxed attitude towards behavior
in Australia. This also translates to a very talkative atmosphere in classes with many
Australian students and can at times seem loud and a bit rude towards the teacher.
Course materials
All the books and literature was in English and at about the same level as at BI. Most of the
lecturers have good Powerpoint presentations, which are put up on “FLO” (same as
ItsLearning).
Exams
The exams were based on both the course materials and the lectures. It is important to take
good lecture notes, as this is very helpful while studying for the exams. The courses were
evaluated on your assessment on these:
o Final exam: written
o Mid-term exam: Multiple-choice
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentations
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
Library and technology
The it’sLearning equivalent at Flinders is called Flinders Learning Online (FLO). All course
information and lecture notes and recordings are posted here. There is a forum on each course
page where lecturers can post information and students can ask questions.
There are plenty of computers available in the library and there is wifi access in most areas at
the campus.
Description of courses
Course code & name
BUSN3029
Investment and
Portfolio Management
BUSN3039 Corporate
Sustainability in
Global Markets
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Bachelor
Two large
assignments
(3000 words)
and two
presentations
Prerequisites
3-hour written
exam
None
Approved
as
Finance
Comments
Elective
Interesting
and not too
difficult.
Quite easy.
Very
difficult
BUSN3053
Multinational
Corporations: US,
China, Japan,
Australia
BUSN3055 Strategic
Management
Bachelor
Essays,
presentations
and final exam
None
Elective
Fun and
interesting,
but great
work-load
Bachelor
Multiple-choice
mid-term exam
and 3-hour final
exam
None
Strategy
Good
teacher and
interesting
topic.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
My exchange semester has given me a lot more knowledge about Australia as a country and
their culture. I also feel I have become much more independent since I went to Adelaide
without knowing anyone. I am glad I did not spend any time with other Norwegians while I
was in Australia, cause this forced me to speak English the whole time, and also to socialize
with people from different cultures. I have gotten friends from all over the world, which I
think I will have for many years to come. My English, both written and oral, have improved a
lot. I have gotten the chance to travel and see so much of the world, much more than if my
exchange semester was in Europe I think. I also believe that the experiences and knowledge I
have gotten through my months abroad is great for my future career possibilities.