Name of the University: Flinders University
Exchange semester: Fall 2012
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Flinders University is located on top of a hill south of downtown Adelaide. It is divided into two
campuses; Sturt Campus to the north and the main campus to the south. The on-campus
accommodations are located in-between the two. Flinders University is about 40 minutes by bus to
downtown Adelaide.
Current faculty divisions:
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Education, Humanities and Law
Health Sciences
Science and Engineering
Social Behavioral Sciences
Number of students:
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Total students: 20 165
Australian students: 16 327
International students: 3 838
13 651 of all the students at Flinders are Undergraduates.
Study structure:
The difficulty level is about the same as at BI, however, it is more work intensive.
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 count 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 mid-semester 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 which 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 3050% of the final grade.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
After being accepted we received our first information from the University on 8th May, and we received
further information as the departure date got closer and throughout the semester at Flinders.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
The Visa procedure is relatively quick and easy. You need to supply Flinders with the information (and
if you are not a Norwegian citizen, the OSHC payment which is medical care). The university makes
preparations for your student Visa and gives you the necessary information to apply online. The Visa
is quite costly, it cost 450 AUD.
We ordered our tickets online through Qantas. Tickets to and from Australia are in general quite costly.
Academic Calendar
We were advised to arrive two weeks before the start of the semester so that we’d have time to settle
in properly. We arrived in Adelaide on the 11th July, The orientation week started the week after, and
the semester started 23rd July. The last class for us was on 2nd November and the examination
period lasted from 1st to 24th November.
Reception
Flinders University provides a free pickup service for foreign exchange students. We were picked up
together with another exchange student that arrived at the same time and were driven to our
accommodation. The member of the international office that picked us up gave us a welcome package
and helped us get settled in in our apartment.
All international students were required to attend an information meeting where they would find out the
basics of living in Australia, and information about academic procedures at Flinders. This meeting also
allowed international students to get to know each other.
Housing:
There are two different types of on-campus accommodations available at Flinders: University Hall or
Deirdre Jordan Village. University Hall offers dorm rooms with catered meals served in the cafeteria.
DJ Village has flats which house 2-5 people and is available for those who prefer more independent
living and cooking their own food. We lived in a two person flat in DJ Village.
The application for housing is a bit more complex than in Norway. You need to provide an academic
reference which describes your academic history and how you interact with your fellow students (They
ask that this be written by the principal, a teacher, a lecturer or a tutor. A member of the international
office at BI was kind enough to write one for us), a personal reference from a friend or a co-worker, a
personal statement on why you want to live on-campus and how your living there would benefit the
rest of the on-campus community (this should be about a page long), as well as all the regular
personal information that one usually have to include. Forms are provided for the academic and
personal reference and the entire application process is to be completed online. The application fee is
45 AUD.
The Flinders University home page also provides a private accommodation service which helps
students find private accommodation available for rental.
Costs:
All expenses were, in general, about the same as in Norway.
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
We mostly socialized with other exchange students. We met some Australian students as well but due
to the student village being mainly exchange students and the great job the flinders international office
and student village did with offering activities from barbecues and other relaxed hangouts over pub
crawls and daytrips to full out vacation weekends to interesting places we mainly hung out with
international people. However the different faculties also offer many things for their students, we just
were occupied with all the stuff we did already.
We did not have much contact with the student organization, most out of school activities we
participated in were organized by either the international organization or the student village.
All in all it was a great time with meeting many interesting people and many interesting activities
provided by many different venues.
Culture and Language
The language spoken in Australia is English, sometimes with a very Australian accent that can be hard
to understand at times. We did not have any language problems at all.
The Australian culture is a peculiar mix of England and the USA with more and more Asian influences.
It is easy to experience this as it is all around and very different to Norway. A great way to influence
many aspects of Australia is renting a camper van and making a roadtrip along the coast or overland
in the holidays or after the studies. It is also possible to see interesting stuff over the weekend.
Australia has very good infrastructure for campers and it is a popular thing to do for Australians as well
as tourists.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
The exchange gave us a great insight into Australian culture and as important, it gave us a much
deeper insight into China Japan and the rest of the south east Asian countries. Australians closest
neighbor are Asian and china is one of its biggest trading partners so news from these regions are
much more common and interest is much higher than in Europe.
Having been exposed to this we will have a much better understanding of the dynamics in that part of
the world (aided by one of the courses we took, which concerned itself with multinational corporations
in the pacific economic region). We think this will help us with finding jobs with international
corporations and export oriented companies.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
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.
Required Literature:
The literature was in English and was at about the same level as the required readings at BI. Most of
the lecturers put strong emphasis on the ability to apply the knowledge we learn instead of just
memorizing it.
For the courses with seminars, then the exams were based on what we had gone through in class. For
the courses with lectures and tutorials, then the exam was largely based on the tutorial questions.
Exams:
For three of our courses we were given a written exam in a formal exam venue. The examination
procedure for these courses was very similar to BI. In one of our courses we received the exam
questions a week before so that we could choose which ones we wanted to answer and prepare for
them. The required literature for this course was articles and we were expected to cite from them in
the exam. The exam was completed in our classroom.
The knowledge level to pass the exam was a bit lower or about the same as at BI. Part of why it was a
bit easier was probably because we were required to study evenly throughout the semester (due to the
homework and tutorial questions which were assigned)
The exams made up between 30-50% of the final grade.
Other:
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 name:
BUSN2028 Market Research
Prereq.:
Exam:
BUSN1009 Written 50%
BUSN3037 Import-Export Theory & Practice BUSN2019 Written 30%
BUSN3053 Multinational Corporations
BUSN3055 Strategic Management
none
Written 35%
72 units from
any topics
Written 45%
BUSN1013
BUSN1011
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Contact Information:
Please contact us through international office