Student Report Name of the University: Aston University Exchange semester: Fall, 2013 I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION After I received the nomination from BI to go to Aston University, it took several weeks before I heard anything from Aston University directly. This made me concerned, but as it turned out, the registration and courses at Aston University just started later than at other universities, which is why the information came rather late. I then received a complete handbook with all relevant information concerning various aspects, such as choosing courses, coming to Birmingham, accommodation, activities in and around Birmingham and general information about England. Since I am a European citizen, I did not need any Visa for staying in Birmingham, which is why I did not have to organise much in advance concerning travelling. I just had to book the flight. It is fairly simple to get to Birmingham from Norway or Germany, which I came from. For once, there is Birmingham International airport, which is located about a 10-minute train ride from the city centre. Furthermore, there are several other airports close-by, such as Manchester or London Stansted. Because Birmingham is located in the centre of England, it does not take long to get there; independent from the airport you have chosen. I flew from Frankfurt directly to Birmingham International and took a train to the city centre, which costs around 2 pound. Also, taking a taxi is not that expensive, it costs around 20 pound from the airport to the city centre, but the price should be agreed on before getting into the taxi. Housing Housing is generally provided by Aston University. You have to apply for a room on campus and I have not heard from anyone who has been rejected. Advantages of living on campus are the proximity to the faculty, gym and city centre. Disadvantages are the extremely high costs for quite small rooms and the fact that you do not see much outside of the university. This is why I chose to live in another area in Birmingham called Selly Oak (close to the University of Birmingham). Here it is normal to find a house to live in yourself. In my case, I “met” my fellow housemates on Facebook and we decided to rent a house via the company “Purple Frog”, which is free of charge for students. Thus, we have found a house in Selly Oak for four persons and paid 350 Pounds a months, all bills included. The area is characterised by only students living there, many student pubs and groceries stores, like Aldi. Costs Rent Books Food Transport Other 3500 NOK - NOK 2500 NOK 410 NOK 1000 NOK Culture and language British English is fairly easy to understand and even though the British people recognise very fast that you are not a native English speaker they are very friendly and helpful with everything. I did not experience any problems with the language. Because there are many international students and some do not speak as good English before arrival, there might be some small misunderstandings, but generally not. If you want to experience English culture and language you need to organise that mainly on your own. There are many cinemas in the city centre, the biggest public library in Europe and many interesting cities to discover nearby, which allows everyone to experience as much as wanted. II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL Aston University is one of the smallest state universities in England, with around 4000 students studying there. One faculty of the university is the Aston Business School, which is relevant for us. All faculties are located on one campus, but most lectures take place in the main building of the university. There are several other buildings, such as the Business School (only for MBA students) and the library. On campus are furthermore a big gym, several cafés and restaurants and a supermarket. Also, a big football pitch is situated on campus. Course registration The International Office sent me an overview with all courses offered in Term 1 and I had to choose four of them in a given period. These were not final, though, because only some weeks before arrival I got a new list of courses offered, which I then adapted to my learning agreement. I am not sure how long the add/drop period was for changing courses because I sticked to my chosen one, but I assume at least the first week of lectures. Academic calendar Arrival date: First day of the semester: Last day of classes: Examination period: Any special events/holidays: Other: 23.09.2013 06.10.2013 06.12.2013 09.12.-13.12.2013 - Arrival Aston University offered two weeks of introduction, which you were asked to attend. I would highly recommend that as well since this is the time where you will meet most of your friends. It started off with an international introduction week, offering general information about England, Aston University and Birmingham. Furthermore, there were some planned social gatherings to get to know each other better. The second week was the Fresher’s Week for all new students at Aston University. Because as an exchange student you start at the same time as the full-time Master students, you do not only get to know the other exchange, but all Master students beginning that term, which is great. During that week there are several parties to choose from each night and activities, such as presentation workshops during the day. Everyone was assigned to one so-called “Syndicate group” and had to prepare a business idea and presentation to present in front of all other groups. Exchange student were assigned to groups with other exchange students, which was a great opportunity to get to know the group members even better. Thus, attend those first two weeks and there is really no problem at all in finding new friends. The International Office The International Office at Aston University is extremely helpful and friendly. Whenever there was an issue I needed to solve or questions I needed answers to they answered me quickly via mail or in person in the international office. Social activities Because, as mentioned earlier, British, as well as exchange students started their Birmingham experience at the same time, the relationship among the groups was really good. In fact, I had at least as many “native students” friends than exchange student friends. Aston offers a big variety of societies and clubs, which everyone can join. At the beginning of each semester, there is a fair introducing all activities offered at Aston University. III. ACADEMICS In the classroom The teaching style depends on the course you have chosen. While, for example, Strategic and International Human Resource Management provided a heavier focus on theory, Learning and Talent Development was a more practical and applied course. However, all courses provided a combination of theory and practice, which I found more useful concerning future careers than the more theoretic courses offered at BI. Usually, a course was divided into lectures by different academic staff and relevant experts in the specific field. Additionally, as the lectures normally lasted for three hours, a case study discussion was part of it. As at BI, it is normal to call the lecturers by their first names and the relationship is rather informal. Level and workload of the courses is comparable to the ones at BI, although higher levels of English are demanded at Aston University. Course materials In each of the courses, lectures and essay were based on all, books, online articles and PowerPoint presentation. As the library offered enough relevant books, it was necessary to buy any. The course materials were posted in advance of the lecture, in addation to the reading list for the next lecture, and records of the lecture were posted online after it had taken place. Exams The exams were based on both, course materials and on lectures. Usually, lectures were recorded, so in case you have missed one lecture, you were still able to get all relevant information. Each course was evaluated differently. Employee Relations and Counselling was evaluated through a final 2-hour written exam, as well as as 3000 word essay, which was due on the same day, as the exam took place. The exam and the essay focussed on different topics, so that all in all, all topics of the lectures were covered. The written exam consisted of six questions, of which you had to answer two. Attendance did not count as an evaluation criterion, but because the course was quite small, it was obvious for the professor to see, if one has missed one or more lecture. Strategic and International HRM was evaluated through three different ways. First of all, a 1500-word essay related to the first topics of the course. Secondly, everyone had to attend an 8-hour workshop, in which we had to present our opinion as a group in front of the class. Afterwards, within the same assigned groups, we were asked to write a short portfolio about what we have learned during the workshop. The presentation and portifolio counted for 10 percent of the overall grade. The third part of evaluation, the 2,5-hour written exam consisted of two questions, which both had to be answered. The written exam counted for 70 percent of the overall grade. Learning and Talent Development was evaluated in terms of a 3500 word report, in which we had to come up with our own training on any topic we wanted. The report included a specific schedule of the training intervention, as well as discussion of the theories underlying the porposed training methods (e.g. role play) and a defence of the use of a formal training intervention instead of an informal one. Work Design and Health, the fourth course I attended was evaluated by a 3000-word essay, in which we were asked to design a new office workplace and a 2-hour written exam, which consisted of five question, of which we had to answer two. Library and technology The new three-storey library has just opened in September, just as the new semester started. Thus, the library is very modern and well equipped (I did not have to buy one single book), not only in terms of relevant literature, but also in terms of well-provided individual and group study spaces. Whereas the ground floor mainly focuses on group study spaces, the first, second and especially third floor offer a lot of single study spaces. On all floors there are additional computer study spaces, but because the computers are a bit older, I would recommend to bring or lend your own laptop (which is free of charge). All in all Aston University provides a comfortable and motivating learning environment. Description of courses Course code & name BHM348 Employee Relations and Counselling BHM354 Strategic and International HRM BHM351 Learning and Talent Development BHM356 Work Design and Health Master/ Bachelor Master Master Master Master Exam form Prerequisites Comments None Approved as Elective 2-hour written exam and 3000 word essay 1500 word essay, workshop attendance and portfolio and 2,5h-hour written exam 3500 word Report None Elective Very useful None Elective Very practical Written exam and 3000 word essay None Elective More for “fun” High workload To sum it up, the exchange period was one of the best times in my life, despite it being very short. I made many new friends from all around the world, got to know the English culture, language and several cities better and attended extremely interesting academic courses. Overall, I can only recommend going on exchange in general, and to Aston University in particular, to everyone who has got the chance!