STUDENT REPORT
Name of the University: UQAM
Exchange semester: Fall, 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
I received the information from the university in march and had to apply online. The process
was very straight forward and I received the acceptance letter early in May. The only thing
that can be a bit challenging is that all the information regarding application is given in
French.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
Visa is only necessary to apply for if you are staying for more than 6 months, so I did not
need to apply for this.
Travel
I was on vacation in Miami before traveling to Montréal so I flew from Miami to Montréal.
Housing
Housing was not provided by the school directly, but the incoming exchange coordinator
Mirellle Saad was extremely helpful in this matter. She provided us with a list with
information about the different areas and companies though you can book a place to live. The
university has a student residence but this is usually not applicable for exchange students
staying for just one semester but it is possible to apply and maybe you will be lucky. I lived in
a bit outside the city center (by the metrostop Joliette- 8 minutes from the university with the
green line) in a private housing with three girls from Switzerland which I contacted through
the exchange group on Facebook. If I should chose again I would try to find a place on the
Plateau which is closer to the city center and an area where there is more going on.
Costs (in total)
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 16000
NOK 700
NOK 16000
NOK 4000
NOK 20000
Culture and language
The university is originally French and it is only the business school; ESG UQAM that offer
courses in English. Therefore many of the faculty does not really understand why you are
there if you don´t speak French. However, after explaining why they are usually very helpful
and try their best to answer your question even though there english might not be the best.
The feeling of not being understood and understanding others is in the beginning a bit
challenging but this is just something you have to get used too. The majority of the exchange
students are French speaking but there are an increasing portion who are non-francophone.
STUDENT REPORT
As most courses that are offered in English at the university are also offered in French, the
majority of the students logically enough prefer to take the courses in French. However in
some of the courses I took there were some students from Quebec, which gave an insight to
the culture and country. I also explored a lot of the East part of Canada with other exchange
students. There are a lot of places located within pretty close proximity which gives you the
opportunity to see a lot.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
The school itself is very old, but some of the buildings are renovated so in general the
facilities were pretty modern. However, it cannot be compared to the facilities at BI. The
school is located in the city center and can be accesed directly from the metro which implies
that a lot of the building is underground and many of the classrooms do not have windows.
Course registration
I registrered for courses when I submitted my online application. As I took master courses the
selection was vert limited. The add-drop period ended September 14th (one week after the
courses started)
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
02.09.15
03.09.15
18.12.15
Canadian
Thanksgiving:
12.10.15
Other:
Arrival
The student association Voya-g organized many fun events the first days and were very
friendly and including. On the first day there was a “rebusløp” and a following welcome
dinner and party. On Friday they organized a picnic and on Saturday there was a trip to La
Ronde which is an amuzement park. Finally on Sunday there was the Picnique Electronique
which is a weekly music festival that one really should experience when you are in Montréal.
The International Office
Yes I received all the information I needed. The incoming exchange coordinator provided all
the information in both French and English. However, as mentioned above, all the formal
information from the school is just sent in French.
Promoting BI and Norway
I was the ambassador for Norway but I did not need to do anything connected to this role.
STUDENT REPORT
Social activities
The local students I met were verty friendly and including and the relationship was good.
However, this was a very limited number of people as most people I had my courses with and
got to know were exchange students.
The Student association Voya-g arranges several social events for the exchange students
through the entire semester. Also many students are very active on the Facebook page so there
are often events to attend and trips to join.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
I experienced the teaching style as much more practical compared to at BI. The classes I
attended were smaller so the teaching style was much more a dialogue between the students
and the teacher. On masterlevel the teacher were very helpful regarding assignments and
offered to give you feedback before handing in the assignments so that you would achieve a
best possible grade.
The workload was a bit less than at BI, but still pretty high. I only had one small exam but
instead I had a big paper (group or individual) in all the courses. This took alot of time and in
the end it was a bit hectic. This could in some ways have been avoided with a bit better time
management, but in many of the courses the paper is based on what you learn in the lecture
and thus cannot be started before you have encountered sufficient knowledge in the field.
Course materials
In most of the courses the course material is based on articles that are provided by the teacher
and can be downloaded for free as well as Powerpoint presentations from the lectures. It was
only in one of the courses I took that I needed to buy a book which I was very grateful for as
an exchange student with limited luggage space.
Exams
I only had one 2-hour written exam in one of the courses I took. In two other courses I had a
take-home exam where I had full access to all the course material, while in the last course
there was no exam- just an individual essay and case solving in class.
-
How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
o Final exam (include form: written, oral, home assignment, presentation,
etc.) (1 course)
o Mid-term exam (take-home exam in 1 course)
o In-class quizzes throughout semester (1 course- weekly test)
o Small assignments and/or papers (all courses)
o Presentations (all courses)
o Group work (all courses)
o Class attendance (all courses)
o Class participation/debates (all courses)
o Activities outside of the classroom
o Other – if other, describe.
STUDENT REPORT
Library and technology
The library was very old and the facilities were therefore not the best. It is beneficial to arrive
early (before 10) to find a spot to sit where it is possible to charge your computer. If you
wanted to study after the lecture you often had to look for a while to find it.
Description of courses
Course code
& name
ORH8414
Master/
Bachelor
Master
HR in a
globalization
context
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved as
Comments
2-hour
written exam
(22%)
None
Elective
A test that gives max.
4 points every week
for 10 weeks. A bit of
work to prepare but
very beneficial for the
final grade. Also
makes the class very
fun with interesting
discusssionas all
students are prepared.
Counts for 36% of
final grade.
Intensive course. 5
sessions in total that
each last for 7 hours
(with 1 hour lunch)
Group report
with
presentation
(32%)
Participation
(10%)
MGP7900
Master
Project
Management
MGP7909
Organization
al Project
Management
Master
Take-home
report based
on live
simulation in
the last
session
(50%)
Work with
cases in
groups with
presentation
during
session
(50&)
Individual
take-home
mid-term
exam (20%)
Individual
portfolio
based on
lectures
(30%)
Report and
presenation
team work
(40%)
STUDENT REPORT
MGP7218
Negtotiation,
Politics and
Ethics in
Project
Management
Master
Individual
essay (35%)
Presentation
in group
(20%)
Reading
group (15%)
2 group cases
(20%)
Participation
(10%)
The grading system at UQAM (Canada perhaps) is based on that you “earn points” for your
different assignments. This is then added up to you final score. Small assignments are
therefore beneficial. For example if you have 1 assignment worth 50%, one 40% and one 10%
and you respectively achieve 45, 36 and 8 point you have a total of 89 point which in most
courses is translated to an A.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
All in all I am very happy I took this chance to enrichen my perspectives. I
always had a good impression of Canada and through my semester in Montréal
this impression was confirmed. I believe that a semester abroad is an experience
that will be beneficial in the future, both personally and professionally.