IT University Travel Report
Host University: Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
Study Programme at IT University : E-business
Exchange Agreement or Study Abroad: Exchange Agreement, CBS
Courses studied abroad:
Strategy in International Environment
Managing in a Diverse World
Regulation, Government and Social Responsibility Management
Technology and Organizational Strategy
Exchange Period: 3rd semester, autumn year 2013
Your stay abroad
What was it like to study at [the university] (including choice of courses, academic level, social life
at campus)?
Ryerson University has one of the largest BBA’s in Canada. However, their MBA is rather small.
Therefore, I only had about seven courses to choose from. Because I went on an exchange deal
through CBS, all of the courses were about business. I did not have the choice of selecting more
specific IT courses. When that is said, most of the courses are interesting. The level is sufficient; not
too high nor too low. I studied in an MBA program, which collects people from different
backgrounds. Therefore, all of the courses started with basic introductions; it is not necessary to have
had business courses before study at the MBA program. From the sound of my fellow exchange
students from Denmark, the requirements are much higher at Ryerson University’s MBA program
than BBA program. To pass a course, 70 % (B-) is required, 50 % is required to pass in the BBA.
In some courses the difficulty of English is high, and some teachers do not care whether you are an
international student or native Canadian; the written English has to be at the same level. Though,
some of the teachers were tolerant to grammatical errors and such. I believe if the TOEFL score is
high enough to apply for the university, there will be no language issue.
The age of the students in the MBA program is around 27-28 years. MBA students are generally very
ambitious and have a lot of focus on their study. They are very keen in attending MBA related events:
case competitions, student association and such. The student association arranges events like
parties, sport practice and networking events. In general the MBA program has more focus on
networking and future career, than partying.
What was your initial motivation for going abroad and did your stay meet your expectations?
I love to travel and get new experiences. With the SU we get from the state, it was possible to travel
without saving a lot of money beforehand. Furthermore, I know many companies appreciate
students who travel abroad whilst studying; it shows drive, independency and ready for change.
The level of courses was higher than expected, which was great. However, I did not have much time
for travelling around whilst studying. It does not matter much, since I travelled both before and after
Canada. The location of Ryerson University is very central in Toronto. It is great being downtown, but
there are some disadvantages. Ryerson does not have a great campus where students can hang out.
This affects the social life, because students go home after school. Usually the Canadians in the MBA
course live 30-60 minutes away due to expensive living costs in downtown Toronto.
The stay met/exceeded my expectations of the academic level. My expectations of a relaxed
semester with little homework and much travelling were not met.
Please describe what you got out of your stay, both personally and academically, and how do you
expect it to contribute to your further studies?
I have gained analytical skills to understand and analyze business cases. I have become more
confident speaking English in front of a crowd, since I had around five oral presentations. The
students in Toronto are very diverse. I have a deeper understanding of how people from around the
world work, which I find important in a global career.
I expect the MBA program can contribute to a career including more business challenges rather than
pure technological challenges.
Arranging your stay
Please give a short description of the process of arranging your stay:
1. Went to the international office at ITU in the autumn of 2012. At that time ITU did not have
many agreements with international universities. I was advised to check out CBS’
agreements.
2. I found some interesting universities to apply for, but I needed my TOEFL test before I knew
which universities I was eligible for. CBS/the universities have requirements for min. TOEFL
grade.
3. After my TOEFL test results I could choose four universities. I decided to apply for “civilized”
countries where I would not be stressed about too big of a cultural change: Australia, New
Zealand and Canada
4. After my nomination letter I began choosing courses. Those courses I had to get pre
approved at ITU.
5. When I received an acceptance letter from Ryerson University, I began applying for
scholarships and arranging accommodation.
What resources did you find helpful in planning your stay and which people did you use (if any)?
I used CBS’ website a lot to arrange my stay: https://e-campus.dk/intl-office
On that site all necessary information is written.
I mainly spoke to three people in Denmark:
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International coordinator of ITU, Rikke Ilona Ustrup.
My CBS contact was Mette Kloch, who was coordinator of the Canadian universities.
I got a reference letter from my teacher in IT-Strategy, Stefan Henningsson. I used that when
I applied for scholarships.
My only contact person in Canada is international coordinator at Ryerson University, Kristy
Holzworth.
All of the people have been super helpful and were more than happy to help me out.
How did you arrange practicalities such as accommodation?
The international coordinator of Ryerson University, Kristy, sent papers regarding Ryerson University
and Toronto in general. In the section of Accommodation, a few options were described. To stay at
Neill Wycik I had to contact Kristy. She sent me an application form and I applied for a room. The
process took a while. They sent me a letter back asking for a deposit. Later I had to send a final
signature. The process is very old fashion, but despite my concerns it turned out fine.
Expenses and Financing
Please comment on expenses connected to your stay abroad
Expenses from 1st September to 12th December 2013
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TOEFL test: 1450
Flight tickets: I did not go directly to Canada. However, they should be available for 5000 kr.
return
Travel insurance: 2600 kr. (inkl. Two extra months of travelling)
UHIP insurance (Mandatory for Ryerson University students): 1243 kr.
Accommodation at Neill Wycik: 10400 kr.
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Everyday expenses, such as phone, food, drinks, clothes: 13500 kr.
Sports tickets: 1000 kr.
Books: 774 kr.
Total around: 36000 kr.
Did you apply for scholarships and would you recommend any ones in particular?
I applied for 20-25 scholarships. I received two scholarships excluding ITU Travelpool:
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Knud Højgaards Fond of 12.000 kr.
Rudolph Als Fondet of 5000 kr.
Therefore I would recommend those two funds.
Recommendations for other students:
If you go on exchange for the travel experience, but still want to gain academic skills, I would
recommend choosing fewer courses than maximum required. However, this is not possible if you go
on exchange through CBS’ agreements. CBS require a full semester, which is four courses. If you want
to excel in all courses, there will be little time to travel around. I have classmates who went on
exchange with EDU, and they decided only to have two courses. In that way my classmates had time
both to travel and have full focus on their courses.