Exchange Report to the University of New South Wales
Spring 2013
By Barbara Kwong (BBA in Finance and Economics)
Monthly Activity Log
February
Mid-February marked the start of my exchange in Sydney. I used to think that settling down
and adapting to a new environment is not an easy job. However, this is definitely not the case
in Sydney, here is a good place to live and study. Life here is much more relaxing than that in
Hong Kong. I used the remaining days in February to settle down and explore places near
UNSW. It should be easier for me to settle down compared to other exchange students since
I applied for on-campus accommodation beforehand, though this implied a higher rent. The
welcoming talk and orientation week were held in this month also, which were great
opportunities for new comers to meet new friends and know more about this place.
March
Classes started in the beginning of March. It was quite difficult to meet new people in the
lectures since the class size was quite big, which made me a little bit frustrated in the
beginning. However, it became extremely easy to meet new friends once tutorials started in
Week 2. It was good that there were always chances to meet people from great varieties of
background. Cherish every chance to talk and gather with them was so much fun. Still, there
was not much time for me to travel around in March since actually I got project deadline to
rush in March already.
April
The start of April means mid-semester break. I chose to go to New Zealand with two other
girls from CUHK and a Japanese girl. Seriously, this was one of the best trips that I have ever
had. The extreme sports and tourist spots there were so great. In addition, compared to
Sydney, New Zealand was even more lay-back, shops and restaurant usually closed early. The 1
week mid-semester break was followed by series of mid-semester examinations. Examination
questions here were more qualitative-based relative to that in Hong Kong.
May
May was a month filled with projects. What is lucky is that the workload here is lighter
compared to that in UST, so I still got time to travel around in city. I did spent a lot of time in
Fish Market. The seafood there, especially oysters were so good.
June
June marked the end of the semester, and the start of final examinations. As an exchange
student, I squeezed a week out before examinations for travelling to Melbourne and Gold
Coast. For me, Melbourne is definitely the best city in Australia. It is a city with high quality
residents. Also, Phillips Island there is unbeatable. For Gold Coast, it is much warmer when
compared to Melbourne. The theme parks and water parks there are must-go. After getting
back to UNSW, I studied hard in order to prepare for the final examinations.
July
There were only few days remaining in Sydney. I made use of the last moment to revisit the
cuisine that I have tried before. Max Brenner and fish market were definitely the best of all.
Though time is tight after examination, I also went to the ‘Luna Park’ and Taronga Zoo in these
few days, which marked the end of my exchange.
Before Arrival
Visa Application
You are required to purchase the health insurance (OHSC) covering your exchange period to
get the confirmation of Enrollment (CoE) from UNSW for your student visa. UNSW will
provide you with clear instructions on that via emails. What I suggest is to do the Visa as soon
as possible. Though Aussie Visa is easy to get, you are required to do a body check in a trusted
medical center beforehand. It takes me around a month for the whole process. You could also
find the information you need in the website of Department of Immigration and Citizenship of
Australia. Note that your visa is electronically attached to your passport number.
Course approval
Remember to get the course approval for the courses you want to take if they are not in the
approved course list. Note that even if your desired courses are in the pre-approved course
list, you are still required to submit the course approval request to SBM.
Items to bring
Passport
Few AUD cash (Around AUD$500.)
Credit Card (You will use it quite frequently when you book hotels and air tickets, you may
also use your Commonwealth Bank Debit Card instead if you got enough balance.)
Calculators (No need to bring a financial calculator, a scientific one is good enough.)
Laptop (Bring your LAN wire with you if you can, this may save you Wi-Fi charge.)
Adaptor
Extension Unit
Clothes (For both summer and winter.)
Suit (You may need that for your presentation.)
Swimsuit
Few pairs of shoes and sandals
Sunscreen
Umbrella
Pillow, bed sheet, and so on
Kitchen tools
Bathing stuff
Textbooks (Please buy the textbooks you need in Hong Kong since textbooks there are
really costly, or you can try to find second-hand textbooks here.)
Stationary (Stationary in Australia is expensive.)
Upon arrival
Registration
I found it quite hopeless when I arrived, as I didn’t know where to go for registration. My
advice is that UNSW usually send emails to exchange students around 1 month before their
arrival, asking them if they would like the airport pick-up service. Please reply their emails
promptly and say yes if they really do so, since having a guide is a lot better. For me, I didn’t
do so, so I had to find ways myself. Anyway, once you arrived UNSW, went to the main library
for registration, I would be glad to send you a campus map if you need. After getting your
student card in registration, you may go to check-in your accommodation if you had one and get
all the things settled. If you don’t have on-campus accommodation, remember to book your
hotel in advance and quick to get one.
SIM Card
Another tip is to get an Australia phone number as soon as you can, since you will meet a lot of
new friends starting from this moment, having a cell phone number makes your life easier.
Most of the students went to the Vodafone branch in Anzac Parade to do so, which will only
take you 5 minutes to get there on foot from UNSW. You will need your passport and prove of
address to do so. You may also choose to get a pre-paid SIM card from other shops instead of
joining monthly plan. Please make sure your cell phone is unlocked beforehand.
Bank Account
After having a place to live, you could go to the Commonwealth Bank in UNSW upper campus to
open your bank account. All you need is your passport and a valid address.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi in Australia is expensive. However, you could enjoy free Wi-Fi within UNSW campus.
Student helpers in main library will help you to activate your intranet account when you arrive.
Note that there is zero Wi-Fi signal within UNSW on-campus accommodation.
Accommodation
Unlike most of the other exchange students, I applied for on-campus accommodation before
my trip. The advantage of doing so is having lower uncertainty as there wasn’t a need for me to
search for other accommodation; still the disadvantage is that the price was almost double of
other kinds of accommodations. For your reference, I lived in a large studio for one person in
the University Terrace, its monthly rent was about AUD$1500. It was a newly constructed
accommodation with supermarket, Max Brenner and other restaurant underneath it. Though
costly, this self-contained apartment contains everything you need. Furthermore, Wi-Fi was
not included. I had to pay AUD$2 for every 1GB data I used. Therefore, if your budget is
tight, I won’t recommend you to choose here. There are plenty of off-campus choices near
UNSW, but you need a little bit, perhaps a week searching time. If your budget is loose, I
highly recommend you to live here and apply for it once you receive the offer from UNSW as
the demand for bed place is really high.
Academic Issue
In UNSW, every student is required to take exactly 4 courses (i.e. 24 credits) in a semester.
You don’t need to compete for quotas, since UNSW helps exchange student to enroll in their
desired courses before their arrival. However, please tell UNSW your preference as soon as
possible and make sure you have fulfilled the pre-requisite of the courses. You could still
change your choices via UNSW International Office upon arrival.
There are few important points to note:
Don’t skip all the classes as you need 80% attendance to obtain a pass.
UNSW adopt absolute grading, thus you need 50% to get a pass.
Students’ score may be scaled according to their performance
I have taken the following courses in UNSW:
ECON 1102 Macroeconomics 1
It is equivalent to ECON 2123. Although it is approved as an equivalent course of ECON 2123,
its syllabus doesn’t cover all you need to know from ECON 2123. Therefore, it is necessary to
chase the remaining topics on your own if you wish to take any further Macroeconomics
courses in UST. As this is a compulsory course for all business students in UNSW, the
material is relatively easy. I had to attend 2 hours lecture and 1 hour tutorial every week. The
final grade is based on class participation, in-class test, and final exam.
FINS 3616 International Finance
It is equivalent to FINA 3404. It is an interesting course about international investment,
foreign exchange rate, and related risk management. The material is not difficult, as long as
you are comfortable with calculating exchange rate and payoff of derivatives, then you will be
fine. The final grade is based on class-participation, a group presentation, peer evaluation, an
individual report, a mid-term and a final exam.
FINS 3625 Applied Corporate Finance
It is equivalent to FINA 4104. It is not an interesting course at all. The advantage of taking
this course in UNSW is that the assessments here are not as tough as the one in UST. From
what I heard, there are quite a lot of readings and assignments in FINA 4104. In contrast, I
only had to do a group presentation, a case study discussion, a group report, a mid-term, and a
final exam. Still, the disadvantage is that you have to memorize more compared to UST.
FINS 3635 Futures, Options and Risk Management
It is equivalent to FINA 3204. This should be the most interesting course I have taken this
semester. As its name suggests, it is all about derivatives. The course material is not difficult,
as long as you are good at substituting numbers, you will be fine with its binomial tree and
Black-Scholes model. Still, if you would like to know more about derivatives, I would suggest
you to take it in UST instead, as the teaching pace here is slower. The final grade is based on
an individual report, a mid-term, and a final exam.
Transportation in Sydney
Travelling around in Sydney is easy. There are plenty of bus routes covering all the places you
want to go. However, unlike Hong Kong, there was no something like Octopus there. It seems
that they were trying to improve the system by introducing something like Octopus when I
left. Anyway, instead of the Octopus, you have to buy pre-paid bus tickets in a convenient
store before you get onto the bus. There are a few types of pre-paid bus tickets, and their
price are different depends on the distance travelled. You could save a lot if you know how to
use them. It is quite difficult to explain here, you can find out more about it this website
(http://www.131500.com.au/tickets/fares/fares). If you have any enquiry, feel free to email me.
Dining in Sydney
This is my favourite part in my report. Australia is a country with high quality gourmet cuisine.
Sydney Fish Market
Sydney Fish Market is definitely a must-go. It is a heaven for those who love seafood. Oyster
should be the best food there. Despite of its tastiness, its price is acceptable. As I remember,
the price is like AUD$15 for a dozen of pacific oysters and AUD$5 for a jumbo oyster. The
salmon and tuna there are good also, you can never taste such freshness in Hong Kong. Anyway,
if you are the kind of person who hates fresh food, there are still alternatives in fish market
as the hot food there is awesome as well. The cheesy lobster, soft-shell crab, and deep fired
prawn are also mouth-watering.
Max Brenner Chocolate Bar
This should be my second favourite in Australia. As its name suggests, it is all about chocolate.
Even though you are not a dessert lover, I will still suggest you to go, because I am also not.
Its Italian thick dark chocolate is unbeatable. It only cost you AUD$6, but I guarantee you
could rarely find a hot chocolate with such a high standard in Hong Kong. Another must-try in
Max Brenner is its Fruiti-Tutti Waffle. There are a lot of branches of Max Brenner, there is
even one in UNSW campus, but the one in Central is significantly better than others.
Mamak
If you would like to find something to eat for dinner, Mamak is a good choice. It is a Malaysian
restaurant located in Chinatown. You could easily find it because of its long queue.
Chat Thai
The best Thai restaurant I have ever tried. It is located in a walkable distance from UNSW.
However, it is quite hard to find.
Sushigoi
This is a rotated sushi restaurant located on the Coogee Bay Road. Tuesday is what they called
‘sushi day’, in which you can order all kinds of sushi with only AUD$2.99 each.
Harbour City
It is also located in Chinatown. Unlike those I mentioned above, this is a food court. You can
find economic food here. It costs you less than AUD$8 for your dinner, while normal price
outside is like AUD$12.
Kebab Classic
If you want to try something that you can rarely try in Hong Kong, I would suggest you to go to
the Kebab Classic located in the Mathew’s Canteen in UNSW. I usually had my lunch there.
Laksa in Mathew’s Canteen
It is another choice in Mathew’s Canteen, just opposite to Kebab Classic.
Traveling in Sydney
Once again, if you are kind of person who loves to travel and play around, Sydney should be one
of the best among oversea countries.
Lunar Park
It is a theme park located in city. Don’t expect it is as huge as Ocean Park, you could definitely
finish all the games within half day. Still, it is worth to go as its games are quite interesting,
which makes use of many simple principles from physics. If you have heard of centripetal
force, center of mass, optics, any related stuff, you could definitely experience them in Lunar
Park. There are around 20 games in Lunar Park which are suitable for adults, and it costs
around AUD$50 for a whole day unlimited pass.
Taronga Zoo
In Taronga Zoo, apart from the must-see Kangaroo and Koala, you can find different kinds of
animals, like tiger, penguins, and so on. What is so interesting about this park is that, unlike
the traditional Zoos, Taronga Zoo won’t trap the animals into cages if they are not dangerous,
thus visitors could have chance to encounter with them.
The Royal Botanic Gardens
A really beautiful garden located just besides Sydney Opera House. It is a good place to take
pretty photos and I saw three couples taking wedding photos there on the day I went there.
Coogee Beach
It is a pretty beach near UNSW. It takes you 30 minutes to walk from UNSW upper campus
to there. You may also take bus to get there.
Bondi Beach
It is another pretty beach in Sydney, which is known as the paradise for surfing.
Queen Victoria Building
It is one of the oldest shopping malls in Sydney. You will definitely recognize it when you pass
by City due to its stunning architecture. This architecture reflects the architectural style of
the colony of United Kingdom.
Sydney Opera House
It is the landmark of Sydney. Unless you are someone really addict to Opera, otherwise I
would suggest you to go there once only.
Traveling in other places
New Zealand
New Zealand is like sister of Australia. As both of them were once colonies of United Kingdom,
they share quite a number of characteristics. However, in fact New Zealand is totally a
different country, with different time zone and different currency. Compared to Australia,
New Zealand is even more natural. Therefore, I advise you to try different natural activities
and even extreme sport here. For me, I have been to the glow worm hole, the hobbit, and the
dolphin tour. If you don’t have an international driving license, I would advise you to book the
tours in advance online, as New Zealand is really large such that you could never reach the
tourist spots by public transport. Usually a day tour there costs you around NZD200. For the
extreme sport, like sky diving and paragliding, I would suggest you to book in advance also.
Melbourne
Melbourne is a really nice place. If I could choose, I would choose to live in Melbourne instead
of Sydney. The citizens in Melbourne are nice to an extent that you can’t believe it. If you
want to go to some famous tourist spot like 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road and Phillips Island,
please book online in advance as this will save you a lot of time. The places mentioned above are
must-go. Apart from these, I would also suggest Phillip Island Chocolate Factory and the
Amaze’N Things, which are less known by tourists. In Phillip Island Chocolate Factory, you
could try to make your own chocolate. The most interesting thing there is that you can play
their games there to win chocolate as many times as you want! For Amaze’N Things, it is
something like the Hong Kong Science Museum.
Gold Coast
Gold Coast is a good place for relaxing. Unlike Melbourne, Gold Coast is a warm place. You could
go to different theme parks like the SeaWorld and the Movie World. Water parks like Wet ‘n’
Wild are worth to go also. Try to book the hotel and theme parks tickets as early as possible
for the cheapest deal. In my case, I have only spent around AUD$150 for the resort and all
the theme parks tickets as I got 3 friends to go with me.
Summary
When I knew the exchange offer, I struggled as I was afraid of feeling homesick. Moreover,
UNSW is not my first choice in the exchange application. However, now I believe that the
choice I have made is right. This is a fruitful trip which really broadens my horizon. In
Australia, apart from locals, you can meet different people from different corners of the
world, like Africa, Singapore, Japan, and so on. By chatting with them, you could really know
some cultures and interesting facts in their hometown. This is the best oversea experience I
have ever had. I really want to thank all the friends I met here who shared great time with me.
To be honest, I somehow want to migrate to Australia after this exchange program. If you
receive your exchange offer to Australia, don’t hesitate and accept it, I swear this will be one
of the sweetest memories in your life. You may not believe what I said now, since I also didn’t
really believe what the students said in the previous exchange report. Still, I hope you will
trust me and treasure this chance! =)
Expenditure
Items
Amount (in AUD)
Visa Application fee
535
OHSC
Air ticket
Accommodation
Grocery
Transportation
Mobile phone fee
Campus Printing Service
Internet fee
Shopping
Dining
200
1000
6000
300
200
120
25
160
250
1600
Laundry
Entertainment
New Zealand trip (7 days)
Melbourne trip (3 days)
Gold Coast trip (3 days)
Sponsorship
Scholarship
Total Expenditure
80
100
800
560
400
(750)
(5000)
6580