STUDENT REPORT
Curtin University of Technology
Names of the students: Wiktor Børsjø Nordby and Jan Marius Buvik Nilsen
Exchange semester: Spring, 2010
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Curtin University of Technology is the largest university in Western Australia with over 31000 students enrolled at it different locations. About 1/3 of these are international students. The main campus is located in Bentley, just outside Perth. The university has 6 divisions: Centre for Aboriginal Studies, Curtin Business School,
Engineering, Science and Computing, Health Sciences, Humanities and Resources and Environment.
All units are taught in English. All of our tutors were speaking English fluently and there were no problems understanding them.
The professors use a combination of tutorials, lectures. (The tutorials are small classes of twenty). This combination together with presentations and midterms makes the work load, to some extend, bigger then at BI, but it is spread more over the whole semester. We think that this learning situation is much more effective than the one used at BI.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
We received the information package from the University about one month prior to our arrival.
Everything went smoothly, although there was a lot of information to take in to consideration.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
The most important thing when it comes to the Visa application and flight tickets is to start early. The tickets are cheaper when booked early, and the visa application may take some time. The visa costs about 550 AUD, which is approximately 3000 NOK. We booked our flight tickets through Kilroy travels. This is a student travel agency, the prices are good and the problems are few.
Academic Calendar
We arrived at campus 9 th of February, one week prior to the orientation week. This lasted for two weeks where all the new students got enrolled. There were also different activities, such as trips and social meetings. First day of class was 1 st of March and the last day was 3 rd of June. The examination period lasted for two weeks in the end of June.
There is also a two-week study break in the beginning of April.
Reception
The reception at the school was convenient, and the staff were service minded. The exchange coordinator was very helpful. The university has a lot of exchange students so the administration and the different faculties were well prepared. The school had a buddyprogramme witch participated in the reception of new students.
Housing
The school had a lot of housing opportunities at campus. We applied for housing at campus along with the rest of the application process. The School was helpful in the application process for housing at campus. We recommend Future students to live at campus because it provides an unique opportunity to meet other international students.

Costs
The most important costs were:
Rent: prepaid, about 3500 NOK a month
Books: about the same as in Norway; ca 4000 NOK per semester
Food: About 20% cheaper than in Norway.
The International Office
There is an international office at the university witch is responsible for incoming exchange students. The international office is open within normal office hours and students can always drop by if they have any questions or concerns. All relevant information is received on enrollment or by mail at later stages.
Social Activities
It is very easy to make friends among other students, especially among the exchange students. We made a lot of new friends, both in class and at campus in general. There is a lot of student organization, the largest one is called the student Guild and through guild membership you receive discounts at campus and invitations to various parties and events. We participated at a lot of events and gatherings both for exchange students and for students in general, and we had a great time.
Culture and Language
For Norwegians the language will not be a problem, and the English is easy to adapt to.
Also, there is not a large cultural gap between Australia and Norway. The two week spring break gives a good opportunity to experience the rest of the country.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
The exchange experience has made us more open minded, improved our English significantly, and given us a lot of experiences.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
All courses are thought in English. Compared to BI there is a bigger workload witch include presentations, group work, mid terms, individual assignments and final exams.
You need to put in more effort throughout the whole semester. On the other hand, the theoretical level is not higher than on BI.
Curtin emphasize more practical teaching such as presentations and group work than BI.
Smaller classes makes the relationship between lecturers and students a lot better, and one makes a lot of friends in class through group work etc.
Required Literature
All the required literature is in English, and the literature level is high but also understandable for Norwegians. The exam is based on both literature and lectures. All lectures can be downloaded online.
Exams
We were given final exams in all our units, although not every unit uses final eams. To pass the exams one need more than 50% score.
Other
There is easy access to the library and computers between 8 am and 8 pm. IT is an important tool both in many units as well as a distributor of information.
Description of Courses
Coures taken:

Course name: Exam accounting (managerial) 201 Written
Code
11013 introduction to logistics 201 Written 11955
Marketing research 200 Written 9807
Public economics 312 Written 3415
Names and e-mails:
Jan Marius Buvik Nilsen
Nilmarius@hotmail.com