Student Report
Name of University: Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile
Exchange semester: Fall 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
General information about the school
The university has two campuses in Chile, one in Santiago and the one in Viña del Mar. Bachelor
students are sent to the one in Viña del Mar and Master students are sent to Santiago.
Before leaving Norway
As a Master student you will receive information earlier than the bachelor students. I received the
matriculation papers and information from the University to my e-mail in Mars. Classes started
September 21th, but we were asked to attend the matriculation, which was set to July 14th.
Visa procedure
For you to receive your visa, you have to get in contact with the Chilean Embassy and apply for the
student visa. You can apply online and have to attach several documents: birth certificate,
acceptance letter from the school, copy of your passport, health certificate and a picture. It´s very
easy but a little expensive, I had to pay 314 USD.
The Travel
I purchased my ticket online. The flight takes about 24 hours and you c a n d o o n e o r t w o
connecting flights. From Oslo you fly to another European big-city, then over the Atlantic to either
Brazil or Argentina, then the last part is crossing the Andes or you can fly directly from the European
city to Santiago. When arriving in Santiago, at the airport you can take a bus to the bus terminal
Pajaritos and then take the metro or you can take a TransVip, which is a van that takes passengers that
are going in the same directions or third, you can take a taxi.
Housing
We had to find our own housing. The university recommended us where to live and gave us
information about a housing agency that could help us to find housing. Some students meet online
and find housing before arrival and others wait until they are in Santiago and thereby choose to stay
at a hostel in the beginning.
Costs
The rent each month was around 230.000CLP including electricity and internet.
Besides that you can expect to pay at least 150.000CLP in food expenses during the month, but this
cost is very individual. Apart from that, the university doesn’t expect you to purchase expensive
books (the student don’t buy any), they use a lot of articles that the professors post on WebCursos
(like our It´s Learning). Chile is more expensive than one would expect, but still cheaper living-costs
then Norway. Overall approximately 1/3-1/2 the price of Norwegian costs.
Culture and Language
I didn’t have any problems with the language, as I speak fluently Spanish. If you speak Spanish you
just have to get used to the accent, but other exchange students that spoke French or Italian didn’t
have any trouble even if they could basic Spanish. There are no classes in English for the Master
students.
There are many opportunities to experience the country. I traveled and had no problems, the people
are very helpful. Be open to people and try to make Chilean friends.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The school
The school is not in the city center, so you have to take a bus from a metro station (the bus goes
from several stations). It takes 20-30 from the metro station depending on the traffic. It had a great
view over Santiago. The school in Santiago had three campuses, and the Master students had to take
an inter-bus for 3-5 min. Many students drive, so after classes it is very easy to get a ride. The
school was newly built and has an amazing view over Santiago. The facilities were good, I liked
it.
Course registration
Your academic coordinator will register your courses. You can drop of and change courses during
the first week. They are very helpful, and you can mix the courses across the master degrees, they
prefer one or at most two, but in practice you can choose freely.
Academic Calendar
Arrival date, introduction week and the last day of classes.
The university sets up a matriculation date where all students are strongly recommended to attend for
detailed information about your stay and for choosing courses. During the first couple of days
students are recommended to obtain the Chilean ID, which is mandatory for all students. Further
information is given the first day. Last day of classes depends on the courses you choose, the last day
will be during mid-December. I had my last exam the 11th.
Examination period
The Chilean education system is different than the Norwegian one, and requires weekly tests. Each
task has a percentage that affects your final grade. The finals are mostly during the last week and
counts around 40-60% depending on the course. Some courses don’t have finals, but presentations or
essays. All information is on the course descriptions.
Any Special event
The school didn’t arrange any events before class, beside the matriculation. But as soon as you meet the
other exchange students at the matriculation, you will do a lot together and get to know the city together.
During the semester the university hosts different events, such as sport event, music events etc.
Recommended to join. The school has a gym that you can use as much as you want and classes for
free, as it is included in the matriculation fee for the locals.
Arrival
We had only one meeting where you can register your courses and get all the information needed,
but did not arrange any more activities. They were well prepared for our arrival. But things take time
and you have to be a little patient some times. The school’s students did not participate in the
introduction meeting as they still had vacations so we didn’t have buddies either, but the
coordinator told us to ask if we wanted to get in contact with the students before classes started.
All the exchange students were warmly welcomed both by professors and students the first classes.
The International Office
The international office is placed in Viña, but I didn’t use it. You could contact them at any time.
The international office answers all the exchange students academic question, but in practice your
master’s degree coordinator which have office in Santiago, will help you with everything. The
students usually set up Facebook groups for the students to communicate.
You can contact the international office whenever you require, but I didn’t contact them after the
first week, as the coordinator helped me with everything. All the necessary information is provided,
mostly through email and in class.
Exchange promotion
I only answered questions from the students that knew I was studying in Norway and were interested.
Social Activities
Most students met during the first couple of weeks and friend-groups were made. During the semester
the exchange students partied together and became a good group. There was no buddy system for each
student. The relationship among the exchange student was very good. Most students came alone and
therefore socialized a lot. Amongst the exchange students, we only spoke Spanish in order to
practice, but everyone could speak English.
There are student organizations but the bachelor students were most active, and the exchange
(master) students didn’t get encouraged to join in the activities.
In Santiago there were a big exchange student party every Wednesday. There you could meet
exchange students from all the universities, locals did also go to meet international people.
III ACADEMICS
In the Classroom
The courses were only in Spanish. The level of study can be taught as the classes are in Spanish, it
depends on your level and your abilities to learn. The electives were easier than the mandatories, and
the marketing courses were easier than finance. The master in economy and politics had great
amounts of readings. The teaching depends on the master you choose and the courses you take. Some
have a lot of group work (mostly marketing) and some had cases (both marketing and finance). Both
finance and economy and politics had a lot of readings. A mix of cases, group work and lectures were
used.
Compared to BI, the workload were higher, but it contributes to your grade. It is not a problem.
Most of the literature were in English, but some of it is in Spanish.
In some classes we didn’t need to read much, in others we had to read cases for class.
Exams
The exams were mostly based on the classes. Some of the courses had tests on readings, then you
had to read (mostly articles). The evaluations were: essays, participation, group work, presentations,
and written exams. This depends on the course and the choice of the teachers; usually they mix two
or three of these evaluation techniques.
The library and technology
The facilities were great. The library had computers, printers with credits included to print
approximately 40 pages each month, literature and group rooms. The library have also a room with 8
computers with access to Bloomberg.
Description of Courses
Course name:
Equity Management
Behavioral finance
Preparación y evaluacón
de proyectos
Decision de negocios y
estados financieros
Comunicación estratégica
Administración de riesgo
financiero
Economia Chilena
Prereq.
Basic finance
None
Basic finance
Basic finance and
accounting
None
Finance
None
Exam
Mid-term exam, group
work and final exam
Mid-term exam, group
work and final exam
Hand in and a presentation
of a valuation
Mid-term exam and final exam
Home works, mid-term exam
and final exam
Tests on readings, group work,
a presentation and a final exam
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
I learned a lot about Chilean culture, and about the great differences between Norway and Chile. I
also had the opportunity to visit DNB´s office and to meet the Norwegian Chamber of commerce in
Chile. You get even a greater experience than the academic and social parts if you participate in other
activities as seminars or contact Norwegian companies.
I also made many good friends, and I am going to visit some of them within the first year after my
exchange, most from Europe. The experience is a great opportunity for you to expand your cultural
perspective and to experience another reality. I believe that everyone should attend an exchange
semester in order to open your mind and to realize the different realities around the world.
I have learned so much during my time in Chile and gained friends from all over the world that could
become future business partners one day. The exchange was a great opportunity to network and
establish relationships with interesting people. Also going away for some time makes you better
capable of being objective about things when going back home and to grow both personally and
professionally.
Chile has beautiful landscapes and activities all year around. One day you can go skiing in the Andes
and the next day you can go to the beach. But plan your time in advance because time flies on exchange.
In summary, I had a great time in Chile!