This last week was my first week back at school since the mid-year break, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to write a little bit about the academic side of being on exchange.
The University of South Australia is a wonderful university that is really committed to improving every year and getting to a place where it’s recognized as one of the best universities in Australia. UniSA is known as one of the best up and coming young universities in the world, making the list of the top 50 Universities under 50 years old in the world. In addition, the university has been making huge leaps in the QS world-wide university rankings every year.
I’ve found the lecturing style to be really great at UniSA as well. The profs make a big effort to make the lectures interactive and exciting for students to be a part of and that we really get added value from coming to class. A lot of the chairs are movable too (instead of being attached to the desk), which makes for a really flexible learning environment that the professors use to their advantage whenever possible.
While there are lots of great parts about being on exchange here, the best one for me is probably the lack of mid-term exams to worry about. I haven’t had a single class at UniSA that had a mid-term exam, which really lowers the stress level throughout the term. Most classes have a lot of assignments, which I personally prefer because it gives me the opportunity to plan out my schedule and use the resources available to me, which makes things a lot less stressful.
Aside from all that, there are some really great benefits from going on exchange. Obviously the opportunity to travel and see the world, while actually living in another culture and continuing your degree is something really special. Not only do you get to travel, but you meet so many amazing people from all around the world as well. As a business student, I’ve gained some really invaluable experience by learning and working with people from other cultures. Getting an education from an Australian university has taught me so much about the differences and similarities, not just between Canadian and Australian cultures, but with a lot of different Asian cultures as well.
I would definitely recommend the exchange program to anyone who is considering entering it because it’s such a life changing experience that’s almost impossible to regret. I’ve loved every minute of my exchange so far and I’m sure that this new semester will bring with it plenty more lasting memories.