Ivey Outgoing Exchange Evaluation Academic Year

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1 Ivey Outgoing Exchange Evaluation Academic Year Exchange School: Manchester Business School (MBS) Student Name (optional): Ben Turnbull Student (optional): *If you enter your address, you are giving permission to future students to contact you about your exchange experience.* Travel and Arrival What happened upon your arrival? Were you met or left to find your own way? Upon arrival in Manchester International airport I took a taxi to the Owens Park campus in Fallowfield where I was staying in residence. The taxi cost around 20 pounds after a small tip (tipping is not common however). Upon arrival at Owens Park I went to the admin office and was then given my keys and laundry card. It was a very simple process and was in my hall within 15 minutes of arriving in Owens Park. Visa What advice do you have for future students in order to obtain their visa? A visa is not required for Canadians if your stay is under 6 months (this may change). I decided that I would get a student tier 1 visa in case I wanted to work part-time or stay and work in the summer. It is fairly easy to extend the visa once you have it so I have been told although I did not do this myself. If I can remember correctly it cost me around $ but I left my application late and had to expedite the process which added to the cost. Accommodation What living accommodation was provided? (Give details, costs, and distance to school) I stayed in Fallowfield which is about a minute bus ride from campus (the business school is on the opposite end of campus from Fallowfield). The university housing area of Fallowfield is called Owens Park and has a lot of different student halls included in that area. There is also an athletic facility located in Owens Park which is very convenient. I stayed in Sheavyn House which is one of the most expensive halls. I cannot remember exact price but I think it was around 3000 pounds It was not catered but we had a large kitchen that is shared between up to 10 people. My flat only had 9 though, which was better in terms of space in the fridges/freezers. I never found it to be an issued sharing with that many people although at times it did get quite messy. One benefit was having an ensuite shower and bathroom. It wasn t big but it was more than enough space and it was nice to not have to leave your room to go the washroom and you did not have to share with anyone else. Costs Compare costs between staying in London, Ontario and the costs in your host country. Some things consider when answering include: housing, public transit, food per week, books, airfare, other (travel etc ) Overall I would say the cost of living is fairly similar to London, Ontario. Some things are a lot cheaper 1

2 while others are a lot more expensive. Housing is much more expensive in Manchester but that is partly due to staying in residence over private housing. In terms of public transit I bought a Uni-rider bus pass which is amazing. It works for a couple of the bus companies and they run very frequently and all over town. You can get anywhere you want in Manchester using the bus and the cost for all 6 months was about 140 pounds (very reasonable for me because I had to use the bus everyday at least twice a day going to and from campus). Groceries I found to be about the same in terms of cost. I was spending about pounds every two weeks. Fast food is very cheap in Fallowfield and can get sandwiches from Tesco or Sainsbury for a couple pounds if you want to pick something up on the go. I did not buy any books because all the ones I needed were available at the library. Travel overall is very cheap it just depends on how early you book in advance. You can get buses to London for under $5 is you book in advance. Flights are the same way. For example I was able to get a return flight to Belgium for under $60 cdn. Lastly, party expenses. Overall I would say cheaper for alcohol and going to the bar but need to go to the right places on the right nights. Look for deals at the grocery store and you can easily find a cheap option. Some nights out have 2 pound doubles. Nightlife in Manchester is great and I recommend going out trying some new ones every week. Courses at your Exchange School What courses did you take? Business Intrapreneurship, Project Management, Leadership in Action, Social Media & Social Networks, and Investment Economics and Innovation. Which courses were most beneficial? I really enjoyed Project Mgmt and SM & SN because they were interesting topics and the formats of assignment were related well to the topics in the course. My favourite class by far was Leadership in Action. Every week we had a new industry leader come in and speak about a different topic and how leadership was involved. The topics ranged from climate change to the torture of war prisoners. Very interesting and thought provoking class. It is a class you have to apply for but I highly recommend it. Through this class I was able to volunteer with Manchester City Fc s community organization and as a result of working with them met a professional player and received a free stadium tour. A nice bonus for volunteering and working towards a recognition award for the class. Which courses would you not recommend? I would not recommend the Intrapreneurship class because the lectures were very simple and rather boring although the coursework can be fairly interesting if you pick a topic of interest for yourself. The Investment Econ class was also rather boring and seemed to overlap quite a bit with the business classes already taken in Ivey but without as much depth. How was your workload compared to Ivey? The workload I would say overall is similar. Probably slightly less in Manchester because you are able to split it out into a longer period of time. Instead of 48 hour reports and 4 hour exams you would have 3 weeks to write a report and have a 2 hour final exam. It is much more similar to UWO classes versus Ivey classes. Culture and Country Outline your impressions of the school, the students, and the country. I really enjoy the culture of England as a country overall. The people are nice in most cases although some can be rude at times (expect everyone to think you re American, not Canadian). The students are also very nice. I would have liked it if the international committee of MBS organized a little more to mingle more with the British students but you did get some opportunity for that. The exchange students I shared my semester with were amazing and now have friends all over the world which is 2

3 exciting. One great thing about going on exchange in England is that a lot of European students go there to improve their English because it is their second or sometimes third/fourth language. That I think is quite unique to some other exchange options where the majority of students will be Australian or American. I love the soccer culture of England and it was one of reasons for choosing it. People are very passionate about their cities and their teams and the pubs are always full on gameday to provide a great atmosphere. What advice do you have for students going to your exchange school in the future? England is not Canada. Seems obvious but is a lot of difference in living in the two countries. The first big thing is the weather. Sounds stereotypical but it does take some getting used to when you don t see the sun for a week. The winter is very dark and gloomy and wet and some people will find it very depressing. Take advantage of the warm sunny days when they come because you might not see another one for a while. Get out and explore the city, and do it early! I spent the first couple of months kind of getting used to my new living situation and didn t get out as much as I would have liked looking back. Be open and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Maybe go out that one night you just want to stay in. Get up and go to the city centre in the morning instead of sleeping in. The time you have goes by a lot faster than you think and before you know it its May and you only have a week left of class. Lastly, travel travel travel. It is so easy, convenient and cheap there is no reason not to. Whether that is around the UK or taking the hour flight to mainland Europe it is 100% worth it. I was able to work my schedule to get Mondays off so most weekends I was walking around a new European city and loving every minute of it. Some final thoughts How would you rank this exchange experience? (1 Very poor experience, 5 Very good experience) 5 Was the exchange worthwhile? Why or why not? Absolutely 100%. Wish I could have done it for a year instead of just one semester. Once you are in Europe it is so easy to go to new countries and experience different cultures and really broaden your horizons. Travelling not only made me appreciate how lucky I am to be doing such things, but also made me a more independent, outgoing and confident person. Meeting people from all over the world was incredible, not only for the potential networking in the future, but also now knowing locals for future travel plans. This was absolutely a worthwhile experience and highly recommend it for anyone willing to indulge into a life with a little uncertainty. What changes would you suggest for future exchanges? The only thing I would say is to make other living situations other than university residences known and available to those outgoing students to include in their decision making. 3

4 Ivey Outgoing Exchange Evaluation Academic Year Exchange School: Manchester Business School Student Name (optional): Jessica Liou Student (optional): *If you enter your address, you are giving permission to future students to contact you about your exchange experience.* Travel and Arrival What happened upon your arrival? Were you met or left to find your own way? I had family in London at the time and they took me to my residence and I made my way to campus from there. Most students either came in from the train station or the airport in which case you take any bus with a 40 in the number to get to campus (ex. 42, 43, 142, 143 etc.) Visa What advice do you have for future students in order to obtain their visa? I had a British passport so I didn t have to worry about that but I believe that Canadian passport holders don t require a visa, but obviously look into this. Accommodation What living accommodation was provided? (Give details, costs, and distance to school) Residence on campus was provided, everyone generally got their first/second choice. I stayed in an area called fallowfield which was a min bus ride to school everyday, was really common area to stay. Bought the unirider bus pass (as most students do) as it lets you get on the 2 major types of busses. Other exchange students stayed closer to campus. I stayed in a residence (Richmond Park, Poplar Court) with en-suite bathroom and shared a kitchen (self-catered) with 7 other students (mostly first years). Cost for the semester was 2, but, they allow you to stay until after the semester ends. My last exam was June 3 rd and they had me move out on the 20 th, so most exchange students took the opportunity to travel during that time as we could leave our luggage in our residences. There is a Sainsburys (grocery store similar to loblaws) within walking distance and also a smaller Tesco. There is also a really good thai restaurant on the way to the Sainsbury, believe its called Thai Banana, looks a bit dubious from the outside but is actually quite good. The Wetherspoons bar across from the Sainsburys is also worth trying for their breakfast. Costs Compare costs between staying in London, Ontario and the costs in your host country. Some things consider when answering include: housing, public transit, food per week, books, airfare, other (travel etc ) Housing was more expensive and buildings were quite old, and I was living in the newest one. Public transit in Manchester is much more efficient than London ON, never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus during the day and 15 minutes at night, so living a bit further from the city/campus was not a problem. Busses really go anywhere in Manchester, really recommend the Unirider bus pass if you have 1

5 to bus to school. Going out is much cheaper and there are a range of places to eat in the Arndale area (into the city). Courses at your Exchange School What courses did you take? Corporate contracting and managerial behavior, investment economics and innovation, introduction to corporate finance, managing new product development, international human resource management Which courses were most beneficial? Corporate contracting and managerial behavior - learned some new things that filled some gaps in some Ivey courses. Investment economics and innovation was a 100% essay course that I finished over spring break, made it easy to do well and also reduce the workload over exam season. Which courses would you not recommend? Managing new product development and international human resource management, very endloaded and were not fun to do together during exam season as both required remembering a lot of facts just to regurgitate on essays for the exam (100% exam) Check the grade breakdown for each course, many exchange students had problems with group projects. How was your workload compared to Ivey? Depends on how you structure your courses, I chose to use my semester to travel and focus on 100% exam / essay courses which meant exam crunch time. Attendance, except for tutorials is not necessary (some people even skip tutorials) meaning that many people end up skipping lectures personally I went to all the lectures because it helped me keep up with the material presented in the courses. Culture and Country Outline your impressions of the school, the students, and the country. Loved the school and the exchange staff there were great. Did not really get to interact with many of the local students, as most of my friends there were exchange students Met a lot of great people, and now literally have friends all over the world. Country is great, everyone is generally really friendly. What advice do you have for students going to your exchange school in the future? Go see a football game or at least go to footage for good food and drinks. Get cheaper football tickets from the university (though the seats aren t the greatest ). Some final thoughts How would you rank this exchange experience? (1 Very poor experience, 5 Very good experience) 5 Was the exchange worthwhile? Why or why not? YES! Best decision of my life, and travel opportunities after you finish up are endless. What changes would you suggest for future exchanges? The timing of the application process (I think it was around an exam for us?) made it a bit tricky to balance. 2

6 Ivey Outgoing Exchange Evaluation Academic Year Exchange School: Manchester Business School (MBS) Student Name (optional): Tanvi Gera Student (optional): *If you enter your address, you are giving permission to future students to contact you about your exchange experience.* Travel and Arrival What happened upon your arrival? Were you met or left to find your own way? Upon arrival, I took a taxi to my residence as there are no exchange student pick-ups from the airport during the winter semester. The taxi cost approximately 20. Visa What advice do you have for future students in order to obtain their visa? Studying in the UK for less than 6 months does not require a visa. Entry and re-entry into the country are through travel stamps, so if you are planning to travel around Europe while in the UK, always travel with your school papers for re-entry into the UK. There is an option however, to get a student visa - this has a cost associated with and you are allowed to stay for longer and are also allowed to work while there. Accommodation What living accommodation was provided? (Give details, costs, and distance to school) I chose to live in self-catered housing in Fallowfield. I lived in Richmond Park and the approximate cost was It is a 5 minute bus ride from main campus - the buses are frequent and come every 2 minutes. Any bus in the 40s (142, 143, 43) goes to main campus and the city centre. Costs Compare costs between staying in London, Ontario and the costs in your host country. Some things consider when answering include: housing, public transit, food per week, books, airfare, other (travel etc ) Living costs in general are more expensive than London, Ontario. The residence cost for 5.5 months is $4200, and since I chose the self-catered option, grocery costs were similar to London, Ontario depending on how often you eat out. A bus pass (unirider) is about 140 for the whole semester and is definitely worth it if you are living in Fallowfield - the busses to main campus and city centre are very frequent. Books can be bought for cheap via Amazon if required for courses. I chose to travel around Europe so my additional costs also included travelling (airfare + hostel + food). Courses at your Exchange School What courses did you take? Managing New Product DevelopmentInvestment Economics and InnovationCase Studies in Digital Transformation of Business and SocietyIT Strategy in BusinessBusiness Intrapreneurship Skills 1

7 Which courses were most beneficial? Investment Economics and Innovation: The course was practical and useful as you came up with a financial plan and modelled the future cash flows using various investment tools for a potential business idea. Which courses would you not recommend? Managing New Product Development: Heavily based on theory, too many readings that didn't tie in with the topics very well. How was your workload compared to Ivey? Most courses are lecture based and don't require regular case prep like Ivey with the exception of only one course I took (Case Studies in Digital Transformation of Business and Society). Most coursework was due after the 3 week easter break (after the first week of April) so the workload is heavier on the latter part of the semester. Some courses are also solely based on 100% exams which is very different from the Ivey grading method. Culture and Country Outline your impressions of the school, the students, and the country. MBS was a great experience - definitely a completely different experience from Ivey. The city is diverse, full of life, and very cultural. Its a very student friendly city, pubs and going-out is a lot of fun. It is a soccer friendly environment so if you're a fan, you will have a great time! There are discounted tickets available through the Manchester Students Association for Manchester United games so make sure to check those out. What advice do you have for students going to your exchange school in the future? Go in with an open mind. Make the most of it while you're there - it is a once in a lifetime experience and will be over before you know it. Interact as much as you can with everyone else on exchange - they become your friends for life as you share this experience together. Some final thoughts How would you rank this exchange experience? (1 Very poor experience, 5 Very good experience) 5-Very Good Was the exchange worthwhile? Why or why not? My Manchester experience surpassed all expectations I had going into it. The people I met were absolutely incredible and I definitely made friends for life. The best part is that everyone is in a different country - I now have people to visit all over the world. The city was very student-friendly and not as expensive living in London, UK would be (London is only a 2 hour train ride away). It was a great way to spend the last semester of my undergraduate degree and I would do it again in a heartbeat! What changes would you suggest for future exchanges? 0T 2