Exchange Report. Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. (Vienna University of Business and Economics)

Transcription

1 Exchange Report Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (Vienna University of Business and Economics) Jenny Tong Fall BBA in Global Business and Marketing

2 Activity Log September 2014 I left HK and travelled to Austria in mid September. The semester started in October in WU, which was generally later than other institutions around Europe. Therefore, I did not explore the campus until October. I did travel for 12 days before going back Vienna. The weather was the best in September throughout my whole exchange period since the daytime was still very long and it was quite warm and sunny. I went to Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona and Nice for 12 days with other friends from HKUST. I enjoyed the beach in Nice and also many magnificent sceneries in Lisbon. After coming back Vienna, I had few days to explore Vienna, so I walked around the main tourists spots and to know more about the first district there. Visited the Golden Hall and to listen to the Mozart s Concert was also a great and unforgettable memory as I love classical music and playing the violin. October st October was the orientation day and it was the first time for me to step into the WU campus. In the orientation talk, you would know where and how to seek assistance about course registrations and all administrative works. It was easy to make the student card on the same day. After that, we were able to freely enter the library. The library was huge and modern as the exterior appearance was like a spaceship. All buildings in the campus are stylish as the campus was officially used for 2 years only. Since the workload of courses in October was still light, I continue to went on travelling quite frequently. Beer Festival in Munich was such a great and well- known event so I joint the tour organized by WU and to play in Munich for 4 days. Then I luckily attended the celebration of the Austria National Day to meet the president and to have a tour in the President s office. Also, I have been to Prague and Budapest for one week. Enjoying the hot spring in Budapest was superb. Besides travelling outside Austria, going to Hallstatt and Salzburg for few days was also fascinating as those two places are really serene and it was a good experience to visit the world heritages. November 2014 Most lectures, exams and assignments were held this month. Therefore, I did not go out and travel as many times as in September and October. I just went to Innsbruck and Cesky Krumlov at weekends instead. Moreover, dating my friends to watch operas and ballet were also sweet options to experience the local cultures in Vienna. Besides focusing on the course work, I was also selected as a consultant at 180 Degrees Consulting, Vienna. I worked with 4 other consultants from different places to provide consulting services for a local food bank called Wien Tafel. In November, I was busy in designing the surveys, meeting with clients and other paper work. Although I did not have as much leisure time as previous months, I liked and cherished every opportunity to meet and to work with my team.

3 December 2014 My favorite month came quickly and I enjoyed so much in Vienna. Since most courses finished in early December, I spent quite a lot of time in travelling again. I went to Swiss to go to the top of Europe, Jungfrau. Trying my first paragliding was so excited and I love this journey very much. For my Christmas trip with my secondary school friend, I chose Hamburg and Berlin as the destination. Building a snowman under the first heavy snow in Berlin was a special memory. Then it drew the end of my exchange life. General Exchange Information A. Visa Application For HK passport holders, Visa D is needed to go for exchange and to travel around Europe. The whole application process takes about one month and it is free of charge. B. Orientation Activities WU provides an orientation program which lasts for 2 weeks to bring participants travelling in Austria. This program is a bit expensive so I did not join it. I went to travelling with friends instead. But there is one compulsory orientation day to brief every one about the administrative work and to help all people to make the student cards. C. International Services & Activities There is a staff who is responsible for exchange students from Asia. All staff in international office are very kind and helpful. They are more than willing to assist the course related issues or even housing problems as far as I know. Although they have a short office hour, we can reach them easily by phone or s. There is a wide range of activities for exchange students to participate in so as to know more new friends from various countries. Most activities are organized by EBN, which is a student body and every one there are very nice as well. The feedback and reputation of their trips are positive too and I joint them for the Munich Beer Festival. D. Accommodations There are no accommodations inside campus. Everyone needs to seek the housing themselves. Most exchange students choose to rent the room and apartment through OEAD, which is an external and large- scale party. They provide many locations to choose from. I was living in a single room in Sechshauserstrasse and to share the bathroom and kitchen with another Canadian girl. The room is very neat and spacious and there is cleaning service every week. The only disadvantage for my building was that it was a bit far from the campus and it required me to take 40 minutes metro to get to the university.

4 E. Course Registration I have studied 5 courses in total throughout the exchange semester. Quite a lot of courses are blocked courses which have classes for just a few days only. Those courses are quite intensive since presentations have to be done at the last day of the class. I have taken the following courses: 1. International Tourism Principle and Practice 2. International Business Applications 3. Marketing in Emerging Markets 4. Social Media Marketing 5. German Business Communication Courses will be registered few months before the semester start through an online system called LPIS. F. Teaching & Assessment Methods Instructors in WU have diverse backgrounds and they sometimes come from other countries for a few days just for the course. All courses that I have taken require students to have active participation and to ask questions frequently. They also value peer evaluations a lot to receive presentation feedback. Most courses for me did not have exams but there are continuous assessment and quite a lot of group presentations. The classes are very interactive and we can participate in lots of discussions. They do not give letter grades, but to have 5 levels of descriptions. G. Sports & Recreation Facilities There are not many recreation facilities inside campus. We go to do sports outside and to enjoy the parks in Vienna city. Cycling is very popular in Vienna and you can rent a bike with a cheap price everywhere conveniently. So, there are lots of chances to explore around and to enjoy the leisure moments. H. Cost/ Expenses The cost depends on how frequent you go on travelling. Swiss trip was the most expensive journey for me. In Vienna, the restaurants are quite expensive. The average to dine out is around 10 Euro. So, most people choose to cook for most of the time although I did spend a lot for dinner. I. Social Clubs/ Networking Opportunity There are clubs for WU students and free admission for EBN members every week. You can meet many exchange students there. Also, most of my friends including locals and exchange students were met during class since we have much time to talk with one and other.

5 J. Health & Safety The medical expense in Vienna is very high. So, I consumed the medicine that I brought from HK. Also, we have to buy a health insurance for a minimum amount before we are eligible to apply for the Visa D. K. Food There is a famous street to buy Chinese or Asian food. It is called Kettenbrückengasse and it can be easily reached by the U- bahn. Supermarkets close on Sundays so we have to purchase what we want on weekdays mainly. There are many famous restaurants and cafes in Vienna and most are worth trying. L. Transportation The transportation in Vienna is very convenient. Students can buy semester ticket for 150 Euro and to take all U- bahn, trams and most S- bahn throughout the whole semester. There are U- bahn stations near WU. U- bahn operates overnight for every Fridays and Saturdays. M. Climate The weather in September and October are nice. In November, it started to get cold and often rained. Since it was quite windy, so people cannot use umbrellas for most of the time. Also, it is really dry in winter. Body lotion and moisturizers are needed. N. Communication People in Austria speak German but most people also know English so it is not hard to communicate. But learning German there is definitely beneficial for daily lives. Checklist Lan Cable Credit Card Medicine Nomination Letter Coats Extra luggage Cash Adaptors ATM cards Charger Acceptance Letter Passport Laptop Housing documents