NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY, TAIWAN Exchange Report Spring 2016

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1 NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY, TAIWAN Exchange Report Spring 2016 Lai Kwan Yi Marketing and Information System

2 Part I Activity Log February 2016 Universities spring semester starts after Chinese New Year Festival in Taiwan. I arrived Taiwan a week before semester started. My exchange buddies are very kind that they picked me up at airport and accompanied me to go to the University and ihouse, where reserves for NCCU international students. Single rooms and double rooms are provided in ihouse. Every room has a private bathroom and balcony. There are Jasons, clinics, a lot of restaurants and convenience stores near ihouse and NCCU, which likes a small community. There were a series of orientating activities organized by NCCU and ihouse before the semester. These events not just gave us a chance to know more local and international students, but also helped us to understand NCCU and Taiwan better. They also gave you important and practical information there, such as class enrollment, health check, visa information. Students needed to attend compulsory emergency drills to know how to react when there are earthquake and fire. After settling down, I visited several places with the friends I made in Taiwan, including Shilin Night Market, Raohe Street Tourist Night Market, Taipei 101, Xinyi Shopping District, Shifeng, etc. It is good to visit more place at the start of semester because it would be quite busy afterwards. March 2016 The workload of the classes I chose were quite heavy when comparing to the other courses in NCCU. Although there are a lot of assignments, I grabbed some time to go to Tamsui and Yilan at weekends. The transportation in Taipei is quite convenient that it takes about one to two hours to reach these places from NCCU. Tamsui and Yilan both have many renowned dishes, like seafood in Tamsui and spring onion in Yiland. The scenery of these two places are very good, especially at the evening. During weekdays, I liked going to many places other than Wan Shan District, where NCCU locates in, to have the meal. It could give me opportunity to explore the city as well. April 2016 There was a 3-days Ching Ming holiday. We planned to go to Taichung during the holiday, however, most of the rooms were full and train tickets were booked. Therefore, going to some hit spots at holidays should be planned earlier. We went to Keelung, Pingxi and Ximen. We sang karaoke and watched movie in Ximen. The price would be slightly cheaper than Hong Kong with a similar quality. We had a week for mid-term examinations in late April. Although I had little time to prepare because of some personal affairs, it was not difficult to pass the examination and get a fair mark.

3 May 2016 There was a 3-days holiday again for the University Anniversary, but I need to prepare for the final examination for a marketing course and the group projects. I went to Yangmingshan National Park. The Park has a huge amount of species. The view is very fantastic. June 2016 It was the busiest month in Taiwan. Apart from preparing the final examinations and assignments, I needed to prepare to return to Hong Kong. But still, I spent the Dragon Boat Festival to visit Kaohsiung, Kenting and Chiayi. It took about 2 hours to go to Kaohsiung from Taipei Main Station by high speed railway and took another 2 hours to Kenting from Kaohsiung. I enjoyed the landscape in Kenting very much. However, the transportation in Kenting is not very convenient. We booked a car to travel around Kenting. Besides, I enjoyed a music award presentation held by a local radio in Taipei Arena. I think it is worthwhile to spend a night to there because there were many famous singers, like SHE, Jay Chau, Show Luo, A MEI, etc. Part II General Exchange Information Visa Procedures Hong Kong citizen may apply for a visa two months before you leave Hong Kong at the Taipei Economic Office with the letter of admission from NCCU and HKUST and other necessary documents like ID card and its copy in Admiralty. It is suggested to reserve a whole morning for the application. Orientation Activities Several orientation activities are held. There was a compulsory orientation held by business school before the beginning of the semester to introduce the school, classes, visa extension, transportation, accommodation, course registration, etc. You could get a lot of useful information and make some exchange friends there. Also, some societies at Nccu would organise orientation activities as well. They give us a good opportunity to know more about Taiwan and make more new friends including international or locals. Accommodation Generally, there are three types of accommodation for the exchange students. Firstly, ihouse mainly serves exchange students. There are single rooms and double rooms. It takes about five minutes to Nccu. The rooms at ihouse are big and neat and the

4 services are quite good, however, the price would be higher compare to other choices. Secondly, local student dormitory provided by Nccu is another choice. 3 to 4 students would share the room. I heard that the rooms are not very clean there but the price is relatively cheap. Thirdly, some exchange students would form a group together in Facebook and rent outside. Course registration Course registration at Nccu is similar to UST. Before the semester, students could register the class through the online system. However, there is no waiting list and you would know the result later. If you fail to register the course through the system, you may attend the first class and get the approval from your professors for the manual course registration. Teaching and assessment methods I heard that taking the class taught by English language would be easier and more relax. However, in order to take the course related to my major, I choose the courses for the locals only. The workload of the courses is quite heavy. The teaching and assessment methods are quite similar to UST. The grade is composed of attendance, mid term examinations, final examination, projects and assignments. Nevertheless, I think it is not hard to get pass or even a high score. Health and safety There are clinics and dental services near to Nccu. The charge is not high, but you need to bring your passport. Transportation Transportation in Nccu is quite convenient. Travelling around Taipei, bus and MRT would be major tools. At Nccu bus station, there are a lot of routes to different place, such as Taipei Main Station, Taipei Arena, Gongguan, etc. Besides, you may take 5minutes bus to the closest MRT station, Taipei Zoo. Climate The climate is quite similar to Hong Kong, which is humid and hot in Spring and Summer. In addition, Taiwan is very rainy, you must bring an umbrella even you find that it is sunny outside because rains could come in the next minute, especially for WenShan district. Typhoon takes place here as well. Earthquake would be another issue in Taiwan but there is earthquake drill for us before the start of the semester.

5 Communication There are many plans provided by different telecommunications company. I joined a plan for student. NTD1400 for 20GB and 4G internet traffic offered by ChungHwa Telconmmunication Calls. Part III - Items to bring Laptop Adaptors Umbrella Passport and visa Camera Clothes