30. TOUKOKUUTA 2016 EXCHANGE REPORT UNIVERSITE LAVAL, QUEBEC CITY

Transcription

1 30. TOUKOKUUTA 2016 EXCHANGE REPORT UNIVERSITE LAVAL, QUEBEC CITY

2 Preparing for the exchange Preparing for the exchange was overall a very simple and straightforward process. For each necessary step, I received ed instructions from the Université Laval faculty as well as from our faculty. Most of the communication from Université Laval is in French, but there is always an English version attached as well. Application form In the fall, after receiving confirmation from Aalto that I was to be accepted into Université Laval, I received an from Laval asking me to fill in an application form. This was a merely formal procedure, as Aalto had already accepted me into the program. The form just asks for basic information and you need to create a password for the school s intranet program. Residence application If you intend to live on campus, you need to also fill out a residence application to apply for a room there. I highly recommend living on campus, as most of the exchange students live there and the social life is very active. You will find parties and events every week to attend. The residence application is found online, and it is also quite straightforward to fill out. You need to pay 1 month of rent in advance. Admission letter You will receive an admission letter through . This letter needs to be printed out and presented at the Canadian border control. Health insurance Finland and Quebec have a reciprocal healthcare agreement. This means that you don t have to pay for health insurance in Quebec. Before leaving, you need to pick up Form SF/Q 4 from Kela that allows you to get the local healthcare insurance rather than the one provided by the school. With this form and a copy of attestation d inscription (a formal document stating that you do attend the university, which you pick up after arrival at the university) you need to visit the local healthcare service (RAMQ) to get your health insurance card. More information and details are provided by Laval when you arrive. Learning Agreement Before leaving, you need to fill out a learning agreement from Aalto and the courses you have chosen from Laval. This is also very straightforward, and you will receive instructions for each part of the process. Traveling to Canada I recommend booking your flights well in advance, as the price will be less than half of what it could be otherwise. Overall, flying to Quebec City was not at least for me a particularly simple process. I had two layovers, one of them 11 hours in length. This is mainly because I postponed until December 20 th to buy my flights, which in hindsight was a terrible idea. The Globe FSA organization and their buddy system takes good care of you once you arrive at the airport. My buddy couldn t make it himself, but he had arranged his friend to pick me up from the airport and drive me over to the residence. The reception was very warm and welcoming, and I quickly got an idea of the basic things that I should take care of. The buddy system Laval provides is excellent, as the buddies put in a lot of work to make sure that everyone feels welcome and is aware of the schedule. 1

3 Exchange studies Dates, welcome week and exam weeks The spring term began with a welcome week that started on the 4th of January. During this week, all of the mandatory administration processes were guided by buddies (volunteer students who help exchange students settle in). In addition, lots of activities were organized and this was really the week where everyone got to know each other. I fully recommend participating, the welcome week cost was $150. All studies began on the following week, on the 11 th of January. My last exam was on the 24 th of April, so the term is not that long. However, I still had hand-in dates for term projects after my last exam. There are two exam weeks, one in the middle of the semester on and in the end, on Courses In general, there are a lot of available courses. The majority of courses in the business faculty at the university are offered in French; however, there are plenty of English courses as well. All of the courses have clearly listed prerequisites, and I was able to quite freely choose among them. Since I studied at the bachelor level, there was no shortage of courses. The majority of courses available in English were either marketing or management oriented courses, with some basic courses in other subjects, but those are covered in Aalto during the first year of business school (such as basics of finance, and basics of operations management). Courses can be selected freely and it is not necessary to follow a pre-built program. However, if you wish to study subjects other than management and marketing, there might be a shortage of English-language courses. If you want to study French language courses, these are available but they cost money and a different process is required to attend these. You will receive information through about these courses. New Venture Creation MNG-2117 (6 ECTS) This course was taught by Denis Garand, a professor and entrepreneur. The course focused on entrepreneurship and starting a business. Overall, this was probably the best and most interesting course I took during my exchange. If you are at all interested in entrepreneurship or start-ups, I thoroughly recommend this course. There was no exam; instead the evaluation consisted of various exercises testing knowledge of the entrepreneurial process, and final presentations and reports regarding the business your team set up during the course. Overall, this course taught me a lot about pitching, presenting and writing reports about your new business. I especially liked the freedom offered in the course, as there were very little strict guidelines and the professor gave advice and guidance rather than assignments regarding the business project. ADM-3104 Strategic Management (6 ECTS) This course was taught by Johnny Boghossian, a professor from Montreal. He had a very American style of teaching, relying on class discussion rather than lecturing. I personally liked this style, as due to his style the lectures were a lot less boring than other lectures. This course focused a lot on presentation abilities, and we had presentations every two weeks. Overall, the course was quite good but the workload was heavy. The assessment was based 50% on class presentations and 50% on the two exams (midterm and final). If you have an interest in strategy, this course provides a very good general outline of the subject. 2

4 GIE-3104 International Human Resource Management (6 ECTS) This course was taught by Nolywé Delannon, a young professor. She also had a very American style of teaching, relying a lot on class discussion. There was no exam for this course; however, the workload was quite heavy, with written reports, quizzes and presentations every two weeks. Overall, this was by far my easiest course. The professor did not require a high standard of work and I achieved good grades with very little effort. The course was very educational, as there was a heavy focus on cultural differences between individuals from various backgrounds; the professor encouraged discussion between students who were from different countries, and I learned a lot about the ways business works in different countries. However, as this course was not demanding in the least, if you enjoy a challenge in your studies this course might not be for you. MNG-1103 Organizational Behavior (6 ECTS) This course was taught by Salman Kimiagari, an Iranian professor. His style of teaching was universally hated, as he would lecture, ask questions, but always condemn the answer as wrong. In addition, his English was not as good as should be hoped for a course held in English. The course was evaluated with a final exam (30%), a midterm case study (15%), a group presentation (15%), a group term paper (30%) and 10% participation. Overall, this was my worst course by far. The course seemed to lack a defining subject or characteristic, instead focusing on a never-ending stream of theories and ideas. The workload was quite heavy, as the term paper and group presentation both required us to read a large amount of academic articles or books related to the subject. I would not recommend this course. MRK-2110 Consumer Behavior (6 ECTS) This course was taught by Mahshid Omid, another young professor. The lectures were quite boring as the teacher mostly just read from the slides or her notes. In addition, the English level of the teacher was not good enough as she didn t even understand the questions she was asked half the time. This was not a particularly good course. The course was evaluated with a midterm and final exam (50%), a marketing research project (30%), and a course presentation. Overall, the workload was not very high and quite manageable. Free time and other information Expenses For Finnish students, attending Laval was free as the tuition charges are covered by Aalto through the bilateral agreement. I lived in the university housing, which costs around 220 euros per month. This is quite cheap, and the housing is nothing special but as you will only stay there for 4 months or so it is not so important. I highly recommend staying in the university housing, at Pavillon Alphonse-Marie Parent, as there are hundreds of students living there and the exchange student social life is quite focused on the residence. Overall, food in the grocery store was cheaper than in Finland; however, during the winter months vegetables were quite expensive. Unlike in Finland, there is no system for cheap school meals in Canada. There are a lot of restaurants on campus, but they are all the same price as basic lunch restaurants in Finland ($10 for a meal). Overall, it is cheaper to cook all your meals at the residence. Technically you should probably buy books for the classes, but most of the books are available for free online, just older editions. Overall this is fine, as most of the information stays the same and studying can also be done 3

5 through lecture slides. I only bought one course book together with some friends, and all of us agreed that in the end it was a waste of money. Free time, getting to know others and local culture I fully recommend participating in the welcome week and in as many activities as possible. Not only is it a great way to get to know other students, but most of the activities are the kind that you won t be able to do in Finland, such as snow rafting. I recommend living in the Residence, in Pavillon Alphonse-Marie Parent. This was the largest residence building, and student parties were frequent in the communal kitchen. This is also a good way to get to know other students, as you will always find new people in the kitchen to talk to and to get to know. The Quebecois culture is notably different from the rest of Canada. What is very important to note is that Quebec is actually a French-speaking area, so you will meet people even at the university who don t speak any English. In this sense, Quebec is essentially a very European part of North America. Everything from the architecture to the general atmosphere of the city speaks of its European origins. The identity of Quebec is also markedly different from the rest of Canada, as they are quite proud of being a distinct entity. Quebec City in itself is smaller than Helsinki, and the atmosphere shows that. The nightlife in Quebec City is nothing special, with only a few major bars and clubs. However, the exchange student life was still quite active, and we went out several times a week to nearby student bars or to downtown Quebec. The weather in Quebec is quite similar to weather in Northern Finland. It is colder in Quebec than in Helsinki, but not by large margins. One considerable difference is the amount of snow in Quebec; there is so much of it compared to Helsinki. Traveling I traveled a lot during my exchange studies to nearby cities and areas in Canada, to the US and even to Cuba during spring break. I very much recommend traveling as much as possible during your exchange semester, especially since most of the North American destinations are so close by. The Globe FSA student association organized three trips during my stay there. One skiing trip to Jay Peak, a trip to New York, and a trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls. The trips were very well organized and quite cheap; I recommend participating if you have not visited any of the locations before, or even if you have. The student association was planning to organize a trip to Boston as well, but this trip was canceled due to a low rate of attendance. Renting a car in North America is very cheap, and I thoroughly recommend it as a way to get to know the surrounding area. The price is about $40 per day, or 25. It is a very cheap and convenient way to get to know the surrounding areas, especially since the university campus has a car rental location which has student-specific prices specially tailored to make renting cheaper. Final Comments I would definitely recommend Université Laval and Quebec City to other students. Overall, my exchange was an amazing experience and Université Laval together with its student association really helped with that. The Globe FSA association is very active, organizing lots of parties and trips, which made the exchange that much greater. 4

6 If you want to go to North America with a European vibe, Quebec City is definitely for you. It s reasonably close to the major attractions in the North East, such as New York, but still very much its own little hub. If I were to visit again, I would visit Quebec City in the autumn term, as the climate is quite different and seeing the landscape in late summer and autumn would be interesting. In addition, I would organize my flights better, as now I overpaid for flights since I left their purchase to such a late time. I learned a lot about different cultures and how people from different countries approach for example group work. Overall, my student exchange was an educational experience as well, since I learned different approaches to problem solving. I learned that I can move out of my own comfort zone and work well even if the people I am working with do not share a common native language with me. Overall, I think that doing a student exchange is all about leaving your comfort zone and pushing the boundaries of what you think you can do. I learned that I have not met my own boundaries yet. 5