Exchange Report WU Wien, Austria Spring 2015 Laurie LAM (BBA in Global Business and Management)
Content Part I Activity Log P. 3-5 Part II General Exchange Information P. 6-9 Part III Checklist P.9
Part I Activity Log March 2015 My first thing to do when I arrived Vienna was to register at school and to complete all the administration procedures, in which my exchange buddy from WU helped me a lot. I had class in the second week of March, which was a block course about gender in advertisings. Block courses are very common in WU among exchange students, in which we attended lectures (usually whole day), completed assignments and took exam within a week. The course was interesting and quite different from how we learn in Hong Kong. Videos and advertisements were the major teaching materials and the topics discussed were quite new to me. In the middle of March, I went to Lapland in Finland for the northern light and I was lucky that I could catch it.
April 2015 It was the busiest month for me as I had many classes, presentations and exams in April. I took three management courses including International Management, Corporate Strategy and Global Leadership. However, the workload was less demanding when compared to classes in Hong Kong so I still could travel around during the Easter holiday. I went to Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Amsterdam. May 2015 As I completed most of my courses in April, I only had 2 days of class in May. As a result, I was able to travel around Europe, for example, Greece, Poland, Croatia, England and Copenhagen with my friends.
June 2015 In early June, I travelled to Germany, Prague and Budapest with my friends. After that, I got back to Vienna to complete my last block course in WU, which was about cross-cultural communications. The professor was very experienced and passionate. However, the workload was relatively heavy when compared to other courses. I also enjoyed my last bit of life in Vienna during the last week, in which I watched opera and concert and visited other tourist spots.
Part II General Exchange Information 1) Visa Procedures You will need an Austrian National Visa D to study in Austria for 3-6 months and application has to be submitted at least 3 weeks prior to departure at the Austrian Consulate General for free. Make sure you have the following documents in original and copy: - Application form which can be downloaded from the Austrian Foreign Ministry website - One passport photo - Valid passport - HK ID card - Student ID card - Birth certificate - Proof of sufficient financial means of sponsor/parent - Supporting letter from home university - Letter of acceptance from the Austrian University - Proof of proper accommodation (rental contract) - Flight ticket (round trip) - Travel insurance I went there twice as the counselor was not there for the first time (which was the day after the New Year Holiday) so better call beforehand to confirm if the counselor is there or not. 2) Orientation Activities There is an orientation program held in February and a German course offered, which costs around 250 euro and 400 euro respectively. These are optional and I did not join as I was doing an internship in winter break. You can also take a free German course after semester begins with credit counted. 3) International Services and Activities There is an organization called EBN, which would organize activities for exchange students. The membership fee is 5 euro and you could join the weekly karaoke and party with discounts.
4) Accommodations WU doesn t provide any campus accommodation but there is a housing agent called OEAD that would provide student housing throughout Vienna. You will receive an email from OEAD where you could choose different kinds of dormitories (different locations, different prices and different size). I chose the one in Landgafeldgasse, with two single rooms, one double room, a shared bathroom, toilet, an open kitchen and a living room. It is located near metro station and it takes about 45 minutes to school. There are also many supermarkets around our place but not many restaurants. A cleaning lady would come to clean the apartment once a week as well so it is quite clean. 5) Course Registration Exchange students could register up to 6 courses and 1 German course. You will be given a time slot for registrations just like UST but there is no shopping cart. You just need to enter the course code and click register as fast as you can as the courses are registered on a first come first served basis. So make sure you check the quotas and schedules well before registration. Courses that I took: - International Marketing and Management I: International Management B - International Strategic Management I - Global Leadership - Selected Topics in Gender and Intersectional Studies (Block course) - Cross-Cultural-Communications Management: Applications to Marketing and Sales (Block Course) Remember to do the course approval in UST earlier so to plan your study in WU.
6) Teaching and Assessment Methods Classes are interactive and students participate in discussion actively. Exam is not too difficult and you just have to apply things that you have learnt and short answers are preferred. There are many presentations in the management courses that I took but they are in a less formal way, unlike the one in UST. Class participation is relatively important so you cannot miss more than 2 classes for one course in general. 7) Cost/Expenses Flight ticket (round trip) Accommodation Transportation (semester ticket) Daily expenses Travelling ~1000 euro ~1400 euro 150 euro ~1200 euro ~4500 euro 8) Health and Safety Vienna is a quite safe city and people are generally nice. There is not much homeless or drunk people on street even at late night. However, where I lived is a residential area and the supermarkets closed very early at 6 or 7pm so it was quite quiet if I went home after lectures at 9pm. 9) Food Vienna is famous for its cafes, including the coffees and the chocolate cake called Sacher cake. You could try the one in Hotel Sacher where it originates from. Wiener Schnitzel is another typical Austrian dish, which is a piece of fried pork. Dining out in Vienna is relatively expensive so I usually cook at dorm and save the money for travelling. 10) Transportation The metro system is quite developed in Vienna and is quite clean. You can reach almost all tourist spots via metro. There are also trams, bus and train that you can take. You just need to buy a semester ticket there, which costs 150 euro and you can enjoy all kinds of transportation in Vienna, which is very convenient. There is no gate in the metro stations but if you get caught for not buying or validating the ticket, you will need to pay a fine of 100 euro.
11) Climate The weather is quite cold during March to May but it starts to get warmer since June (but still cool which is very cozy) so you should bring both summer and winter clothing. However, the climate can vary a lot depending on which countries you are travelling to in Europe. 12) Communication Most people in Vienna can communicate in English so it is not a big problem if you cannot speak German. However, some restaurants do not offer menus in English and Google translate would be your great help. Part III Checklist - Nomination letter, acceptance letter and accommodation documents - Visa, Passport and HKID - Cash and ATM card - Phone, laptop, camera - Chargers of gadgets - Router - Passport - Medicine - Padlocks - Backpack - Hair dryer - Adapters - Personal hygiene products - Slippers - Umbrella - Sufficient winter clothes to keep you warm Going on exchange is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and Vienna is definitely one of the best places to live. Good luck to you all and enjoy! :D