Erasmus and study abroad – Page 2

Hello from Dallas!

By Aleena Raikundalia, BA International Business Management

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog! My name is Aleena Raikundalia, and I’m studying International Business Management at The University of Texas, Dallas.

My passion for travelling inspired my decision to study abroad, and this is an opportunity I will cherish for the rest of my life! I chose to study in America primarily because I wanted to experience the diversity and the variety in the American way of life, although Chipotle and the sushi bars also played a part in my decision!

The UTD Campus is located in the heart of Richardson, a city next to Dallas. The campus is vast yet very modern. It is slightly difficult to travel off campus without a car, especially since the distance between the campus and other amenities is too far to walk. However, you can always rely on the University Shuttle, Ubers or a friend with a car.

As an exchange student, it is a requirement to stay university residence halls. I managed to make amazing friends during my first month, so living on campus is definitely an amazing way to meet new people and get involved in the various events and activities. Academically there are no restricted modules allowing students to choose classes of their choice/interest.

Studying abroad surely benefits your CV, but there is so much more you can do to get the most out of your year abroad! Personally, I am looking forward to travelling around the United States, experiencing new cultures and traditions, making new friends and, most importantly, making memories that will last a lifetime!

Arrived at WU Vienna

By Lissandra Radu, BA International Business Management

So, I made it to Vienna! It is really beautiful here; the city, the lifestyle and definitely the weather. The student halls are very central and the subway system here is extremely easy, so if you can hack London underground, the one in Vienna will feel like a breath of fresh air!

Before I tell you about my adventures, I cannot stress enough the importance of having a to-do list. In Austria, they love their paperwork so you need to make sure you have documents ready, so everything flows smoothly. Having said that, the queues here are really quick and everyone speaks English.

Having moved in, I would advise against a 60kg luggage allowance (which is what I had!!) and only bring things you really cannot bear to part with, as Vienna has a huge number of stores where you can pretty much buy anything your heart desires. There is no shortage of supermarkets, corner shops or ice-cream parlours so overall, it is well stocked in terms of food …if you ever had any worries!

In terms of accommodation, it is really modern and the company supplies you with kitchen equipment and bedding, although if you have a favourite pillow I would bring it.

So far, I love it here and meeting people is so so easy! If you have any doubts about Erasmus, I would not hesitate, and not just because it looks good on your C.V (which it does) but because you get to really appreciate the differences in cultures, make great friends and be independent!

List of places:

Schonbrunn Palace – beautiful gardens and zoo, as well as a yummy strudel shown hosted in one of the cafes, where you even get to try a sample.
Café Museum – lovely central café, where you can grab a smashing mango and melon apperol for a great price (considering it is central)
Amerling Beisl – set in a courtyard, it is restaurant that is mostly used by locals, however they have a lot of Viennese food as well as a huge breakfast range
Museumquartier – Museums & drinks, in an amazing location where you will find a mix of modern and new architecture all blended together. Perfect for a chilled evening
Stephansplatz- you can go to the top of the cathedral for a stunning panorama view of the whole city!
Mariahilfer strasse- Very long and wide boulevard, filled with clothes shops, bars, taverns and everything in-between

A year at the University of Amsterdam

By Ardilah Kamaruzzaman, BA International Business Management

Hey everyone! My name is Ardilah and I’m studying International Business Management at the University of Sheffield with a year at the University of Amsterdam (UvA).

I chose to study at UvA as I fell in love with Amsterdam when I first came to visit during Christmas break last year. It is such a vibrant city! Not only that, but UvA is also one of the most reputable universities in the world.

Before I embarked on this new journey, I had been contacting GG (who did her exchange at UvA last year) to ease some of my nervousness. I asked her a lot of questions so that I knew what to expect when I arrived. I found that it helped me when I talked to GG, so if anyone has any questions about UvA or Erasmus in general, I would be more than happy to help!

I am lucky that my accommodation is only seven minutes away from the business school by bike. I have 12 other flatmates and they are a great bunch of people. We went to watch a soccer match (Ajax vs. Vitesse), have cultural dinners and do a whole lot of other stuff together that it feels like we’re a big family now, which is nice since you’re away from home and can get homesick at times.

So far, it has been a hectic two months for me. The education system here is so different from Sheffield’s. One semester is divided into three blocks, which also means you have three exam periods in a semester. Block one and two usually last about seven weeks and block three lasts four weeks. It is kind of intense here and it took me quite a while to adapt to the system and the workload I was given (I hope I’m not scaring you!), but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be fine.

So for those of you who are thinking of doing Erasmus, you should totally consider it as, not only will it look good on your CV, but you can expect to discover new things about yourself, have lot of fun and meet new people which will help you broaden your horizons!

Off to study at WU Vienna

By Lissandra Radu, BA International Business Management

Hi, there! My name is Lisandra and I am an International Business Management student going into my second year at WU Vienna.

A few years ago I began travelling around Europe to various capital cities, where I realised how different people and societies really are. Being born in Eastern Europe and moving to England was a massive culture shock but there are endless benefits such as so much more approachable, it opens your mind to other people’s perspectives as well as you get to eat your weight in new and delicious food. Therefore, when it came to choosing my degree, I was set on experiencing this difference in culture once more, but this time I wanted it to last more than a few days!

Vienna-street I picked Vienna…mainly because of their schnitzel. Well, the modules at the university definitely had something to do with it too! WU has so many unique and niche modules on huge range of business related topics that it made the choice that much easier. In terms of the city, it has amazing location with such easy access to the rest of continental Europe that it became a no-brainer really! Also, I heard famous stories of Sacher Torte so to me, it seemed to tick all the boxes.

Choosing the accommodation was a really smooth straightforward process, especially as everything is in English (although I am keen on starting German courses as soon as the semester begins!). In the end, I chose a studio mostly so I can decorate not only a bedroom but the bathroom and kitchen too J. The University schedule is slightly busier than what I experienced in Sheffield, although, saying that, there are no compulsory modules which means you really get to study what you are interested in!

My year abroad begins in 2 days and for now there is a mix of fear and excitement. To be honest, I am not really sure what to expect, but I can say for sure that I plan on making the most of it from every aspect! I cannot wait to meet new people and share this experience with like-minded individuals.

My year at the University of Amsterdam

By Charlie Nock, International Business Management

Welcome to my blog everybody! I’m Charlie, an International Business Management student who is extremely fortunate in being able to spend this year at the University of Amsterdam.

I had chosen the university based on previous visits to the city, where I thought to myself, naively, that I could see myself settling in to the ebbs and flows of Dutch life. I quickly learnt that that there’s never a spare second in which you can actually be settled in Amsterdam. Instead, you have to don your glamorously shabby city bike and explore as much of the city’s offerings as possible. The culture shock wasn’t as big as it would be in many other cities; but having the national cuisine be fried cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise lathered chips was a shock I think anyone would welcome.

I was anxious about being a fresher again and equally frustrated to be missing out on second year in Sheffield, but the international students are all in the same boat – mostly Masters or exchange students who just want to enjoy their year away. I regrettably chose not to take part in the International Students’ Week (ISN), luckily I was able to meet people through my flatmates’ groups but I would definitely recommend anyone going abroad to secure a place with their ISN as it seemed a great way to find cool new places and meet new people.

I instead spent my first week with friends from home, or on my own exploring the city by bike – I took the ferry to the Noord of the city (see the windmill pictures) and around the various parks of the city – everywhere is so flat and chilled out that you can literally cycle anywhere in the city in under an hour and sweat free.

Acc Tourist ommodation can be hard to come by and expensive and I did have a questionable experience upon moving in, but I managed to secure a central, canal side apartment in a student building for a similar price to Endcliffe. Being close to town and the university is a huge help, especially as some of my classes don’t finish until 9 at night, but friends further out seem to be really enjoying their respective setups. The course started very early, on September 2nd, and the semester is divided into 3 blocks with 6 exam periods. Reading is surprisingly intensive and there is a big emphasis on presentations and involvement in seminars.

My first set of exams start next week, but the reward of spending your down time in one of the coolest cities in the world makes this a small price to pay.

Why choose to study abroad?

By Reece Bracewell

There are many benefits to studying abroad other than the obvious, that you get the chance of a life time to go have an amazing experience studying in a foreign country. One of these benefits of Sheffield’s IBM is that the course is still only three years, it’s not a sandwich year and the year abroad does contribute your degree. It also means that when you come back you are still in the same year as your friends from first year, making it that much easier to settle back in to university life when you come home. You are also able to get out in to the real world and put your skills gained from the programme into practice much sooner than most people that study abroad so in this respect study abroad really does set you apart from the competition.
When it comes to choosing which university to study at overseas it can seem daunting but don’t panic, Sheffield are very good at providing information on all the possible universities and basic information about them, you will have many talks/meetings about your options as well the chance to hear from other students that have been on the study abroad programme which is great to get a real student insight. It is then up to you to research and find out which university you are interested in the most and which will suit you best and from there you can chose your six preferred universities which be followed by a short interview with the program leader to see where your study abroad adventure will begin.

After choosing where you want to go then comes the time to hop on a plane and jet off to your new home. Let the adventure begin. The experience of moving to a new country can feel scary and being nervous is to be expected but the nerves are quickly offset by the excitement of a new challenge and a great year ahead. After the initial worries which everyone has moving to a new country is a great chance to learn new cultures meet new friends form around the world and of course experience new ways of learning at your new university. It is important to remember is that there are always people there to help you out with any issues you may have and that everyone is in the same boat, you are not alone. You will settle in in no time and your tutor/programme leader at Sheffield is also only an email away.

What I studied on my year abroad: University of Mannheim

By Reece Bracewell

Whilst looking at possible universities to study at, part of the research I conducted was around the modules they offered and what I could study whilst abroad. I was given some specific/core areas by the Management School which were mandatory to take whilst on study abroad, this was to ensure I was able to progress in to my third and final year when I returned to Sheffield. The other modules I was free to choose from the business school in Mannheim (where I was studying). After selecting which modules I wanted to take they then had to be approved, this is done when you complete the learning agreement form, which you then have to get signed by both home and abroad universities. It sounds like more work than it actually is, it was relatively painless.
While I was studying in Germany I took a range of different modules, and as the credit system was different in Germany (ETCS) it meant that I was able to take a larger number of modules than if I had been in Sheffield as the courses were smaller in content than what you may be used to, allowing me to explore more areas of business and gain a wider range of knowledge. For instance I studied financial behavioural psychology which was a completely new area for me, I feel this was a major benefit from the study abroad programme and one that not all students get the opportunity to do, it is just another reason to grab the opportunity with both hands and take advantage of study abroad.
Some examples of the range of modules I had the chance to study included; Strategic marketing, production and operations management and international and strategic marketing. Whilst studying abroad there were also many guest lectures from global companies such as Nivea and SAP which always brought a great insight to real business and added depth and context to what we were learning throughout the modules.

Experience of studying abroad

by Elise McDonald

Hi, my name is Elise and I’m studying in Vienna for my second year of International Business Management. I chose to study at WU as I really enjoyed learning German at GCSE and I’ve been desperate to start learning the language again to help me in my future career in business – it is crazy the number of employers I have seen that are looking for German speakers!

Obviously, Vienna is also a beautiful place and Austria has great links to other countries which will make it much easier for me to travel this year. I’ve only been here a couple of weeks and I’ve already been to Oktoberfest and have booked to go on trips to Salzburg and Budapest next month, as well as a ski trip to Zell-Am-See in December!

It’s so great to have so many things to look forward to, particularly the Christmas markets in November/December. I’m already shocked by how much I’m enjoying myself as, for the whole of first year, I dreaded this year abroad. Yes, you’re probably reading that sentence thinking that I’m crazy, but I’ve always been a glass half empty kind of person and I kept focusing on the negatives of the experience; leaving my boyfriend and friends behind, missing out on a second year uni house, being so far away from home… need I go on.

So, I guess my blog posts will be good for people that are considering a year abroad but find the idea scary! Hopefully, this year will prove me completely wrong and help to ease other students’ nerves. I’ve been here for just under two weeks and I can already say that nothing I was worried about has happened. To be honest you’re so busy exploring and meeting new people that you don’t really get a chance to think about home and if I have had a difficult moment there’s always Netflix to distract me.

So far I am so happy that I picked WU as my host University as the Erasmus set up here is amazing! We have the Erasmus Buddy Network (EBN) which organises so many trips to other places and gives you a ‘buddy’ to help you settle in. I was so lucky that my Buddy offered to collect me from the airport and showed me to my accommodation as I’m not sure I’d have managed on my own. By the way, the accommodation here is great and was so easy to apply for. I have my own kitchen and en-suite and its cleaned every week – it’s like living in a hotel which is perfect for an undomesticated person like me! The University itself is also incredible and so modern that the library looks a lot how I’d imagine a spaceship would look. I have already been assigned two essays to write before I even start classes though which was a bit of a shock to the system! I’m not sure I’m prepared for the change in teaching style that they have here but hopefully it won’t take long to adjust as I start classes this week.

Now enough of the boring stuff and on to the fun things I’ve already done. The first thing I did when I arrived was go for weiner schnitzel and apfel strudel, which definitely did not disappoint and was really good value for money at an all-night restaurant called Mozarts. I also went on the Giant Wheel at Prater which was great to do at sunset with views of the whole city.

The whole time I have been here the weather has been so warm which was obviously not what I was expecting in Austria. I was also surprised to find that they have beaches and bars along the Danube but I thought I’d best experience them before the weather changes and they close for winter.

Again, AMAZING FOOD and just generally a great night but so surreal to be sat on a beach looking at high rise buildings! Finally, the main attraction: Oktoberfest. Two days ago I went on my first EBN trip to Munich on an overnight ‘party train’ with a free bar. It’s safe to say that it was one of the weirder experiences of my life but seemed a lot more normal by about my 10^th drink. I didn’t get much sleep on the way to the Festival which is a huge regret as I spent the whole day too hungover to drink again. Yes… I went to Oktoberfest and didn’t drink!

I think I’ll leave it there for now but I’ll try my best to post regularly to brag about all the fun stuff I’m doing!

Elise x

Dominique’s top tips for your first year

By Dominique Von Oppell

Set 2 alarms for those 9am starts

You will most likely have a 9am tutorial or lecture at some point during your degree. It is difficult to get out of bed at that time in the morning, particularly if it is a Monday. Setting 2 alarms allows you to have a backup just in case you oversleep the first one.

Be prepared….

..for tutorials. Doing the work beforehand allows you to gain the maximum benefit out of the tutorial. If you don’t come prepared, you are too busy trying to understand; what the reading you had to do was about, the questions you were supposed to have done and copying down the answers. You then don’t engage with the academics conversation that he/she is having with the rest of the class and miss out on vital information that the academic is sharing.

Don’t underestimate the hills

There is no such thing as flat in Sheffield-just a lot of steep hills. This means you will most likely underestimate how long it will take you to get to your classes. The bright side is that you do become quite fit with all the hill walking (or in cases where you are late) running. Talking about things that take a lot longer than expected…

Completing assignments

Actually take a lot longer than you expect. Finding academic sources to evidence your arguments (this takes even longer as a fresher as you have no idea where to look!), referencing your sources to the Harvard method and making sure you are under the word limit all take time. So don’t leave assignments till the last minute.

Actually, 1^stYear does count

In order to go abroad for your second year, you need to get a 2.1 or higher overall in 1^st year. This is so you are able to cope academically when you go abroad for your second year. Also, when you are applying for graduate jobs in your 3^rd year, they look at your 1^st year results.

Have regular meetings with your Personal Tutor

That way, your personal tutor will know if you have any problems and can help you. Your personal tutor also writes your reference in 3^rd year when you are applying for jobs – so it really helps if they know you!

Second hand and online Books are cheaper

It’s not a mystery that students have a low budget. Buying second hand or online books are cheaper than buying new and save you a lot of money. Older students also sell books usually via Facebook pages at a good price, so keep a look out for that.

Check your University e-mail daily

The University e-mail address is the way in which departments and tutors communicate with you, so make sure you check it daily. You can install the app on your phone so you are able to get notified when you receive an e-mail.

Feedback on assignments

All assignments come with feedback. If you are still unsure of why you got the grade you received, visit the lecturer during their office hours. Feedback is important so that you can learn from your mistakes and perform better next time.

Are you ready to go abroad!

Going abroad is the opportunity of a life time. You get to live in a new country, meet new people, and experience new cultures- it will enrich and broaden your view of the world. Make sure you have done your research on places you want to visit and events you want to experience before you go, so when you are out there, you can have the most fantastic time!

Why study International Business Management at Sheffield?

By Udara Cumaratunga

Sheffield University is a great university to study International Business Management. The study abroad component of the course I believe has been extremely insightful for me, as it gave me the opportunity to explore and understand the business operations of another culture. I was able to choose from a wide variety of well-recognised partner universities from around the world to undertake my year, adding value to my education.

I greatly appreciated having being assigned to a personal tutor and as well as a study abroad tutor during the course. It gave me the opportunity to attain advice of the both tutors during my university selection and modules selection process. They also assisted in any challenges I faced while studying abroad and most importantly during the application process. The structure of the application process was invaluable to me as it gave me the experience and prepared me to face the application processes of Internships and Graduate positions that are structured very similar.

Having to achieve an average grade of 60% to be eligible to participate in the study abroad year has really highlighted my commitment to program, which impressed my Internship employer and resulted in potential employers being interested in my skills. This goal also ensure that I was well suited to undertake the modules that were offered by the foreign university and was able to maintain a high academic performance during the year.
I have now been given the opportunity to share my experiences whilst studying abroad through open day events, writing blog posts and interacting with potential study abroad students. It has not only enhanced my understanding of international businesses and their operations but also developed my soft skills and made me more confident.