Experiencing life overseas on an international study program is an incredible and life-enriching opportunity for students, both academically and personally.
Pauline Le Floch is the Student Mobility Manager at the Macquarie University Student Mobility Office, and says that although the exchange program has been successfully running since the late nineties, it has grown exponentially in the last few years post-pandemic.
“We have a bigger team now the borders have reopened and we are focussing on strategy and building relationships with new partners. We are very excited to see it grow again,” she says.
With over 200 partners across 50 countries, the sky is the limit for students seeking to broaden their university experience.
“In the US we have over 20 partners from University of California in San Diego to Rutgers in New York to Arizona State. In Europe, we have research partners in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia,” Ms Le Floch adds.
There has also been a surge in students choosing to do an exchange in the Asia-Pacific region, studying at top universities in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.
Students can choose two overseas exchange programs over the course of their studies and can pick from shorter summer courses of a few weeks’ duration to full semesters.
“A lot of our partners offer semester-long programs, but they also offer what they call summer schools or winter schools. It’s very flexible,” Ms Le Floch says. Regardless of length, the programs count as units towards degrees.
For many students, it is their first time living away from home and experiencing another culture in an immersive sense. It also creates new networking and employment opportunities.
“We've seen so many of our students coming back with future employers or having locked in an internship for the next exchange, so it's just expanding their world exponentially,” Ms Le Floch says.
Students wishing to go on exchange can also receive financial support through grants such as the Department of Foreign Affair’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Program which provides funding to support Australian undergraduate students’ participation in study, internships and research in 40 host locations across the Indo-Pacific region for up to $7000.
“For example, if you do four months in Bangkok with $7000, you have pretty much covered your flight and your rent, so it's quite a good package,” Ms Le Flock says.
“Also, students who are Australian citizens and are Commonwealth supported can request two loans for the entire length of their degree and can get up to $8000 prior to their departure, and that will be added to their HECs which they can repay later,” she says.
SWEDEN
Cormac Lennon is in his fifth year at Macquarie, studying a Bachelor of Psychology and Law. He recently spent a semester in Uppsala University, Sweden.
“Going on a student exchange was something I always wanted to do. I took a gap year after high school and volunteered in Nepal and Sri Lanka so I’m a bit of a travel bug.
I was at Macquarie for an introductory day before I started my degree and one of the study counsellors told me about the student exchanges. As soon as the COVID-19 lockdowns finished, I was all guns blazing to make sure it happened.
Sweden offers a great student life and has a similar jurisdiction in terms of law, and a friend of mine recommended Uppsala University so that’s why I decided to go there.
To live in Sweden for six months, be amongst people and live life my way was really good. I felt so invigorated, it was just incredible.
As wonderful as our academics are in Australia in terms of experience and brilliance, the level of involvement and collaboration is on a bigger scale in Europe, just because they're all so proximate to one another.
My teacher for the first unit I did - comparative constitutional law - was Sweden's delegate to the Venice Commission. So not only was he an expert on the subject, he had all these cool stories about what was going on in Hungary and Poland with their constitutional issues and what it was like to have Russia seated at the table as they were discussing constitutional issues after Brexit. So that was a real highlight for me.
Uppsala was established in 1477 so it’s one of the oldest universities in Sweden and has a really strong reputation. Socially the student life was wonderful because everyone was living the same lifestyle – just being students – especially the exchange students.
There was a little bit of homesickness over the Australia Day period and the Triple J Hot 100, I thought ‘oh my goodness I wish I was home’, but I knew I just needed to ride that wave.
Going on a student exchange brought me back to myself. I’m very social and outgoing but COVID-19 and the isolation made me a shell of a person. So to live in Sweden for six months, be amongst people and live life my way was really good. I felt so invigorated, it was just incredible.
My advice to students considering an exchange is to just go. And say yes to everything – new people, new experiences, new food and new places. Let go of what is happening back home and just cherish every single little moment.”
JAPAN
Eloise Hansen is studying a Bachelor of Arts and Commerce at Macquarie and is in her third year. She is about to embark on an exchange program to Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
“I’ve always wanted to go on exchange. It was part of the unit in my Arts degree so that made it super easy. My Mum loves Japan and did exchange there when she was younger so she really recommended it.
I’m trying to learn a few words in Japanese before I leave and I’ll also enrol in the Japanese language classes at Waseda. I was able to choose the units I wanted to do, so I’m doing commerce. Japan is a leader in the field of marketing so I will get new insights and learn a lot.
Japan is a leader in the field of marketing so I will get new insights and learn so much.
Meeting new people and sharing new experiences is something else I’m really looking forward to – meeting Japanese students and other international students.
I think travelling around Japan will be really exciting. I’m excited to see Mount Fuji and I really want to go to Hiroshima as I do history as part of my arts degree.
Going from living at home to living by myself will be a big shift but I’m looking forward to a newfound independence. It will be a long time to be apart from my family, friends and boyfriend but they are going to come and visit me while I’m on exchange which will be great.”
SOUTH KOREA
Maria De Los Reyes is in her final year at Macquarie, studying a Bachelor of Arts with a major in linguistics. She spent a semester in Seoul National University in South Korea in 2022.
“As a linguistics student, I've always had an interest in learning other languages. Being able to learn another language where it is spoken and be immersed in that culture was something I've always wanted to experience, to see how it would affect the learning process.
The language barrier was a big challenge initially. In Sydney I didn’t really have a reason to speak Korean but when you start to actually use the language you start being more comfortable to speak that language.
I have always lived with my family so one thing I was concerned with was how I was going to live by myself and cook for myself. Going overseas, especially to an Asian country, forces you to be more adventurous with the kind of food you eat. I can eat different things and handle my spices now!
Being able to learn another language where it is spoken and be immersed in that culture was something I've always wanted to experience.
One of the other highlights was seeing how other people live. I realised while I was on exchange that I’ve had quite a narrow view of the world so it was great to meet all sorts of different people.
I spent time visiting other cities at weekends with my friends, mostly by train or bus. It was so much fun. I also flew to Jeju island, which is further south. A few of my friends came to visit while I was on exchange and my family came out for Christmas. It was the first time any of us had seen snow so it was really special.
It's definitely worthwhile to go on exchange. When you’re at university you focus on the academic side but having the life experience is very important as well, and being able to grow as a person. As cliche as it is, I feel it's definitely a character development experience.”
For more information on overseas study opportunities visit the Study Overseas Platform.
