1. The university
Also known as University of Technology Sydney according to AbbreviationFinder, the UTS is currently ranked as the “ Number 1 Young University in Australia ” and therefore has a good reputation. That being said, the university invests heavily in its campus, which is constantly being improved and expanded. The business school building is quite new and also the only building designed by Frank Gehry on Australian soil. The range of extra-curricular activities at the university is as diverse as the student community itself and there should be something for every taste. To be accepted at the university is not difficult.
2. Campus Accommodation
Many students, including myself, live in the Yura Mudang building on campus. It offers various apartments, single apartments, two apartments and six-person apartments. One of the biggest advantages of the Yura Mudang is the proximity to the campus and the central location in general (not far from the main train station). It is also a comparatively new student accommodation. You get to know many other exchange students there, but mainly from Europe with a lot of Germans and Swiss, so if you want to get to know real Australians or the Australian lifestyle, then you should consider looking for private accommodation away from campus.
3. courses
I have completed four courses and would recommend everyone do the same. The courses were:
Intermediate Microeconomics
Recommended – if you stay on the ball during the semester, you can easily get good to very good grades. There were four online quizzes and a final exam.
Fundamentals of Business Finance
Also recommended – the teacher is nice and the content is not too difficult, here too you can achieve very good grades with a little effort. There were two online quizzes, a group work and a final exam.
Socio-political context of management
Recommended with reservations – this was certainly one of the more interesting courses and not really difficult, but the course is complex and includes weekly small group work, which depending on the group can be very strenuous or not that bad. In addition to the group work, you had to complete a short essay and a final exam.
Transnational Management
Recommended with reservations – the compartment is very dry. Good results are still possible, you have to write an essay and a final exam.
4. Life in Sydney
Life in Sydney is great. Sydney itself is a beautiful city with lots to do. You should definitely have seen a concert or a play in the opera house (you can almost always get cheap student tickets). Sydney is also quite European in many ways, which can be either an advantage or a disadvantage depending on what you are looking for in your exchange. It must also be said that Sydney is more expensive to live than Germany.
5. Traveling in Australia
Traveling in Australia is relatively easy, depending on what you want to do and where you want to go, but at the same time it is usually not cheap. From Sydney you can make beautiful day trips to the Blue Mountains and the Royal National Park, both of which are highly recommended. In the break, everyone travels a little further away. I was drawn to Darwin (in the north) and the Kakadu National Park. There you could marvel at impressive landscapes and an interesting animal world. Furthermore, my trip to Uluru (Ayers Rock) was certainly worth the money, despite the high price, especially since there is much more to see around Uluru in the Australian outback. In general, in a country as large and diverse as Australia, there is too much to see to be able to achieve everything, but it also offers many great opportunities to get to know interesting places. Since the semester ends at the beginning of November, there is still plenty of time to travel afterwards. The East Coast and New Zealand are ideal. However, one should not only try to follow the tourist trails in the big cities and along the East Coast, but also get to know more remote places and the culture.
6. Conclusion
Although I never really thought about an exchange semester in Australia at the beginning, as I wanted to go to the USA or Asia, Sydney was the perfect choice for me in the end. As a city, Sydney has something for all tastes, the people are friendly and the atmosphere is very relaxed. The weather is excellent and the university is uncomplicated, so you can make good use of the many things and opportunities that Australia has in store.
