SEP Report 1. Student Information Name (as in myisis) Faculty/Major Host University NUS Semester and Year of Exchange (eg. AY14/15 Semester 1) Tan Hui Wen Arts and Social Sciences/Sociology Monash University AY14/15 Semester 1 2. Study at Host University Please provide information on the academics at your host university: - Studying or learning culture at your host university. How were classes conducted? - What did you like most or dislike most about the academics at your host University? - Advice on module registration and module mapping The students have a lot of freedom in terms of managing their studies. Tutors always try to engage the class during lectures/seminiars and tutorials. They were also very approachable. It is very common for students to ask questions during classes and lectures. The questions raised can be very simple and not just the intellectual kind of questions. Hence, it has a very comfortable environment as students can feel free to ask any questions. The classmates and tutors are generally very openminded and patient. Year 3 classes are mostly conducted in seminar-style, each session lasts for 2 hours. The lecturer will go through the content in the first hour and thereafter there will be discussions within pairs/groups. What I liked the most is that students have easy access to course information and this facilitates selflearning. The tutors are also very encouraging and readily available for help if needed. However, the course content can be more focused. Some of the lectures slides were either overload with content or were too brief. Generally module registration and module mapping is a smooth and easy process. However, students should be adviced to start early. Simply follow the instructions that will be sent to you. International Relations Office (IRO) SEP Report Please list the courses that you took during SEP. (Please take note that the list of modules available to exchange students at the host university are subject to change. This table merely serves as reference.) Host University Module Course title code ATS The Global Challenge 1309 Power and poverty: ATS International development 2628 ATS 3726 ATS 3638 in a globalised world Critical social psychology Global childhoods: children's rights, welfare and mobility in a global context ECTS Credit 6 6 6 6 2. Accommodation What kind of accommodation did you stay in during your exchange (eg. on campus / off campus)? Would you recommend this accommodation to future outgoing students? Do you have any other suggestions? On-campus accommodation - Halls of residence Yes, I would recommend this accommodation to future outgoing students. It is a good way to make new friends and know more people in the shortest period of time. It is also safer and more convenient. However rental on campus would be more expensive compared to off-campus accommodation, which can be found easily online. The school also offers support and useful advice for students who are seeking off-campus accommodation. 3. Activities during SEP International Relations Office (IRO) SEP Report Were there any activities organized by school/student group/external organizations at your host university which you would like to recommend to other students? There were many activities organized by the school for international exchange students, this would be a good way to mingle around and get to visit the places of interests. The details and information are easily accessible from the orientation programme booklet. The school also sends out emails for interested students to sign up. Be sure to sign up for their Facebook group to get updates on the events that they organized for exchange students too. They also have a peer buddy programme that pairs up exchange student with local students. 4. Cost of Living Please provide an estimation of how much money you spent during your SEP? Please list travel expenses separately. The accommodation fees took up a large part of my total expenses. An estimated amount of money I have spent is around SGD$8000. International Relations Office (IRO) SEP Report 5. Challenges Did you face any challenging issues during your SEP stint? How did you overcome it/them? The beginning of the SEP was still a period of uncertainty as I was still settling down and getting used to the environment. As I was the only one who went to Monash University, it was abit of challenge as I have to depend on myself on a lot of stuffs. However, thankfully I met many other exchange students and international students in the halls and through the orientation programmes. As most of us are away from home and do not know many other people there, it was easy to mix around and make new friends. Hence, I would really encourage future exchange students to stay in halls and look out for the orientation activities organized by the school. 6. Overall SEP Experience Please write one paragraph about your exchange experience and attach some photos that represent your exchange experience. The entire exchange experience is really very fulfilling and enjoyable. Initially, there might be feelings of fear and uncertainty. However, this lasted for just short while after you get used to the environment. Even though things may not be all smooth sailing, it is precisely through the challenges that we learn to grow and understand ourselves better. Throughout the past 5 months, I have not only seen more of Australia but also learn more about myself. It trained me to become more independenet, open-minded, daring and be more appreciative of the little things in life. I have learnt to slow down my pace of life in Melbourne and I certainly do hope that what I have learnt from this exchange will continue to stay with me. I have also made many new friends in Monash University and it was really fun to travel around with like-minded individuals. There are a lot of new experiences throughout this exchange and being able to try them out with the new friends I’ve made makes it even more meaningful. To sum it up, I really enjoyed my exchange experience! International Relations Office (IRO) SEP Report 7. Suggestions for future outgoing students Please share any other suggestions for future outgoing students. I would advice future outgoing students to have some thoughts on what you want to achieve out of this exchange prior to depature. They should also really treasure every moment of their SEP stint, even the little things that you do every day. Time really flies so make good use of everyday and do something fun. It might not be something that is adventurous but simply spending quality time with your friends, making everyday count. In addition, do try to mix around more with the local students as well. This would be a good way to understand the culture and people better. International Relations Office (IRO)
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