When I was faced with the decision where to spend my semester abroad, I didn’t even know where to go. At an information event organized by college-contact.com at our university in Germany, I quickly realized that I wanted to go to Australia.
Now that I had a contact address, I just turned to college-contact.com and asked a lot of questions that had simply accumulated on me. The questions that I asked often and in large numbers were always answered very quickly and to my satisfaction (thanks again for that). After I had to choose between different universities in Australia, I got stuck at Griffith University (with its positions in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Logan). I chose the position on the Gold Coast, because I didn’t want to go to university far from the beach…;)
I chose a business administration course, tourism and hotel management courses at Griffith University and I have to say that I was more than positively surprised with how studying at the university went. In Australia you choose a maximum of 5 courses, although 4 courses are normal (I also took 4 courses). You usually have a lecture of approx. 2 hours and a tutorial of one hour, which deals with the material from the lectures in more depth or questions can also be asked if the material content is still unclear.
The lecturers and professors at the university were all very nice and always answered questions. Some lecturers also specifically addressed “study abroad students” (which, however, gradually annoyed me more and more, even if it was only meant nicely…).
The overall impression of the teachers was more than positive, because the relationship between student and teacher is simply looser than in Germany. While we are grappling with the stiff “she” here in Germany, everyone in Australia is on the word “Du”.
There was also a wide range of options outside of studying. Often there were markets on campus (you could try out food there, buy sunglasses, earrings, etc.), a university bar with theme parties from time to time and special events for foreign students were also offered.
- Visit nexticle to learn more about country of Australia and continent of Oceania.
The introductory week for foreign students was helpful, but it is not necessarily a “must” in my opinion. You can get useful information, but you could publish it all in a brochure. However, I found the trip to Byron Bay, which the university offered during the introductory week and which I also took part, very good. Because there I established and kept my contacts with other students during the semester (unfortunately the number of those who can ride is limited and I can only advise everyone to register early…).
The university also helped with the on-site search for an apartment, as there were notices on which apartment offers were published and you only had to look for the right offer. However, you already spend a lot of money on the phone to find the right one. But it wasn’t just for us…
There is also a team of doctors right at the university, so if you ever get sick you can go there. But be aware that you ALWAYS need an appointment, otherwise you can leave again (it’s not like us that you just wait longer and then get your turn). But the advantage that the doctor has at the university is that you are familiar with the health insurance that you have to take out with the university and therefore do not have any problems with the assumption of costs.
No matter what problems you have, you can always contact the people who “take care” of the foreign students (eg Emma Shield) by email or in a personal conversation.
My overall impression of my semester abroad in Australia at Griffith University was more than positive (even if Griffith University was further away from the beach as I had hoped), because I always had contacts and I never felt left alone.
Even if you go to Australia for study reasons, there is still more than enough time to see some of the country. Whether during or after the semester, you should definitely take time to travel, because Australia is a great country and its people are open and lovable.
