Exchange Report

University of Exeter The Business School

Ho Ka Chun, Eric Fall, 2019

United Kingdom

Exeter, Devon

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September 2019 I arrived Exeter on 15th September 2019 after a long indirect flight to London and several hours of bus trip to the destination. During the fresher week, my timetable was packed with administrative procedures, course registration and taster sessions. It was one of the most fruitful month during my exchange journey as I got to meet a lot of friends while trying out new activities. Particularly, I joined the taster and mingling sessions of Expedition Society, Badminton Society, Basketball Society, Muay Thai Society, Rifle Society, Boxing Society, International Society and Mahjong Society. I enjoyed chilling with new friends, and it took me a lot of time to decide which society to go for. I finally chose to join the expedition and boxing society and they turned out to be the awesome ones (highly recommended!). Despite having a tight schedule, I spent time to walk around the town with my HKUST exchange friends and had a great time having lunch at the lawn. Exeter is a small town but is really comfy.

October 2019 The semester has started for two weeks and I have adapted to the regular lecture patterns. Apart from spending time on studying, I immersed myself into the traditional UK college culture and joined the Scavenger Hunt organised by the Expedition Society. It was a game where we had to run across the places to finish the tasks and drink alcohol, while the team that scored the highest would be granted free pizza from one of the best bar in Exeter, the Old Firehouse. I enjoyed the process to work with the locals and drink the special cocktails in the UK. In addition, I travelled to the University of Warwick to visit my friend and went on a pub crawl with his friends in Coventry and Leamington Spa. What an excellent experience! One unfortunate thing, though, was that I have to go back to Hong Kong for an interview during Halloween. I would love to celebrate that in the UK if I had a second chance.

Monthly Activity Log

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November 2019 I flew back to the UK on 4 November 2019 after my interview. I have got a midterm and a philosophy essay deadline this month so I did not do much except from regular schooling. What happened in Hong Kong this month has also struck me heavily. I believe it has been one of the most devastating and frustrating month in life for me and most of the Hongkongers. However, as Christmas was approaching, I did join the trip to Bath by the end of November with my German friend from the boxing society. As a small historic town, Bath held a magnificent and popular Christmas market for families and the internationals to gather around, enjoying snacks and buying decorations. I tried a cup of mulled wine with the best doughnut I have ever eaten. It was a great relaxation and I could not believe the semester will soon come to an end.

December 2019 I was busy with finishing the module and taking photos around the campus in the first two weeks of the month. One memorable experience was that the boxing society organised a “License to Fight: 002” activity, where new boxers could fight with the peer at an actual ring. It was thrilling to watch the fight and I promised myself to keep boxing when I go back to Hong Kong. As the semester break started, I travelled around Europe with my friend at the

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University of Warwick to explore the European culture. Our destinations include Amsterdam in Netherland, Germany, Prague, Slovakia, Italy and Spain. The trip was quite expensive but truly unforgettable.

January 2020 It is an exhausting month that I spent all my time on studying the final. I grabbed the final chance to visit London after the examinations, and I flew back to Hong Kong on 13 January 2020.

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VISA Procedures HKSAR passport holder is not required to apply for short-term UK VISA beforehand. All you have to do is to bring along the letter of acceptance issued by the University of Exeter and say clearly to the immigration officers that you come to study for less than six months. One important thing is that if you plan to leave UK during your exchange study, you have to bring the letter of acceptance with you as it will be checked everytime when you go back to the border. Forgetting to do so will get yourself in trouble going through gate, which is truly undesirable. For holders with other passports, please check the UK immigration website for more information. Orientation Activities During the fresher week, you could try out a lot of activities held by different societies and clubs. And believe me, you will not have time to attend all of them as their schedule are often overlapped. You might want to check Exeter Student Guild website for more information or get the first-year handbook from the welcoming talk in order to plan your schedule ahead. Fortunately, most of the taster sessions are free of charge so you could get to know very much about their culture and meet new friends. I highly recommend you to get involved actively as it could be the way you bond with others before your semester starts. There are other orientation trips organised by the international office like welcoming dinner, welcoming dance night and the short cruise trip to the Jurassic Coast. You could apply them through the University’s official website. International Services & Activities University of Exeter organises Global Chums program to connect international and local students with similar interest. I got to meet a final-year Physics student who travelled to Hong Kong before. It was great talking to her, and I believe I would have the chance to hang out with her in Hong Kong when she comes later. I would recommend you to join the program if you want to meet new friend. You could find more information via: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/internationalstudents/newstudents/globalchumsmentoring/ Accommodations It is extremely difficult for one-semester exchange students to rent houses in Exeter. Houses for short-term lease is very limited and most of the time they charge you with huge amount of money. To lower the cost, you should make sure to start planning early. The first thing you have to do is to apply for the University hall on time. Notice that international students are only eligible for the James Owen Court dormitory, which is an affordable and off-campus option for students. If you are not happy with the shared kitchen and toilet designs, you may switch to search for private accommodations on the websites provided by the University of Exeter. My case was a little bit special. I reached out to the host on AirBnb directly and negotiated for a short-term lease contract. You may do the same but make sure that the host does possess the license and you know the price around the community.

General Exchange Information

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Course Registration Exchange students are required to submit pre-registration preference to business school in order to allow them to reserve places and assess the feasibility, though non-business courses will only be confirmed during the fresher’s week. It would be the best for you to think ahead and have a contingency plan in mind in case your registration is not successful. I registered for Introduction to Astrophysics, Electromagnetism II, Introduction to Asian Philosophy and Managing Entrepreneurially. As three out of four of my modules are from non-business school, I spent a lot of time dealing with different departments. So be prepared if you are going to do the same. Teaching & Assessment Methods The methods vary across different colleges. In business school, presentation, midterms, proposals and final examinations are the most common ways of assessments. Classes do count on attendance and some of them will fail the students if they do not meet the minimum requirements. You should check the syllabus carefully for more information. Sports and Recreation Facilities There is a large sports park on Streatham campus with gym centre, sports ground, tennis court and others. If you join one of the sports society, you would come to the sports centre a lot. The gym membership here is offered on an annual basis though. So most of the short-term students would choose to join the memberships around the town in Exeter like Pure Gym and Energie Fitness. There is also a sports centre at St. Luke campus. I had my boxing training there but have never been there voluntarily. You may want to check it out if you are into sports. Financing and Banking There are several banks in the city centre of Exeter. Not everyone of them would open an account for short-term exchange students. I applied for HSBC account as it will be convenient for money transfer from Hong Kong to the UK. You have to obtain a bank letter from the student help desk before going into the branch. In busy times (i.e. start of semester), you may need to book for a timeslot at the branch in order to apply for the account. So make sure you go to the bank as early as possible. Social Clubs and Networking Opportunities Again, there are numerous societies and clubs that you can join during the fresher week. You may go to the Student Guild website for more information about them. Health and Safety Exeter is generally a very safe college town. However, students are still advised to stay vigilant at all times since sexual harassment or theft does rarely occur. Clinics and NHS health centre is available in Exeter. However, you must register with a local general practitioner before your first medical consultation. It is advised to go to the pharmacies for medicines if the illness is not serious. FOOD A wide variety of food can be found within Exeter, including Asian, European and American. Most of the restaurants are located in the city centre of Exeter near Princesshay shopping mall. Cost of living could be high if you dine out often. I chose to save money for trips through

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cooking at home. Supermarkets like Sainsbury, Iceland, Co-op could be conveniently found and provide all necessary ingredients. You could locate them using Google map by inputting “supermarket” within Exeter. Transportation Since Exeter is a relatively small town, a lot of places can be reached by walking. There are bus services for travelling between city centre and Exmouth via campus, costing around 2-3 pounds per transit. You could rent a bike exploring around the city during weekend as well. Climate The temperature of Exeter will gradually drop from around 18 degree Celsius in September to 4 degree Celsius in January. Students going on exchange in Fall are advised to bring enough winter clothes for keeping warm. On a side note, Exeter is always cloudy and rainy as well, so it is important to bring an umbrella. Communication There are Pay as You Go and SIM only plans available for students to use in the short period of time. The only difference is that you can top up the former plan when needed, while you have to renew the latter one in case all your data is out. I obtained a free SIM only plan by Lebara at the University’s fresher week and use the SIM only plan from the provider ever since. You may find extra discount code from fresher materials. Cautionary Measures Again, although Exeter is safe, you do have to stay vigilant at all times to avoid accidents or sudden malicious criminal acts.

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Items to Bring

1. HKID and Passports 2. Letter of Acceptance issued by University of Exeter 3. Several sets of clothes 4. Quilted Jackets (for winter) 5. Suits (for presentations and/or photo-taking) 6. Bed Sheets, Blankets, Pillows and Towels (depending on your rental) 7. Sunglasses 8. Charger and UK-standard Converter 9. Laptop 10. USB 11. Personal lock (in case you will travel to other countries and live in hostel) 12. Medicines

Useful Links and Contacts

• iExeter – Student Portal https://i.exeter.ac.uk

• Business School Modules http://business-school.exeter.ac.uk/study/international/modules

• Physics Modules: https://newton.ex.ac.uk/handbook/modules/

• UK VISA https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

• Great Western Railway Train https://www.gwr.com

• National Express Coach https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

• Busbud https://www.busbud.com/

• Websites for accommodations http://www.exeter.ac.uk/accommodation/students/prospectivestudents/erasmusexchan

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Items to Bring & Others