Rosheen – University College Dublin – Ireland
Semester 2, 2022
Bachelor of Business (Marketing)
Choosing to do my semester abroad in Dublin was a no-brainer for me. The city and country are full of culture, music, sports, and history, and is definitely an extremely underrated destination. Being in such a central location in Europe, Ireland is the easiest place to hop from one country to another on weekends which is something anyone who chooses to study here should take advantage of.
UCD – Classes, accommodation, transport, student life
During my stay, I was lucky enough that I have family in Ireland so I was able to stay with them (which saved me a lot of money), however, many of the other international students I met either had on-campus accommodation or rented rooms privately. As I resided in Dublin 6 which is fairly central, commuting to campus by public transport is probably the biggest adjustment as that is not my usual mode of transport to QUT. However, during ‘freshers’ week the global team at UCD made it very easy for us to apply for the student leap card (similar to the go card) and also gave us the option to rent a bike free of charge for the entire semester, as in recent years Dublin has become very bike friendly.
When it came to classes I was limited in the units, I was able to complete at UCD as I am coming up to the end of my studies. Instead of completing six modules, I did five which is still considered as full-time and pre-approved by QUT before leaving for my exchange. One noticeable difference between UCD and QUT was that UCD did not offer many tutorial classes in the business school, so I found it difficult to speak and collaborate in class with my peers as it was purely lecture-based learning. However, on the upside, I found the classes were considerably easier and not as content-heavy as other units I have completed.
Student life at UCD was extremely to get involved in as there was an abundance of sports clubs and societies to join, and three free gyms across campus that included a few free personal training sessions, yoga, spin, and HITT classes. I personally joined tag rugby (Oztag), food society, business and economics society, and the international student society (ISS). The most rewarding was definitely the ISS, as they organised trips to the Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher, Bundoran surf trip, and plenty of other hikes, trips, and nights out. They made it extremely easy for people to make friends.
Australia vs. Ireland rugby union match (we lost)
Highlights
One of my biggest motives behind choosing Dublin was to spend time with my family, so this was definitely the biggest highlight of my exchange. Plenty of my weekends were spent between Dublin and Galway experiencing the history and nightlife in both cities (Galway by far my favourite place) as well as a weekend trip to Brussels, London, Giants Causeway, and Belfast. The nightlife in Ireland is like nothing I have ever experienced, the pubs are always full of singing, dancing, and live traditional music – the best is definitely the Sunday sessions at Cassidy’s.
After trying many pints of Guinness, the best is definitely from the Storehouse.
Find out how you can apply for exchange via the QUT Student Exchange website.
