Zoe – City University of London – England
Semester 2, 2022
Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication)
My student exchange destination for Semester 2 2022 was London, England. I could not recommend the gorgeous and social city of London enough to future study abroad students. This was a very life-changing six months of my life full of challenges, amazing moments and memories that will last my entire lifetime.
Studying in London
Studying in London at one of the most prestigious business schools in the UK is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The campus at City University of London a lot smaller in size in comparison to QUT Gardens Point campus. This in turn means that it doesn’t take much time to walk between classes. The university is located in Northampton Square in the suburb Angel. The closest underground train station to the campus is Angel Station, only a ten minute walk away from campus. At Bayes Business School, each QUT unit is called a ‘module’ and generally one module equates to 15 ECTS which is a QUT twelve-point unit. I studied four modules at Bayes to equate to a full-time four-unit study load at QUT. Each of my subjects were made up of usually just one weekly lecture that went for two hours. Only one of my modules had a weekly tutorial that went for one hour. Due to the extremely condensed in-person weekly teaching, any questions I needed to ask the lecturer was best asked at these lectures. One particularly noticeable difference in the lectures at Bayes is that the lectures were very interactive and lecturers asked students a lot of questions in class.
Uni Campus at Northampton Square
Accommodation
I found finding student accommodation in London pretty difficult considering that my host university only offered student accommodation for exchange students studying for a full academic calendar, compared to only one semester. Private student accommodation options not run by the university itself are also pretty expensive in London. I was lucky enough to get in contact with a family friend’s family, who lived in London, before I flew over, to organise to rent out their spare bedroom for the entirety of my exchange experience. My main piece of advice for finding accommodation would be to try and rent somewhere as close as possible to an underground train station. This is really helpful when you have commute to get to anywhere in the city. Although there are a lot of local buses that are slightly cheaper public transport options, the London Underground train network is the quickest and most reliable method of public transport.
Student Life
Student life at City University of London helps you to form friendships and make the most of your exchange experience in London. City Student’s Union is the student union at the university that puts on social trips and enhances your exchange experience. Throughout my semester abroad I went on a trip organised for exchange students to see the theatre show Mamma Mia, in West End.
Buckingham Palace, London
Travelling
Living and studying in the heart of the UK, meant that I was lucky enough to travel as much as I could throughout my semester abroad. During my time living in London, I travelled to Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria, Greece, Germany, Scotland, Wales, France, and a few smaller towns in England. The opportunity to backpack around Europe and the UK isn’t just something you can decide to do on a weekend whilst living in Brisbane.
Returning Home
Since returning back to Brisbane after my semester abroad experience in London, England, I have realised that living and studying in the UK, at one of the most prestigious business schools, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. My student exchange in London is by far the highlight of my university experience so far. I could not recommend studying at Bayes Business School at City University of London enough to any aspiring QUT students looking for a life-changing six months full of amazing memories.
Find out how you can apply for exchange via the QUT Student Exchange website.
