Experience Report Dave Coenjaerts

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Hugh Kelly
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1 Experience Report Dave Coenjaerts Study Program: Global Law Exchange Semester: Spring Academic Year: Host University: Victoria University of Wellington Country: New Zealand General Information I studied for half a year at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington is a vibrant place with the most friendly people I had ever met. The city has a large harbour and is located in a beautiful bay in the South of New Zealand. It is the capital of the country and therefore has a lot of important institutions such as the parliament, important musea, courts and much more. It is a very compact city for the number of people that live in it, which is largely due to the hills that surround the city. Despite it being a real city, it is also very close to nature: great tracks and great national parks are often under an hour away. The university is located at the heart of the city, at least the law faculty. It is one of the oldest buildings in town and a fantastic place to work and study. It is opposite of the houses of parliament and close to the monumental station. The campus is located at different places across town, and are mostly very modern. There are great places to work and study, great coffee bars and fantastic facilities in general. This includes a university sports center, which is pretty decent. As said, the law faculty is located in the heart of the city, close to the water. The medicine faculty is located more in the hills, higher up. There are around students, and a large community of exchange students. In my period there were heaps of Americans, but in different periods there are also people from South America and Europe. Practical Information Before I left for New Zealand, I had received plenty of information from the host university. This was mainly because I was in University housing, which needed some work to arrange for. I also received information about insurances I had to take, what I could expect in NZ and what I had to arrange for. I had no difficulties at all in my preparation, luckily. The visa procedure was easy. It was an online process and it took me a few hours to fill in. In a week I had my visa for half a year. The arrival was not organised, as I arrived earlier tha the beginning of the semester to travel around. I am not sure whether they would pick you up normally. After my travels, I went to my house where I was greeted by a senior student. The reception was very nice, also at university the week after. There were activities planned for us, and also many information sessions. The administration was well prepared and helped us with everything we wanted to know. I did not have any problems because of this. As said, there were a few introduction days, but there were not that many activities. The first week I therefore spent mainly with my housemates, which was great as well. There were a couple of students that participated in the introduction, which were also from the buddy program which I signed up for. My buddy was fun, but I did not really need her as I could find out everything on my own or with the help of my fellow housemates.

2 The accommodation I had was great. I lived in a big house with 10 others. We had a large living room and a nice kitchen and even a garden. The house was owned by the university, as many other houses in our street. Our placed served as a true meetup point for exchange students, which was great. The accommodation could also be booked well in advanced, so I knew exactly what to expect. The university had elaborate processes to make sure you got to live with fitted your personality and your desires for the exchange semester. It was a great matching process. In the end, the housing was one of the best things in NZ. The living costs were rough. Housing was crazy expensive and food is not cheap either to say the least. However, I knew all this in advance, so I will not complain about it too much. I would say that, for a decent living with rent and everything included, you could use 1000 per month. This is way more than I spend in Tilburg, but completely worth it. I had saved up a lot of money and was also supported by my parents. An overview, all per month: - Housing: 600,- - Food: 250,- - Transport: 0,- - Books: 50,- - Miscellaneous: 100,- The academic calendar was as following. The semester was 4 months long, with one midterm break in the middle of two weeks. In the end there was a study week, and in the beginning an introduction week. There are usually no special events, except for holidays that would give everyone a day off, but this was only once. The International Office was great. I did not need a lot of help, but once I needed some help was always there. I participated, at the request of TiU, in a study abroad infosession in which I represented our university. I did this together with other Dutch students, which also represented their own university. I had received promotional material from Tilburg, which I used to inform NZ students. As far as I could see, the day was a great success. As far as I know of, there were activities for exchange students organised every month. More was not necessary, as everyone had fun activities with their housemates. The activities that were organised were fun however and many students attended. My contact with local students was limited, but I can say that I met at least 10 NZ people whom I got to know reasonably well. More elaborate was my contact with other exchange students, of which I knew almost everyone in the end. This was mainly due to all the parties we threw at our house. With these people, and mainly my roommates, I also got to travel great distances within New Zealand and outside. I can say that I saw all the highlights in New Zealand, and I travelled to the Cook Islands, Bali, Malaysia and Hong Kong as well. Culture-wise my exchange could have been more interesting. Fact of the matter is that New Zealand is very similar to Europe. One could say that it is a mix between Western Europe and the US. That is great, but it does mean that there is barely any new culture to be explored, except for the Maori culture. This was one of the more interesting things to see, as it is still a large part of the New Zealand community. In general, I could describe the culture as very open and friendly to foreigners. They are modest people, and are always prepared to help one in need. Despite it being a big city, there is a great sense of community. For the remaining part, it is very similar to NL. There wasn t anything that I did not like to be honest. For me personally I think the exchange has been a great experience. The main takeaway for me is that I have become way more comfortable on my own. One of my goals was to

3 take on this challenge of going to NZ all alone and to succeed and have a good time. This goal has definitely been reached. I am way more comfortable on my own and I have become better at functioning in a room full with strangers. I have become more social, and have grown in my confidence. I am sure this will influence my career possibilities, but I am not sure this is because of my education in general. It might also be because of my experience in general. My experience was so cool that I would do nothing differently, except for saying yes to everything I was offered. I would do every trip and every activity possible. The best experience was probably one of the great hikes I completed, of which I will add some pictures. The things I will never forget are the moments with my housemates. We really got to bond over those 5 months. In the end, the most important lesson I learned was that I can always rely on myself. I have learned that I am more than capable of solving all the issues that could come my way. Academic Information The courses I followed were all thought in English. As far as I know, this is the only language they offer for courses. I took only law-related courses, because this connected to my studies at home. I took 300-level courses, which are third year courses. These were quite tough, as I could have known beforehand. The quality of the courses was great however, and we had the best teachers of the country. I would say the level of the courses is the same as in Tilburg, but due to the different systems of law it was harder for me to grasp. The teaching style is theoretical, although some courses use the Socratic method in their classes. In general, you work alone. I was quite happy with my achievements, especially since the classes were quite hard to complete. The exams that I completed were all written ones, of which some were open book.

4 Courses I followed the following courses: Course Prerequisites Exam ECTS Comments LAWS 325 Environmental Law LAWS 352 Banking and Finance Law LAWS 340 International Law LAWS 365 Elements of Taxation None Written 7,5 Easy course. You could do this without doing the lectures. Quite cool though. None Written 7,5 Difficult course, but very interesting and world class teachers. None Written 7,5 Only course which I did not pass. Not too hard, but lots of reading and I spent too much time on the other courses. None Written 7,5 Difficult course, passed but with lots of studying Tips I would definitely recommend an exchange period. I is completely true that it is probably the best time of your life. I would immensely recommend going to Wellington as well. The city is great; big but compact and there is lots of stuff to do. The scenery is also not comparable to anything. The university is great and there are awesome people to help you. They are very welcoming! The education is of a high level as well, which was definitely important for me as well. I do not have any tips. In New Zealand everything will turn out fine; just make sure you are open to all the new experiences and that you say yes to everything that comes on your path. Below, I have added the one picture that best describes my exchange period. You can definitely share mail address with other students! My report however I do not wish to be published.

5 Thanks for all the efforts!

Study Program: Psychology and Health. Exchange semester: Fall Academic year: Host University: Vrije Universiteit Brussel Country: Belguim

Study Program: Psychology and Health Exchange semester: Fall Academic year: 2017-2018 Host University: Vrije Universiteit Brussel Country: Belguim GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL The Vrije Universiteit