Cameron's Exchange to BOKU | Austria
I wanted to spend a semester abroad as my studies to date had been by distance education, and I thought it would be a real shame to finish my degree not having friends I had made whilst studying. Taking a semester abroad enabled me to experience campus life, meet lots of great people and, for the first time, not have to balance study and work which was absolutely awesome.
I selected BOKU - the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna for two key reasons. Firstly, I wanted to add a European perspective and understanding to the practice of sustainability to my studies. I felt that this would add some security to my career and make me more employable in Europe should I move there at any future stage. I was also really interested to see the European approach to practice in my area of study (Sustainability), to see what they do differently, why, and if any of their methods, values or approaches could be applied to Australia and my future work.
Secondly, I wanted to see what is was like to study at a university that focuses on the natural and life sciences. Unlike every university in Australia which might have a school or faculty for studies related to the environment, BOKU is focussed on studies in this field, ranging across its fifteen departments and over 68 institutes. Each institute may only teach a few courses, some have entire degrees, but all are fully fledged research institutes. Being surrounded by “colleagues” (as students refer to each other) who are all environmentalists – whether biotechnologists, bee keepers, climate modellers, water engineers or economic researchers is absolutely amazing and made for a really rich and interesting place to learn and discuss.
For my interest in sustainability, particularly urbanism, Vienna is THE archetypal example. The public transport is incredible, and there is culture and art at every turn in the city. After studying the theory, seeing it alive in front of you is amazing. You see the city with an entirely different set of lenses. From amazing parks and galleries, pop up operas, theatre, and more. I went to 24 galleries in Vienna during the semester, let alone museums. The city is filled with lively public spaces where you can mix with locals and really get to know the city. Do the touristy stuff – sit in a coffee house, head to the Volksoper, but live like a local too. It is an achingly beautiful city – even when it’s snowing and you are off to BOKU for an 8am lecture. The city itself gave me so many ideas and memories I’ll certainly cherish.
When planning for the trip, the OEAD (housing authority) were helpful, once you understand how they work. They will promptly respond to your enquiries, but will provide the absolute minimum information, so it might take a few emails to sort things out. Fun fact: when you transfer money to them, i.e to pay for your bond to secure your booking, the Austrian banks will remove a transfer payment fee when the amount is cleared. The OEAD will helpfully not do anything until they receive your full deposit, so either follow up and agree to pay the difference in cash when you arrive (mine was 14 euro) OR transfer more money then you need to straight away. When selecting accommodation, make sure it is an OEAD property – DO NOT select a BASE property as you will cry and die a little inside. If you are placed in a BASE Property demand to change. Trust me and the other student who studied here from Murdoch this year! Once you arrive, pay your rent in cash at the bank to save money, too. Avoid transferring funds from an Australian account to an Austrian account wherever possible.
BOKU have some great information on their International office website (BOKU ZIB) broken into sections – before you arrive, after you arrive. They step things out and are really handy without going into information overload. You’ll arrive in a brand new city and need to navigate new things and sort stuff out every day. It can be exhausting, so take full use of their advice. They have very practical advice, such as the cheapest and most reliable SIM card to purchase – it really helped me to ‘hit the ground running’ as I knew when I arrived in Vienna to pop into a Billa and buy a sim card – no sweat! Also - pay close attention to opening hours. They are frustratingly random. Particularly the advice about when to arrive in Vienna – nearly everything is closed on a Sunday so arriving without toilet paper won’t help.
Arrive in advance of the orientation days. Note the plural. It is an orientation week and activities are spread across that time. You certainly don’t need to attend all of it but don’t rock up on the last orientation day and expect to be able to do everything that has already happened. BOKU will help you, for example, get a semester ticket for public transport, which will let you use trains, trams and buses during the term. If you do not qualify (I was too old), be careful about buying monthly tickets. They are valid for the calendar month. So if you buy one on the 15th, you only get 15 days. Download the app ‘QANDO’ – it plans out all of your public transport options and how to get to places – all the locals use it too, and it really helps when you are navigating between campuses in your first few weeks.
Once you settle in, life at BOKU is really nice. The class sizes are generally small and interactive. There is lots of discussion and they like to draw upon students different perspectives. When you enroll in English classes, you’ll get a really diverse mix of local and ERASMUS students, so the discussions are interesting. The curriculum for each course is also linked to applied research from the institutes. I attended some amazing lectures, where the professors linked the learning content to their own research and stories. I was lucky enough to study two units the former head of an institute who retired just the year before and now only lecturers these two units. He was really more of a story teller than a lecturer, but freely shared so much knowledge and related it to case studies and projects that he could vividly describe and share pictures of. It was a real highlight.
Some lectures also include excursions, which are pretty good fun. Pay really close attention to the course type when you enroll. It will denote whether or not you need to attend the classes. Lectures are not recorded, so if you miss them, you can miss out on a lot of content. Your timetable WILL clash if you study across more than one course stream (I had courses from several institutes). Even though you’ll fill out a learning agreement before you leave Australia, it WILL NOT go to plan. Classes will be full before you arrive, you’ll enroll and realise that classes clash, you’ll turn up and realise what was in the tin wasn’t quite what was on the label. It’s okay. Aim to have your enrolment finalized by the end of the second week, ensuring that you minimize as many clashes as possible. If you absolutely need a one to one unit credit, you may need to discuss with the course coordinator about enrolling – i.e places may already be full. This also holds for exams. They are generally extremely helpful, particularly for international students who can’t sit the exam next semester. (BOKU Students sit exams as they are ready, there is no defined examination period).
Do sign up for a Boku Buddy. They are great people. I ended up with a really fantastic friend and it is so great to have someone you can SMS a quick question to when things don’t make sense, you get lost or are not sure what to do. My buddy went out of her way to be an awesome host, to show me life as a local, taking me to places I would have never of found as a tourist.
All in all, I got way more than credit points from my semester abroad. I met wonderful people, explored things I never thought I would study, proved a lot to myself as well as answering some big questions like… what I am going to do after I graduate! I would absolutely recommend BOKU and Vienna for a study abroad semester.
- Cameron studied abroad at BOKU in Vienna, Austria
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murdoch University Study Abroad & Exchange - Outbound
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT US!
EMAIL: studyabroad@murdoch.edu.au
PHONE: +61 8 93607836
VISIT: Murdoch University, Student Centre, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA, 6150
FIND US!
WEBSITE: http://our.murdoch.edu.au/Student-life/Join-in/Overseas-study-opportunities/
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/murdochoutbound
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/murdochoutbound
