TRAVEL REPORT University of Management School Autumn 2015 271525

Preparing for the exchange

First of all, I had to make a choice, where I would like to spend my exchange period. Aalto University has so many options for this purpose, so the task is not quite simple for everyone. My first preference was England. I have been interested in England for many reasons. In my mind, the country has a very interesting history and it is a fascinating country also today. And the British universities have a good reputation at the international level.

I drew attention to . I read that it is a prestigious school in the UK and they really take exchange students into consideration. Sheffield city seemed to be a good place to stay for my exchange period and it has good transport connections. I familiarize myself with the city and university a little bit more and I became convinced. I selected it for my first choice and I got there.

Preparations were very smooth with the University of Sheffield because of good care of the Host university. They will contact you well in advance before the beginning of your exchange period. Your part is to read carefully the emails which they sent to you and ensure you accept the admission to the university for the exchange period in due time. You should also remember to apply for university housing as soon as possible. It is highly recommended to live in the university housing. I'll tell you a little bit later why.

There is a good pre-registration in University of Sheffield. You need to perform a few tasks such as upload a photo for the student card and give the necessary information about you. In addition, you need familiarize yourself with some of university’s information materials. I found that program as a useful. It is recommended to join also the Facebook group which is intended for exchange students of your semester. There you get info how to join mailing lists interesting you. I attended the orientation week and I can definitely recommend it. It costs somewhat but it is worth it.

The week includes really fun events and it is a good opportunity to get to know other exchange students. The week is also intended for other new students at the university and it is nice to talk with them too. Moreover, I ordered a ride from the Manchester airport to the university. It was very convenient. We picked up the keys with the tutors and they showed our apartments. If you live in the university housing, that is same as your apartment during semester.

At the end of the Orientation week, we had to buy our own bed linen. Also a duvet and a pillow. I bought also a day coverage. All these stuff can be found most easily at Primark. It is a shop in the middle of the city center. I recommend buying also an indoor slippers or bringing those from home. English floors are cool in winter and they are suitable in common interior. You must remember to bring enough warm clothes from home, though the winter is not as cold in England than in Finland. The summer seemed to remain surprisingly far in autumn. However, it surprised that local people could wear a t-shirt even in December.

I prepared for travel by taking voluntary travel insurance and ordering European health insurance card from Kela. The latter is free. Fortunately, I did not need either. If you live in university housing, it includes a limited insurance too. I did not need visa or any other travel documents when I traveled to another European Union country, except passport, of course. However, this fact may change in future, regarding England.

Exchange studies

The semesters go at a different pace in England than in Finland. School starts in the mid of September depending on whether you participate in the orientation week, otherwise week later in autumn semester. It also last until the beginning of February. It is a good idea to take this into account when designing studies in home university. In Erasmus exchange you have to accomplish 60 English credits under normal circumstances. I took three 20-credit courses which last all the semester. They were as follows:

Business Intelligence

This was a nice and interesting course and it was taught by an inspiring professor. The course consists of group works and a final exam. The group works included a couple of presentation and report writing. Writing is mostly individual work. The allocation of points was approximately 50-50. I can recommend the course.

Business Strategy

This course focused on strategy, as its name suggests. The best part of the course was interesting seminar/tutorials topics. They were also mandatory like tutorials in other courses. However, they did not require a lot of advance preparations. At the end of the course was an exam which determined the entire grade.

Organizational Behaviour

This course was a little different from what I had been used to in Finland. The course was assessed by a single 2 500 word essay only. There were mandatory tutorials in this course too. The essay-writing must follow the principles of scientific writing carefully. The course had interesting lectures and it is useful if you want to understand more about a variety of organizations and human behavior within them.

Generally about studies

There are less lectures and more individual work in England. Only tutorial lectures are mandatory and if you are absent, you need an explanation. I am not sure whether that is compulsory already for the first time of absence, but the form for that is available online if you need it. Tutorials are held once in two weeks and when needed, you can change your time if you cannot attend. You need a form from the student affair office in the management school for that. The school has a very convenient web/app based calendar program whereof you can check times and places of your lectures/tutorials. Overall, I think the system worked well. It is good that there are also free times when you are in exchange. The courses were not too demanding in my opinion.

You do not have to register for the exams but the date and the place will appear on the net at the end of the semester. My exams were in the Goodwin sports centre but the exams may be also farther so take enough time in the morning of exam day. The assumption is that everyone passes the exam at the first time at the time announced and resit is charged.

I liked to do my course work and to prepare for exam week in university’s public spaces like Information Commons and Diamond. Diamond is a new building which was opened during my exchange period so Information Commons is more familiar to me. There are a lot of people in these places especially during exam weeks.

Generally about University of Sheffield

Sheffield University is a recognized university and it is a part of the Russel group, the country’s top universities. It is among the world top- 100 university in the Times Higher Education ranking and number one in the UK in the 2014-2015 Times Higher Student Experience Survey. The latter especially means a lot to exchange students and to what kind of experience the exchange semester is. My experiences of the school and its arrangements were good. Professional

The Diamond organization and commitment to quality was reflected in school and how it works.

Sheffield University is not a campus university but like universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the university’s buildings are scattered around the city. I think it was nice to see a variety of buildings. I remember particularly a small university building near our student village. It was an old building with a wall covered with Nobel Prize winners’ pictures. I was able to sense the atmosphere of past times. Another impressive building is . It is the 78 meters high tower block whose upstairs windows unfold stunning views over Sheffield. Management school has several lectures in that building.

Free time and other information

You have a big bunch of different options what to do in your free time. That is due to an excellent Students’ Union of Sheffield University. You should familiarize yourself with these great possibilities right away in orientation week or at the latest in the intro week. There are two weeks at the beginning of semester when you have a good time to get to know people and different hobbies and other leisure facilities. It is worth to keep in mind that these beginning weeks mean a lot to how much you get out of your exchange period.

The student union house is the center of many activities. It is a multistorey building which includes number of restaurants, bars and a cinema among other things. Movie society shows movies at an affordable price in the cinema throughout semester. There are also spaces for different hobby groups and other activity events. From there you can pick up a handy Give it a Go programme. Give it a go gives you a great chance to try new things and visit different places. I especially recommend day trips and that you book them early. The most popular trips will be sold out as well as other popular events.

The University of Sheffield has excellent facilities to do sports. The university’s sport centre is called Goodwin. It is concentration of buildings where you can practice a variety of sports. I went for a swim there a few times. There is one drawback in the swimming hall. The sauna in the building is nothing less than pitiful. You can see it for yourself if you are there some day.

I took part in day trips to Oxford and York. In addition, it is possible to make day trip to Cambridge and Edinburgh, among other things. Oxford was a wonderful city where the prestigious history of various colleges can be seen and sensed everywhere. There were two different trips to that city during my period. I took by change a little more expensive trip, but it was worth it. We had a guide who was a former student of Oxford. We got the most of the trip with his fun and lively stories and naturally he was able to show us the best places. In addition, we paid a few pounds entrance fee for independent visit to a certain college.

York is the one of the cities which that was under the Roman Empire. That historic feature can be seen in the town. We visited ruins of Roman wall inter alia. There are also great museums in the town such as National Railway Museum and York Castle Museum. It is possible to familiarize oneself to English lifestyle in different way there. We focused on the history and culture on that trip so we went to both of these two museums. Of course, there are more choices and there is possible to participate in a free city tour in the town. The free city tour can be found in the most of the English cities. The guides do their job for tips. I can recommend these trips especially for those who are interested in history. If you are more interested in partying, then Edinburgh trip is for you. It was pretty wild trip to Scotland, what I heard. I myself went there with a couple of friend in my own time and also that city I can recommend. It has to be mentioned for the benefit of Sheffield that the city is well located for the travelling. And when you are booking and planning your own trips, Megabus is probably the best option for travelling.

If you live in the student housing, you have a chance to participate in the events of student village community. I lived in Endcliffe student village. In the middle of the village is a small shop where you can conveniently buy small purchases. The village centre is The Edge. It is the two-storey building which has a restaurant, a café and a bar in it. Many students living in the village went there to eat dinner but I think they were for the most part those whose rent includes meals. Of course, everyone else can eat there.

The bar on the upper floor of the building organizes nice evenings like quiz and pizza nights. In addition, there is a full English breakfast offered until the afternoon on weekends. The meal is a little heavy but I quite often liked to start the weekend this way. You can also play pool and watch sport in the bar. If you want to spent a relaxed moment with a hamburger and sport, so the Edge bar and Bar one are good places for that purpose. The price level in those places is reasonable and the food is good.

Atmosphere in Sheffield is like in a small town, though on Finnish yardstick it is a big city. The people are friendly and approachable. Most places are within walking distance. However, if you will go by buss, it costs one pound a way. You can get a lot of walking exercise in the town. I walked several kilometers a day as already school trip was a couple of kilometers per one way. It was good, because I took almost none other exercise, although my intention was to do that.

Give it a go organizes hiking trip to the neighboring Peak District national park. I participated in such a day trip in September. There are several trips to the Peak District and they are suitable for all. Normal casual clothing and sneakers are appropriate for outfit.

Landscape of Peak District

Hiking trip to the Peak District is better to do when the weather is good. I recommend you to do it early autumn or late spring. You can familiarize yourself with the classic English heath. It is nice to stop in an idyllic village after the trip and to enjoy English pub menu.

Final Comments

I think England is an excellent country as an exchange country. It is easy to go there. Language and customs are quite familiar to Finnish and culture is interesting. English people have pretty straightforward nature. The University of Sheffield has really good arrangements for the exchange students so I can sincerely recommend it to all who are about to go exchange.

It depends on you whether you appreciate Sheffield’s tranquil atmosphere. If you fancy a big city bustle, the Sheffield may not be for you. Whereas if you value a safe and friendly city, Sheffield is the excellent option. However, a word of caution. Sheffield is the large city, and there are all sorts of people. A certain caution is necessary, especially in the nightlife. It also depends on the own behavior and it makes sense to go to the bar with other students. Anyway, overall appearance of Sheffield is a pretty safe compared with larger cities in England.