TRAVEL REPORT

Smith School of Business, Queen’s University

Toronto skyline Smith School of Business, Kingston

Queen’s University, Fall 2016

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Preparing for the exchange

Going on exchange to Canada and Queen’s University is relatively easy process, especially when comparing to preparations for some other countries. When considering the amount of paperwork, for Queen’s you only need to send a copy of your official transcript and Finnish students don’t even need to do any kind of language test. While studying in Canada, you don’t need a visa, but you need to obtain an ETA if you fly to Canada. Also if you want to travel to US, you need ESTA. Besides that, you also need to pay some extra money, if you use car/bus to cross the border to US side. At least I and my Finnish friends had to do that.

When you are accepted to Queen’s University as an exchange student (this might be around April or May), you will get your acceptance letter, which I recommend saving and taking copies. Also I recommend saving the Aalto University’s acceptance letter, the one you will receive by post and which says that you got a place at Queen’s University. These acceptance letters can be asked when crossing the border. Overall Queen’s International/exchange Office will send you often emails, which tell you how to prepare for the exchange in detail. When you get your Queen’s NetID, you will be able to check the Queen’s Exchange Portal and find more information there.

Housing and Traveling to Kingston

Two things that you should start planning immediately when you get the confirmation that you have been accepted to Queen’s University, are reserving your plane tickets and starting to look for accommodation. Especially, if you are going on exchange on Fall, there’s not a lot of time to look for house, because during fall less Queen’s students go on exchange than exchange students arrive to Queen’s. So there’s a lack of housing. That’s why you should consider going to Kingston well before the orientation, or otherwise be really active. I got my apartment quite late, maybe around June. I saw a post on Facebook that two Aussie girls were looking for a third roommate and I replied fast and got a room. We lived in a house from a private market and almost in the “student ghetto”. Student ghetto is an area near the campus, where most of the students (not 1st year students) live, it consists of houses, which are accommodated by 3 to even 8 people. The houses are not in the best condition, but they are cheap and close to campus. Another option is to live in residence, where most of the 1st year students live. Usually when living in residence, you have to join the meal plan, which costs maybe around 150 euros per month, and then you can eat at the campus for free. I preferred living in the ghetto, as the parties were usually held there and I didn’t want to have a meal plan. Also from the ghetto you can get a room quite cheap, but residence costs always quite a lot (maybe around 700 euros per month). Also you might have to live in West campus, where you have to bike or bus, and which is in a wrong direction from the center of Kingston and main campus. Overall, when looking for the house, I recommend checking all the facebook-groups, Kijiji.com and being active, and start looking immediately when you get the confirmation.

You can get to Kingston either by traveling first to or . I find that Toronto is cheaper and better option as Icelandair flies there and it has a stopover in Reykjavik. Reykjavik’s airport is so small that changing the planes is easy and the whole travel time from Helsinki to Toronto can be only around 9 hours. Traveling from Toronto to Kingston can be done either by bus (Megabus, which is similar to Finnish Onnibus), train or plane (this is a small plane and quite expensive option). Even though buses are cheaper, the problem is that there’s restriction that one van have only one big luggage and then there’s space for a medium-sized backpack. Another (and in my opinion better) option is to take train to Kingston, where you can have one big luggage up to 25 pounds and then one normal hand-luggage. There’s also room for backpack in front of your legs. It’s more expensive but also faster. Both bus and train station are far away from Kingston center, so you probably have to take either a taxi or a bus to your flat.

Arriving to Kingston

When arriving to Kingston, exchange students should first go to Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC), where you get information package and I got also a bracelet that allowed me to travel free in the public transport before I got my student card. There are certain dates when the student cards can be picked. QUIC organizes also some welcoming events, where you can get to know other exchange students. Notable is that this Centre organizes events for exchange students in the whole Queen’s University, not only for exchange students in Smith School of Business. But there’s also Centre of International Management at Smith School of Business, which organizes the orientation for commerce students and also some events only for commerce students.

Some tips for preparations and traveling to Kingston

First of all, you should have enough cash, especially paying by debit card might not always work in Canada or USA. That’s why it’s good that you have a credit card. When traveling, eat enough because of the possible jet lag. Also traveling before the term might be nice, because especially during fall there’s no official holiday and the courses might have strict attendance. Therefore, you have only time to travel during weekends. Although, I would take sometimes time off from classes Friday-Tuesday, as I didn’t have any classes on Friday or Tuesday. Therefore, I only missed Monday’s classes. Of course there’s also possibility to travel after the fall term, during December and January.

Exchange studies

Usually the fall and spring term start at Queen’s University around the same time as in Aalto University. In 2016 the term started on 12th of September and officially lectures ended on 2nd of December. After this there’s exam weeks, that last usually till 22nd of December. Fall term includes a week long orientation before the actual term starts. In this orientation, it’s easy to get to know other exchange students and also some Canadians. NEWTS (lhttp://www.newtsorientation.ca/) organizes this and it costs around 200 CAD. Program is not that special, but you might get your best exchange friends here, so I highly recommend joining. This has to be bought before the start of the orientation, but usually it doesn’t sell out, so you might even find some free places after the actual registration has ended.

At Queen’s University and overall in Canada, business students are usually called commerce students. I did undergraduate studies in commerce, which means 3rd and 4th year studies in Smith school of business (course number starting either with 300 or 400). I chose my courses mainly based on that they don’t have any final exams, so that I have time to travel and can also come back home to Finland before Christmas. You use this local Oodi, which is called SOLUS to pick your courses. SOLUS can be difficult to use, but when you get the hang of it, enrolling to courses is quite easy. But keep in mind, that many courses have a limit of 50 participants and these courses can fill up really fast. Having a couple of extra possible courses is a winner plan. Although the first two weeks of the semester is drop-out period, when you can enroll to or drop-out of courses, I still recommend having a secondary plan if you don’t get a place in the courses you originally wanted.

Overall Queen’s has a good selection of different courses from different fields. All my courses were 3 credits, which is transferred to 6 ECTS in Aalto. So to get 30 ECTS, you usually have to take 5 courses. Some exchange students from Europe have to take only 4 courses, and also in the orientation the employees from the Centre of International Management recommended that exchange students take only 4 courses. With 5 courses the workload was for me at least relatively high, and I would say higher than in Aalto. But also I didn’t have any final exams, so naturally I had to do more work during the courses. Also some of the finance courses are banned from exchange students, as those courses have a heavy workload and are very difficult. But luckily there’s a good selection of different courses and also in many different fields. Moreover, some of my courses where pretty good and one even a lot better than any of the courses I have taken in Aalto. I took mainly marketing/management courses, and my decision were based that I found the courses interesting when reading the descriptions in SOLUS and these courses also suited best my timetable. I had Tuesdays and Fridays off, but for example on Wednesdays I was at the university from 8:30 till 21:30.

These are the courses I took:

Business Communication Skills in North America (COMM 370, undergraduate, 3 credits)

Professor: Rob Phippen

Evaluation: 100% of different assignments (group and individual), no final exam

Workload: A little bit lower than average

COMM 370 is a business communication course, which is specially recommended for exchange students, whose first language is not English. When looking at the name, one would assume that the course concentrates highly on the specialties that North America has in communication in business context. On the contrary, we had only one specifically Canadian/American exercise, which was a Canadian styled resume. Because this course consists mainly of other exchange students, you will get to know your fellow exchange students and work with teams consisting of students from different cultures. The professor was okay at lecturing and teaching, but he was new to Queen’s and sometimes he had difficulties with practicalities and being efficient. However, he understood that exchange students have also other interests than just school during the exchange, so he wasn’t that strict on attendance. So if you want to get to know more exchange students, or think that the mandatory business communication skills course in Aalto wasn’t enough, I recommend taking this.

Introduction to Entrepreneurship (COMM 305, undergraduate, 3 credits)

Professor: Peter Gallant

Evaluation. 40% Business Case done with a team, 15% mid-term exam, other assignments, no final exam

Workload: Average

COMM 305 is lectured by Professor Gallant, who has a lot of experience being an entrepreneur himself. He tells stories and uses examples to explain different factors when considering becoming entrepreneur. The course teaches the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and also teaches about venture finance side of starting a firm. The course was quite interesting, although it was sometimes quite tiring to have 3-hour lecture starting 6:30 pm and ending 9:30 pm. As all of the courses I took at Queen’s, evaluation in this course was based mostly on teamwork. Especially in this course, the teamwork is mainly done during the last weeks, when you have to have time to meet your team members face to face. However, the workload wasn’t that high and also the professor gives easily good grades. Overall I would recommend this course to students that have considered becoming an entrepreneur or otherwise are interested in entrepreneurship.

Service Management (COMM 343, undergraduate, 3 credits)

Professor: Barry Cross

Evaluation: 10% participation, 25% individual case memo, 20% team case memo, 20% team project presentation, 25% final case, no final exam

Workload: A little bit higher than average

In COMM 343 we took a closer look to different sides of service companies and how to manage them better. Professor Cross was an excellent lecturer, really enthusiastic about his topic and has a lot of experience on this field. He also expects that the students in the course are engaged in the conversation and he has high standards for the case memos. Many exchange students take this course, so again there’s a good possibility to get to know better other exchange students. Workload on this course was maybe a bit higher than average. There’s also quite a lot of teamwork during classes and outside classes team projects, so you have to have time to meet your team regularly. Otherwise this course is not that academic, so there’s a lot of interesting examples and many real life cases presented during the classes. I would absolutely recommend this course, because in my opinion the topic was interesting and not that hard and also you have possibility to enhance your presentation and teamwork skills.

Marketing Strategy (COMM 333, undergraduate, 3 credits)

Professor: Jacob Brower

Evaluation: 25% mid-term exam, quizzes 10%, simulation 30%, participation 20%, team case briefs 15%, no final exam Workload: Above average

If I would have to pick my favorite course that I took on exchange, it would be this. This course was mainly targeted for 3rd year Canadian students, but usually there’s also a few spots for exchange students. The course is lectured by Professor Brower, who is a really good teacher and very interested in this topic. I was never bored at classes, because of the interesting conversations between Brower and students. Also this course was probably the most academic one I took, there were many articles assigned to read for every week and these were also broadly discussed during the classes. But this was only around first 6 weeks of the course, because last 4 weeks there were not anymore teaching but teams concentrated on a simulation and making three marketing strategy decisions every week. The simulation thought me a lot how to apply these articles and theories in real life and also work with a team. So, I would recommend this course to anyone, whether you are marketing student or not (I’m not!). Although there’s a lot of work, you also learn a lot about how to apply theories to real life and the classes are usually highly interesting.

Social Impact and Innovation (COMM 406, undergraduate, 3 credits)

Professors: Tina Dacin and Kelley A. Packalen

Evaluation: 45% individual case memos, 45% team community solution project, 10% team storytelling, no final exam

Workload: Average

This course was the only course assigned for 4th year students that I took. The topic was different to traditional business courses, but otherwise the course was not harder than any other courses I took. The first half of the classes were held by Professor Dacin, who enjoys telling stories and she is also very good at that. Other half of the course was lectured by Professor Packalen, who is also expert on this field but has more traditional way of lecturing. This course involves a lot of writing and casework, but you can quite freely choose when do you do these exercises. As an exchange student this is very convenient, so you can do something beforehand if you have a trip somewhere scheduled. The topic was something I was not that interested in beforehand, but now after this course I have started thinking more about the ethical and social side of the business. So especially if you are interested in the social side of the business and how to make innovations that can help the society, I would recommend this course. But this course is also good for anyone, who enjoys interesting examples and writing.

Besides commerce courses, I think Aalto students can also pick courses from other faculties, for example from the Economics (which is under Arts and Science, not commerce). All the courses are in English, as Kingston is in , which is English-speaking province. Although Queen’s doesn’t offer necessarily the easiest courses, the courses are surely really interesting and most of the professors are very good at teaching and also charismatic. However, in my opinion Aalto students have good basic skills to pass the courses (overall grading is not that strict in the end) or even get high marks. Free time and other information

Costs

Living in Kingston costs around 300-600 euros, so around the same as for students in Helsinki/Espoo. University doesn’t cost anything, but many courses have mandatory course packages or books, that you have to buy. These course packages costed for me around 20-50 euros per each course. Also you need to register for the Queen’s University health plan (UHIP) during the first weeks of the term or before you arrive to Kingston. This costs around 150-200 euros. Besides this I recommend having a travel insurance, which you should obtain before you leave on exchange.

Food can be a little bit cheaper in Kingston than in Helsinki, but it depends a lot where you buy food. Food Basics or bigger supermarkets are generally the cheapest options, but Metro is closest to the campus and it has in my opinion better selection. Eating out is cheaper than in Finland, but because there’s not same kind of school food offered, eating at campus is more expensive. So I would sometimes make my own lunch and usually my own dinner. Also eating healthy is usually more expensive. Moreover, in Canada you don’t have to show the prices with taxes, so when you go shopping you should keep in mind the 13% tax (even higher in Quebec). Also you have to always tip (at bars, taxi drivers, restaurants etc.).

Kingston

Kingston is rather small town, located 50 miles from the U.S. border and around a three-hour drive to both Toronto and Montreal. Cute would be a good word to describe Kingston, because it has historical buildings and population is only around 170 000. Despite its small size, Kingston has the most restaurants and cafes per capita in Canada. Also because it’s so small, you can usually walk or bike almost everywhere, only bus/train station and the movie theatre are further away from the center.

Canadians, Canada and Traveling

In some sense the stereotype of Canadians hold true, most of them are friendly in all situations and usually even cashiers at grocery stores ask how are you. Also Canadians are usually interested in other cultures and like to learn more about these. Queen’s students are usually really hard-working and efficient and also expect that from other students. They are usually on time, but might do stuff the last minute. Of course there are naturally exceptions to these stereotypes. Canadians are also very proud of their nature, and if there is something an exchange student should do in Canada, that is to go to a national park or see some of the natural wonders. I went for a day-trip to the closest national park with a couple of my exchange friends. This park is called Frontenac Park, and I enjoyed the 7 hours hike during the fall, when the fall colors were amazing. However, visiting national parks can be challenging if you don’t have a lot time or money, because Canada is a huge country and traveling around is time- and money consuming. Especially flying from the east-side to west-side of Canada takes around 5 hours and can easily cost 500 euros. Luckily there’s option to take bus or train, when you don’t travel to the other side of the country. The cheapest option is also to rent a car and drive around, gas is relatively cheap in Canada. Also Queen’s University has many clubs and one of the biggest ones is Outdoors Club, which organizes hikes throughout the year. These are really popular among exchange students, but also locals.

I traveled to New York, Chicago, Niagara Falls, Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec City during my stay in Canada. To New York we traveled by a bus from Montreal to Manhattan and came back by a train. The bus drive took around 9 hours and the train around 10 and half hours. The views from the train were amazing! Than later on during the fall we flew to Chicago from Toronto. Niagara Falls and Toronto I explored with my family and we had a rental car for that trip. The other Canadian cities are easy to travel to by bus or a train. Also ETC (Exchange Transfer Committee) and the Centre of International Management organizes trips to these cities. Cuba is also a popular destination among exchange students, but I didn’t have time for that in the end.

Getting to know other students

As an exchange student, you will usually primarily get to know your fellow exchange students. But I noticed, that if you have courses, which are based on teamwork, you will also actually get to know pretty well the local students and I became friends with some of them as well. But mostly I spent my free time with my roommates and other friends, that I got from various events organized by ETC or from the NEWTS orientation. There are all kind of events going on at Queen’s University all the time and many of them are also quite academic (for example conferences etc.). But there’s also a lot of parties and bar nights. Also the trips were really nice and for example Canadian Thanksgiving. During fall term there’s Homecoming weekend, which is like Canadian Vappu (although not that big and only for Queen’s University). In the spring there’s also St Patrick’s Day, which is similar event to Homecoming. These two should not be missed!

Final Comments

If you are interested in going to any English-speaking country or specially to Canada, I would definitely recommend Queen’s University. Queen’s University is not only about traveling and having fun, but you will also learn a lot of stuff and at least the courses I took were very interesting. Although traveling is not that easy and cheap, you still will have for time to that and there’s a lot of amazing destinations in North America and even in the Central America. If I would go to Queen’s University again, I would probably try to have more time before and after the exchange to travel around and maybe spend a little bit less time in the library. Moreover, I learned during my exchange that I can find my way in a new country and University quite easily and everything turns out usually well in the end. I also learned that it’s important to learn how to work with people from different countries and understand differences every culture has. Besides these things, I also learned to love Canada and will surely travel there again, road trip on the West Coast is on my bucket list!