UU Study Abroad Report Form Faculty/college: Geesteswetenschappen; Departement Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis Level: x bachelor master PhD other Name degree programme: History Destination city & country Taipei, Taiwan Name host institution National Taiwan University and/or company/organisation Purpose of exchange x study/courses work placement field work other Departure date 20/08/2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) Return date (dd/mm/yyyy) 30/01/2016 Preparation Exchange/placement application process: This is mostly filling out a lot of forms (after acceptance by Utrecht). It can take quite some time and I received NTU’s official admission papers only in July, so this can be stressful to arrange everything in the last minute, but everything turned out just fine! Counselling/support at home university: The International Office was quick to help me when I had questions or problems, and reminded me on time to arrange certain forms. This part of the exchange went very smooth. Academic preparation: I didn’t really need any academic preparation for this exchange. Most of the courses offered in English take into account that exchange students come from all places and subject backgrounds, so preparation is not necessary. Taking courses in Chinese however, could be very different. Language preparation: I took Chinese classes before I left for Taiwan, as learning Mandarin was the main reason for me to go, but if that is not your interest, you definitely don’t need to. You can get around with just English, but knowing a few basics could make your exchange a bit easier (and more fun), I think. Finances: I saved up a little before leaving, but the cost of living is relatively cheaper in Taiwan, so I ended up getting around all right with my monthly stufi and public transportation fund (ov vergoeding). I didn’t travel much outside Taiwan (just one trip), so you might need to save up more when you plan to travel abroad a lot. The ShuiYuan dorms in which I stayed do require a two months worth deposit that you only get back when moving out, so that could hurt your bank account balance in the beginning. This is something to keep in mind, maybe. Study/placement abroad period Study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues): The course selection system can be quite confusing, and the information offered by OIA (international office of NTU) is few and confusing, too. This gave me quite some stress, as I didn’t get into any courses during the first selection round. In the end, this selection system turned out to be not that important (for some courses you can’t even sign up through it – something I didn’t know during selection period) and during the first week of classes you just go by the courses you want to take, and try to obtain the green slip with which you register online. In total, I took 12 NTU credits, which I think translates to 24 ECTS in Utrecht. As I really wanted to learn some Mandarin, I took both the Chinese courses offered (General Chinese Course & Enhancing Chinese Course). They consist of 6 and 4 hours per week (10h in total), which can be quite tiring, but at the end of the semester I noticed I really learned some Chinese and that I could actually get around with it in daily life situations, which is quite cool! As NTU works with a semester system instead of Utrecht’s blocks system, you take courses for a longer period of time and more of them at the same time. I needed to adapt to this a little in the beginning, but you get the gist of it quite fast. Academic quality of education/placement activities: I thought that the courses in English in NTU are less demanding in academic level than in Utrecht, probably also because they are aimed at exchange students from different backgrounds and are thus mostly introductory. However I did think that at NTU, the way they organise their courses is different from what I was used to in Utrecht. They work a lot more with graded or mandatory weekly assignments, so the courses can take a lot of your time doing all these. I didn’t take full load (just 24 ects). In addition, most courses meet just once a week and don’t have a clear divide between seminar and lecture, which in my case resulted in most classes being lectures of either 2 or 3 hours, without much of a seminar/discussion component in them. Counselling/support at host institution/organisation: I didn’t really have contact with any directors from the international office or NTU, but if I needed to I think they are easy to reach and very willing to help. Transfer of credits: I just arrived home, and I’m told transfer of credits from NTU to my home university can take up to two months, so I can’t say much about this. After deregistration at NTU (you have to collect a few stamps), NTU sends the list of transcripts straight to the International Office in Utrecht, so you don’t need to arrange this transfer yourself. Student life Welcome/orientation programme: NTU’s orientation programme isn’t very extensive; there is a campus tour, an opening speech/ceremony and a little welcome party/mixer. There is a student volunteer programme that you can choose to apply for in the application for NTU. In my case, my student volunteer wasn’t very helpful and didn’t really respond though, but I guess you just need to be lucky with who you get assigned. Accommodation: The ShuiYuan dorm is nice, as it is affordable and you can have your personal room and bathroom, and most exchange/international students live here. They do have some rules and they can be quite strict – very different from living in Utrecht - so if you really insist having your freedoms or plan to have people/friends and family staying over, you might want to consider looking for rental apartments/rooms in Taipei, but from what I’ve heard these are way more expensive than staying in the dorm. Leisure/culture: Taipei is huge city, there’s plenty to do so you definitely won’t be bored. There’s a big sports centre on campus that you can sign up for cheap as a NTU student. The NTU international students club often organises special culture nights on Taiwan or other cultures. NTU has hundreds of student clubs on all kinds of topics, from juggling to make-up and from MUN to sports, so if you’re interested in these, there is a big showcase market at the beginning of the year/semester and you can sign up for any of them. Of course there are also plenty of travelling options around Taipei and Taiwan that you can explore on your own or with NTU club organised trips. Suggestions/tips: Buying a bike can be useful if you have classes at different parts of the campus, as the campus quite big (it will take you a lot of time walking around). If you don’t only want to meet/get to know international students but want to meet Taiwanese or local students, this can be quite hard when staying in the ShuiYuan dorms and taking courses in English. Joining one of the NTU student clubs is probably the best way to meet local students! Conclusions Would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? Please explain: I would definitely recommend! Taiwan is a beautiful country and as NTU is its best university it is widely respected in Taiwan. I think staying my semester abroad in Taiwan offered me more than just a good time, as it is a rather unknown country to most people back home, so I feel I learned a lot about this special place and Taiwan’s languages and cultures and its place in the world, something I feel adds so much more to my experience that I wouldn’t have achieved if I had stayed somewhere close to home. Do you have any additional advice or comments?: Don’t worry too much about the place of your exchange, I think I worried about this too much myself. In the end I think it’s all about the amazing people you meet, the friends you make and the great experiences you have – and they are found everywhere! UU Report form - 2015-2016 faculty/college Law destination city & country Taipei, Taiwan preparation exchange/placement application process The application process takes quite a lot of time, but it is not very difficult to get accepted into NTU. The process of registering for classes is harder; the NTU website is often not very clear, and on top of that, almost no one ends up with the classes they chose initially (there are several rounds, and it is common not to get any classes assigned that you registered for in the first round). counselling/support at home university I haven’t had too much contact with the UU about my exchange, but they arrange things like pre-departure meetings. academic preparation I didn’t do any, and I don’t think anything is necessary in general. If you already know some Chinese and plan on taking courses in it in Taiwan, you might want to revise a little, since NTU will test your level before placing you in a group. language preparation The only language you will really need is English. Chinese is optional but highly recommended; see above. finances Taiwan is not very expensive.