An Experience Raport of doing Erasmus Program with University
of the West of Scotland in Paisley Campus for Master Program
(Msc. - Finance and Accounting)
Preparation
(Planning, Organisation and Application to the host university)
It was way back in April of 2017 where I started to
begin my application for studying with University of the West of Scotland (UWS)
which operated its orientation day in the beginning of September. It seemed
that I had a plenty of time to prepare. Nevertheless, it was not for me who I
am an Indonesian citizen, non-European passport holder, treated different from other
students who are European passport holder. Although I already hold an English
certificate of level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages, which was issued by Hochschule Bremen, I had to do IELTS-test with
minimum score of 6.0.
To be honest, it was stressful for me, because not
only I needed to submit my IELTS-test result to UWS, but also I must apply for
my UK student visa. In order to obtain the visa, I must first acquire an
unconditional offer letter from UWS (or Letter of Acceptance) which was issued
when all relevant application documents (e.g.: a reference letter from
professor, IELTS-test, signed Learning Agreement, health insurance, flight
ticket, accommodation, etc.) are already completed and well-organized.
5 months for preparation felt like a tight time. I
was forced to be more active in searching information regarding accommodation, in
visiting international office of Hochschule Brandenburg to inform them
regarding my application and in communicating cases regarding my application
with UWS. Nevertheless, checklist from international office that was given to
me was really help for preparation, planning, Organisation and time-management.
I recommend for those who decide to choose UWS as their host university to
follow all the instruction listed in the checklist. For those who has status
like me as a non-European passport holder, you should join its IELTS-test which
can be prepared minimum a month before the real exam. This is a recommended
link to prepare your IELTS-test for free: https://www.edx.org/course/ielts-academic-test-preparation-uqx-ieltsx-1
After your application documents are completed and you
acquired an unconditional offer letter from UWS. The next step to do, you would
process your UK-visa application. In general, it would take minimum a month to
obtain your UK student visa. Furthermore, you should not forget to have contact
with your Erasmus coordinator in UWS, Mr. Nondas Pitticas, here is his website:
http://www.pitticas.eu/. He was responsible for all Erasmus students and
organized orientation week. It was my fault that I did not know him after I
arrived in UWS, so that there was some misunderstanding in the system of UWS.
Thus, I recommend you contacting him if you are planning to do your Erasmus program
with UWS. In his website, he put all relevant information especially for new
student who are coming to UWS.
During your study at UWS, you need to remember your
“Banner-id”, shown in your student card, used to login for Moodle and for
having access to timetable or to use copy machine at library. Fortunately,
first time I am registered as Erasmus-student, I automatically received 10
pounds credit to use printing and copying machine.
Thanks to Moodle, it provides us many access to the
email, learning materials, and student timetable which should be frequently
opened to check which room your lecture will be held.
Accommodation
During my stay, I lived at student accommodation
“Storie Street Residence Paisley” located right at the heart of Paisley Campus,
with easy access to teaching facilities, the Students' Union and Paisley town
centre. Each flat is occupied by four to six students in large en-suite
bedrooms with a shared kitchen and lounge area. The residence also has a social
space with a pool table, two large screen televisions, games console and
vending machines. There are coin operated laundry facilities, 24 hour security
and CCTV. The Storie Street residence offers comfortable, furnished
accommodation at competitive rates. I paid my rent £99 per week for an en-suite
study bedroom. Moreover, I felt comfortable living there because when I
arrived, I did not need to buy anything for my room or for the kitchen because
each flat is equipped with: Oven and hob; fridge and freezer; microwave; kettle
Set of pans; cooking utensils; crockery pack with cutlery Iron and Ironing
board; vacuum cleaner; Mop and bucket; dustpan, brush and sweeping brush. In
addition, each private en-suite bedroom already had Storage bed and mattress;
Large workspace with sockets; Wardrobe and storage space; En-suite shower room;
Bedding pack including duvet, pillows and bed linen. I would say it was so much
helpful for me. Nevertheless, there is a drawback that became my stay less
comfortable which is the alarm. Its alarm was quite annoying because it usually
rings every Friday afternoon and it was so sensitive with small smoke.
Experience during
studying at UWS
During studying at UWS, I had a great experience and
met three good lecturers who support my study and answered my questions. I was
registered for 3 different courses (Strategic Financial Accounting, Strategic
Financial Management and Strategic Management Accounting). Some topics were
already covered in my first and second semester with Technische Hochschule
Brandenburg (THB) so that it felt not so hard for me to follow all these
courses. Nonetheless, I still learnt new topics there which were not taught at
THB but taught at UWS so that it enriched my knowledge about finance and
accounting.
Regarding the learning process at UWS, we tend to
have two liabilities for passing the courses. First, we had to write an academic
essay (ca. 1500-2000 words) for each course. Then, in December, we would face
our final exam with its duration of 3 hours of each exam. Nevertheless, we
would be given a learning phase for about a week to prepare our final exams
where there might be no lectures during this exam phase. Nevertheless,
lecturers would prepare us to face their final exams. They might provide us
some previous exams as learning material to face the final exam.
Unforgettable moment during my study at UWS was my
group work which consisted of 4 persons including me where I was grouped with
two friendly Scottish students and one student from China so that I could have
experience how to discuss some cases or issues with local students and could
learn to understand their Scottish accent which is a bit hard to understand. But
it was interesting and had a great team work.
Daily Routine and
Leisure
Not only learning or studying I spent my time
during my Erasmus program. Fortunately, student life in my student
accommodation is very active. They organized many events such as shopping at
IKEA, Halloween Party, Welcoming Party and Exploring Scotland. When you are
arrived, they would organize various event with affordable price for students
to make us feeling comfort and enjoying our Erasmus program there. My student
accommodation is located actually not far a way to Glasgow city center. I could
take McGill Bus from Paisley to Glasgow city center for about 45 minutes and
with showing my student card it costed me only 3.50 pounds for multiple
journeys. Unfortunately, I never tried its train. It is probably faster than
bus. There are a lot to see in Glasgow. They really have good architectures.
The buildings look very historic, magnificent, and old. In Glasgow you can visit
Necropolis and Glasgow Cathedral which belong to must-visit tourist place. If
Glasgow city is not enough for you to enjoy Scotland, you can take Megabus,
which usually offers 1-pound ticket in the UK, to Edinburgh, St. Andrew, or you
can also travel to Liverpool or London from Glasgow.
Conclusion
To conclude this report, I would say, I am glad to
be a part of UWS and I would love to recommend for those who might be curious
with Scottish education, Scottish accent, Scottish people, and Scottish nature.
Paisley and Glasgow are very interesting city which has beautiful places for
their tourists. I really enjoyed with my Erasmus program there and had a great
time with my flatmates and my fellow students in UWS who came from various
countries. Nevertheless, I had the things that I did not like during my Erasmus
program there where your presence is very important in each meeting. You must
tap your student card when the lecture begins. In order words, if you cannot
attend the lecture, you have to send email to your lecturer.
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