UK – German
Student: German
Course: MBA
Program: FBL England (East Anglia) WIL Program
International student grant recipient
German is an international student from Chile.
Describe the city you were living in and any memorable trips you made.
The city was Norwich and we lived on campus in University of East Anglia. The landscape was very nice, with lots of forest and parks. The weather was okay with around 15-20 degrees, some days sunny and others more rainy, as the tour was during Autumn. Norwich is a small city so everything was a short bus drive from campus. It's a very nice city with narrow streets, lots of small shops and a very nice football stadium.
We went to visit Cambridge, which was really amazing. We went punting on the river through the middle of the city and then visited different areas, with lots of universities and different kind of shops. Despite it was rainy, we had a great time.
How did you decide which study abroad opportunity to do and how will it add value to your studies?
As an MBA student, I was looking for something that challenged me and that hopefully was in an interesting country. Therefore, this international consultancy experience held in Norwich, England was the perfect fit for what I was looking for. I have never been before to Norwich and I also wanted to have a challenging program working hand by hand with a real company from another culture. Therefore, I could put into practice all my knowledge and tools obtained from my professional experience and MBA studies into a company that I didn't know in a culture that I didn't know either. The outcome was perfect, as I had an amazing experience and with my group we were named the winners of the program.
The trip adds value to my studies because I gain the last credits needed to finish my MBA studies, so from all aspects, including the credits and the experience, it was a great program.
What motivated you to travel further as an international student and how did your grant support your trip?
I was motivated to travel as an international student to gain experience in working in different cultural environments. I'm from Chile and I've been lucky to be able to work in Germany, study in the US and Australia and, now, also have experience with British companies. International experience opens your mind and allows you to be ready to interact with people from any culture or country in the world.
This grant was a key aspect of my participation in the program. As I am from Chile, the living costs are different than in the UK and Australia, so the program was very expensive for a Chilean due to the exchange rates and living costs. If I hadn't had the chance to get this grant, I would have had to ask for a bank loan to finance the costs.