Student Experiences

Are you thinking about going on a study tour? Are you wondering what others thought of the tours. Read about it here.

German Design Study Tour | Aviation Study Tour | Electives Plus @ Sarawak | The London Experience

German Design Study Tour

My experience in Germany was a 'convenient' baby-step to get me to travel. It opened my eyes to a lot of different things-food, design, travel etc.
Germany was very typical of what i'd heard-sausages, or 'Bratwurst' as they are known, on EVERY corner! I mean LITERALLY every corner!
Sauerkraut was definately something we all had to try and was great
for the first 2 bites.........

The design aspect of the trip was great too. Things we'd heard about or read about in magaizines and books came to life. Ie: Bauhaus. Never did any of us think we'd get to see and experience where something as famous and as large as the Bauhaus started!

Germany was defiantely a worthwhile trip and i'd highly recommend it to anyone!

Kate Jerzyk
German Design Study Tour 2006 – FH Mainz

Aviation Study tour

The Aviation Study tour was a learning curve for me. I envisioned it as a fantastic travelling experience with an aviation flavour. But it was different to that. Navigating each country’s culture was one thing, but it was the opportunities to work overseas which I had never realistically considered. But once I saw how well received we, as a university group, were when we visited Cathay Pacific, Airbus and the Federal Aviation Administration, I could instantly see myself working for any of these companies.

I think it has also given me direction in where I want to work. I’m in the flying stream and while the path is to become a professional pilot, there are other options such as air traffic controller, flight dispatch, and operations which also appeal. And the bonus for going on the study tour - I gained friendships that will last a lifetime, and with people I’ll most likely be working along side in the future.

Kirsten Gaffey

Electives Plus @ Sarawak

My time at Swinburne Sarawak was an enjoyable experience that I would recommend to any other student. The three week tour doesn’t disrupt your life as much as a full semester or year placement, but still lets you study in a new environment, meet new people and explore a foreign country.

My highlights of the trip included:

• Attending the Sarawak World Music Festival. A showcase of traditional music from all over the world that had the same vibe as a dance party.
• Hiking through the jungle to see the Miri caves. The great cave was so large it had entire buildings inside of it.
• Visiting the tourist city of Penang. Lounging on beaches and visiting nightclubs was a fresh change from living on campus.
• Sampling a wide variety of Malaysian cuisine.
• Experiencing the lay back atmosphere of our home city of Kuching.
• Meeting new people from Australia and Malaysia.

All of these activities were also VERY cheap. We were eating out for $4 AUD and beer was cheap also. The good exchange rate made it possible to organise flights to other parts of the country without worrying about the cost.

Swinburne Sarawak is currently undergoing an expansion, but once this is complete it will be a really exciting campus with full sports facilities. The classrooms contain everything you would expect from Swinburne in Melbourne with new computers, data projectors etc.

The Malay people are very friendly and more than willing to help. Kuching is a very safe city and we didn’t experience any problems the whole time we were there. Nearly everyone speaks some English, making ordering food and ordering cabs very easy.

I hadn’t met any of our group members before we left Melbourne, but we all got along really well. We had a good mix of people from different backgrounds, age groups and geographical areas. It was good to spend some time with someone you may have never of met otherwise.

We also made friends with some students in the hostel. Students come from all over Asia and I met people from Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It was good to hear their perspectives on issues and how their culture effects these perceptions.

I found it to be a really fun experience that allowed me to travel, learn new skills and meet new people. If I had time left in my degree, I would love to participate in a study tour again.

Shaun Douglas
Electives Plus @ Sarawak 2007

The London Experience

Going on the London Experience 2006 was an amazing experience, one that I will never forget. I am grateful to the staff for giving up their time to accompany us especially at the time of the year that we went (Christmas). A lot of time and effort was put into providing us students with a safe, smooth and most importantly enjoyable experience overseas.

The amount of effort and excitement that has gone into this trip made it worth it. I had such a great time, saw so much and learnt so many skills. I plan on going again this year.

Nicole Lamb
The London Experience 2006