After a week of exploring Toronto and travelling to the city that would be my new home for the next nine months, I began my academic exchange at Schulich School of Business!

I had a slight idea of what to expect. Before my arrival, The University of Manchester provided Zoom Q&As and an in-person session with previous exchange students who gave helpful advice and shared their first-hand experience relating to how they found the education system and cultural differences. My exchange university also hosted various Zoom sessions to prepare us for moving and studying there, alongside emails that instructed me on choosing my modules for the first semester. I found that the course credit system is measured differently, but through their course selection guide and website, I could understand it better and look through detailed descriptions of modules to choose from.

Starting over at a new university seemed overwhelming. Still, just before classes started, there was an academic orientation and exchange orientation to Schulich, which provided key contact information, where to access resources and reinforced academic expectations such as a greater expectation to participate in class, buying textbooks, and academic honesty; this also gave me a chance to meet other exchange students from across the globe who were feeling the same as me. Then, it was time for classes to begin.

I was nervous to start my first class, Brand Management, but before entering the room, I was relieved to find another exchange student I had spoken to the day before. As you get points for participation, we put up name tags, and the professor got straight into the course content and how what we were learning would be beneficial in the future. The lectures were three hours long, which I wasn’t used to, but it wasn’t as bad as it seemed as there were breaks in the middle and towards the end. The professors were open to answering questions. As well as answering questions and discussing in class, there was an expectation to contribute to the online discussion page. The class I had the next day wasn’t for me, so I did end up changing it, which was an easy process, and this verified my decision to hold off buying books for each module in the first week because they can get quite expensive and depending on your class, it may not be necessary, or you might change modules.

All the lecture slides and assignment information are on one website, similar to The University of Manchester’s system. Still, to stay on top of things, I found it useful to plan out in my calendar when everything is due and to do the homework and readings before each class as they will be discussed. There were many differences, especially for business management, because cases are based on Canadian companies and laws. However, I found it more interactive, and the professors occasionally bring in guest speakers and present career opportunities. As my midterms are coming up, I can see the importance of reviewing and engaging with content from the beginning, so I should get back to studying.

Written by Hannah, current BSc International Management student at AMBS

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