My Exchange at The University of Sheffield
I have heard of 360 since my first degree at UoA a couple of years back and have thought it would be such a fantastic experience, but back then, I didn’t have the guts to do it despite dreaming of travelling Europe. It wasn’t very compatible with the degree I was doing at the time. The 360 programme was not far from my mind when I planned to study architecture. I was delighted to find that I could do it during my undergraduate degree.
A huge motive for participating in the 360 exchange programme was to test myself by putting myself out of my comfort zone and seeing whether I would sink or swim. I fear change, which is illogical as life is full of changes, and everything is constantly changing. This fear came about as it was difficult to adjust and settle when I moved to NZ as an immigrant when I was young. From then on, I just wanted everything to stay the same. But I know that’s not life, and I needed to get over it, so I decided to do this exchange.
I spent my exchange semester in the UK at the University of Sheffield. There were a few factors that made my transition over there easier. My family decided to take a holiday around Europe and the UK before the semester began, and they dropped me off at Sheffield and helped me settle in my student accommodation. I also found out I had a distant aunt who lived in Sheffield, who was my point of contact and checked in with me throughout the semester to ensure I was okay.
The university was a very student-friendly campus with plenty of activities to ensure students got the support and socialisation needed. I joined many activities hosted by my university accommodation to meet new people. However, I was disappointed that the majority of the students I met this way were first-year students (second-year students onwards mostly lived in independent accommodations). I also joined a few of their tour groups to explore Sheffield and get a feel for the place. They were student-led tours, and they taught us how to catch public transport, where the best streets for food were, and the shopping areas in the city centre. This was a great way to learn and quickly explore the place, and I also met a few more students this way.
Orientation was a big deal, way better than UoA, with many companies supporting this event. This is because the Sheffield Student Union is very strong. There was a large variety of clubs you could join, and most had free activities for potential members to try out. I got so much free stuff during orientation week that I had about 3 shopping bags full of things by the end. There was a lot of free food but some useful kitchen items as well.
I was placed in a non-catered accommodation that was a 20-minute walk to uni with 5 other exchange students. We each had an ensuite room and shared the kitchen/living space. The shops were about a 7-minute walk uphill from where we lived, and the Morrisons, Sainsbury, and Tesco clustered together. So it made grocery shopping very easy, and I usually picked up items on my walk home from uni. 2 of my flatmates were from Korea, and the other 3 were Europeans – Dutch, German and Bulgarian- between 20-23. All 5 of them moved in on the first day, while I moved in 3 days later. They had all gone to the yard fair to pick up kitchen items needed for the flat. I was a bit disadvantaged in this way as I arrived later and met my flatmates individually over the next few days. I also bought my kitchen items separately and chose not to have them for communal use. I made the right decision in this as while my flatmates were lovely people, most were messy and did not clean up after themselves. This was an issue I wished I brought up earlier in our first meeting with our RA, as it frustrated me throughout my time, and I did not want to cause a scene.
I had an easier time socialising and making new friends at uni than my flatmates. This is because my architecture degree was a prescribed course, which meant everyone took the same papers, and I saw my peers almost every day of the week. Additionally, the cohort was also smaller at about 114 students (which is less than UoA). I met my friends through the group projects we had to work on from the very beginning. While I usually do not enjoy group projects, I was grateful in this instance as I met people who introduced me to others who made up my group of friends during my time at Sheffield. The people I met there were very wholesome, many of whom took turns to host dinners, particularly within my architecture cohort. I found that students were friendlier in Sheffield than in Auckland overall, as most students there were from out of town and were more willing to meet new people.
I also had plenty of opportunities to travel around the UK and Europe and have discovered how cheap it is to fly from the UK to other parts of Europe! My travels within the UK were either done with the university or alone. I travelled around Europe during my Christmas break. Through my travels, I have learned much about this part of the world and the different cultures. I also realised this was a form of change as my environment constantly changed. I had to keep adapting and learning new things, such as how their public transportation worked, communicating and learning new languages, finding the grocery stores and understanding local cultures.
Overall, this exchange programme was a success as I adapted to my new environment, made new friends, learned to live with others, and became more independent. I’ve adapted to different types and lengths of environmental changes and navigated through the challenges thrown my way. I enjoyed my time at Sheffield and the travel opportunities it offered. I would see myself moving to the UK for a few years to work in the future.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
Honestly, I didn’t find the academic experience particularly exciting. In fact, I found it more disappointing, which is probably because it was more difficult and intense than I had expected. I found the architecture programme at Sheffield challenging as their approach was different from that of UoA. I found there was a high focus on realistic aspects of architecture in preparing the students for the job in the future; meanwhile, at UoA, it was more generative and conceptual.
I think regional architecture is an interesting part of learning architecture halfway across the world. I have learnt that the British heavily emphasised fire safety, which is attributed to the Great Fire in London. Meanwhile, the more significant concern in NZ is earthquakes due to where we sit on the Ring of Fire. The different focuses in both countries result in different approaches to architecture, including the materials used to build buildings. For example, in the UK, brick houses are very common due to their durability in a fire, while wood is less used. Meanwhile, bricks are uncommon (structurally) in NZ as they perform poorly in earthquake situations. Most houses are made of wood because they perform better in an earthquake, and it is a natural resource we have in abundance.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
The University of Sheffield has these ‘Give it a Go’ activities throughout the semester, which I highly recommend participating in. ‘Give it a Go’ is, as the name suggests, an activity/event you can try out to see if you like them for free or for a small fee. Clubs are a massive thing in Sheffield, and many offer these ‘Give it a Go’ opportunities for students to try before committing to them.
I particularly liked their ‘Give it a Go’ Day trips as they are a really great way to explore the UK for really cheap. The Sheffield Student Union organises these trips throughout the year, and you travel by bus (which is much cheaper than trains). The trips vary, with some where you get dropped off in a town/city. You are free to explore on your own. Some book entry tickets into places (I.e. Cadbury factory, Chatsworth House, Harry Potter Studios). Through ‘Give it a Go: Day Trip’, I have been to Cambridge, Chatsworth House, Stratford-upon-Avon and York!
Try to book all these trips early, as they tend to sell out very quickly! If you miss out, you may still get another opportunity as they sometimes book an extra bus for popular trips, so you have to keep checking the Student Union website.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
1. Cheap Supermarkets – the UK is spoilt for choice regarding its variety of grocery brands, and the groceries are so much cheaper than NZ. This is great if you live in a non-catered apartment as you save so much money. I’ve worked out the order of affordable to expensive supermarkets. At the cheapest tier, you have Aldi and Lidl – if you live close to one of these, consider yourself very lucky as they have cheap deals for good quality. This is followed by Morrison’s, where I spent most of my time shopping as it was a 7min walk away. While it is pretty cheap, I have found that the produce is not as fresh as other grocery stores, but this is where all the students go. This is followed by Tesco, then Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer’s and Waitrose, which are the most expensive grocery brands. In saying that, Marks and Spencer’s has great foods, such as bakery items. Most grocery stores also have ‘Meal deals’ where you can get a sandwich/wrap/salad, drink and snack for anywhere between £4.50-£5. So, if you need a quick lunch or light dinner, you can easily pick these up from any grocery store.
2. Trains are your best friends – unlike NZ, the UK is very well connected across the country and even into Europe through its train network. While these trains can be expensive, they have 30% discounts in the UK for anyone under 30 when you purchase a railcard for £30. This might seem expensive initially, but a discounted return ticket from Sheffield to London will already pay off the railcard. You can get a railcard from Trainline, which is also an excellent app for looking for trains around the UK and Europe.
3. Student discounts are a huge thing in the UK – make sure you carry your student ID with you, as it will be handy for many things. A lot of shops offer discounts for students, similar to public transport.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
To be honest, I am not the best person to advise on money and budgeting, as I was very fortunate that money wasn’t an issue for me. I already had plenty of savings; I received about $400 a week from Studylink (which not everyone qualifies for) and won the 360 Scholarship. I had paid for my flight and accommodation expenses and used the scholarship to help set up when I first arrived. The student allowance covered more than enough for my daily expenses, which was roughly a budget of £200.
I have a long-standing habit of noting down every transaction I make to keep track of my expenditures and keep myself accountable for what I spend. I roughly spent between £70-£130 a week, but this would increase when travelling outstation. So overall, they have evened out to meet the allowance Studylink had provided. Travelling around Europe was a completely different budget as I took it from my savings.
I lived in a non-catered student accommodation and cooked for about 90% of the time I’ve been in Sheffield. This is a huge money saver as groceries here are far cheaper than in NZ, while I found eating out was just as expensive or more than in NZ.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I went on this 360 exchange programme to prove that I can adapt to change. I’ve thrown myself in plenty of situations outside my comfort zone, and as a result, I have learned so much about myself and grown so much from doing this. I have realised that I am more resilient and capable than I realise. I have become more confident in myself and independent. Putting myself in many different new environments has taught me to trust my gut a lot more, including when my environment is unsafe, and I need to leave.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
I did a bit of travelling around Europe during the Christmas break as we had a month off. I broke my trip into 2 parts – 9 days before Christmas in Amsterdam/Utrecht/Antwerp/Paris, and 10 days after New Year in Munich/Nuremberg/Vienna/Prague/Berlin. I took a break over the public holidays as most European places wouldn’t be open during this time, and it was better spent back in Sheffield.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time travelling; it was a new experience for me as it was the first time I had properly travelled alone. I mainly stayed in hostels in female dorms where I had great and not-so-great experiences. I usually am an anxious traveller and am not the best company while travelling. I prefer to keep to myself or my travel party. However, there were 2 occasions where I met some great lone travellers and ended up spending the day travelling with them!
On one occasion, I met a girl from Australia in my dorm in Amsterdam, and we got talking. She recognised my Kathmandu jacket and figured I was either a Kiwi or Aussie. She invited me out for a walking tour with her the next day, and we spent the day exploring Amsterdam, which was a lot of fun. She was more adventurous and encouraged me to try all kinds of food. Pickled herring is not as bad as it sounds, but I’m never doing it again 😅
On another occasion, I met another girl in my dorm in Prague. She initiated a conversation with me as she wanted to try pork knuckles, but it was too large for one, so she invited me to eat with her the next day. We also spent the day exploring Prague and eating, which was a lot of fun. While I enjoyed my own company, I didn’t expect to make friends or meet people during my travels, so it was a surprisingly pleasant experience that made travelling that much better.
Tags: 2023, Architecture, Report