Exchange to the University of East Anglia – Fall 2023
I was fortunate enough to be able to pretty much pick and choose the modules at UEA, with the only requirement being that at least two of them were from the School of Global Development. I ended up choosing the following courses;
DEV-4003A: Big questions for people and the planet
DEV-5006A: People and the
environment
DEV-6014A: Migration and
development
I really enjoyed all of my classes, but I would recommend only applying
to second- or third-year courses, as these are more in debt and challenging (in
a good way). I especially enjoyed taking the course People and the Environment,
as the professor was amazing and the class consisted of a lot of excursions and
practical fieldwork. During my semester at UEA, I never had more than two
assessments in each course, and all of them were written essays where the
questions were published weeks, sometimes months in advance of the deadlines.
This would have allowed a disciplined student to finish all the assignments
early on in the semester, but I chose to stay true to my work ethic of starting
on my assignments a week before they were due. Still, I found the assignments
and overall workload to be manageable, and very similar to what I have had at
NMBU.
The University environment at UEA was welcoming and inclusive, and
throughout the semester, I found myself constantly occupied with social outings
and events arranged by the university. I went on daytrips to cities and small
towns around Norfolk, dog walks arranged by the university, sports nights, Abba
parties and even Barbie raves. I would recommend checking out the website
called: ueasu.org as they have a wide range of events you can join if you want
to meet new people and see new places.
London for a day trip. I got to visit London numerous times and
traveled to Cromer, Ely, Cambridge, and Edinburgh on day trips as well. For
traveling around Norwich, I would recommend any future students to buy a
semester ticket from First Bus, as UEA students get a discount through the
university. The city of Norwich is absolutely worth exploring, as it´s packed
with cozy cafés, shops and other amenities. Visiting the Norwich market on
Saturdays and Sundays was one of my favorite things to do during the weekends! J
As for living in Norwich, I decided to live on campus and had
originally planned to live in the Ziggurats, but was instead moved to INTO UEA
after the Ziggurats were declared unsafe to live in. I was told I dodged a
bullet there, as the Ziggurats were cheap, but not up to standard. I will say
that on-campus living is of much lower standard than at NMBU and the NOK at the
moment is very weak compared to the pound, which made accommodation costly. During
my stay at INTO, I had my own bedroom and bathroom (which was amazing), but
shared a kitchen with one sink and oven with 17 other people (which is less
than ideal). However, this meant that I got to meet some amazing new people who
became some of my closest friends. I would definitely recommend living on campus
for the social part, but I advise future students to be aware of the lower
quality of amenities there.
I would say that I am overall super satisfied with the exchange and would highly recommend development students to choose UEA. The university has a club and organization for every interest and during my stay I never ran out of things to do and new places to discover.
If you happen to have any further questions about UEA, please do not hesitate to contact me, as I did just the same with one of the students who went on exchange the semester before I did J I will end this blog post with a short list of tips I have for future exchange students at UEA:
Useful apps and websites:
·
Blackboard as an
equivalent to Canvas
·
Timetabler.uea to
navigate the time and places of classes
·
Evision.uea to get
in touch with student advisors and ask for extensions of deadlines
·
First
Bus to navigate the busses around campus and for buying tickets.
·
Ueasu.org as a
much better version of Linticket for attending social events.
Preparation that can be
done before traveling to Norwich:
·
Check out uea.ac.uk for
accommodation on campus
o There
are Facebook and Instagram groups that allow you to get in contact with people who
are living on campus. I managed to get in contact with my roommates before I
left for England, and this is a great way to share your expectations and
inquiries with fellow students.
·
Sign up for the introduction week for international students! This is
where I meet most of my friends, and the week will be packed with lots of
exciting activities, free food, and tours of the campus.
·
Pay close attention to emails sent to both your private email accounts
and the one you will create through UEA.
·
If you fly to London Heathrow specifically, you can contact the
university and schedule to be picked up by bus and driven to campus for only 40
pounds. This is a stress-free option and a great way to meet new students on
your first day.
·
You do not need a visa if you are staying for less than 6 months.
·
The loan and grant you receive from Lånekassa will be enough to cover
the basic expenses, but I do advise students to save up some money and be wise
with their expenses.
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