After I had decided to spend a semester abroad in Australia, I found out about possible universities on the MicroEDU homepage. My selection criteria were: to expand my marketing knowledge, to achieve very good grades and to study for a semester in the sunshine. It quickly turns out that Griffith University Gold Coast best suited my criteria and my available time. After very good advice from MicroEDU, my decision was confirmed.
Application
The application process was straightforward and easy. After completing the documents and sending them to MicroEDU, I received the acceptance from Griffith University within a few days. Then I was able to apply for my visa and book the flights. I booked the flights through STA-Travel.
It is worth mentioning that the MicroEDU team was a very important support for me, especially in the decision-making process. My questions were answered patiently and in detail, both by phone and by email.
Accommodation
For me it was important to find and book accommodation in Germany in advance. To find out about accommodations on the Gold Coast, I read a few testimonials beforehand. Most of the experience reports recommended looking for accommodation on site. Nevertheless, I wanted to have booked an accommodation before arrival, so I created an account on Gumptree and Flatmates. Since the housing market in Australia is very fast moving, I had no success in November.
See act-test-centers for more information about Australia and Oceania.
In January all international students were invited to a Griffith University Facebook group. I got to know my roommate through this group and we rented two rooms in a student dormitory (Metro on Central), three kilometers from the university. The feeling of security of having an apartment was very important to me. Basically, however, I would not recommend the Metro on Central student dormitory. It’s overpriced, you can only get to the university via the metro shuttle bus (which only runs three times a day), public buses (which NEVER run according to the schedule) or on foot.
If I were looking for an apartment on the Gold Coast again, I would definitely make sure to live at a tram station, as the buses are far too unreliable. The trams, on the other hand, run very regularly and are reliable.
Studies and courses
The Australian system of study is very different from the German. The whole trimester over are partial tests in the form of mid-term Exams, quizzes and / or Written Assignments deliver. The partial performances have the advantage that at the end the final exam usually counts a maximum of 55%.
At Griffth University, I chose the following four courses:
2002 IBA – Firm Behaviors and Business Strategy
2004 MKT Consumer Psychology
2036 MKT Retail Marketing
2098 MKT Branding and Promoting New Business Ventures
2002 IBA – Firm Behaviors and Business Strategy
The content of this course was comparable to the microeconomics at my German university. Fortunately, 90% of the material on the course was known to me from my German course. If I had heard the content at the Griffith for the first time, I would have had great problems, as it was very difficult to understand the Asian professor (this was also confirmed to me by Australians).
As an exam, you had to write a group assignment, complete three quizzes in the classroom and write a mid-term and final exam. The quizzes and homework were rated very well. The exams were comparatively very demanding, were rated rather strictly and turned out pretty bad. Personally, I would not take the course again because micro is an interesting subject, but the professor taught it very boringly and poorly.
2004 MKT – Consumer Psychology
Consumer Psychology was one of my favorite courses. In terms of content, I found the subject very interesting. As an exam, I had to write two term papers and take a mid-term quiz. Every Monday I had a two-hour workshop in which the theory was briefly repeated, which one had learned in advance through video material and readings. Then we discussed our housework in the workshop. This time was especially valuable for the first group housework. In summary, I can highly recommend this course, the tutors are hard-working and extremely helpful, I have learned a lot and, if you make an effort, you get a very good result.
2036 MKT – Retail Marketing
I can also highly recommend this course. I particularly liked that we applied the theory with the help of many examples in the workshops. At first, the course reminded me of my school days, as we started the first workshops with an attendance list and Icebreaker games. After a while I got used to it and understood the meaning of the games. A group assignment gave us the opportunity to get to know all the students in the course and to be able to form groups who pursued the same grade goal as yourself. You got to know each other better through the games. In addition to the group homework, we had an online quiz, a individual reflection and a final exam. This course also took up a lot of preparation and follow-up time.
2098 MKT – Branding and Promoting New Business Ventures
In terms of content, the course was interesting. Every lecture we watched some practical marketing videos so that I could learn a lot about the advertising strategies of Australian companies. The examinations for this course were two papers and two quizzes.
The first term paper specialized in dealing with the different theories of a brand. For the second term paper, a separate promotion plan had to be drawn up for a brand he had invented. The tasks for both term papers could have been formulated more clearly. However, if you attended the workshops and lectures regularly, you knew what to focus on in your housework.
On-site support
I was pleasantly surprised by the support in Australia. Both the professors, the tutors and the international office always replied to emails very quickly and were very helpful. I didn’t know such a service from Germany. In addition, at the beginning I had a few concerns about all the homework and readings, but I was quickly relieved of this fear, as the university offers different programs to support writing homework.
Conclusion
In summary, I am very happy to have done my semester abroad at Griffith University and can only recommend it to everyone.
