My year abroad experience

Undergraduate student Greg shares his experience studying abroad and why he would recommend it to other students. 

Getting the opportunity to study abroad as part of my International Management with Finance degree was a decision I cherish; it allowed me to enrich my international experience, gain new peers and perspectives, and become a more conscious and well-rounded individual.

As part of my International Management with Finance degree, I was one of around 70 students to endeavour on a year abroad each year, be that with a partner university or a company. Being part of that journey was extremely exciting as Warwick partners with many different institutions from many parts of the world. In the study abroad stream, we had a list of partner institutions. From that list, I concentrated my selections on universities in North America, as I am fascinated by the education system and culture. I gained a place to study at the University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC) in Canada. Initially, I was more intimidated than excited at the thought of moving further away from my family in my native Indonesia. However, as I prepared to depart for Canada, I remembered why I had chosen to study abroad initially: to broaden my horizons, experience new cultures and ways of thinking, and become a more well-rounded and conscious individual. Hence, I embraced the challenge of leaving WBS for a year, where I had found my comfort zone and settled in, to having to find my place in a new setting and institution all over again.

Coming back from the experience, however, I realised how wrong I was and how unfounded those fears were. Although those feelings are completely normal, I found the UTSC community to be especially friendly and open. I thought all those depictions of Canadians as comically friendly and welcoming people were exaggerated - however, there is truth to that friendliness after spending nearly a year in Toronto. I found the UTSC community diverse and curious, with many students offering their friendship and advice. The International Students Centre (ISC) were also very proactive in scheduling outings and events to help exchange students and other international students meet and mingle. Hence, I was able to settle into the UTSC community quite quickly!

During my time at UTSC, I took the opportunity to take other courses within the Management realm, stepping away from the Finance pathway I had taken at WBS. Hence, I took and discovered interesting courses that emphasised learning skills such as Business Negotiation, Sales & Distribution Management, and Market Research, among others. I liked how approachable and friendly everyone was during my time at UTSC. As third- and fourth-year courses are mostly capped at around 30-40 students, building a good relationship with professors is much more likely to happen; most professors take an interest in their student's learning and well-being more broadly. One of my professors, Dr. Phani Radhakrishnan, played a key role in enhancing student learning through research. She developed the ‘Interdisciplinary Global Classroom Model’ where Management and Chemistry students worked together to develop solutions for global crises, such as access to clean water, before presenting them for our final class assessment. As students in her class, we were actively developing new and innovative teaching methods, and the findings from this assessment were incorporated into a published paper. I felt valued as a student in her class, contributing to new innovative ways of assessing student’s performance and solving a real-world problem. This model of openness from instructors was an eye-opening and valuable experience in my academic career.

From my experience in Canada, I would recommend a year abroad during your time as a WBS student as it allows you to experience a completely different culture for a year, adding to the richness of experience you will have at WBS, and of course, a chance to travel the world! Stepping out of your comfort zone and into a new country and institution will challenge you, but it will be worth it! I made lifelong friends, built relationships with brilliant minds in Canada, and experienced an institution that is welcoming to all - and that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

As I reflect on my time in Canada and my internship at JPMorgan Chase in Indonesia over the summer, I am looking forward to my final year at WBS as a more well-rounded and knowledgeable student.