BSc (Hons) International Business and Management student reflects on her study abroad placement in Austria.
I undertook my study abroad placement at WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business). This was one of the best experiences of my life and I would highly recommend it to students. The experience, allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, given me more confidence and independence, made connections with people from all over the world and gave me the opportunity to travel and learn more about other cultures.
Exploring Vienna
Vienna itself is beautiful, it has amazing architecture, sight-seeing attractions and several museums and cafes. My favourite things to do in Vienna were to visit all the different Christmas markets, historical cafes, and hike at the top of Schloss Schönbrunn palace to see the whole view of Vienna. The city has a great student life and a good exchange student community, students who are in the exact same position as you. WU arranged several introductory events through their ‘buddy network’, where I made a good group of friends who I travelled around the city and Europe with. I would say these are now my lifelong friends, and we are still in contact and planning to meet in the future. This network also organised several trips for exchange students, one of my favourites was the ski trip to Zell am See, Upper Austria. Skiing was such a great experience to try, and we also had a lot of fun as a group of 200 as well.
Vienna University of Economics and Business
The University has also been great, there are a large variety of different business courses to choose from. I chose courses that weren’t offered at Aston but still relate to my degree and options that I will take in my final year. Classes are usually in a seminar format and are interactive and engaging. I also got involved in other extra-curricular, such as the ‘Tandem-learning programme’, where you get paired up with a WU student and you both can improve your languages with each other. For example, my partner helped me with speaking the German language and I helped her with her English grammar. This was another great opportunity, and me and my tandem partner are also very good friends now.
Research is Important when choosing to study abroad, but if you want a city that is centrally in Europe and really does live up to its expectation, Vienna is for you!
