Student Exchange Prasetiya Mulya – UNSW : Story from Jessica Wiyaka

Having an opportunity to study abroad at University of New South Wales was such an unforgettable, life changing experience.

Overall, I learned a lot in this particular semester due to unusual space, which I have been exploring for the last 5 months. Having lived in different cultures has opened my eyes as I realised there are thousands of unique and different people living in this world. Additionally, I also reckon that competition is more intense, especially in the modern market. Living in an individualist country made me became more independent. This is such a catalyst to increase my maturity level. I also become more confident as Sydney taught me how to express and fight for what I want to achieve in life. This beautiful city taught me to express things in our own way because people here are more individualistic and more eccentric.

The benefits I obtained by living in Sydney were advantageous and what’s more, the education experienced at UNSW is different compared to what I experienced at Prasetiya Mulya. For instance, when I stepped into the campus, I was amazed by its’ size. Consequently, I got lost easily on campus. Perhaps, I have been lucky to live in this era, where mobile application such as “lost on campus” available. This application brings me to the right building or lecture hall. Moreover, the Internet connection astonished me by its’ 500 mbp speed.

At the beginning of the semester, we were invited by Study Abroad Committee to watch a great performance of Australian Aboriginal Dance. In addition, information regarding general issues of studying and living in Sydney, such as travel, grades, support and health matter, are also discussed. It shows that they were really helpful and supportive towards our study at UNSW.

Despite the fact that they are really supportive, I still struggled in adapting the education system at UNSW due to the theoretical and systematic systems that are approached. Unlike Prasetiya Mulya, in which practical experiences are concerned, Australian student do not do company visit, surveys, etc. At UNSW, lecturer handed students a very thick course outline on the first week of lecture and every task’s information is clearly stated. The lecturer assumed that all of us have already read those outlines before the lectures and we were expected to know everything that is stated. Every mistake is counted as a reduction of mark. Following that, references based on published journal and research, have to be put in every assignment.

I took several management classes here at UNSW. Personally, the most challenging course is comparative management system. Most of the assignments were making presentation and the other students graded us. This is extremely hard for me as students here are really critical and expecting more than I imagined. But I am grateful that I took this course, as my presentation skills, which is really useful for my future, has improved.

It was really hard to get a good mark at UNSW as faculty expects a lot more from the students. They expected students to be critical and sharp. In order to adapt with the education system in UNSW, I have to do everything like what they did. So my strategy is to make friends with the others students and ask them the best approach to be able to survive in uni life.

I am glad to have an opportunity to study abroad at UNSW. I believe it would be useful for my future prospect in Indonesia.

Writer :

Jessica Wiyaka (Undergraduate Business Student of Prasetiya Mulya School of Business and Economics batch 2011)