Chloe a recent Law LLB (Hons) DMU Graduate, spent a year studying at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland, here is her story.
Why did you decide to study on exchange?
I wanted the opportunity to move to a different country but still have the support from the UK and the partner university if it was needed. This made me feel more confident to move away and travel alone knowing that I wasn’t alone and that there were other exchange students in the same situation as me. I also wanted to broaden my knowledge of the law to cover common law as well as civil law in case I decided in the future to practice law within the EU/Schengen region. I thought that making the connections outside of the UK would be beneficial for me in the future.
Did you travel much whilst on exchange?
On the weekends and my free days, I would travel to different areas of Switzerland on a budget, including Lauterbrunnen, Bern, Geneva, Basil, Zurich and even parts of Italy close to the Swiss border. I paid for a Swiss student rail card when I arrived that allowed me to get discounted train tickets. Doing day trips with my railcard meant that exploring Switzerland was more accessible to me financially whereas a tourist would pay an excessive amount of money on train tickets and hotels. On one of the university trips we visited Zermatt to see the Matterhorn mountain but because it was a group trip, the four hour journey by train was really cheap.
What was the integration process like?
Everyone at the University of Lucerne was so welcoming, we had a week of activities planned by the university with all the exchange students before classes started. For my year, these included group hikes in the Swiss mountains, BBQs and campfires on top of the mountains, intercultural classes and group meals. This allowed me to get to know the other exchange students who were in the same situation as me which made starting classes a lot easier and allowed me to create new connections.
What did you find most challenging in your year abroad?
The most challenging thing on my year abroad at the start of the process was the language barrier when dealing with my rental agreement, bank accounts and immigration appointments. However, once I knew there was an option to specifically ask for appointments in English, this made things more accessible for me. After the initial move in period, this wasn’t an issue as the university would translate any documents to English and provide advice if needed. I also would use the google translate app to help me on a day-to-day basis if I didn’t understand something.
What benefits did you noticed after returning to DMU from your exchange?
During my exchange year, I interviewed virtually for two internships including one in recruiting and one in a solicitor’s office, I was successful for both of these roles. Both interviewing teams commented on my feedback how they liked that I was on a study abroad year gaining transferable skills and a greater in-depth knowledge of EU law. I believe that showcasing my experience and being able to use my year abroad as an example within interviews has helped me gain paid work experience when returning to DMU. I also found that because I had to write assessments to a higher standard while at my Swiss university, this meant that my academic writing was at a first-class level on my return to DMU resulting in a first class degree.