Bericht über den Gastaufenthalt in der Schweiz 2008/09

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1 Bericht über den Gastaufenthalt in der Schweiz 2008/09 Liebe Stipendiatin, lieber Stipendiat Dieser Bericht ist vor Ihrer Rückkehr per an die Mobilitätsstelle Ihrer Gasthochschule zu senden, von der Sie Ihr Stipendium erhalten haben. ERKLÄRUNG DER BEGRIFFE Mobilitätsstipendium: Die Mobilitätsstipendien werden vollständig von der schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft finanziert. Sie werden von der Informations- und Koordinationsstelle ERASMUS Schweiz (IKES) verwaltet und von den schweizerischen Hochschulen an die Stipendiatinnen und Stipendiaten ausbezahlt. ECTS: European Community Course Credit Transfer System HINWEISE ZUM AUSFÜLLEN bitte ankreuzen mit Zahl oder Text füllen (bitte elektronisch) Name, Vorname: Claire B. Adresse (optional): (Die Angabe der -Adresse ist optional bitte nur angeben, falls Sie mit der Veröffentlichung im Internet einverstanden sind. Alle Schlussberichte werden im Internet publiziert auf Wunsch werden die Namen als Initialen angegeben.)

2 TEIL I: FRAGEBOGEN 1. Geschlecht: 1 männlich 2 weiblich 2. Nationalität: British 3. Name und Ort der Gasthochschule in der Schweiz: Pädagogische Hochschule Zürich 4. Name der Heimathochschule: University of Manchester 5. Land der Heimathochschule: England 6. Art der Teilnahme 1 bilaterales Abkommen 1 mit schweizerischem Mobilitätsstipendium 2 ohne schweizerisches Mobilitätsstipendium Haben Sie ECTS benutzt? 3 Ja Nein 0 Weiss es nicht 7. Konnte der Aufenthalt in der Schweiz planmässig durchgeführt werden? 1 Ja (gehen Sie zur nächsten Frage Nr. 8) Nein Welche Daten waren geplant? Von bis 2 Musste frühzeitig abgebrochen werden 3 Wurde verlängert Gründe: 8. Effektive Daten des Auslandaufenthaltes in der Schweiz Beginn des Aufenthaltes: Ende des Aufenthaltes: Insgesamt Dauer in Monaten: 4 Monate 11. Studienfach Bitte entsprechendes Hauptfach (HF) und Nebenfächer (NF) ankreuzen. HF NF HF NF Agrarwissenschaften 01 Sprachen und Philologien 09 Architektur, Stadt- und Regionalplanung 02 Rechtswissenschaft 10 Kunst und Gestaltung 03 Mathematik, Informatik 11 Betriebswirtschaft, Unternehmensführung 04 Medizinwissenschaften 12 Erziehungswesen, Lehrerausbildung 05 Naturwissenschaften 13 Ingenieurwissenschaften, Technik 06 Sozialwissenschaften 14 Geographie, Geologie 07 Kommunikations- und Informationswissenschaften 15 Geisteswissenschaften 08 Sonstige Studienbereiche 16 2 / 7

3 12. Studienstand vor dem Auslandsaufenthalt in der Schweiz Anzahl Semester: 3 Semester Art der Studien in der Schweiz (mehrere Antworten möglich) 13. Hauptfach 14. Nebenfach Besuch von Lehrveranstaltungen 1 1 Erstellung einer Seminararbeit 2 2 Erstellung einer Abschlussdiplomarbeit 3 3 Erstellung einer Doktorarbeit 4 4 Praktische Arbeit im Labor 5 5 ausserhalb der Gasthochschule (z.b. Schulpraktikum) 6 6 Andere: 7 7 Wo haben Sie gewohnt? (jeweils eine Antwort möglich) 15. Während des Studiums im Heimatland 16. Während des Studiums in der Schweiz 1 in eigenem Haushalt mit meiner Familie 1 2 allein in Wohnung 2 3 Studentenhaus 3 4 Zimmer in Wohngemeinschaft 4 5 Zimmer in Untermiete 5 6 bei Eltern/Verwandten 6 7 Hotel/Pension 7 8 Andere: 8 Kosten für die Unterkunft in der Schweiz pro Monat in CHF: 390 Kosten insgesamt für den Aufenthalt in der Schweiz in CHF: Wie wurde Ihr Auslandaufenthalt finanziert? (Angaben in %) Schweizerisches Mobilitätsstipendium: % Eigenmittel: % Andere: % Total: 100 % 18. Wie wurden Sie auf das Mobilitäts-Programm aufmerksam? (mehrere Antworten möglich) durch eine Informationsveranstaltung an meiner Hochschule 1 durch Studienkollegen 2 durch ProfessorIn 3 auf dem Internet 4 durch die Informations- und Koordinationsstelle ERASMUS Schweiz 5 durch die Mobilitätsstelle meiner Hochschule 6 andere: 7 3 / 7

4 19. Wie beurteilen Sie die Informationstätigkeit der zentralen Dienststelle (Mobilitätsstelle) Ihrer Heimathochschule bezüglich des schweizerischen Mobilitäts-Programms? 1 sehr gut 2 gut 3 ausreichend 4 ungenügend 20. Wie beurteilen Sie die Informationstätigkeit Ihrer Heimathochschule auf Fakultäts-/ Institutsebene bezüglich des Mobilitäts-Programms? 1 sehr gut 2 gut 3 ausreichend 4 ungenügend 21. Wie beurteilen Sie Ihre Aufnahme an der Gasthochschule in der Schweiz? 1 sehr gut 2 gut 3 ausreichend 4 ungenügend Falls ungenügend, inwiefern? Aus welchen Gründen haben Sie sich für einen Mobilitäts-Aufenthalt entschieden? (mehrere Antworten möglich) 22. Verbesserung der Kenntnisse in meinem Fach Knüpfen wichtiger fachlicher Kontakte Knüpfen wichtiger persönlicher Kontakte Erweiterung der Fremdsprachenkenntnisse Andere: Kenntnis eines anderen Schul- und Bildungssystems 5 Andere: Welche Bereicherung hat Ihnen der Mobilitäts-Aufenthalt gebracht? (mehrere Antworten möglich) sehr mässig nein 27. Verbesserung der Studienleistung in meinem Fach Wichtige fachliche Kontakte Wichtige persönliche Kontakte Erweiterung der Fremdsprachenkenntnis des Gastlandes Andere: Kenntnis eines anderen Schul- und Bildungssystems Andere: Wurde eine schriftliche Abmachung bezüglich der Anerkennung der in der Schweiz zu erbringenden Studienleistungen mit dem zuständigen Fachvertreter an Ihrer Heimathochschule getroffen? 1 Ja 2 Nein 33. Erwarten Sie Probleme bei der Anerkennung? 2 Nein, ich kann mein Studium ohne Verzögerung und Zeitverlust fortsetzen 0 Weiss es nicht 1 Ja, und zwar folgende: Ich muss ungeplant Prüfungen nachholen: 2 nämlich folgende: Ich muss ungeplant Vorlesungen nachholen: 3 nämlich folgende: Andere Anerkennungsprobleme: 5 4 / 7

5 Teil II: PERSÖNLICHER ERFAHRUNGSBERICHT Umfang: mindestens 2-4 A4 Seiten auf Deutsch, Englisch oder Französisch; mögliche zu berücksichtigende Punkte: - Organisatorische und fachliche Betreuung an der Gasthochschule, Kontakt zu Dozierenden und Studierenden - Besuchte Lehrveranstaltungen, Sprachkurse, Praktika, Anerkennung von Studienleistungen - Unterkunft, örtliche Gegebenheiten, Tipps für zukünftige Mobilitätsstudierende, Vorbereitungen für den Aufenthalt - Beschreibung des Schulsystems und der Lehrerbildung, Unterschiede zum Herkunftsort - Persönliche Beurteilung des Aufenthalts, Nutzen für das weitere Studium und die berufliche Tätigkeit; was haben Sie gelernt? I have been in Zurich for 3 months and it has been an amazing 3 months. Zurich is a beautiful place to live in, with a lot of culture surrounding you and easy access to many different places and activities. I have always found the PHZH staff very friendly and easy to access, always willing to help if there is an issue or question that needs clearing up. Being able to contact both ERASMUS staff and lecturers via made it easy to contact everyone whenever possible. I attended one module throughout the whole of my stay in Zurich, which was a Swiss Nature, Culture and Society module. I would recommend this module to anyone staying in Zurich as it gives a really good background and insight into the country as a whole, geographically and historically. It also covers topics such as literature, the language spread in the country, art and politics. As well as these it gives everyone the oppertunity to go on excursions, both in Zurich and to other destinations, such as a tour around Bern looking at the history of the town and the Swiss banking system. These are fun days out and the module also gives you the oppertunity to meet other international students who attend the module. At the beginning of my stay here I also joined two other modules, which were Children's literature and Linguistics. The linguistics I found frustrating as i had already covered the topic I was being taught, however the teacher taught it in a different fashion to what I had previously learnt. The Children's Literature module was very enjoyable, covering chiuldren's books in the English speaking world, and then how to convey ideas in a classroom situation using books. This was very interesting, and it was also nice having grown up with the books that they were discussing. However, I had to drop these modules when ERASMUS organised a 4 week intensive German course for me which then cut across the timetabelling for these two modules. The 4 week intensive German course was a really valuable experience. Having only learnt a little bit of German before whilst I was at school, the level of my German was fairly poor. Therefore, ERASMUS organised for a 4 week beginners course at an adult language learning facility called EB Zurich, as there was no space on any of the PHZH or University of Zurich intensive courses for my level. Although slgihtly daunting at first, because the course was taught entirely in German, by the end of the 4 weeks I was much more confident with my language use and could understand some of the conversations going on around me. The course was also aimed at foreigners in Zurich and so they taught useful information, such as free time, jobs and how to make a formal phonecall. I would really recommend to other students to take a course if they cannot already speak German as it is really useful being able to ask for basic things in the native language. Having said this, the majority of people do speak English, but are always more friendly if you attempt to speak German. There is, however, a slight issue with learning and speaking German in Switzerland, as the Swiss people speak Swiss German in the day to day conversations, which is very different to normal German. They do however 5 / 7

6 speak what is known as "high German" as well as it is used for all public announcements, newspapers and official business. The accommodation that I am staying in is amazing. Although it is fairly pricey, 390 francs per month, compared to the 250 franc per month grant that is given by ERASMUS, it is a very nice place to stay. I am staying in a large student house/hostel, called Haus Justinus. It is full of international students from all over the world, all of who are very welcoming and friendly. The room quality is very good, I share with the friend that i did the ERASMUS exchange with. The room is spacious and has a sink and desk and sitting area in it. The house also provides a large shared kitchen, a party room, television room and communal eating area. The house is also situated in a very nice part of Zurich, in a place called Rigiblick, at the top of a cable car which runs regularly throughout the day, and has a supermarket at the bottom of it. Due to my course from my home university, my main focus whilst in Zurich was to write a fieldwork project which analysed my experiences whilst abroad. This meant that I was less involved with the University process than other students, as I was only there for 3 and a half months and I did not take any examinations, or even stay for the whole of a semester. Therefore, I spent more time on my project than in university. My project was "An Exploration of My ERASMUS Experiences in Zurich with Regards to the Stated Aims of the ERASMUS Scheme for Switzerland". The result of this project was the conclusion that infact my experiences in Zurich went along with what the ERASMUS programme aims for students to get out of the scheme, with exception of the academic gain. This is due to my main focus of the project rather than attending university lectures. My one complaint/issue out here was the price of everything. It is so expensive! Especially when the ERASMUS grant only covers about half of the rent and so everything else has to be paid for out of my own money. Luckily I think I just about managed to make my money last, however I broke my arm whilst I was in Zurich and this took some of my money to pay for the treatment. However, one plus is that the medical service in Zurich is very good and efficient if there ever were any other problems. I found the University system in Zurich very similar to my own course in England except slightly more strict, where lectures are compulsory, if you miss two lectures then you can't take the exam in that subject. The one major difference that I found was that different lectures are taught in different languages. There were some lectures taught in German, English or Italian. Swiss people seem very shocked when we say that in England everything is taught in English, unless it is a language class. They also all find it strange that I study an English based course in England, rather than, for example, a science based course. Generally my stay in Zurich has been really good. When it was very cold and snowy at the beginning of my stay it was slightly more restrictive in what could be done, however walks in the woods behind my student accommodation were fun in the snow. I also got the oppertunity to go skiing in Engelberg which was really good. Once the weather warmed up, I spent a lot of time down by Lake Zurich which is very pretty and also has a big patch of grass near it to sunbathe on. I also went on tours around Zurich, organised by both the Swiss Nature, Culture and Society course, as well as by the ERASMUS student network (ESN). 6 / 7

7 The ESN is a great organisation which provides various activities for ERASMUS students, as well as anyone they want to bring along with them. They organise a weekly pub visit on a Wednesday which is a great way to meet other ERASMUS students, and to get to know your way around the pub and bars in Zurich. They also organise visits to neighbouring countries, walks, socials, barbeques, historical tours and many other activites which are great fun to go to and a great way of discovering the country and making a lot of new friends. I would really recommend attending some of these events as they really do improve your stay in Zurich. Travel within Switzerland is very expensive. However, there are some way in which this can be reduced. The main way is to buy a monthly travel pass which allows you to travel on any bus or tram within specific zones, costing 56 francs per month. There is also a "halbtax" available for the trains which costs a certain amount and then gets you half price on all train tickets. This is worth buying if you are plannign to do any travelling or are staying for over 6 months. On top of this there is a pass which allows you to travel for free after 7 oclock at night. These are well worth asking about in order to make everything cheaper. Overall, my stay has been very enjoyable and has taught me to be independent having to look after myself in a foreign country. It has also made me a more confident but more socially aware person, as interacting with so many people from all different cultures really makes you consider your own country and culture and be more socially adaptable to the people around you. It has also improved my language skills and given me some academic gain from attending modules and the intensive German course. 7 / 7