I found the application process for the semester abroad and Promos scholarship to be very simple. The FHDW itself required a few documents such as a letter of motivation and a CV. After being accepted by the FHDW, my application was forwarded to GOstralia-GOzealand (now GOStralia-GOmerica), who took care of my application for Southern Cross University (SCU). GOstralia forwarded the necessary documents to SCU so that I only had to fill out the documents in advance.

After I was accepted by SCU, the FHDW International Office took over the course selection so that we could make sure that the corresponding credits would be recognized at FHDW. Unfortunately, I was not able to take all the modules of the 4th semester at SCU, as one course was not offered there at the time of my stay. However, I was able to take the missing module online and I made up the exam after my return. The FHDW was very accommodating because, after consultation with the lecturer, the module was not held in person but online and recorded so that I didn’t miss anything.

I was only able to apply for the visa about 2.5 weeks before departure, as I only received all the necessary documents from SCU and had them complete by then. I received some good advice from GOstralia, which I used to apply for the student visa, and I was always helped immediately if I had any queries. My visa was approved on the same day, which is probably an absolute exception! If possible, I would definitely apply for the visa earlier, as there can sometimes be delays.

When I enrolled at the Australian university, I had to take out student health insurance in Australia. I also extended my private international health insurance for the period of my stay abroad, as the Australian health insurance did not cover everything.

I flew with Emirates from Düsseldorf via Dubai to Brisbane and back in the same way. I booked the outward and return flight directly on the Emirates website. There is a student code there that gave me a 10% discount and 10 kg more baggage per flight. I flew together with two other FHDW students who were also doing their semester abroad at SCU. We arrived in Brisbane late in the evening, so we booked an AirBnB together and stayed there for two more days to see the city. We then took the train from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.

I was super lucky with my accommodation and was very happy. I found the room via the SCU UniStays website, but hadn’t rented anything in advance as I wanted to have a look at the accommodation first. I was able to stay there directly, which is not necessarily the norm. My accommodation was in Tugun, about 4 km from the university in a quiet residential area. I was at the university in 15 minutes by bike. Alternatively, there was also a bus service.

At SCU, I took the modules Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Economics for Decision Making and Finance for Business. This allowed me to receive credit for four modules at the FHDW. The semester or trimester at SCU was divided into two six-week terms, with a two-week study break in between.

In the first term, I only took the Entrepreneurship & Innovation module, then the other two modules in the second term. In each unit, I had one hour of online lectures and two hours of face-to-face tutorials every week. You can actually manage your time very well, but you also need a lot of self-discipline. In my courses, we each had three different exams during the six weeks. In Economics and Finance, the third exam consisted of a written exam, which accounted for 50% of the overall grade.

The SCU campus on the Gold Coast is small and manageable and consists of three buildings. There is a library, a small café and several student kitchens and lounges. The beach is only about 5 to 10 minutes away from the campus.

Contact with other students is difficult in the online lectures. Contact was also not really established in the tutorials (in my case). At the weekend, however, there were day trips organized by the university, which are free for international students, and you could quickly make contact with other students there. The trips were to various places in the surrounding area, such as Springbrook National Park, North Stradbroke Island or Australia Zoo.

I can only recommend taking part in the trips, as not only do you get to meet lots of new people, but you also get to see and experience a lot. However, the excursions take place in small groups and are always booked up quickly, so you should be quick if you want to take part. There are also a few sports activities that you can take part in. I recommend taking part in as many activities as possible to make new contacts and make friends.

The costs can of course vary depending on where and how you live or where you shop and how you prioritize. I recommend planning/recording your expenses to keep an overview.

In the local area, I cycled more than I used public transport, so the average cost is very low. On average, I paid around AUD 10 (EUR 6.50) per week for public transport.

There are also costs for travel, which can also vary depending on what you want to see and do. I also incurred the following costs at the beginning/during the preparations:

Return flight: EUR 1,600

Visa: 640 AUD / 440 EUR

Tuition fees: 6,600 AUD / 4,230 EUR

Stud. Health insurance: 267 AUD / 170 EUR + private health insurance