At the beginning of May, I booked my flight, took out international travel health insurance and applied for a credit card. In the meantime, contact was made with SCU in Australia via the GOstralia organization, which also supported me with the application and planning phase. In addition, further documents had to be submitted to GOstralia and the module comparison by the FHDW was pending.

SCU accepted the place at the beginning of June. You also need a visa to enter Australia. I applied for this about two weeks before departure. There is a special visa for study visits, which can be applied for independently online.

Together with two fellow students, I flew to Australia a week before the semester started. We spent our first two days in Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland with around two million inhabitants and a large international airport. Brisbane is about 100 km north of the Gold Coast and is easy to reach by train.

We spent the first few days on the Gold Coast exploring the area and settling into our new “home”. A few days later, the orientation week at SCU started. This was mainly conducted online. There was also a day to get to know the campus and international students.

A semester at SCU (session) is divided into two terms. One term lasts six weeks, followed by a two-week semester break. During the six weeks, various assignments have to be completed, which count towards the final grade of each module (approx. 20 – 40%). My assignments included presentations, assignments and a video I made myself. We also had to take an open-book exam in two courses.

There are no standard exams at the end of the term like in Germany. Studying at SCU therefore requires a lot of organization and discipline. However, it also involves a lot of flexibility, as the lecture time is rather short at around three hours per module per week.

I took a total of three courses at SCU. Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Finance for Business and Economics for Decision-Making. However, another module, which must be taken in the fourth semester, was not offered at SCU during my study visit to Australia. However, in consultation with the FHDW, I was able to catch up on this independently after my return during the practical phase.

Life on the Gold Coast feels like a dream on some days. The close proximity to the beach is the highlight par excellence. Nevertheless, the Gold Coast has so much more to offer: breathtaking national parks, theme parks or the vibrant center and feature of the Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise. There you can marvel at skyscrapers right on the beach. There are also numerous restaurants, clubs and shopping opportunities.

Before I arrived, I had already started looking for accommodation and decided to rent a room in a shared flat for three weeks. During this time, I looked at other apartments and rooms. In the end, I ended up in another shared flat within walking distance of the campus. This meant that I could not only reach the campus, but also the beach and the center of Coolangatta with shopping facilities by bus, bike or on foot.

The cost of living in Australia is sometimes higher than in Germany.

You can expect to spend more on rent in particular. You can save money on weekly groceries, for example, if you shop at Aldi or take advantage of the offers from Australian supermarkets. You can also apply for a student discount on regional bus and train tickets. You should not forget the costs of excursions and travel. However, these are very individual and depend on your own requirements.

In addition, there are the following costs:

Total arrival and departure costs: € 2,000
Visa + tuition fees: € 4,830