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Vienna Q&A

Stephanie Guinn, BA English student, answers questions about her Erasmus semester at the University of Vienna.

How did you find the application process?

I found the application process quite straightforward. It’s similar to writing a personal statement for your UCAS application. I just thought about why I wanted to go to that country, what I was interested in getting out of the experience and how it might help my studies.

How did you manage your money?

I would recommend saving some extra money before you go, just so that you can make the most out of all the opportunities that might be on offer. The Erasmus grant does help, and I used that for my semester travel card and food shopping mainly. But if you want to do any extras like travelling to nearby cities, or taking part in the events and trips that your Erasmus university might offer, then the extra money definitely helps. I did weekend trips to Prague and Budapest with some of the Erasmus students that I met in Vienna, we went to a Viennese ball, and I got to go skiing for the first time through a trip that the Students’ Union in Vienna offered too. They were so all much fun and definitely added to the whole experience.

Data Science Summer School in Wrocław, Poland

Sam, a Media and Communications student, attended a two-week data science summer school in Wrocław, Poland. He was awarded funding from Santander Universities to help cover the costs of his placement.

I decided I wanted to take advantage of the Go Abroad programme but came to the idea quite late. Looking around on the internet, I came across the Data Science summer school in Wrocław. I’d always wanted to try and work on my computer programming skills after several aborted attempts at self-education throughout my adulthood, and I’d never been to Poland but I knew that it has a fascinating history, so I took the plunge.

Learning French in Toulouse

Katherine Karr, a MA Cultural Policy, Relations and Diplomacy student, completed a French language course in Toulouse. She was awarded a £300 Santander Universities Go Abroad bursary to help fund her experience.

As a Canadian student, when I was younger, I took my elementary school years of education in French. From a young age to about 13 years old, I was completely fluent in both English and French. However, when it came to go to High School, I decided to go to an English school where I didn’t have any opportunity to uphold my second language. This led to me, sadly, losing my ability to speak in French. Although I took a few classes, I knew if I truly wanted to regain my bilingualism I needed to go back into an immersive experience. It is for this reason that I sought out an immersion class in France while studying at Goldsmiths. After looking online, I discovered that Toulouse has an intensive 2-week program that was meant for intermediate learners – it sounded perfect!

For two weeks I lived with a French couple in the outskirts of the beautiful Toulouse. I went to class every morning where I engaged with other international students or recently immigrated individuals who were trying to either learn French from scratch or improving their abilities like me. I learned rather quickly that the group was quite diverse (and that I may have underestimated my abilities by being in a lower level class) and eager to learn just like me. However, getting to live with a French family who spoke little English pushed me to speak in French all the time when I was out of class and really made me feel immersed in the language. Although the classes were useful, the immersion was truly what worked for me.

One of the highlights of my every day schedule was going to the little bakery on the corner – picking up a baguette for breakfast or just chatting with the shop owner after a long day of class and work. The pace was very different to London and was a good reminder that sometimes it’s a good idea to just slow down.

My biggest challenge while abroad was that I sprained my ankle badly. Although in the UK I knew what I would have to do, being in France – and on a religious holiday weekend – I realized I had no clue what the process was or how to find a GP. Thankfully, my host family was very gracious and offered to help me get medicine and even book a doctor’s appointment. Although I’ll be healing from the injury for several months, I am very grateful to have had the support of locals. If I had one tip – other than making sure you have travel insurance of course – it would be to ensure you have at least one local friend while you’re abroad. You might feel inclined to hang out with other expats or internationals, but in times of crisis it’s nice to have someone who knows the area.

Overall, my experience going abroad with the Alliance Toulouse and Go Abroad was amazing. Not only did I get to have a structured class to practice French, getting to live in an amazing city like Toulouse where not many people spoke English was a huge plus. I really got to feel immersed in the culture and would not exchange my experience for anything.

The funding for this opportunity was provided by Santander Universities.

London2Copenhagen

Second year Sociology student, Abigail Joseph, shares her experience of studying abroad as part of the Erasmus programme. She spent five months in Copenhagen, her first trip abroad for a while and the longest she had ever been away from home. Find out more about about studying abroad for a term.

My time in Copenhagen was full of ups and downs, though in the end there were definitely more ups.

There were lots of things that took a great deal of getting used to. When I first arrived at my student accommodation – which I had applied for through the University of Copenhagen a few months before arriving – I was taken aback. The room looked smaller than it had in the pictures online, and it was bare. A trip to the shop and unpacking my things definitely helped, as well as the arrival of my roommate. It made the space feel more warm and homely, but it was very different to what I had at home.

How to write a great Go Abroad application

Whether you want to study, work, or volunteer, Go Abroad funding is competitive, so how do you write an application that stands out?

The Global Opportunities team offers their best application tips and tricks to give you the best shot at success.

Do your research

You need to explain why you have chosen that institution/organisation and why that particular country. What attracts you about your destination? Is there a specific part of the culture that you love? Does the institution/organisation do unique work? What would you gain here that you wouldn’t gain elsewhere?

If you’re applying to study abroad you may want to speak to the Erasmus Academic Coordinator in your department for advice on the institutions available.

Summer School in Helsinki

Benjamin Morran, a PGCE student, attended a summer school on Finnish education at the University of Helsinki. They were awarded a £800 Santander Universities Go Abroad bursary to help cover their costs.

I first found out about Goldsmith’s Go Abroad programme through the language partner programme on the VLE. At first, I thought that I might apply to a language school to work on my Russian but, when I looked through the list of Goldsmith’s partner institutions, I spotted the University of Helsinki, which gave me an even better idea. Finland, in recent years, has come to be highly regarded for its education system on account of world-class PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results. As I was, at that time, halfway through my teacher training year, I decided to check the University of Helsinki’s summer school catalogue to see if they were offering a course on education and, sure enough, they were: Finnish education system through social justice and diversities, to be exact. This course, I thought, could really broaden my horizons as a new teacher and so I decided to apply to Goldsmiths for funding.

A special perk of being a Goldsmiths student: the Go Abroad programme!

Antonia Morena Olivares, a BA Politics & International Relations student, writes about the Go Abroad opportunities she has participated in as a Goldsmiths student – and why you should get involved!

Dear friend,

Now that you are starting a new academic year at Goldsmiths, I want you to know about a special perk that the uni offers. So you can enjoy Uni as much as possible, especially during these unconventional times. This perk is The Go Abroad Programme.

I am Antonia, a recent graduate from Politics and International Relations. And I participated in this programme this summer. I am a little bit frustrated because I only got to know about the programme during my last year at Goldsmiths, I wish I knew about it earlier. But to be honest, it came at the perfect timing: lockdown. During quarantine, I made more international friends from the comfort of my couch, than I probably did before covid-19. And this is thanks to the virtual global opportunities offered by Goldsmiths.

‘Countering Hate Speech’ – an Erasmus Virtual Experience

Antonia Morena Olivares, a BA Politics & International Relations student, has completed an Erasmus+ virtual experience over the summer holidays. ‘Countering Hate Speech’ is a 5-week interactive online course where participants engage with online content and meet with others to discuss and exchange ideas.

The course is centred on understanding what hate speech is, the forms it can take, its causes and consequences, how it is regulated, and what place it takes in our societies. Crucially, the course is designed to provide participants with strategies on how to counter hate speech and promote an open society.

Antonia discusses her experience with fellow participant Roxana on her Instagram Live

Mapping COVID-19 response apps

Yanyi Lu, an MA Computational Arts student, has completed a virtual research project at the University of Amsterdam Digital Methods School. This project brought together participants from across the globe to research the role that mobile apps play in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Yanyi received funding of £355 from Goldsmiths to cover the costs of the placement.

Check out Yanyi’s Instagram post for an overview of the project.

Read Yanyi’s blog on the project.

See Yanyi’s Instagram post about useful tools when conducting a social science research project.

Virtual Summer School in Mindfulness and Compassion

Davy Yong, MA Art Psychotherapy student, completed a virtual summer school at the University of Amsterdam. Davy received a grant of £225 to cover the cost of the placement, and has written a series of insightful blog posts about the experience.

Hi there! My name is Davy, a MA in Art Psychotherapy student at Goldsmiths – University of London. This summer my university offered me a GoAbroad grant for the chance to experience a virtual exchange or study abroad (virtual global opportunity). In a few interactive blogs, I will be sharing some of my experiences with you, just to give some insight into what it was like to (virtually) study ‘abroad’.

When, due to COVID-19, the University closed for face-to-face lectures, and my internship came to an abrupt ending, I was glad the global opportunity came along. While in my final stages of training to become an Art Psychotherapist, I expanded on my interests to implement more contemplative practices into my future profession. That’s why it was an easy choice to follow a Summer School Course in Mindfulness and Compassion at UvA (University of Amsterdam).

Check out Davy’s blog for the rest of his posts. Alternatively, follow the links below for each individual post.

Featured Artwork: ‘Roaring Fire’ (2020)