Aurélie Vandewalle visits from HEP Vaud.
Name, First Name: Aurélie Vandewalle
Course of Studies: Bachelor in Primary Teaching
Name of the partner university: HEP Lausanne
Location of the partner university: Suisse
Stay from/to: February 2022 to June 2022
Preparation
I did decide to exchange, to be enriched by cultural differences, experience something different, discover other best practices and challenge myself with the language.
It was not difficult to make the application. Markus, my coordinator is highly responsive and helpful. If you need an internship, make sure to share it with the coordinator as soon as possible.
It started the planning of my exchange mid-October/November.
It is important to select the modules that interest you. I would advise you to get in touch with Markus to make your schedule and contact an ESN student so she/he can explain you have the system works. You have priority over regular students regarding the selection of modules. Keep in mind that it is always possible to change modules within the first weeks of the semester (when there are available spots).
Travel/Arrive
The first days were exciting and I could quickly meet new people.
The contact person at the university, Markus Cslovjecsek, is very kind, attentive and responsive.
Accommodation & Food and Drinks
I lived with a guest family. It was such a great experience, and I could highly improve my German. I could only recommend this experience.
The University
The modules are held as seminars in group of 20 students (could be more or less). To validate the modules, most of the teachers require a written assignment, which is either individual or in group. Some modules offer you time to work on your assignment during the course time. Most of the modules are held in German and the literature is also in German. Some teachers agreed that I could hand-in my assignment in English.
The Campus in Brugg is great and very-well located –only 2minutes away from the train station and they are supermarkets around. It is a modern Campus with modern facilities and a restaurant and a cafeteria. The Campus has three different faculties which is great to meet people from different backgrounds. Also, I highly appreciated the sport offers during lunch time or in the evening –the basketball team is the best! During warm days, the Limmat (river) is close by and you can easily go there, have a walk or take a swim. Brugg old town is as well easily accessible with cafés and restaurants.
In Campus Brugg, there are not so many international students who study educational sciences. I mainly met locals with whom I had group works. However, they are some international business students.
Country and People
People speak Swiss German or German. In general, the population speaks English too.
Travelling (with the train or bus) in Switzerland is expensive. You should go and discuss with SBB (train company) to see what they offer for international students.
Free Time
You can always join ESN for activities with other international students. Otherwise, they are plenty of nice things to do in the surroundings: hikes and skiing in the mountains, swim in the river, visit bigger cities around (Zürich, Baden…).
Personal conclusion
On a scale of 1-10 (1: bad, 10: top) I would rate my stay with 8.
If you look back, I would have tried to interact more with students in my classes but because of the language barrier it was difficult. I mainly made friends which were not in my faculty.
What tips do you have for other students? Make the most out of this exchange! Don’t be shy, talk to people, participate to the activities.
For my work as a teacher it is great I could discover new practices that I will try to transfer into my daily teaching practice. Overall, educational theories are not so different from a country/region to another. What is enriching is how educational practioners approach it and put it into practice.
I am a fan of exchanges as they bring oneself so much : you broaden your perspective and challenge one’s way of doing.