ISOIS ▸ Final reports

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Host institution:
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Faculty:
Ac. year:
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National Taiwan University

Taiwan 2018/2019 Partner universities

Personal data
Mobility type:
study

Faculty at MU:
Faculty of Arts

Field of study:
Culture Studies of China

Level of study during period of placement:
Bachelor

Language used:
Chinese

Summer/winter school?:
no

Period of studies:
autumn 2018, spring 2019

Period of placement (from-to):
2018-09-01 - 2019-06-23

Number of months:
10.00

Activities before my departure abroad
Where can information be found about courses taught at the foreign school?:
At National Taiwan University web page. However, most of the courses can be visible by accepted students only.

Which documents were needed for acceptance at the foreign university?:
Transcript of Records, Motivation Letter, Letter of Statement

How far ahead did you have to organise your acceptance?:
About 6 months ahead

Did you need a visa?:
yes

Documents and materials needed for a visa:
Admission letter, application form

Length of wait for visa:
2 weeks

Fee for the visa:
about 2000CZK

Studies
Did you have a Learning Agreement signed before your departure?:
yes

If not, why not?:

Before your departure did you know how your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
yes

During your stay did you change your Learning Agreement?:
yes

When and how did course registration take place? Are there any restrictions? Possibilities of making changes?:
It is conducted via NTU registration system. There is about 5 stages of course selection. Being aware of deadlines is strongly advised. It is possible to make changes 1 week after the semester starts.

Did you take any examinations at the foreign school?:
I took the placement test for Chinese language courses and exams at the end of the semester.

Does the school use the ECTS system?:
no

If not then explain how the credits there were recalculated into ECTS:
I have got instructions from my home department, we also made some individual changes.

Describe the teaching methods (theory, practical and projects) and assessment of students:
All teachers use presentations in class. We were encouraged to make presentations, group discussions, projects, homeworks and tests. Students are assessed according to all taken grades during the semester, midterm and final exam.

Quality of teaching in comparison with home school:
NTU teachers are more interactive and more open to individual approach to a student.

How did you receive study materials?:
I had to buy textbooks, other study materials were available on university network.

Can you recommend an interesting course/subject/teacher?:
A course "Taiwanese Society and Women" was a lot eye opening for me. It helped me understand Taiwanese society and its problems.

How well is the school library equipped?:
Well equipped, it offers Taiwanese and also foreign study materials.

Availability of computers, internet access, level of software needed, requirements on notebook:
Internet lags often, school wi-fi requires registration several times a day. Computers are available in the library

Options from printing and copying:
There are a lot of printing and copying options in every convenient store.

Does the foreign school/student organisation arrange special events for exchange students?:
yes

If yes then what?:
Campus tour at the beginning of the semester.

How would you assess your integration with the local students (evaluation like in school from 1 to 5 with 1 as highest):
1

or describe in your own words:
Every-one was very helpful and nice to me.

Practical questions on your placement
Where did you live?:
School dormitory

Cost of accommodation - monthly:
158 USD

Additional comments to the price of accommodation (as to what the price includes):
In addition, every-one has to charge an electricity card regularly.

Describe the equipment. Tips for future students – what should they bring with them?:
There is only bare furniture in the room. One must buy bed sheets and matrace, coat hangers, shower curtain, trash bin etc.

How and how far ahead should accommodation be organised?:
About 3 months ahead

What are the catering options?:
Dormitory kitchenette is not good equipped, local people do not cook, there is just a rice cooker, a heater and a microwave. It is better to buy food outside.

What are the rough costs of groceries (compare with Czech prices):
Milk and dairy products are extremely expensive (can easily be three time the Czech price), rice and fruit is cheap. Other groceries are comparable.

Transport to location of placement:
Plane

Rough prices for transportation:
about 14 000CZK one way ticket

Tips for purchasing cheap tickets and other recommendations:
Cheap tickets are offered for long lasting flights with more transfers, more expensive ones are fastest. Depends on personal preferences.

What are the local transport options (public transport, cycling, on foot, rough prices):
Local metro is convenient for affordable costs, it is also possible to rent cheap "ubike" to get around the city.

What kind of formalities have to be arranged before arrival, for example residence permit?:
Residence permit needs to be arranged about 2 weeks after arrival. Student card must be obtained at university Office of International Affairs.

What health insurance did you use? (rough price, advantages, disadvantages, is it necessary to arrange insurance at the university other than your home (Czech) insurance?):
Year insurance by ISIC, around 4 000 CZK

Did you have any experience with medical treatment abroad?:
I had to have my blood sample taken, my insurance did not cover it, I was told to pay for it.

Did you work during your studies?:
I was looking for a part-time job, however, I could not find a suitable job.

What are the conditions for working for MU students?:
Work Permission must be obtained

Tips for free-time activities:
Hiking, trips around the island, diving, surfing, exploring local architecture or foreign architecture from the colonization period, food tourism.

Financial support and expenses
Total grant from Centre for International Cooperation:
200000 CZK

Monthly grant in CZK:
20000 CZK

Number of supported months:
10

Total number of months:
10

What other sources did you make use of to finance your placement?:
My own savings, parents

If you received another grant, state which and how much in CZK:

 
Total fees associated with enrolment at the university:
0 TWD

a/ amount of enrolment fee:
0 TWD

b/ amount of tuition fees:
0 TWD

c/ amount of other fees (which):
0 TWD

 
What was your average monthly expenditure?:
21000 TWD

a/ of which for accommodation:
4900 TWD

b/ of which for catering:
11000 TWD

c/ travel and recreation:
5100 UYU

Any comments to the average monthly expenditure:

Recognition of foreign studies at the home faculty
How many credits did you gain during your studies (in the system of the foreign school)?:
10

How many ECTS credits were recognised at MU?:
40

Did you know in advance which of your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
yes

What problems did you have with recognition?:
I took a lot of culture section courses, which, unfortunately, will not be recognized as culture section courses at MU.

Overall assessment
Assessment of personal benefit (1 = excellent):
1

Assessment of academic benefit (1 = excellent):
1

Evaluate the information and support provided by the foreign school (1 = excellent):
3

Did you encounter any serious problems during your stay:
I had to undergo a health check, which, to my surprise, was not covered by my guaranteed health insurance.

What would you recommend to take with you:
I would recommend not to take any valuable or leather based shoes or clothes. Any clothes in the room can easily catch mold. I advise to take a good umbrella and a pair of flip flops.

What most surprised you at the partner university in a positive way:
Everything what I needed was on campus, food, library, classrooms, everything at one place. There were also lots of various and cheap sport opportunities.

What most surprised you at the partner university in a negative way:
Everyone has to undergo a lot of paper work during the registration at the beginning of the year. To get a student card, you will need many photocopies of your passport, health checks, letters and application forms and hand those to a staff in required order.

Further comments:
I would prefer wider variability of language based courses.