Tianna Fung went to Australia for a graphic design exchange abroad, because she wanted to experience Australian culture.
“It always seemed like such a faraway place to me, and I think that the mystery of it really captivated me,” she said.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University offers many exchange programs to places such as Germany and South Korea. Fung and three other Kwantlen students found themselves at Edith Cowen University in Perth, Australia, studying graphic design.
ECU has many majors, and completes its bachelor’s degrees in three years. This shocked Fung, as she took Year 2 courses, which were equivalent to Kwantlen’s first-year classes.
“We were learning Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign basics in most of our classes, so things were really slow at the beginning,” she said. “I learned more from classes that I took in Perth that are not offered in the GDMA program, such as illustration, and that was really cool because it was a challenge. It was also a third-year class, so the level of work was to a higher degree, and I feel the most satisfied out of what I learned from that class.”
In 2012, although universities had a large population of international students coming to Canada, educators were worried that there were not enough Canadian students having experiences abroad. Twenty-five university presidents got together to discuss the issue and since then, efforts have been made to promote exchange opportunities.
And students are starting to think about going abroad even more. Cathrine McInnis, research assistant at Kwantlen Polytechnic University International, said that 15 KPU students are abroad this fall and 29 are scheduled to go abroad next semester. This has risen since fall 2013, when only six students did exchanges.
“The trend is that more students are going abroad, more than ever before,” McInnis noted.
Fung learned a lot about graphic design while she was abroad. She advises future exchange students going to Australia to meet the locals, go to the beach and drink as much coffee as possible.
Rebecca Berry
It is always interesting to me how education differs from country to country even if it is the same program. I think students going abroad for a semester or two of education is a great idea. Broadens one’s mind in more ways than one.
Where is your fine art work this time Mercedes?
Sarah Khan
Interesting piece i’ve always wanted to go abroad for a semester but haven’t gotten around to it yet. But whenever I speak to students who have, they always have such good things to say. Its definitely a great way for students to travel without taking a semester off and getting behind in their studies as well, so that’s a major plus.