NTU Gem Discoverer: Hanyang University

Hanyang International Summer School (HISS)

Hey! This post would cover the pre-departure administrative procedures when you take part in NTU's GEM Discoverer Programme. Basically, for exchange programmes, there are 2 types of programmes in NTU, namely GEM Explorer and GEM Discoverer. GEM Explorer refers to exchanges that typically lasts for a semester while GEM Discoverer refers to short term exchanges. I would be taking part in GEM Discoverer (Summer Studies Programme). 

There are a lot of overseas universities to choose from for the summer studies programme - ranging from UCB, UCLA, UniPenn to LSE, UCL and many many more. Here are some tips if you're intending to take part in GEM Discoverer:

1. Course Matching

This is perhaps one of the greatest concerns to many students. Many of us would prefer to match our CORE courses to the courses offered by the overseas universities. In order for an effective course matching, you may refer to Coursefinder which can be access from iNTU Studentlink. In Coursefinder, you can view the courses that were matched successfully in the previous years. Of course, you'll have to check if the same modules are being offered by your overseas universities.

In addition, do take note of the credit transfer policy for different universities. Most universities allow up to 8 AUs for transfer, however, some have restrictions on the type of courses that can be matched. For instance, for Copenhagen Business School, only GER PEs and UEs can be matched and core courses are not allowed for matching. 

In my case, I have matched the following modules:

1. NTU's Strategic Management (AB3601) for HYU's Strategic Management (BUS4019)

2. NTU's Communication Management Strategies (AB0602) for HYU's Business Communication (BUS2025) 

These two CORE courses have been approved for matching by NBS course coordinators. 

HYU allows students to take up to 3 courses for as part of their HISS programme. I have also signed up for an additional course ISS1076 Digital Studio, which provides an introduction on how to work with images and photoshop. I'm guessing it's going to be interesting! 

2. Cost of Programme

There are mainly two types of programme: 1. Fee-Paying and 2. Exchange

For fee-paying, you'll have to pay additional tuition fees to take part in the exchange programme. HISS is a fee paying programme and since HYU is a partner university of NTU, NTU students get to enjoy 50% off the full tuition fees. For exchange scheme, the tuition fees would be waived but you'll have to pay for all the miscellaneous fees such as accommodation, books, meals and air tickets. 

Here is a cost breakdown for HYU:

Application Fee: 100,000 KRW

Tuition Fee: 1,400,000 KRW (50% of the original 2,800,000 KRW)

Housing Fee: 500,000 KRW to 800,000 KRW

Apparently, NTU is quite slow in approving overseas exchange programmes, by the time I've received my confirmation and nomination from NTU for HYU, most of the accommodations are fully booked. I'm left with 2 out of the 4 choices. The on-campus dormitory (500,000 KRW) and off-campus dormitory (600,000 KRW) are fully booked and I'll have to choose from URSEOUL (700,000 KRW) or Sunny House Dongdaemun (800,000 KRW). I initially chose URSEOUL but eventually changed to Sunny House as I've accidentally deleted my application form and everything was wiped out (I was confused....). Anyway, Sunny House is the only accommodation that provides single room with private bathroom so I guess if you don't mind living by yourself, you might want to consider Sunny House (Sindang Station) as it's nearer to HYU as compared to URSEOUL (Seoul Station).

You may opt to book your own accommodation from airbnb or other sources such as goshipages in scenarios when you can't get all the available accommodation provided by the school or you would want to stay together with your friends. 

Other pre-departure costs to take note:

Insurance: $70 (From my research, get your insurance from NTU, it's called NTU TravelSure and it's managed by UOI. It's one of the cheapest available and has the necessary coverage)

Air Tickets: $600-$1000, depending on your which airline you would want to fly with. I'm flying with SIA and it costs around $840, it's a promotion price and I've some friends who got their SIA flights at $720 and some at $1.2K. It really depends. 

Bank Charges for Telegraphic Transfer: $61, this might be exclusive for HYU as we are required to do a telegraphic transfer to HYU's bank account. In order to get the best rates and lower your transaction fees, I would recommend using DBS iBanking. When I did my transfer, the rates that I've got is 0.1151 (1 SGD to 868.809 KRW). It's a pretty good deal and through iBanking, you can save ~$10 from the commission fees and the time required to queue at the banks. From what I've heard, apparently OCBC doesn't offer transfer in KRW and my friends transferred using USD through OCBC. HYU accepts USD/KRW so it's not much of an issue.

*Financial Assistance: You can apply for OSP Award/Loan if you need financial assistance. I've applied for the OSP award and I got it, most likely, you'll be able to get it if you're currently eligible for the MOE bursary. 

As for the usage of PSEA account, the PSEA account is meant for reimbursement, meaning that you'll have to incur your expenses and then claim for the amount through PSEA when you get back from the exchange programme. Do request a receipt from your overseas universities if you are intending to claim from your PSEA account. 

3. Administrative Procedures

Take note of all the necessary date for application for NTU GEM Discoverer, which typically opens in January. I got the offer during early February. There are various rounds of application, so don't worry if you didn't apply for it during the first round of application. 

After you received the offer and accepted the offer from NTU, you may proceed to HYU's HISS website to apply for the programme. Fill in the form and wait for the payment details to appear and after you've made the payment, you'll have to wait for your student number for course registration. 

The course registration for HYU is similar to NTU's first come first serve basis, so be sure to camp in front of the computer when the course registration opens to get all your preferred course and time slots. I got all my desired time slots and I'm sure you can do it as well, after all, NTU has its STAR WARS to train all our students. 

4. Plan and Enjoy your trip! 

Last but not least, plan and enjoy your trip! HYU provides field trips such as city tour, heritage tour, mud festival activity and NANTA show for HISS participants on fridays. I'm guessing it's optional and if you're not going for these trips, perhaps, you could take a trip out of Seoul or even to neighbouring countries such as Japan or even China! 

To end off the post, I wish those who are embarking on their GEM Discoverer programme a safe and enjoyable trip!