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!
Hi, would it okay if I linked your post on exchange from my site? My site can be found at http://ntukid.blogspot.com . Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi, okay sure!
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