Travel Report Auckland University of Technology (AUT) New Zealand

Travel Report

Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
New Zealand

Spring 2014
Petra Saarinen (k94033)
26.8.2014

This report describes my graduate level exchange in New Zealand at Auckland University of
Technology (AUT) during spring 2014. Taken as a whole, Auckland, and New Zealand in general,
is an awesome exchange destination due to its beautiful outdoors, friendly locals, and good quality
education.

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1. Preparing for the Exchange

After the AUT University had confirmed the exchange application, their International Office started
emailing detailed information and instructions about visas, accommodation, insurance, course
enrolments, and orientation.

A student visa is required to study in New Zealand, and it should be applied before going to the
country. Although the application forms and instructions are quite straightforward, the process
might take time as you are required to send your application and passport to the Immigration New
Zealand office in London. It is thus recommended that after you have received the offer of place
and letter of acceptance from AUT, you start the visa application process.

The university also helped with finding an accommodation in Auckland. AUT had reserved a room
for every incoming exchange student at the Wellesley Student Apartments (WSA), which is located
at the city campus and hence only 5 minutes walk away from the classes. Due to the convenient
location of WSA, most exchange students choose to live there. Also I ended up living there, even
though the room prices felt incredibly high; a standard room costs approximately 3500 Euros (5400
NZ Dollars) for the semester that lasts only four months. Furthermore, exchange students were
required to pay the full rent several months before the semester started. Therefore, if one wishes to
live at WSA, it is good to have some savings.

The Government of New Zealand requires all students coming to NZ from overseas to have
insurance before arriving to the country. The AUT Business School advices you to buy this
insurance from one of two companies, either Southern Cross Healthcare or Uni-Care Educational
Travel Insurance Service. Both companies offer reasonably priced student policies.

Course enrollments were made several months before the semester started. In AUT, courses are
called papers, and typically one paper is worth 15 or 30 points (1 AUT point is 0.5 ECTS). I
selected four 15 points papers and thus I did 30 ECTS during my semester. Though papers are
picked before the semester starts, students are able to change them during the first weeks of classes.

The semester officially started on 3rd of March 2014 but orientation began already on 21st of
February 2014. Orientation was basically mandatory, but some students who were for example
travelling were able to skip it. The o-week program started with registration, we also received the
student cards and were introduced to the campus area. Moreover, plenty of information was given
about the academic requirements, student services and social gatherings. During the orientation

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there were several parties and on-campus events, organized by AuSM (Auckland Student
Movement), which included entertainment and free food. Furthermore, a welcome buffet was
arranged to business exchange students at the Sky Tower by the International Office of AUT
business school. Overall, the International Office took excellent care of business exchange students,
and it was very easy to enroll to AUT as an exchange student.

Otherwise there was not much to prepare before the exchange. For example, I did not have to take
any vaccinations or complete language tests etc. However, since the flights to New Zealand are
quite expensive it is advisable to buy them as early as possible. When they are bought early, it is
probable that the back and forth flights cost under 1300 Euros.

 2. Exchange Studies

The semester started at the beginning of March, and depending on the classes and exam dates, it
ended at the end of June. Since I had no exams, I was finished with my studies on the 8th of June
2014. The majority of graduate (Master’s) level classes did not have exams but I understood exams
were quite common at the undergraduate level. It seemed like the difference between Master and
Bachelor’s level was quite notable and postgraduate (Master) courses were highly research focused.
Furthermore, postgraduate classes were held during afternoon or evenings when undergraduate
classes were during day time.

The course selection was rather wide. The business school offered courses under International
Business, Accounting, Taxation, Economics, Finance, Business Information Systems, Management,
People and Employment, Sport and Recreation Management, Marketing, and Maori Development.
It was possible to choose any course from the business school curriculum; however some courses
had some pre-requisite requirements.

All the courses were held in English. It seemed that the class participation was not absolutely
mandatory, although it also depended on the professor. However, both international and Kiwi
students tended to actively participate to the lectures. Each course had one lecture per week, which
lasted for two hours. I did not have to buy any books for my courses; I borrowed most of them from
the library and we mainly used articles. I had classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and it seemed
common that most students had couple weekdays without classes.

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I did the following courses:

Strategic Human Resource Management (HRMG801/30) – The aim of the paper was to develop a
critical analysis of the relevance of strategic human resource management. The focus was on human
resource management as a source of competitive advantage and the strategies to achieve this. The
professor, Keith Macky, was an exceptionally good lecturer and the content of the course was
excellent, so I would definitely recommend this class to students interested in HR. The evaluation
criteria for the course involved a mid-term exam, three quizzes and an essay.

Organizational Change (MGMT804) – The course had four learning outcomes; first to be able to
diagnose and discuss the forces driving change in an organization; second, to provide students the
skills to analyze organizational changes and to recommend appropriate models and types of
changes. Third, the course aimed at helping students to critically reflect on the role of managers in
leading and sustaining change, and fourth, to evaluate the effectiveness of change interventions.
Although the course was rather theoretical, it was quite interesting and well organized. Moreover,
the workload was appropriate consisting of three individual assignments.

Credibility and Trust in Advertising (488012) – The paper aim was an examination of the need for
brand credibility and trust among consumers, customers and stakeholder groups as well as message
strategy considerations when targeting these groups. Overall, the course was research focused, in
other words, it examined current research methodologies and research findings in advertising. The
lectures consisted of presentations and class discussions, and the interactive nature of the course
improved the quality of it. However, I would probably not recommend the course further due to the
unclear structure of it, vague learning outcomes and confusing assignment instructions. Yet the
workload of the course was rather small, consisting of weekly discussion papers, presentation and a
research project.

Human Resource Development (HRMG803) – The key topics of the course included: strategic
HRD; contemporary issues affecting HRD; integration and facilitation of formal and informal
learning at work; needs assessment; and design, development, delivery and evaluation of HRD.
Overall, the key theme during the course was diversity in Human Resource Development, including
for instance religious, ethnic and gender diversity. The professor of the course, Edwina Pio, was a
good lecturer and encouraged active discussion during the classes. The evaluation criteria of the
course consisted of four assignments; two individual and two group assessments.

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3. Free Time and Other Information

 3.1     Travelling in New Zealand and Around

New Zealand is a perfect destination for people who love the outdoors and beautiful nature. Since it
is rather small (Finland is 1.25 times big as New Zealand), it is easy to travel around and experience
NZ’s versatile landscape. NZ has majestic mountains, beautiful beaches, some lakes, forest parks,
glaciers, volcanic areas, island chains, and it is surrounded by the massive Pacific Ocean.

New Zealand © Petra S.

The country comprises two main islands – the North Island and the South Island – and numerous
smaller islands. The North Island is fairly flat and has beautiful beaches and island chains around
Auckland, Bay of Islands and Coromandel Peninsula. Auckland and Wellington, the biggest cities,
are located at the North Island and over 75% of New Zealand’s 4.5 million inhabitants live in the
North.

New Zealand © Petra S.

Furthermore, the North Island has a warmer climate; summer is hotter, lasts longer and snow is not
as common there as in the South. In Auckland for example, it was over 20 Celsius degrees until
April/May, and finally in June it started to rain and get cooler. The South Island, in turn, has
perhaps a more epic nature. There are fjords, mountain ranges, outstanding nature tracks for hiking,
and it is possible to see whales, wild dolphins and penguins. The biggest city in the South is
Christchurch, which is particularly known for its earthquakes in the past.

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Furthermore, the so called “adrenalin capital of the world”, Queenstown, is at the South Island
where it is common to do various extreme sports such a skydiving, paragliding, speed boating,
canyon swinging, and bungee jumping. In addition, Milford Sound, one of the wettest places on
Earth, is located at the West corner of the South Island; the place is stunningly beautiful and one of
the top travel destinations in NZ.

New Zealand – © Petra S.

Since the distances are not too overwhelming, it is typical to travel with a rental car. For example I
travelled altogether seven to eight weeks with a rental car around both islands before the semester
and during it. Also a campervan is quite convenient and it might save some money in
accommodation costs. Furthermore, it is possible to buy travel passes from tourist companies such
as Stray or Kiwi Experience and thereby travel by bus with a group of other tourists.

There are several accommodation options for tourists in New Zealand. Naturally there are high-end
hotels but there is also a good selection of backpacker hostels in every town. If one is willing to stay
in a shared room, it is possible to stay a one night for around 25$ (1 NZ Dollar is currently 0.6335
Euros). Private rooms are slightly more expensive.

Since New Zealand is geographically quite isolated, the most typical overseas trips are commonly
to Australia or to Pacific Islands. The flight prices vary but sometimes it is possible to find very
affordable flights to the East Coast of Australia. In addition, Pacific Islands such as Fiji, Cook
Islands and Samoa are easily accessible.

When my courses finished at AUT I had the opportunity to travel to Samoa for one week. The
traditional Pacific culture is very much alive at Samoa; people value family, religion and music and
they are generally friendly, hospitable and very interested in tourists. Both men and women tend to
wear colorful sarongs and big families live together in fales, which are typical Samoan houses
without walls, only poles holding the roof. As the locals were interested in tourists and hospitable
by nature, it was common to be invited to stay at someone’s home as a guest.

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Samoa – © Petra S.

When comparing Samoa to some other Pacific islands, for instance Fiji, Samoa is not so touristic, it
has fewer paradise beaches and the economy is less developed. However, if one is seeking for
authentic cultural experience, Samoa is definitively a good place to visit.

 3.2     Living in Auckland

                                                  Auckland is New Zealand’s most populated city
                                                  with close to a half a million inhabitants living in
                                                  the city and 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.
                                                  The surroundings of the city are beautiful as there
                                                  are volcanoes, craters, islands and also nice
                                                  beaches close by. The city center however is quite
                                                  small; it has couple of main streets, which are
                                                  packed with restaurants, cafes, shops, and of
                                                  course the landmark of Auckland – the Sky Tower.

                                                  I personally think that Auckland is a cool and cozy
                                                  city, but I would agree with Lonely Planet that the
city center’s architecture is perhaps not the most harmonious and “full of architectural
embarrassments”. Nevertheless, although Auckland is a lively cosmopolitan city, it is rather safe,
and for example walking there during the evenings does not feel dangerous.

The AUT campus and WSA (student housing) are situated at the heart of the city where the red
mark is in the map. Thus, grocery stores, restaurants and night clubs are close. Therefore, it is
possible to live without a bus cart but if one is willing to travel around Auckland it might turn out to
be handy.

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When apartment rents in Auckland are the highest of the country, food on contrary is relatively
reasonably priced. The prices in grocery stores are almost comparable to Finnish prices but eating
out is a lot cheaper in Auckland than in Helsinki. For instance a pack of eight sushi rolls costs
around six NZ dollars (less than four Euros), and cheap Asian food is basically easy to find.

Auckland – © Petra Saarinen

From the above pictures, the first one is taken from our living room in WSA, the second one is
WSA building from the ground, the third is from the Sky Tower, and the fourth from Mount Eden.
Although WSA was not the cheapest living option I was happy to stay there. It made it really easy
to get to know other exchange students and locals. I shared an apartment with four girls. They were
from China, Norway, Germany and Iran, so quite an international combo. We shared a kitchen and
two toilets but everyone had their own bedroom.

The mix of exchange students was really diverse; there were people from all around Europe,
especially from the Nordic countries, across the US, Asia and also some South American countries
were represented. Since international people were always around, cultural differences were
constantly present. However, I did not experience culture shocks or anything alike during my
exchange. New Zealand is very Western from its culture, although perhaps Kiwis (New Zealanders)
are a bit more talkative and small-talk is more common when compared to Finnish customs.

However, getting to know the Maori culture was exciting. AUT arranged a so called Noho Marae
weekend, which introduced Māori culture to international AUT students. The weekend included
learning Māori songs, culture, games, and dances such as the Haka. Furthermore, we ate loads of
great traditional food and made new friends, so I would sincerely recommend signing up for this
weekend if possible. There are also numerous Maori museums and places across NZ where one is
able to get familiar with the country’s indigenous people and their culture.

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4. Final Comments

I would definitely recommend exchange in New Zealand at AUT for others. I enjoyed the fact that
the university is located a lively city and travelling to unique places was so easy. Thus, AUT as a
host university makes it possible to experience a lot during the exchange period. Furthermore, the
university was first-rate, courses were rather interesting, and the International Office of AUT
Business School took great care of exchange students.

It is difficult to come up with many negative sides of this exchange experience. However,
sometimes it was frustrating that there were not many spots for international students in Master’s
level and hence the average age of students was quite young. Particularly students living in WSA
were somewhat young, and consequently there were sometimes ridiculous rules set by the AUT
accommodation services. One of them was for example an occasional social gathering ban after 10
PM, which made it impossible to arrange preparties, movie nights or anything alike.

This exchange was my second university exchange as I did one during my bachelor studies.
Nevertheless, I would say that it was a whole new experience and I learned a lot. It was thrilling to
be in a new country and get familiar with the culture. Moreover, the international aspect gave new
perspective to life in Finland as well. Finally, the time in NZ taught me also something about
myself, for instance getting feedback from overseas professors and studying in another university
build my confidence, and making new international friendship definitely developed my social skills.

In case you have questions about AUT or New Zealand in general, feel free to email me
(petra.saarinen@aalto.fi) or find me from Facebook. I would be happy to help !

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