Caroline Sophia Steiner, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland)
About Switzerland
First of all, the climate is very different to Singapore. In Switzerland, it is much less humid and colder. There are 4 distinctive seasons; there is snow in winter and around 25°C in summer. Must visit attractions are the cities Berne, Lucerne, Zurich, Basel and the mountains. The “Matterhorn” and the “Jungfraujoch” are very famous. You can try sledding and skiing in winter and swimming in lakes and rivers in summer. Furthermore, the Ticino (the Italian part of Switzerland) is a very beautiful area where you feel like being in Italy.
As Switzerland is allocated in the middle of Europe, exploring Europe is definitely a good idea. You can explore the neighbor countries Italy, Austria, Germany and France over the weekends.
Switzerland is very diverse and there are four official languages. There is a German part, which is the biggest one, a French, an Italian and rhaeto-romanic part. St. Gallen is situated in the German part. The Swiss culture is characterized by this diversity.
About Food
When going to Switzerland, “Fondue” (melted cheese) is a must-try. I love it and recommend trying it. Furthermore, Swiss chocolate in thousands of variations can be found everywhere. When studying in St. Gallen, you definitely have to try the “OLMA Bratwurst”. This is a sausage perfect for barbecuing. When visiting Zurich, you have to try the “Zürcher Geschnetzeltes”. This is a veal dish, sometimes containing mushrooms, served with a cream sauce and “Rösti”. “Rösti” is a flat, hot cake made of grated, cooked jacket potatoes fried in hot butter. It is delicious!
About Transportation and Prices
Main mode of transportation are buses and trains. There is a very reliable system of public transport in the whole country, but it is more expensive than in Singapore. Prices for food are also higher than in Singapore. Meals at the canteen of the university cost around 10-15 SGD. You pay around 650-900 SGD/month for a room in a shared apartment in St. Gallen.
About School
I study Business Administration in the 3rd year at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. This university offers a wide range of courses in Law, International Affairs, Economics and Business. There are compulsory subjects but also electives.
The assessment is quite different to the one at NUS. In most subjects, there is one big exam at the end of the semester and nothing else. Only in some subjects there are essays or presentations to do during the semester. Most subjects consist of a lecture and a tutorial. The class sizes of the lecture are in most classes much bigger than the ones at NUS. Especially when doing a compulsory subject, there are around 400 other students taking the same class. The class size of the tutorial is around 30 people.
The Bachelor of Business Administration covers a wide range of different topics as Marketing, Strategic Management, Fiscal Law, Business Law, Financial and Management Accounting, Finance, Macro Economics, Micro Economics etc. The Master programs are much more specialized.
There are a lot of different student associations organizing events during the whole semester. Here is only a small choice: Consulting Club, Banker’s Club, Vegan Club, UniMusic, TEDxHSG, Club Latino, Student’s Business Club, HSG Big Band, oikos St. Gallen, Trading Club, Amnesty International Students St. Gallen, Tennis Club, Sailing Club, Asia Club, Poker Club, Law Days etc. Participating in such events is very common.
The campus is much smaller than the one of NUS. There are no apartments on campus and therefore all students live in shared flats in town close to university. There is a gym and also a wide range of sports courses offered for free.
The University of St. Gallen has reached out to NUS Business School to collaborate in the Asian Culture Transfer 2018 (ACT). This programme has been conducted by the University of St. Gallen for the last 20 years. The aim of the programme is to provide international encounters of students from all over the world to foster students’ cultural competencies based on 3 pillars: politics, economy and nature.
This July, we have a team of 20 NUS Business students embarking on the ACT for the first time since its inception. We look forward to a great working relationship with the University of St Gallen!