University of Leeds 2016 Fall Exchange Report

But Ka Yan, Stephanie BBA (ACCT & MGMT)

September

I arrived at Leeds on 11th September 2016, which is

three days earlier than the suggested arrival date by

the university. I intended to arrive earlier in order to

explore around Leeds. I was able to apply for a

temporary accommodation provided by the

university, but it was quite troublesome to move out

again after three days to my official student hall in

which the contract started on 14th. Therefore, I still

suggested you all to arrive exactly on the suggested

arrival date unless you could negotiate with the

accommodation officer for an extended hall contract

beforehand.

With the “Meet & Greet” services provided by the

International Welcome Team, I was picked up

smoothly at the Leeds Bradford Airport and took

Amber Cars (a company partner with the university)

straight back to my hall.

I registered with the school on the first few days,

handled bank account issue (this could take you

three weeks long), attended orientation talks and

events held by the university, my parent school

(LUBS) and my student hall. I met a number of new

friends and flat-mates from these activities.

Before the kick-off of the semester, I went on a few

trips within the UK. Remember to register with the

16-25 student railway card if you plan to visit places

around UK in order to enjoy the 1/3 price reduction.

October

School had begun but the workload was still not heavy. Everything was manageable so I

planned a few short trips. Edinburgh and the Highland Areas are my favourite and it would be a

huge pity of not going since you are at Leeds (only 3 hours train to Edinburgh, but the travelling

time will be doubled if you are going from the southern side of the UK!). I joined a local tour to

the Highland Areas and the scenery was spectacular!

Apart from travelling, I joined a local

activity in Leeds as well, called the

“Meet & Speak”. It is a language

exchange activity held every

Tuesday. With no entry fee at all, you

just go in, put on the stickers

representing your nationality and

chat with people. Since I am learning

Spanish at the moment, I was able to meet some Spanish who are really friendly and helped

my learning a lot! Even if you are not learning a foreign language, I believe you can meet some

new friends there!

November

There was a reading week in the middle of the semester, so I grabbed time to travel after

submitting an essay and assignments. Among all the places I have visited this month, my

favourite would definitely be Hallstatt, Austria and Berchtesgaden, Germany. Both are small

villages and towns located near the coast between Austria and Germany.

December The semester had come to an end in the mid of December. I decided to go on a three-week trip

to several countries in Europe: Belgium, France, Italy and Spain. It was actually quite tiring but

it was a really remarkable and memorable time with my travel buddy. Apart from living in a

hostel in which it’s a cheap option for many of you, living in an Airbnb can foster cultural

exchange with the host as well. We were very glad that we had a very nice host, who is an

American expatriate working in Paris during our stay there.

January

I went back to Leeds after the three-week trip for my exams. I got three exams in total. You may

need to extend your accommodation contract in early December if your exams end in the very

last week of the period. I left Leeds on 20th.

General Exchange information

Visa Procedures

Local Hong Kong students holding HKSAR or BNO passport studying in the UK for no longer

than 6 months do not need a visa to enter the UK unless you want to work while you are on

exchange.

Orientation Activities and International Services & Activities

There were quite a lot of orientation activities offered by the university. Apart from the

orientation talks, campus tour, city centre tour and welcoming parties during the international

week and fresher week, the Leeds University Union has been initiaiting a campaign called

“Give it a Go” (GIAG). The campaign includes all the society’s events ranging from coffee

tasting, henna, sports volunteering and even quidditch that you can try before joining the

membership. So for exchange students, you can try out many new things without paying at all

(Of course some activities do have an entry fee but I would say all are reasonably priced and

worthwhile to give it a go!)

Accommodations

Exchange students are guaranteed a hall

place. Most of them are self-catered while a

few are catered. I recommend picking the

former ones as you have more flexibility on

what to eat and if you are dining out/ travelling

frequently, picking a catered accommodation

would not be a good option.

I lived in Montague Burton, just less than 10

minutes walk to the campus but around 25

mins to the city centre. I noticed that some off-

campus hall can be really far away from

school so you should choose it carefully.

Course Registration

The university requires exchange student to take exactly 60 credits per semester. Unlike

HKUST, you cannot do the swapping of lectures/ seminars online but submit a form to the

department. The process is a bit clumsy but as long as you have a valid reason (e.g. time

clash), you will be able to swap classes. Exchange students are also given higher priority in

selecting modules so the overall course registration procedure is still smooth and easy.

However, some modules are opening in a particular semester only. Remember to double check

online when you are planning your timetable.

Teaching & Assessment Methods

The modules that I took are as follow:

Course Code & Title Credits Assessment Methods

LUBS1015: Enterprise in Action 10 70% 2000-word essay

30% Group project

LUBS3855: Strategic Human Resource

Management

20 50% 3000-word essay

50% Closed essay exam

SOEE1014: Intro to Environmental Science 10 40% Computer-based MCQ tests 60% MCQ Exam

SPPO1090: Spanish Language for Beginners 1A 20 100% Exam (Reading, writing, listening and speaking)

Sports & Recreation Facilities

The Edge is the major sports centre in the university, offering a wide spectrum of facilities.

Usually, the basic membership fee of the Edge is included in your accommodation, with some

limits to the admission time. But in general, it is still of great flexibility. They provide some one-

off fitness classes as well, like aerobics and yoga etc. Only some simple registration steps are

required online.

Cost/ Expenses

Items HKD (1GBP=10.5HKD)

Flight tickets 8,000

Accommodation 21,000

Daily expenses at Leeds 15,000

Travel expenses 35,000

Total 79,000

Social Clubs and Network

The Leeds University Union has been initiaiting a campaign called “Give it a Go” (GIAG). The

campaign includes all the society’s events ranging from coffee tasting, henna, sports

volunteering and even quidditch that you can try before joining the membership. So for

exchange students, you can try out many new things without paying at all (Of course some

activities do have an entry fee but I would say all are reasonably priced and worthwhile to give

it a go!)

Healthy and Safety

Medical services are not offered to exchange students who are only staying for a semester.

However, you can consult the medical practitioners and buy conscripted medicines at

Pharmacies like Boots and Superdry.

Although Leeds is ranked as one of the safest cities in the UK, still stay alert at all times. Aviod

walking alone at late night, especiall during winter time the sun sets at 4pm!

Food I usually do some simple cooking at my hall as my flat-mates

and I bought and shared a kitchen set from wilko (if I didn’t

remember wrong, the set cost 25 pounds). On the other hand,

you can basically get all you need from Morrisons, Tesco,

Wilko as mentioned and even a Chinese supermarket called

“Sing Kee”.

Transportation

Leeds is a vibrant city and everything you would go often is very packed in the city centre.

Therefore I usually walk, which is a healthy practice indeed. It only takes you 20-30 minutes to

city centre from the school main campus. I take taxi only when I have luggages with me after

travelling. It costs me 4-5 pounds from the train/coach station back to my hall.

Climate

In September, the weather is really comfortable that you can always go out with just a hoodie

on. But when it comes to November, the weather is quite unpredictable. Always remember to

bring an umbrella with you, although bringing umbrella may seem to be useless when the

weather is windy as well. You will be surprised how seldom British use umbrella but just walk in

the rain! During my stay, it only snowed for once or twice and the temperature seldom went

below 0 degree celcius.

Communication

I used Giffgaff, which is one of the cheapest mobile network provider around the UK. However,

for periods that I went outside UK, you probably need to shift to “3” that provides mobile

network in all the major cities in Europe. In addition, free wifi is available around the campus

and university accommodation.

Cautionary Measures

Although Hong Kong students holding HKSAR/ BNO passport do not need a visa to stay in the

UK for half year or less , the UK immigration officer may ask for your university acceptance

letter as proof. Thus, remember to bring the university acceptance letter every time when you

re-enter the UK after travelling to other countries.

Items to Bring

Passport

HKID

Leeds University Acceptance Letter

Phone and external charger

Adaptor (if you plan to travel to European countries)

Camera

Laptop

Umbrella!!! (Weather in the UK is rather unstable)

Down jacket and other thick wind-proof coats

Gloves and scarfs

Hair dryer

Warm water bottle

Sportswear

Hand warmer

Medicine

Hong Kong food that you are going to miss!