Travel report Nagoya
HT19
I am a Master's student and need 30 HPs for the semester. According to previous exchange policy, I took 10 courses in NUCB. However, when I finished my exchange, the policy changed. So, exchange students only need to select 6 courses in NUCB in the following year.
About the course selection
After I was admitted by NUCB, I received a package, which includes the course syllabus for the last semester and this can be a reference for me. The course selection process is quite easy: Before the exchange semester started, I received an email, which included a course selection link.
Basic information about courses
On weekdays, courses start from 11 am to 5:40 pm but students are usually required to arrive at the campus at 10:20 am to participate the 40-minute group discussion. On weekends, courses start from 10 am to 4:40pm and students are required to arrive at 9:20 am. Timetable of NUCB can be found in the final page of the report.
Course content
Case study method is applied in the whole study process and there would be 8-10 cases for each course. In NUCB, grading system is tough, which requires professors necessarily fail about 10% students for each course and exchange students are included in the system. In general, grade is depended on three parts: participation, assignment, and final exam. Participation means rising hand to answer questions during the class and it makes up about 30 to 70 percent of the final grades. Therefore, if students need the credits, actively participating in the class is unavoidable. Under the tough grading system, the cons are apparent: the workload is heavy because it will take too much time to go through the study materials if students want to participate in the course. But there are some pros, also. Because cases are widely used in each course and they are generally based on real business story, students can be exposed to real business situation. It is challenge but exciting to apply the learned knowledge into those business story and make an analysis and a solution through group discussion. For students who are interested in business and management, it is an interesting way to touch the business world.
Basic information about accommodation
There are two accommodations (Global center and Chiyoda) for exchange students hey will be assigned to accommodations by the office stuff. Global center is a well-furnished Japanese style accommodation and provides all basic living necessaries( for example, towel、lamp、shampoo、Internet wire, ect). The rent fees for global center about 80000 YEN for each month, about 6800 SEK. Economy: Some students will be given 80000 YEN Jasso scholarship for each month and it can cover daily costs in Nagoya.
Leisure time
NUCB will organize some activities for exchange students and students can sign up for these activities. I joined some of them and there is one trip that worths recommendation: Kumanokodo trip. (Ac 2-day hiking trip). Students could experience a Japanese style trip because they will live in a Japanese style hotel and have a traditional Japanese dinner at the first night.
Overall
If exchange students choose NUCB, the workload will be higher than that in UU. But it could still be a happy experience if students are interested in exploring the Japanese lifestyle.