I applied to the university with the help of MicroEDU, whose service is free and who also help with questions of any kind. All I had to do was fill out a form with my details, the current grade point average, my Spanish level and my desired courses. First, I emailed all of the documents to MicroEDU where they were checked for completeness. I then sent the originals by post, which the company then forwarded to the Chilean university. After a few weeks I received my confirmation and my semester abroad could begin.
The university and courses
The business campus of the Universidad de Chile is very modern. There is a large entrance hall, a well-equipped cafeteria and lecture rooms with the latest technology. In the library, which extends over three floors, there are still work and group rooms as well as computers, printers and even a small terrace. The sports studio, which can be used free of charge, invites you to switch off from everyday university life. There is a variety of fitness equipment there and there is something for everyone. In general, the campus is very open and friendly and offers the latest technology so that you can work without any problems. The lecture halls are also well equipped, ventilated and enjoyable to be there.
I have integrated my studies abroad into my fifth semester of the Bachelor’s degree in Business Psychology. All of my courses could be credited to me. You can choose between English and Spanish lectures, whereby the offer of the former is of course lower. In contrast to the rest of the country, most of the lecturers speak good English and even in Spanish lectures the presentations are in the same. However, one should choose alternatives in advance if there are course overlaps in the curriculum, which may well be the case. The lectures per course take place twice a week for one and a half hours and are very practice-oriented. The lessons are partly reminiscent of everyday school life, as in most cases at least 80% attendance is a prerequisite for passing a course. On the other hand, a large part of the examination performance is already completed during this time, so that there are no weeks of exam preparation at the end of the semester.
The lectures at the faculty are economically oriented according to the campus. In the events I chose, the main emphasis was on the cultural differences that have to be taken into account when doing business in other countries.In addition, models to illustrate market entry strategies, for example, were discussed. In general, we have learned a lot about free trade agreements, culture, marketing, human resources and practical examples from large corporations that are either successful in other markets or have failed because of differences that are too great. It has become particularly clear time and again that even seemingly insignificant differences can be decisive when working with other companies or relocating parts of your own business to other countries. These findings are particularly important in practice.
The methods within the events were very varied, with group work always being the focus. The content was discussed in classic lectures. Time and again, exemplary cases from existing companies should be processed in small groups and ultimately a report should be prepared. The results were then discussed during the following lecture. In addition, lectures and presentations were given or more extensive projects were worked on during the entire semester. In my case, the latter consisted of preparing reports and presenting the interim and final results. Probably the most unusual method was a debate, based on the procedure in the British Parliament, in the course Intercultural Business Challenges in Latin America. Even if we were skeptical at the beginning, this method has proven to be challenging, but also very useful and quite entertaining.
Learn more about Chile and South America, please check businesscarriers.
As already mentioned, large parts of the entire examination performance were already achieved during the semester. The exact distribution of the points varied from course to course. In order to pass an event, an attendance rate of around 80% was usually necessary. In some cases, there were also extra points with full attendance. In general, points were awarded for presentations, group projects, reports and small tests on prescribed literature. In some courses there was a final examination, in others the entire examination had already been completed.
