Newsletter 20 - From Asia to South America: Two students tell us about their time abroad

What made you want to go abroad as part of your course? 

GB: I wanted to go somewhere far away to get out of my comfort zone and discover a new culture. I chose an institution with a good reputation – the University of Buenos Aires. It’s a free, public university unlike Santiago de Chile and Rio de Janeiro, which are expensive and beyond the means of most people. At the University of Buenos Aires, students come from all kinds of different background, which is what I was looking for.

LG: My decision was mainly based on the country: I’d wanted to visit China for ages. Going as a student was the perfect opportunity, because it meant I could continue my studies and do an internship too. The conditions were ideal – I had one foot in student life, and the other in the world of work.

How did your exchange go? How was it different to studying at an engineering school in France?

GB: It’s a rather unusual time to be here, because Argentina is experiencing a severe economic crisis. The university has been affected by the numerous strikes and protests. There was somebody in charge of exchange students, who helped us with our paperwork. My department has a student association that runs events to help students get to know one another. Those were very popular with most of the exchange students. Before I arrived, I’d planned out my timetable so I could try out different classes, but it turned out we had to pick our classes once there, after speaking with the other international students and members of the department’s student association. Exchange students tend to all pick the same classes. I chose some that had a higher workload and are attended mainly by Argentinian students. Almost all my friends here are Spanishspeaking students, which is great for helping me integrate into local life and learn Spanish more quickly.

Most classes are in the evening, often until 10pm or 11pm. This means students can do part-time work alongside their studies to earn some money. Another difference is that a lot of students live quite far from the university, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. Lots of classes are therefore given online, so students don’t have to travel. Foreign students tend to live in the city center, because they can afford to.

LG: My time in Beijing went really well – even better than I hoped! I had a few administrative problems at the beginning, like lots of foreigners in China, but that’s not the part I’ll remember. During my internship at EDF I worked on coding an artificial neuronal network to simulate the consumption of a power station, which I found absolutely fascinating. I was lucky to have a great supervisor, who was very supportive and entrusted me with various tasks. On average I worked 8 hours a day, Monday to Friday. I met lots of Chinese students who were doing internships there too. We used English to communicate, and the general atmosphere in the workplace was very positive. Even though my timetable was pretty full, I loved the study/internship combination because it meant I could continue studying and get my first taste of professional life too. For my internship I usually worked full days, but sometimes I did half-days so that I could attend my classes at the university. For accommodation I stayed in an international dormitory owned by the university, in the center of Beijing. I met lots of great people during my time in China.

What advice would you give to ParisTech students interested in studying abroad?

GB: For Argentina you don’t need to apply for a visa in advance; you automatically get a three-month tourist visa when you arrive, and it’s renewed every time you leave the country. However, you do need a temporary residence visa in order to get your study certificate. When it came to choosing a university, I looked through my school’s exchange catalog, which contains practical information about each partner institution and the different countries. I also contacted some former students to ask about their experience. Once I’d made up my mind, I submitted my choices to my school, and they contacted the different universities to arrange the exchange and register me. For accommodation in Argentina, I recommend looking on Facebook, because that’s where locals post ads. You obviously need to speak Spanish for that though.

LG: I would recommend starting looking for an internship early, so you’re sure of finding exactly what you want and can start the administrative process as soon as possible. And once you’ve found an internship, sign the agreement as soon as you can, because you can’t apply for a visa without it. Research the country – look into insurance, sickness, healthcare, visa and residency requirements, and any documents you’ll need. Make sure you fill in all the paperwork correctly, because the Chinese authorities are very thorough. If you make a mistake or if anything’s missing, you’ll have to start the whole process again! For example, to enter the country you need a health certificate, and for that you have to do several medical examinations, including a chest x-ray and a blood test, which you have to get signed off by your doctor. Lastly, make sure you have contact details for someone in the country, and book your tickets in advance.

Read reports from Mahomet and Daphné too.

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