UQ Program: Bachelor of Journalism
I am currently half way through my final year of Journalism at UQ, after completing a one semester exchange at City University in London. The opportunity to go on exchange was incredibly rewarding. Academically, the exchange was far more challenging than I had anticipated. City University has a very practically driven Journalism School, with a strong focus on new media and writing to tight deadlines. The subjects I undertook included Editorial Production, Reporting and Features and Journalism and Society Project.
Editorial production encouraged students to actively interact with online media. We were asked to write two separate news blogs, and to promote these blogs through multiple facets of online marketing such as social networking and search engine optimisation. We also sat time limited sub editing tests every second week. By the end of Semester I felt quite comfortable with sub editing, having started the Semester quite terrified of it! While the work load was very intense, this course offered me knowledge and experience that I hadn’t yet gained in my studies at home. It also exposed to me to an integral component of new journalism.
Features and Reporting was similarly challenging. I wrote a feature and report almost every week of the short Semester. As the University is in London, one of the media capitals of the world, the writing experience gained under industry professionals was invaluable for me. My journalistic writing confidence has increased dramatically. I especially enjoyed the features aspect of the course, which exposed me to a multitude of feature writing genres.
More significant than my academic experience in London was the life experience I gained. Before embarking upon the Semester, I took the opportunity abroad to travel through continental Europe. I drove through Rome, The Amalfi coast, Tuscany and Cinque Terre in Italy, Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia, Ljubljiana and Lake Bled in Slovenia, Provence and Biarritz in France, and Cadaques, Valencia, Granada, Seville, Salamanca and San Sebastian in Spain. The challenge and beauty of this experience will remain with me forever. During the Semester I also visited Paris and Berlin. I found all of these countries very beautiful, incredibly culturally rich and historically fascinating. In London, I visited multiple museums and galleries (which are thankfully free), a myriad of markets, saw live music and made so many new friends from all over the world. In one of my class projects, I realised in a group of 11, we had 10 different nationalities. This diversity and multiculturalism defines London.
It is difficult for me to give a true indication of the cost of the exchange for multiple reasons. Obviously the addition of 6 weeks travel pre- study, blew my budget out quite lot. Although, you would be surprised how affordable this can be when one is camping and only eating bread and cheese! Also, I was very lucky to be staying with my cousin while in London, and was thus protected from the outrageous cost of renting. London is an expensive city, a transport pass is £25.80 per week, but it is less if you register a student oyster card (see below). Eating out adds up and you can just chew through money without realising it. Supermarket food on the other hand, is quite reasonable; you can get away with spending about £20 per week on food if you are clever. I’m sure you could do London very cheaply but I think you need to allow enough money to actually experience the place. You have to force yourself to be out and about in London to get a real feel for the city, it is so big and there is so much to explore.
Personally, I found the idea of studying at a new institution very daunting, and to be honest it was! It was very difficult to understand how the University worked, when assessment was due, where I had to be and what was expected of me. The University was extremely disorganised compared with UQ, having said that, it was far more rewarding when I finally did get on top of it all. And the challenge was most definitely part of the experience. Before leaving Australia, I was working three jobs while studying to save for the trip. It was incredibly gruelling, and I never thought I would be on this end of the journey. It is nice to know that I can do that now, and that I can manage in a new place with new people. I feel so much more confident as a Journalist and as a person and I will most definitely be looking at employment opportunities abroad.
My five top tips would be:
1. Markets! London has amazing markets, the famous Portobello and Camden Markets are a testament to that. Here are some lesser known markets: Spitalfield markets near brick lane are amazing on a Sunday. Great vintage and cheap finds, great for people watching as well, this is where the cool kids hang out. Also, there is amazing food from every place on earth and it is very cheap. You can eat a decent meal for under £5 (try Ethiopian food, it is delicious). Another great place for food is Borough market, not so cheap but it has an incredibly delicious array of gourmet foods. Prepare to eat a lot.
2. Get a student Oyster card, you have to apply online and it takes a few days for them to post you the card but it is definitely worth it, a one week travel pass for zone 1 and 2 (you shouldn’t need more than that) is £18, almost an £8 saving each week. That is almost 3 beers for those who drink beer…
3. Travel as much as you can, Europe is so close and there are cheap flights and trains constantly, Expedia is a good site to find cheap flights. You will never live so close to so many countries again. Another great tip, for airport transfers to Luton or Stanstead (where the cheaper airlines fly from), use Easy Bus, if you book ahead it can be as cheap as £2! Express trains to these airports cost anywhere between £14 and £20 and taxi’s aren’t even an option.
4. It is impossible to get anything done here. The bureaucratic processes are far more involved than they are in Australia. For example you need a proof of address to receive a bank account, and yet you need a local bank statement for proof of address. Prepare as much as you can at home first and arrive with enough time to get yourself sorted. The University is nowhere near as easy to navigate and is much more disorganised. Very little is done online compared to UQ
5. Live on the same side of town as the uni if you can, transport in London is unreliable to say the least, and attendance at most of the subjects is compulsory.