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Experiencing life and learning on the other side of the world

Ryan came to the School of Management on an international academic exchange from the University of Sydney in Australia.

Applying for the exchange programme

The application process for the exchange programme started quite early, about eight months before I would actually depart for the UK. I selected a list of universities that I wanted to apply to.

I put Bath as my number one choice and explained why I wanted to go and why I thought I'd be a good fit. I started planning my accommodation about six months later. It was a long process, but quite easy.

Teaching and learning at Bath

The teaching here at Bath is a lot different to Sydney. Back in Australia, we have tutorials and workshops, and the lectures are less interactive. Here I find the lecturers get a lot more engaged with the group. A lot of students ask questions, so it's a good opportunity to get answers to questions that you wouldn't normally be able to.

The lecturers are all very understanding and welcoming, every single day. I walked into a lecture late one time, and he said, ‘All right, you have to tell a joke now’. I think I told the worst joke that I've ever told, but he laughed.

My Investment in Trading lecturer is really good at facilitating an energised environment. It's cool when they're talking to you rather than talking at you and you can see that everyone in the class is interested.

Living in the city as a student

I live in the city in Pulteney Court accommodation. It's been easy to organise and it’s also quite affordable for the area. We share a floor of the building and a kitchen between eight of us. The kitchen has enough amenities for everyone and it's an easy way of doing university overseas. There's one postgraduate and seven exchange students so it's a pretty cool group.

The city has been great. It’s small but that's why I picked it. I find you can get around easily and meet a lot of people. When you can see the entire city in a short time, it does feel a lot more like home rather than just being confined to your room on campus.

My favourite spot would probably be Alexandra Park at the top of the hill. It looks over the entire city and is absolutely gorgeous.

Bath has some fun food places too. We had fast food steaks recently and they were done really well. After work, I go to a late-night Chinese store. It's full of cool snacks. You don't often find late-night Chinese food in Australia. One of the cool things about Bath is that it has a lot of spin-offs of different cuisines.

My top three goals for my time in Bath

My top three goals when I came here were to travel around the UK and Europe, play sports, and immerse myself in opportunities that the University of Bath offered.

So far, it's been a very unique experience. Europe is one of the largest hubs of the finance world, so learning here has been valuable from a cultural perspective. I went to a Boston Consulting Group programme in Bristol, which was amazing.

I'm playing rugby for the University and I've also joined Ultimate Frisbee, badminton and the Run Club. With rugby, I’m playing in the internal team, representing the School of Management.

All the sports groups have been super sociable and welcoming. I was with my friend and we saw a group playing Ultimate Frisbee on one the netball courts. We went down and spoke to two people and funnily enough, they were the chairs of Ultimate Frisbee. We asked to join and they said, ‘Yeah, get on the court!’. It was cool that they were so welcoming.

Studying at Bath has also given me the opportunity to explore surrounding cultures and countries. I spent a week travelling through Scotland, Ireland and Wales with a few friends. With a Scottish heritage, it's been a unique and fulfilling opportunity to learn about Scotland and clan Mackay. On another occasion, I travelled to the Netherlands to reconnect with friends that I met during their exchange in Australia. It has truly been a full-circle exchange, as I've supplemented my time away from the University with exploration and immersion.

Things I wish I'd known earlier about going on exchange

I think there were some things I should have researched more before I went on exchange. There was a big lifestyle change in terms of the cost of living. I follow the budget that was provided to us by the University, but it is quite hard.

Besides that, Europe and the UK have very old and interesting ways of travelling. For example, you can get a rail card and bus passes to get around, whereas, in Australia, it’s more likely that you’d take a flight because it's so vast. So learning how to travel around has been important.

I would have loved to have known these things on the first day. But you learn these things through living here and that’s the point of the experience.

My advice to someone who's thinking about going on an international exchange

My advice would be to set a few goals about what you want to get out of your experience. It helps you to direct yourself over the months you spend here.

I found that because there was so much that you can do at Bath, it was very confronting. If you want to play sport or to join a club, socials are on Wednesdays and Thursdays and classes are on weekdays. You also have to think, can I get a part-time job? Should I get a part-time job?

It can be intimidating, but if you have an idea of what you want to get out of it, it’s a beautiful opportunity to live another life. Sticking to your goals and achieving them to make the most of your time in a new place means you can’t go wrong.

The last thing I would add is to say yes to as many opportunities as possible, and meet as many people as you can and hear their story. Only then will you really appreciate life on the other side of the world!

The international exchange is a beautiful opportunity to live another life.
Ryan Mackay International exchange student (2025)

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