Meet Goodwill Ndlovu - BSc (Hons) International Business
Goodwill Ndlovu is studying International Business at Salford Business School. As part of his course, he had the opportunity to study for a term at TAMK University in Tampere, Finland on an international exchange. We talked with him about his experience there.
Getting prepared
There was so much I hoped to get from the exchange. I hoped to increase my knowledge within my study field, to explore a different culture and experience living life away from home, family and friends. It’s fair to say, I managed to achieve what I had hoped for and many other things.
You can never really know if you’ve prepared yourself enough for the exchange life. Everything needs to be thought about thoroughly. My exchange was within the EU, so there wasn’t much to prepare for in terms of Visas and other travel documents. But I had to make sure that I did some research on the local prices and the lifestyle over there so I had enough finances to cover my time abroad and in case of any emergencies. I also had to look for reasonable accommodation near the city and University.
A year abroad
The best bit was learning about the Finnish culture, because it’s totally different. Finns are different from the Brits, how they live and communicate, everything is different and just amazing. I liked how the teaching is delivered. Group work and all the presentations helped me to be more confident and more open. Overall, I surprisingly enjoyed learning and taking part in all the group works and lectures.
Travelling to a different country, where you don’t know anyone and the culture is totally different from yours, there’s always going to be something surprising. But, what surprised me the most was the help I received from Salford University, TAMK University and those who were around me. All exchange students looked after each other, regardless of their race or background. Teachers were fantastic and there was always help available. Everything was tremendous and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I learnt a lot during my exchange programme. All the experiences I had, I wouldn’t change them for anything. Now I’m independent, able to take risks when needed, communicate well with people from different backgrounds, I’m able to relate more, I’m more confident and my study skills have increased completely. I’m glad that I made the decision to be part of this experience, because it is a once in a life time thing, and you can never go wrong with it