Study Abroad in Thailand
Being enrolled at the University of Cologne holds many opportunities for you to study at a partner university abroad. Olivia studies Business Administration at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences (WiSo). As a WiSo student you can study in Thailand at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University for a semester or longer being enrolled in many fields, i.e. in Business Administration, Business Education and Management Training, Health Economics, Information Systems, Economics with a minor in Business Administration at Bachelor’s level or at Master’s level in Business Administration, Economics, Business Education and Management Training, Health Economics and Information Systems.
Read more about Olivia’s stay on the Thai campus and what she learned about life when studying abroad.
My Semester Abroad in Thailand
In my sixth semester studying Business Administration, I wanted to gain some international experience. My friends got me all excited by their enthusiasm about their own trips and some were already there and sent so many pictures and impressions back that I wanted to make this experience too. I wanted to brush up my English and spend time in the sun. And I wanted to become emerged in a new culture and travel. In the end, I chose Thailand, which combined all my expectations.
The University
I studied for one semester at the oldest and most prestigious university in Thailand: Chulalongkorn University. It is a new partner university of the UoC, so I kind of served as a guinea pig in the winter semester 2014/15, because I was the first Bachelor student to take part in the exchange scheme. The king of Thailand also studied at Chulalongkorn University, which means that Thais admire you if you study there. “Chula” students can be easily recognized by their school uniforms. This made my time there even more exciting because I was actually very proud to be a part of this community. The campus, too, represents the university’s status: it is a huge green area connected by shuttle buses, with open buildings, canteens offering delicious food and a big sports complex.
The support I received during the application process and my semester there was excellent. The university is very well organized and I had a contact person to turn to with all my questions. However, studying at Chula reminded me more of my time at school than of my study program at the UoC. With approximately 60 students, seminars are comparably small and there is a mandatory attendance of 80%.
I attended the BBA program at the Faculty of Economics, in which all classes are taught in English. Chula offers a broad spectrum of courses in which people are sure to find something of interest. I selected courses in marketing, finance and economics, which were all recognized by the UoC. Courses are much more interactive than at the UoC. Group work, reports, presentations and discussions are an important part of the curriculum, but you should not let that discourage you. It was precisely during these sorts of activities that I was able to brush up on my English skills and directly interact with Thais. I was able to observe that many Thais are a bit shy, avoid confrontation and feel very comfortable in a group. One thing that was quite amusing to us was that many Thais are quite unpunctual. They often showed up in class up to 40 minutes late. All in all, I can say that the university made it very easy for us to feel at home. But a semester abroad has much more to offer than just classes.
Never Lost
I wanted to become emerged in a new culture, and this wish was granted. Very few Thais speak English, which mad shopping, taking a taxi or asking the way an adventure. But people are so friendly an obliging that you never have to worry about getting lost. With GPS, I found my way around anywhere.
Another advantage is the – for Europeans – favorable exchange rate. Even as a student, one can afford many luxuries. For example, a warm meal costs the equivalent of 50 cents and a massage 4 euros. This way, we could afford many highlights like taking part in a cooking course, seeing musicals or taking a wonderful guided bike tour around town.
Home Sweet Home
I didn’t want to pack up and go home for a minute. Travelling, meeting new friends, the new university environment and all the little everyday adventures let me fall into bed at night exhausted but happy. Time flew by. Some of the international students yearned for “plain old” western cooking or an end to the constant haggling. I came to Thailand to experience an environment completely different from my home country. So I didn’t really miss Germany at all. One thing that I experienced as very stressful and that made me yearn for the order and punctuality of my home country was the traffic and transport system in Bangkok. The streets of the capital are often congested, so we often needed a long time to travel even short distances.
What I take home
I definitely take home very colorful memories of my travels and all the people I met. Since university courses only took place three days a week, I had a lot of time to explore and travel on my own. We spent a lot of time on islands and at spectacular beaches, explored the environment on motor scooters or let the sun shine on our faces. We tried out delicious local cooking, fresh fruit and exotic drinks. We enjoyed Thai massages and manicures. We visited rustic local markets and modern rooftop bars. During my time there, a wonderful festival took place in the north of Thailand in which thousands of lanterns flew into the sky. These are unforgettable memories that have truly enriched my studies and my life. I can only encourage students to take this wonderful opportunity during their studies.