A Semester Abroad: My Transformative Experience in the UK

I took an exchange semester in the UK for the Fall 2024 semester, and I absolutely loved it!

I knew about this opportunity by exploring the Humber website study abroad opportunities, and later on Rosie Lima (exchange semester coordinator at Longo Faculty of Business) came into one of my classes introducing us to the opportunity. I applied during Winter 2024 and my application was approved by Humber and my exchange university (University of Salford, Manchester). I had a pre-departure orientation meeting with Humber Global, where we discussed everything about the trip, expectations, useful tips and available bursaries. 

When I arrived in the United Kingdom in September, I was amazed by how different everything was from what we have here in North America. Starting from lifestyle habits and ending with a simple left-sided driveway. The University rules were also very different from what we have in Canada, particularly the separation of Lectures and Seminars. While lectures can be up to 200 people just learning theory, seminars are focused on direct discussion of subjects between students and a professor, exploring the concept and applying to your future occupation. That’s something I particularly liked as you get many insights by having a discussion between a class of only 20 students.

I also had an opportunity to travel around the United Kingdom and connect with many peers! I lived in a university dormitory and all the exchange students were living together, so we shared similar interests and wanted to travel and explore Britain. We had many gatherings in the dorm as well as attending trivia nights and going together around cities and towns. Together we visited Liverpool, Birmingham, Chester, York and the ruins of Welsh castle in Llangollen. Moreover, I was very grateful to make a friend there, with whom I am still in touch. Together me and Victoria had been exploring Manchester museums, going to Scotland and doing a lot of fun activities around!

This experience has taught me how to find peace with yourself alone. I truly believe that an exchange semester boosts your responsibility and reliability skills, because even with a bunch of friends, there are still times when you will need to stay alone and be able to entertain yourself. To stay active, those times I did some solo trips to London, Cambridge, and Oxford. But even a simple walk to the nearest boulevard was great alone time for me, where I just recharged and had some peace to myself. 

Manchester is a great city, known for its loud nightlife – very true. Overall, British people tend to spend their free time in pubs socializing and having a break from a challenging workday (not even a week). And it’s great that this is common not only among youth people, but also among middle-aged and even done elderly generations as at the end of the day it was a great time spending and socializing. They definitely have more work-life balance. Also, Manchester is one of the most popular football (soccer) cities in Europe, as two premier clubs are playing in this city: Manchester City and Manchester United. I was lucky to visit Manchester City’s match against Arsenal – truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience! The atmosphere, cheering, and loyalty of the fans was incredible and we were lucky enough to end in a draw. 

Being surrounded by people in the same situation as me, connecting with my nationals or having my family support always – helped me to prevent homesickness that some students might have experienced. Thankfully, I had never been too caught up in missing my home, in contrast I was savouring every chance I had there to spend some time away from routine. 

If you ask me if I would do that again, in a heartbeat. Would I do it in the same city and university? Probably not. Do not get me wrong, I had the most brilliant experience in my life there; however, some of the academic side of it was not the greatest for me. I do think that the University of Salford (“Business Management with IT” program) lacks a lot of hands-on experience.

During my studies at Humber, I had a chance to learn a bit more technical skills (web development, creating app design, statistical calculations etc.) than there. I was there only for a semester so my feedback might be subjective, but then again that’s how I felt after finishing my studies there. I will say there are many benefits, but the learning takeaway was crucial for me in this evaluation. 

Nevertheless, the United Kingdom is an incredible country with a broad history, sophisticated culture and magnificent architecture. I created the most unforgettable memories, and to anyone who is hesitant about going abroad, that might truly be the most remarkable experience in your life. So just go for it!

Thank you very much to the Humber Global Opportunities team, Rosie Lima and Humber Polytechnic itself for rewarding me with this opportunity.