Making the most of exchange in Melbourne
Julia Tong is a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Honours) student currently on exchange from the National University of Singapore (NUS), undertaking subjects in urban design and landscape architecture at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning as part of her degree requirements. We spoke to her about her learning experiences and the importance of finding a good group of friends while on exchange.
How have you found being on exchange in Melbourne so far?
It's my first time in Australia, and my first time in Melbourne, and the first time I've lived independently away from my family for longer than a few weeks. It's been a pretty life-changing experience. And I've found the work life balance pretty manageable. I’m friends with a group of other exchange students from NUS, and there’s always someone in the group who wants to hang out. It’s always possible to sneak in time to relax and take time off from studying with my friends to explore different parts of Australia. I just got back from the Gold Coast, it was really fun, and totally worth the sunburn!
What are you currently studying?
Because I came from a private arts institution rather than a local polytechnic, I had completed a diploma in landscape architecture and already had foundation knowledge, so I started off doing second year work rather than first year work at NUS. When I was studying for my diploma in 2019 there was no option to study landscape architecture at a degree level in Singapore before NUS came along. A landscape consultant company where I had interned before recommended looking at the University of Melbourne to complete a landscape architecture degree, and because it's close to Singapore that seemed like a good option to me. Eventually, I didn’t get the chance to study my Bachelor’s at the University of Melbourne after my diploma, but I was glad I attained the opportunity to experience a semester-long postgraduate exchange there. As a Year 4 Bachelor student, I’ve successfully completed the early stages of postgraduate work here at the University of Melbourne and it means that when I go home, I’ll be ready to start on my final project.
What are some of the highlights or challenges of the subjects you’ve taken?
The flexibility and range of subject choices here allows me to create a multidisciplinary curriculum which is different from the fixed curriculum I have back home. I like that I could also take other graduate coursework classes like urban planning, urban design and architecture instead of just doing pure landscape architecture classes. The urban design class I took is theory based and although it could be a bit dry, the concepts that I have learnt in the subject are useful and in tune with Singapore’s scale, meaning that I could apply them to my landscape studio back home. I’m always learning something new here as well. For example in the Flexible Urban Modelling class I took with Nano Langenheim, we learnt about a new software that isn’t being used widely yet, but has the potential to be used in the near future. So I was panicking a bit with each submission because it was so new to me, but it was also so interesting and I'm keen to dive back into that software again.
What advice do you have for anyone considering exchange with the University of Melbourne?
Do whatever it takes to come here and do your best to find the right people! I was lucky that I found a good group to share accommodation with and go on trips together. And I would also recommend doing group activities like sports. I played softball for a while here and there’s no pressure to commit, you’re encouraged to just join for as long as you like. My roommate and I were so happy that we managed to play weekly softball matches at Fawkner Park, that’s an experience I won’t forget. I’m really satisfied with all the things that I’ve done here and will miss Melbourne once I’m on my return flight back home.