Field report on the DAAD-PROMOS scholarship
Reason for the stay: Semester abroad
Country of stay: Indonesia
Institution: Udayana University
Degree program: Economics and Business
Period of stay: 02.09.2019 - 18.12.2019

Last year, I completed a three-and-a-half-month semester abroad in Bali at Udayana University. This stay abroad is part of my Master's degree in International Tourism Management at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. The course includes a compulsory semester abroad. It quickly became clear to me that I would like to spend this semester in Bali, because it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Before such a big trip actually becomes a reality, good preparation is required.

First of all, I had to decide on a study program. I chose Studies Network because numerous students from my university had already chosen this program. The subjects on offer also appealed to me.
Once the choice has been made, the application process follows. Studies Network makes this very user-friendly. I filled out the online application form and added the necessary documents, a letter of motivation and a passport photo.
This is the first time costs are incurred, the registration fee. The costs and the financing of these should never be overlooked in such a major project. You need to be clear in advance about whether and how you can finance your stay.

Within 10 days of submitting the application form, I received approval from Studies Network.
Only now can all the other details be addressed.
First of all, the financing: I applied for the DAAD-Promos scholarship and also applied for student loans abroad. I received both in the end, but I still ended up having to pay a lot myself. Of course, this varies from person to person.
The next step was to book flights and accommodation and start getting vaccinated. Here, too, you should do some good research beforehand to find out what vaccinations you really need. I can recommend the Tropical Institute and the Robert Koch Institute. It is also important to note
that you need to start in good time, as some vaccinations require several doses or only take effect after a certain period of time.

You also need to think about insurance. In addition to my existing insurance, I took out long-term health insurance abroad with ADAC.
I also needed a visa. However, I could only apply for this after I had paid the tuition fees and received the official enrolment certificate. Numerous documents had to be completed and enclosed for the visa. I then sent the documents by post to the Indonesian embassy in Berlin. After a good week, I received my passport and visa back. On site in Bali, I had to have the visa extended twice more, which again involved costs.

What was also very important was a credit card, without which you won't get very far. There are numerous options and everyone has to find the right one for them.

All I had to do was get the Learning Agreement from my home university and then I was ready to go.
Six days before the semester officially started, I landed in Denpasar, the capital of Bali. From there, I took a transfer booked from Germany to my new home for the next few months. I had decided on a small apartment 15 minutes from the university. It is relatively easy to find and book accommodation thanks to the website "Semester abroad Bali".

I was overwhelmed by my first impressions of this new country and the foreign culture - the traffic, the landscape, the garbage, the smog, but also the incredibly nice people.
In the first few days, I got used to it and got my bearings. I rented a scooter, which is essential for life there, and bought an Indonesian SIM card, which provides good internet coverage everywhere. I also started to discover the breathtaking nature. It is also important to find out where you can withdraw money safely at the beginning. Real banks are the best for this. We do not recommend exchanging money due to the numerous incidents of fraud.

After just a few days, even before the semester officially started, the Studies Network held a welcome party. It was a sociable evening where we got to know each other, but we were also given lots of information about the country and its people.
Two days later, the semester officially started in a large auditorium at the university. The event lasted several hours and covered many relevant topics. Many people were introduced to us, as well as the rules of the university. The timetable was presented and compulsory attendance was explained.

The tasks of the empowerment teams were also explained. These are project groups in which you actively participate. The teams are put together based on your preferences, which you indicated in the application process. I was in the Excursion Marketing team. There were excursions every Thursday and our team had to organize at least two of them ourselves. This task was more of a challenge than I thought, as the wishes of so many people had to be taken into account and many students didn't want to spend any more money. But in the end we managed to organize two nice and varied excursions.

The following subjects were offered in my Master's course: Business Economics, Global Project Management, Global Service Marketing, Multinational Entrepreneurship, Intercultural Management and Intercultural Leadership. I took all the subjects, although only five of the six could be credited to me. We received scripts or learning materials for almost all subjects. However, some of these were very outdated and no longer corresponded to the actual lessons.

From the second day onwards, the Master's students were mainly accommodated in two rooms on the university's International Campus, which consists of several buildings. However, some of these buildings were under construction. Other study programs were also housed on this campus. There was also a small campus café. Lessons were from Monday to Wednesday, usually from 9 am to 2 pm.

We often had to wait a long time for the lecturers, which was mostly due to the traffic or partial scheduling errors. Sometimes they didn't come at all because they were at a ceremony. This is a good example of how omnipresent religion is in Bali. There is always a ceremony taking place somewhere, festive decorations and loud traditional sounds. You can also often tell from the clothing of many Balinese people whether they are having another festival. I find it impressive that three of the world's religions manage to live together peacefully in this small corner of the world. The majority of the population on Bali is Hindu, but there are also many Muslims and some Christians.
Like everywhere else in the world, teaching is very teacher-dependent.

In Business Economics, the lecturer mainly gave us lectures on the economy in South East Asia. We also gave presentations in groups on various economic topics in this region and prepared a supporting document.

Global Project Management was very practice-oriented, which was good for me. We also had to work in groups to find a social enterprise in Bali with which we could plan and ideally implement a project.

In Global Service Marketing, I felt that we had the most competent teacher and therefore had good, instructive and varied lessons.
In general, it should also be mentioned that the lessons were taught in English. All the teachers were Balinese and it was sometimes difficult to understand their English.

What I find very unfortunate about this program is that the class consists only of Germans, so the international connection or exchange is very much lost.
During the excursions, they tried to introduce us to the country and its people, but it didn't really seem well thought out to me.

I discovered the most about Bali and its surroundings in my free time, especially during the two weeks of vacations included in the program. The landscape, the culture and the people are simply impressive and unique in my eyes.

The semester ended with the final exams. Some of these took the form of invigilated (written) examinations or short academic papers. The final grades are based on these performances and intermediate performances in each subject.
In conclusion, I can say that I learned a lot for life, but I would have liked to have learned a bit more at university. The cultural exchange in the program, as already mentioned, was also too little or non-existent for me. I would therefore recommend Bali as a place to study, but I would also recommend other programs to those who come after me.

Ultimately, I am incredibly grateful for this incredible experience, because I was able to gain great impressions that I will never forget.