by Melanie Takefman

Mika Goodfriend never planned to study in Denmark. When a professor told him that studying at a different university would benefit his academic career, he chose Denmark, after his first choice, San Francisco, didn’t work out.

Now, after earning enough credits in his year abroad to complete a bachelor of arts in communications, Goodfriend asserts that studying in Denmark was “by far the best decision of my entire life.”

Leaving home and immersing himself in a different culture has made him a different person. He smiles as he talks about gaining self-confidence and becoming more comfortable with himself during his one-year student exchange.

“Before I lived to work. Now, I work to live,” Goodfriend said. “If it were up to me, I would make [exchanges] mandatory.”

The provincial government’s Ministry of Education also recognizes the value of studying abroad; the Quebec Mobility Bursary (QMB) offers full-time Concordia students up to $1,000 per month to finance an academic exchange. You can be paid to earn credits studying in Cuba, India or Zimbabwe, to name but a few possibilities.

Eligible students are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, Quebec residents, in good academic standing and have completed a minimum of 24 credits towards their degree
Goodfriend’s courses in Denmark were in English but he highly recommends learning the host country’s native language; his biggest regret is not taking advanced Danish classes. Lan-guage aside, Goodfriend faced culture shock in a country where no one is considered better than anyone else.

“In Canada, you’re taught to be unique. You’re taught to flaunt all of this. In Denmark, that’s considered quite rude, flamboyant and obnoxious,” Goodfriend said.

When he first arrived, he thought that hitchhiking was dangerous and crazy. During his trip, he hitchhiked over 4,500 km through 10 different countries. He loved driving with locals. It changed his view of human nature as he realized “how friendly people can be towards strangers.”

Furthermore, the Office Franco-Québécois pour la Jeunesse (OFQJ) subsidizes students studying in France, charging a modest fee for flight, medical insurance, an orientation trip to Paris and transportation to your final destination in France.

Alison Schnaiberg, a fourth-year communications student, beams as she talks about studying art history in a hall filled with sculptures in Paris.

While she improved her French and discovered the French way of learning, her exchange was not about school: “I had more opportunities out there than I knew of before. If you want to do something, you can.”

In an enormous and diverse city like Paris, Schnaiberg took advantage of every opportunity: she made friends from all over the world, discovered hidden corners of Paris and Europe, and attended weekly jazz concerts.

“The absolute best thing about the city is that I was discovering it until the day I left.”
She emphasized that you must be motivated, persistent and patient in order to study abroad. “No one’s going to push you, you have to do it yourself.”

Like Goodfriend and Schnaiberg, Caroline Guistini, an undergraduate psychology student, underwent a personal transformation during her semester in Swansea, Wales. Going so far away from home alone, “I was able to be the person I wanted to be,” she said. “You have to put all your guards down and go for it.”

While she did not have to learn a new language, the Welsh accent was an obstacle: “At first, I did a lot of smiling and nodding.”

Fred Francis, deputy director of Concordia’s Centre for Inter-national Academic Cooperation, agrees that personal transformation is the most significant element of a student exchange.

“Students are thrust into another environment where it’s sink or swim.” Consequently, they learn a lot about their own personalities and values.

“They see that the world’s a larger place.”

How to go on exchange

There are three types of student exchanges available to Concordia students: Bilateral, CREPUQ and Study Away.

Bilateral agreements involve an equal number of exchanges with another institution over a specified number of years: Concordia has bilateral agreements with 83 institutions in 33 countries. Many faculties and schools have specific bilateral programs. In a CREPUQ exchange (Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec), Quebec university students are eligible to study in specified universities in the U.S. and Mexico, like the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE).

Students in bilateral and CREPUQ programs pay tuition to Concordia and constitute Concordia’s International/Student Exchange Program (ISEP).

The third option is to attend an institution without an agreement A student must obtain the approval of their faculty or school and pay tuition according to the host insitution’s student fee policy. Students eligible for the (QMB) may use the bursary towards this type of exchange.

Every student planning to go on an exchange must have his/ her course selection approved by their academic advisor and faculty/school through the Student Request process. Once the student returns, the courses are evaluated and the credits are transferred to the student’s record. Despite these attractive benefits and the possibility of discovering a new culture, Concordia students are missing out: In 2001-02, 376 international students came to Concordia, while only 86 Concordia students studied abroad.

Fred Francis, deputy director of Concordia’s Centre for International Academic Cooperation (CIAC), hopes that the QMB will encourage more students to consider studying abroad. He has also worked with faculty administration and professors to publicize exchanges. The second annual Student Exchange Fair, held in the library building on Nov. 6, was a great success, attracting nearly 1,000 students.