UTS Tower on tour

This spring, 247 UTS students will go on exchange to destinations stretching across the globe.

UTS Global Exchange offers international and domestic students from most faculties the opportunity to study for a session or two of their UTS course for credit at an overseas partner institution.

This spring sees a particular increase in destinations available within the United Kingdom, with students heading to Cardiff University, the University of Dundee and Lancaster University for the first time in UTS history.

For Nicola Panopoulos, awaiting her spring 2018 exchange trip to London’s University of Westminster and currently undertaking her Bachelor’s degrees in Public Communication and Creative Intelligence & Innovation, the journey offers an inimitable chance to combine her passion for travel with her studies.

“The opportunity to travel in Europe while furthering my studies was too good to resist,” says Panopoulos.

“After I finished high school, I took a gap year and studied a passion of mine overseas. I thoroughly enjoyed finding myself in a foreign city, creating a new way of existing, and would love to do this again.”

Global Exchange also represents an immersive learning experience. Students can learn new languages as well as gain first-hand intercultural insights, and academic and networking opportunities – and push their boundaries – in the supportive environment of the UTS program.

“I would love to find myself not just speaking from my own knowledge but open to absorbing everything around me,” Panopoulos adds.

Offered alongside the program are a range of scholarships, grants and loans to help students make the most of these opportunities. These range from $1000 UTS International Mobility Grants, to the $10,000 Dr Chau Chak Wing Scholarship. The Australian Government offers additional opportunities through various support schemes including the New Colombo Plan.

And this time it won’t just be the students who get to see the world.

Panopoulos is looking forward to “taking the iconic Tower Building (the gem of Sydney’s skyline) on a tour of landmarks across Europe,” through image-editing magic.

“The UTS Tower, as a visual landmark for our studies, has gathered somewhat of a meme culture among students. Taking the Tower on tour will showcase opportunities offered through the exchange program and UTS exchange partner cities.”

We await with interest to see how our beloved Building 1 stacks up against London’s Big Ben, Paris’ Eiffel Tower, or the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Follow the Tower on tour, and track the experiences of past and present UTS exchange students via the official Global Exchange Instagram page and blog.

UTS has one of the largest international exchange programs in Australia, with 260 partner institutions in 48 destinations across Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe and the Americas.

For students interested in undertaking exchange, an additional information session for the autumn 2019 Global Exchange season will be held on 2 July. Students can register now. Note that exchange application rounds take place one year ahead of the exchange commencing.