Business As Usual

Thankfully I woke to blue skies this morning!

I attended two lectures at university today – International Law and International Human Rights law. This week’s lectures were far more interesting than last week’s classes (which contained mostly introductory material). The two lectures were on Sources of International Law and Sources of International Human Rights Law. I’m starting to realise how unique and different the system of International Law is to our domestic legal systems.

After classes I caught up with a few friends that I made in the UK for coffee and lunch. Afterwards I went back home and decided to study in preparation for my seminar tomorrow. There were a lot of readings, so it took me three hours to complete! To top it off, Block J had a fire drill, which the block ended up failing as some people were having showers and were too slow to evacuate the building! Our flat then had dinner and watched the movie Hitman.

Now it is time to watch some TV shows online before going to bed!

I am currently in Leeds on a Monash Abroad exchange program. It has now been exactly three weeks since I arrived in the UK. Time has flown!

In the three weeks that I’ve been here I’ve attended numerous exchange student welcome events and University of Leeds Orientation. I have settled into my accommodation (which is amazing) and met my flatmates – they are great. I’ve also already joined various clubs including the Law Students Society, Krav Maga and Kickboxing Society, and the Snowriders Society.

The semester began last week and I am slowly getting back into study mode. I have met many locals and other exchange students in the few weeks I’ve been here. There really is a vibrant and energetic student life at Leeds. One of the highlights was meeting another Australian and going to the bar to watch Australia defeat England in the Rugby World Cup.

The University of Leeds is located in the City of Leeds and everything is in walking distance. The city itself is much smaller than Melbourne, but is still an active and vibrant place to be – there is always something happening.

I had the day off today and the weather was dismal – wet, cold and raining. I stayed home, watched some TV, skyped my friends back at home and caught up with my flatmates. I also did some studying. In the evening my flatmates and I went to watch Leeds Varsity – a rugby match between the rival universities in Leeds (University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University). The atmosphere was electrifying. It was a great experience.

Tomorrow, I am back at university! Hopefully the weather is warmer.

In my time at Monash, I've had the opportunity to involve myself in lots of extra-curricular activities on campus and off.

The most enjoyable one was travelling to Europe for three weeks as part of an Accounting/Finance unit during last summer. Unfortunately it was winter in Europe so we had to bring all our big coats, but it was the greatest experience of my life - the different cultures, food and attractions were amazing! We travelled to Italy (Rome, Prato), Switzerland (Lucerne, Basel and Mt Titlis), France (Paris), the Netherlands (Amsterdam) and the UK (London). In these cities, we visited a number of financial and accounting organisations, such as the World Bank, OECD and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. We learnt about their roles for finance students and about international finance.

I would really recommend travelling and studying abroad if you ever get the chance. You can visit some beautiful places while studying, and Monash Abroad even has scholarships for those who study overseas.

Another fantastic opportunity to learn and improve yourself as a leader is with the Business School PAL Program which includes the Ambassador and Leaders Programs. These Programs offer seminars and activities to build on your team and leadership skills, and it's a great way to meet like-minded friends!

Lastly, something I'm sure a lot of people are already thinking of in terms of starting their career and getting a good job: the industry based learning (IBL) program. The IBL Program allows students to work as an intern with a company to gain valuable experience in their selected field. It also counts towards one or two units of your degree. I am currently doing the IBL program with Monash Oakleigh Legal Service in the Small Business Advisory Practice division. My supervisor and team are looking at the logistics involved in opening up this new practice, as well as improving and finishing the business plan. It's very interesting and allows me to see what working at a real company is like.

There are also heaps of student clubs that you can join as a general or committee member. They’re a great way to meet friends and have fun, as there are many social and academic activities each year.

My final piece of advice - seize all and any opportunities that come your way as you will really value the things you've experienced later on. Have no regrets!

In my last post I mentioned that there are many opportunities at uni, and I am currently in the midst of reaching out for one of them – exchange!

One of the reasons I chose Monash was for its vast, and quite literally ‘wordly’, exchange program. As well as having over 150 partner universities globally (just meaning Monash does a lot of the hard work for you making the connections), they have campuses and study centres in Italy, South Africa and Malaysia (to mention a few).

As luck would have it, it so happens that I could line up a law unit at the Malaysia campus before heading to Bocconi University in Milan for a semester. But is it hard to apply, I hear you ask.

Although I am only really half way through the process (just waiting to hear back from the host university), it is relatively straight forward – especially for business students! After having a chat and receiving advice from students who have been on exchange, it was just a matter of choosing possible subjects and having them approved by my faculty. To top it all off, there are extensive grants and bursaries available. It’s a tough life studying at Monash, I’ll tell you that….