CREDIT: FANSHAWE INTERNATIONAL SERVICES
Fanshawe students Monika Guzy (far left) and Taylor Trapp (far right) enjoy the culture of Wales on their semester abroad at the University of Glamorgan.

If you've thought about travelling to Europe and studying abroad, now's your chance. Fanshawe is continuing to expand its exchange program, allowing several students to study abroad in many European countries. International projects and exchange coordinator Krista Vogt said one program in particular has several opportunities, "Business is the big one, business is where we have most of our exchanges. They can go to Finland, The Netherlands, Ireland, Wales, France, Switzerland, and Belgium."

For January 2013, there are still opportunities for individuals in the School of Contemporary Media to go to Belgium and students in Tourism and Hospitality to travel to Finland. Although Fanshawe is constantly working on expanding to new countries and giving students more opportunities, the focus is currently on business. "It could be because business is business everywhere you go all around the world," said Vogt. "The idea of international business and globalization, that all started with the business folks."

Jeff Philavong is a second year student in the General Business program at Fanshawe and is hoping to go to Hague University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands or Amiens School of Management in France. "I'm looking to go in January, I want to do this as soon as possible and I'm really excited!" he said. He's looking forward to gaining new experiences, "The biggest thing is the cultural difference, a little language skill, I want to be more indepth with other languages, but culture and architecture in Europe has always been so fascinating to me."

Vogt said that students are also gaining valuable experience from an academic standpoint, "From your discipline point of view, you're going to learn how they do business in Belgium versus how they do it Canada because I'm sure it's not exactly the same, so it just gives you an international perspective."

Philavong said he is looking forward to benefitting his academic career, "Academically, I'm thinking that the biggest thing in business is an experience and doing this will give me such a different outlook on different businesses around the world and here in Canada."

One aspect students often worry about when travelling abroad is the extra costs. The good news is there are no extra tuition costs; participants pay Fanshawe the same tuition and fees they would if they were staying here. Some extra costs you'll have to think about are: flight, health insurance, rent, food and extra travel. There is a bursary of $1,500 that students who are accepted into the program can apply for, depending on financial need.

If your program matches with one of the opportunities abroad, you will still have to be accepted into the program. This requires a minimum 3.0 GPA and a 250-word write up about why you want to go. Most of your credits will be transferrable and accepted towards your diploma at Fanshawe, but in some cases, additional courses may have to be completed when you return to London.

Vogt has travelled abroad herself and highly recommended it. "You learn more about yourself by learning about others and there's a growing up aspect to it. You are in a new environment, new people ... your classes are in English but there is another language going on around you in society, so it challenges you to stand on your own two feet." Vogt encouraged students to take that challenge. There are still spots available for business students thinking of travelling abroad in January 2013, and the deadline to apply is October 15. For more information, contact Krista Vogt at kvogt@fanshawec.ca or visit www.fanshawec.ca/international/abroad/opportunities.