Back to School!

Tomorrow begins my third week at Uni. So far I have managed to find all of my buildings and classes as well as attend all of my lectures and "tutorials". The campus is fairly large and partially under construction with a new health building on the way. There are several stores and cafes on campus and it is a very friendly and enjoyable place to be. I like seeing the diversity on the Griffith campus because all different majors are present as well as many international students. I have met so many cool people! We also went to a kickoff "back to school" party at the UniBar on campus, which was a great way to meet up with everyone after classes were over this week. 

Back to School Party!

I am able to take classes here at Griffith University while earning credit toward my BS Degree in Event Management at my home university, University of Central Florida. This study abroad experience will help me to see how other schools view the hospitality and tourism industry, while exploring other course topics that are not available at UCF. I am currently enrolled in four subjects: Special Interest Tourism, Sponsorship and Marketing, Tourism Operations, and International Food and Beverage Management. 

My schedule for classes is Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesdays I have a lecture first thing in the morning at eight a.m. followed by another lecture. Each of the lectures are 1 hour and 50 minutes in duration. Then I have a two hour break and two tutorials. Each of the tutorials are fifty minutes long. Tutorials are designed to break down the large lecture into smaller groups of students. So far in the tutorials, we have gotten one on one time with the instructor or “convener” as they call them here, and a chance to get to know some of the other students. It seems like tutorials will be a place to ask further questions about what was discussed earlier in the lectures and a chance to clarify the material. On Wednesdays I have a “workshop” for Tourism Operations for two hours and fifty minutes that is very interactive followed by a tutorial and lecture for Sponsorship and Marketing. 

Business Building

Lecture Hall

So far, the course work seems relatively the same; however I have noticed that articles and publications are much more popular than text books for reading. We are expected to read each week according to the topics that the professor posts online and to think about what the article is stating. Sometimes we have to answer questions or post to the group discussion board online. During tutorials or “tutes”, we usually talk about the article, personal experiences, and answer questions. In contrast to UCF, there is only one mid semester exam, and one final exam, which accounts for a large percentage of the overall grade. Special Interest Tourism also has quizzes every week until the mid-semester exam, and International Food and Beverage Management has presentations every week during the tutorials. Groups have already been assigned and topics of discussion which will change every week. Each group will be expected to talk about their assigned topic and present the information to the class. We also have projects which will account for a large percentage of our grade in every class except Sponsorship and Marketing. These projects will be in groups of three to four and there will be a presentation at the end of the semester. In sponsorship and marketing, instead of presenting, we will have to create an actual sales and marketing plan for an event, I chose the Gold Coast Career Expo. I am really looking forward to this class because it will help me to understand what investors see in events and will help my to understand why sponsors want to contribute to an event and what will increase sponsorship and return on investment.  

One of the Classrooms

 

I have also discovered in my two weeks so far that my professors do not like to be called professor, instead they go by Dr. and Last name if they are a doctor, otherwise just their first name is used, which seems strange to me. I have a professor from China, Australia, England, and the US (quite a variety). The sizes of my classes range from 30 (Special Interest tourism) to 250 (Sponsorship and Marketing) I have also noticed that during lectures and tutorials there is no attendance policy, as there are “lecture captures” afterwards which is a recording of the lecture that is posted online afterwards. This is great in case you are not able to make it to the lecture; however a lot of students think that they don’t have to go to class at all. It will be nice to review the lectures one more time if necessary before the bug exams.

Until next time! Cheers! 

After Class at UniBar