Program Reviews

Too many amzing things I could tell about my experience at Bali. The BIPAS program from AsiaExchange gave the opportunity to live a unique experience. Beside the fact that the program covered all the academic requirements my home university demanded, the program guided me to gave a great cultural and social experience. Bali has to offer way much of what of I could even imagine, and AsiaExchange showed it to me.

I did a semester at the Guangzhou University via Asia Exchange last autumn . It was my first time in Asia altogether and therefore something quite exotic. The program consisted of Chinese language and culture studies, with courses in law, economics and martial thrown in as well. Overall the program was well-rounded and well conceived in principle, but to be honest the quality of the teachers varied a lot. Nonetheless, if you were willing to put in some work you were able to grasp the basics of Chinese within the time-frame.

We were 11 students in total in the program, mostly from Europe, but there were students from elsewhere as well completing their degree in Guangzhou. There are great opportunities for making friends with local students, as there quite a few student clubs and many Chinese students are also eager to practice their English skills.

The international office is really helpful and supportive and will go an extra mile to help you out with your problems. They however also expect you to be a good student and participate actively in the classes. Traveling should generally be reserved only for weekends, and if you for some reason want to skip classes, you should fill out a form for a leave of absence which you submit at the office.

As a bonus, there is a 3000 RMB scholarship for everyone who successfully completes the program. If you wish, you can also take an HSK (official Chinese proficiency test) towards the end of the program and the costs will be covered by the university.

I can recommend this program for everyone who wants to learn Chinese and live in a really nice city in Southern China with warm and friendly people.

Best decision in my life. I would recommend it to everyone who think about studying abroad. Lucky I had the chance to go overseas and study with the exchange program. This experience changed everything in my life. I got to know about the people, their culture and their architecture, which is such an interesting thing. All that differences to my home country are just amazing to see how it influenced me in a good way. I got so many friends from different countries, which was just possible with the international program Asia Exchange. I would do it again!

I certainly had some of the best months of my lifetime in Bali during my semester abroad which was organised by Asia Exchange.
Bali is the perfect destination to have a unique experience of studying and living in paradise. The island is amazing and the expenses are affordable so that even students can live a quite comfortable life.
The Exchange program was organized very well, the quality of the lectures was better than expected and the staff was very friendly and helpful at any time.
I would totally recommend this study program to everybody.

I had already visited Bali many times, fallen in love with the island and tried to find a way to stay longer. Asia Exchange gave me the possibility to do an exchange semester in Bali although I had already graduated from my home University. I had the most amazing 4 months of my life, getting to know people from all over the world and learning so much more about the island I had already grown to love.

During my time in Bangkok, I had so many unforgettable experiences. First of all, I had the chance to travel around in the country and to foreign countries nearby as well. Moreover, I got so many interesting insights into the Thai culture, customs and the everyday-life of the people living there. And finally, I met so many open-minded and nice people with whom I can also stay in contact after my departure.
In my opinion, you definitely shouldn´t miss this great chance to discover Thailand during a study abroad program.

I love Thailand so I thought studying there though Asia Exchange would be a good idea. The staff at the university and Asia Exchange were very friendly, but the paper work was quite complicated. If you want to study in Thailand, do it by yourself or through another organization. That's my tip.

I applied to AE very spontanously and went to Phuket for the spring semester. The organization was great and we had someone at the destination who helped us with every problem.

The university is in Katu which is just perfect. It is right between touristy Patong Beach and local Phuket town. Also Phuket has more private beaches which are all a short distance away from Katu. We international students mostly shared luxury villas and appartments for a very low price. In this way we could just hang out together after the classes.

The university had various course options. Some courses were even better than in my homeuniversity. Also the workload was quite high and attandancy was required. However, there was still some time to travel and see the country.

We had a buddy program at the university where I met two awesome Thai girls. The introduced us to the real Thai culture and helped us to improve our language skills. I even was privileged to meet their families spend some time in their hometowns. That was awesome!

I have some awesome memories of the semester, Thailand, its people and Bangla :) I got all the ETCS I needed from my homeuniversities and therefore it was totally worth it!

If you want to have a high quality studies in a paradise environment and break out of your academic routine then you might want to keep reading about my experience in Thailand in the Prince of Songkla University.

Like many of us I always wanted to study abroad and like most of the people who have done that I also repeat these well-known words - This was the best decision!

I studied in the Prince of Songkla University in Phuket campus in the faculty of Hospitality and Tourism. What I recommend to do from the first day you arrive to Thailand is to start adapt new culture and customs day by day. There is no point to think "But in our country we do like that and that is the only way to do things" No it's not. If they would be in your country it just would be other way round. More quickly you can understand that, easier it is for you to get used with local lifestyle and rhythm.

Make friends with locals. I am so happy about my Thai friends. They have showed me most beautiful viewpoints in the island, the best local restaurants and secret beaches that you would never ever find by yourself. I have learned to cook Thai food and participated in all of the well-known festivals in Phuket. It might seem to be easier in the beginning to hang out with friends that you already know from your country or from exchange group but can’t you do that back home as well?

Respect the local customs and traditions. In the PSU (Prince of Songkla University) you have to wear uniform and follow up to this rule. Also pay respect to your teachers and don’t be late!

Try to catch up Thai language. You don't imagine how happy locals are even if you can say basic words like "thank you" and "hello" in Thai. And not to forget to get better prices in the markets and driving with taxis if you already know the numbers and more sentences in Thai language.

Try to find a balance between studying and free time. It might be quite hard to study in a tropical climate because you are always tempted to go outside and enjoy the sun. Every time you grab a book you might think "But I am in Thailand. I would much rather be at the beach surfing or sunbathing." Plan your time wisely and you will have time for all cool hobbies you could take up in here and also for university.

My studying experience in Bali was amazing. I got many new lifetime friends from different countries, I got to know better culture in Asia and I will never forget this experience. Courses in University udayana were interesting and balance between school and freetime activities were good. Ofcourse I experienced some culture shock at first but Asia Exchange staff gave us good tips and useful information. I would recommend studying abroad via asia exchange to everyone who wants to get life changing memories.