I still look back at my time at AUT with one big smile. Everybody always told me that an exchange is an experience of a lifetime and I can gladly say that I 100% agree with this statement. I learned a lot about during my semester abroad and during the papers I followed I got in touch with the friendliest Kiwi's who told me everything about their culture.

I got the chance to travel almost every weekend and to party every night ;). AUT is a beautiful University that offers a big variety of courses. I even knew students who followed a wine tasting course (on a Monday morning, haha)! Don't hesitate to go here, one can never regret going to New Zealand.

Even though I arrived to late for the orientation week I got supported by the international office's friendly staff! They helped me receive my StudentID but also took care of problems regarding my student fees. The events they organised were fantastic and allowed international students to get to know each other outside of university.

All in all the choice of papers at AUT is huge. Anything from creative papers over engineering to Maori papers is possible. As my choice of papers was limited to the ones resembling my papers back in Germany I can't talk about the Maori classes but only the engineering ones. The lectures were mostly held interesting because of competent and social lecturers.

After finishing my lectures, with just the exams ahead, I am sad to know that I'll not only leave AUT, but also New Zealand, soon. The time at AUT was quite possible the best time I had so far and I doubt anything is going to top that anytime soon! I would recommend anyone who is even thinking about spending a semester abroad at AUT the tiniest bit to do so! Event though the tuition fees for international students are quite high I don't regret a single dollar I spent.

I have been creating good memories since the very first week. Thanks to Sam and Kenneth, international students have become a whānau.
I have managed to meet people from different parts of the world and I have experienced New Zealand to the maximum.
Thanks to the Noho Marae weekend, the International parties and the facebook group we have managed to stick all together.

My funny story is my first van trip around the north island. Because when you come to New Zealand, doing van roadtrips are a MUST. And this was the very beginning of my adventures in New Zealand.
I remember the first night, driving in the dark trying to find a place to park and sleep. We suddenly saw toilets and decided to stop there. We parked the vans, put up the tent and cooked dinner under the light of those toilets. That night we 'slept' by the sea. And I say we 'slept' because it was freezing cold and I couldn't even sleep wearing 3 sweatpants, 4 sweaters, 4 pairs of socks, a hat and gloves. I cried because I thought I was going to die of hypothermia.
Apparently, somehow I fell asleep and when I woke up, I woke up to the most stunning views.
The rest of the trip was awesome and all the places that I have visited so far in New Zealand are amazing. There's no place that has disappointed me.

New Zealand as a whole is great but AUT is wonderful! It's spread out through the city which makes it feel big but most of the classes are relatively small. The international team is fantastic and always has opportunities for you to meet other internationals. And their events never felt like lame school events, they were always so fun and lively! I would 10/10 recommend AUT!!! I wish I could finish my entire degree here!

The study abroad and exchange program at AUT gives you the opportunity to meet fellow students from all over the world, they encourage you to travel around the beautiful nature of New Zealand and they offer possibilities to meet natives and get a glimpse of the Maori culture! Just before the semester they created a facebook group with all international students who were about to come over to AUT and because of this I already met a great group of people on my second day overseas. Your family might be on the other side of the world but in no time we created a big new international family for the semester! For me it wasn't only the city itself but mostly the people I met who made my semester this great.
I saw a lot of the country as you generally have plenty of time to travel around, either in the semester break, the weeks before the semester actually started and sometimes a weekend trip in between. New Zealand is such a diverse country in terms of nature!
Overall, I felt really welcome everywhere in the city and in the university: everywhere on campus people we're willing to help you out if you had any problems. Every Thursday the city campus hosted small performances, gatherings of clubs and free lunch, it brought people together and on sunny days it provided really good vibes!

When I first travelled to New Zealand I was terified that I would end up alone in my apartment, and fail all my classes, because I travelled alone. What happened was something quite different. I was put in an apartment, with the best flatmates a girl could've asked for. With My flatmates i've explored New Zealand and Auckland, and had the time of my life. The dorms are a good place to find friends, and they also arrange lots of activities during the semester.
Only negative thing about living in dorms is the paper thin walls, but you get used to it, and you get to know your flatmates quite well after a few months.

I study electrical engineering back home, and I would rather continue atudying at AUT than going back home if I had the oportunity. I really like the way they teach at AUT, it's more practical than what I'm used to, but I feel like that is a better aproach in my course. Also, the lectures is actually quite good at what they're doing, and seem like they enjoy what they teach, which makes the lectures more interesting for the students.

I would absolutely go back to AUT if I have the chance later in life!

I study Economics and Business Administration at my home university. Coming from a designated business school, where everything you do is focused around revenues, profit, and competing against other businesses, joining a university where all most students have different educational backgrounds was a pleasant surprise. The different perspectives this give to discussions and assignment etc. was wonderful. Truth be told I was a bit disappointed of how easy my papers was in the beginning of the semester. After a slow start the papers became more challenging and comparable to with what I'm used to. The lectures came up with understandable examples from their careers and made sure to bring a perspective of how things are done in reality during every lecture.
Bonus info: the kiwis are extremely friendly and helpful when you arrive alone at AUT for the first time.

10/10 would come back.

AUT is really been a nice place to study and i would recommend it to everyone. From the international staff to the teachers they really help you and want the best for you.

Besides that New Zealand is an amazing country, and i wouldn't have missed this for anything else. I've seen so many things, from the tip to the south, there are so many beautiful places which can only be found here.
I've also met so many new people it is almost unrealistic, I'm sure they are gonna stick around forever.