Exchange Report University College Dublin, Ireland Lochlann Quinn School of Business - Lui Chun Lung, Andy Information Systems & Economics Fall 2017

Exchange Report
 University College Dublin, Ireland
Lochlann Quinn School of Business

        Lui Chun Lung, Andy
  Information Systems & Economics
              Fall 2017

Table of Contents

Part 1
Monthly Activity Log

Part 2
General Exchange Information

Part 3
Items to Bring

Part 4
Useful Links and Contacts

Monthly Activity Log

September
There were lots of orientation activities for students to join.
The whole campus was very hilarious and busy. I met many
new friends came from different countries and it was really fun
to talk with them. There was also a fresher’s week for students
to join different societies and sport clubs. I joined the
International Student Society (ISS) and the Northern Ireland
trip organized by them. It was a great experience and the price
is quite good.

Moreover, don’t forget to join the events organized by Reslife if
you live on campus. All events were free of charge and it
provided a great opportunity for me to getting around in Dublin
and Galway. However, the tickets were very limited so
remember to get it online as soon as possible.

October
I visited almost all attraction in Dublin and they were all very
fantastic. When you know Dublin more, you will definitely love
Dublin more. I watched an international football match in Aviva
Stadium. All people were shouting “Ireland” and really
impressive. Besides that, I also went to Amsterdam and
Rotterdam with my high school friends in the middle of
October. In late October, I went to France with my friend from
UST. It was one of my favorite place.

November
It was nearly the end of semester and I got many assignments
and projects. However, I still managed some time to travel to
Spain and Portugal alone. I visited Madrid, Segovia and Lisbon.
The price level in these place was lower compared to other
European countries and the food there was really good.

December
There was a one-week study break before the exam so I went
to Iceland for 6 days with my friends in UCD. Iceland was very
beautiful and I believe it’s one of the must-visit place in the
world. After the trip, I started revision and at the end passed all
my modules. Even in the middle of the exam period, I travelled
to Galway for 3 days. So don’t be worry, it is not that difficult at
all. After that, I visited London to celebrate Christmas.

January
Since UST start the spring semester at February, so I got one-
month time to travel around. I travelled to many places such as
Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium Poland and Scotland and
the UK. It was a wonderful time and unforgettable experience
for me.

General Exchange Information

1) Visa Procedures
If you hold HK passport, you don’t need to apply for Visa.
However, all non-European students must apply for the GNIB
(now replaced by Irish Residence Permit, or IRP in December
2017) and it costs 300 Euro.

2) Orientation Activities
If you come UCD at fall, there will be many orientation
activities organized by student society or school. Exchange
students are very welcome to join and you can meet new
friends there. They will send you email about those activities
before you arrive.

3) International Services & Activities
You will receive many emails about information in UCD and
Dublin from Esther Sanz, who takes care of business exchange
student in UCD. You can also contact her if you have any
enquiries and she is very helpful.

4) Accommodations
There are 6 major dorms located on the main UCD campus,
including Ashfield, Belgrove, Merville, Oroby and Roebuck. All
of them are not far away from business school and you can get
there in 10 minutes on foot. I lived in Meville since it is the
closest dorm to the supermarket in UCD and the environment
there is good. However, the on campus accommodations are
extremely expensive and they cost around 3500 Euro for one
semester. Even with the high price, the places are very
competitive and limited so you have to apply online and choose
your dorm asap once they are open to choose. Otherwise, your
place will disappear.

You may also consider off campus accommodation near UCD
and find local agents to help you. It is much cheaper which
costs around 700 Euro for a month. More information will be
sent to you through email by UCD.

5) Courses Registration
Course registration in UCD is quite simply. However, you
cannot view the remaining places for the modules and you
have to go to the website regularly to check if any people drop
the modules. You may need to have a plan B since the places
are limited.
Also, remember to complete the credit transfer assessment
earlier since it takes a long time. For UCD module information
and syllabus, you can send email to Esther and she will provide
to you.

6) Teaching & Assessment Methods
Actually the teaching method is similar to UST but the
atmosphere there is more relax. The workload and assessment
depends on the modules you take. Some modules require
many projects and presentations while some only have exams.
In short, I passed all my modules and I think it is not that
difficult. You can find all the past papers in UCD sis web and
they would be very useful if you have limited time to study.
I took the following modules:
BMGT10150 Project Management
MIS30020 E-Business Solutions
MIS30040 Analytics Modelling
MIS30120 Advanced Web Development
ECON30180 Industrial Economics

7) Sports & Recreation Facilities
There are many sports facilities in the campus. It has gym,
swimming pool, football pitch etc. There are many sports

societies in UCD. Once you join the society, they will have
regularly trainings and activities.

8) Finance & Banking (including currency /
expenses)
The currency used in Ireland is Euro. There is a branch of Allied
Irish Banks (AIB) in the main campus. You can open a bank
account there and ask you parents to transfer money to you.
Actually, the expenses in Dublin is fair if you cook by yourself
and don’t eating out too frequently (normally costs 10-20
Euro). Most of my expenses went to travelling since I travelled
for a month after the semester.

9) Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities
Night life in Dublin is very famous. You can go clubbing if you
enjoy noisy environment. If you want relax and music, you can
go Irish pubs located in city centre and they are fantastic place
to talk with your friends and have a drink.

10) Health & Safety
Dublin is a safe city and people are really nice compared to
other European countries.
If you get sick, you can buy medicines in sports centre in UCD.

11) Food
You can order foods online through Tesco website, which is a
large supermarket in Dublin, or ride a bike to buy (that’s what I
always do) since each online order costs 3 euros, but of course
you can order with your friends to share the cost.
If you feel home sick and want some Chinese food, you can visit
the Asia Market in city centre. There is lots of asia food and
don’t forget to show your student ID for discount. There is also
some Chinese restaurants which taste very good. In my

opinion, some of them even better than the restaurants in HK!
Also, you can order Chinese dinner in UCD Chinese wechat
group. It tastes quite good and only costs 5.5 Euro.

12) Transportation
Remember to get your student leap card in the orientation
week which offer discount for public transport in Dublin and it
has a daily cap of 5 Euro.
The main transport in Dublin is bus and you can just use google
map to get the information and time.

13) Climate
Ireland is very windy and cold. It rains frequently and umbrella
is useless due to the heavy wind. So, it would be great to
prepare waterproof jacket and shoes. You can also buy them in
TK Max which offers high quality clothes with low price.

14) Communication
I bought a sim card in THREE and it can be found in most
shopping mall in Dublin. It costs me 20 Euro each month with
unlimited data in Ireland and 5GB roaming data in Europe. If
you want travelling frequently, it would be great for you.

Items to Bring
  •   Laptop
  •   Passport
  •   Acceptance Letter from UCD
  •   Cash
  •   Credit/ Debit Card
  •   Medicine
  •   Mobile Phone
  •   Travel Documents

• Insurance Proof
  • Winter Clothes
  • Waterproof Jacket

Useful Links and Contacts
Links
   • UCD http://www.ucd.ie/
   • Irish Immigration registration
      http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/registration
   • THREE in Ireland http://www.three.ie/
   • UCD International Students 2017/2018 Facebook
      https://www.facebook.com/groups/1120889254674740/

Contacts
  • Esther Sanz, UCD International Affairs Officer
     esther.sanz@ucd.ie
  • UCD residences residences@ucd.ie