When classrooms go beyond borders

To get to know and be enriched by a different culture, to define and identify new professional goals, to make friends for life. More than 60 students from the Degree in Law and the Degreein International Office of the University of Navarra have been able to leave this first exchange this first semester, when the indicators of the Covid-19 pandemic and the health authorities have allowed it. 

Most of them will return to university in December, just as the Christmas holidays are about to begin. In their suitcases, in addition to personal belongings, they have a life experience that they say they will never forget for the rest of their lives. 

"I've been living in Seoul for two months now and I'm still as excited as I was on the first day. I don't want this experience to end.... Going on exchange is a great opportunity. I've met so many great people who are friends I'll take with me for the rest of my life", says Camino King Bandeira.

22 years old, Camino was born in London but has been living in Spain since 2009. She is studying 5th year of the double degree Degree in International Office and Law and is currently doing an exchange programme at Ewha Womans University in Seoul (South Korea). "Living in such a different culture gives you an incredible richness, empathy and respect for others. Korea is a country that has grown tremendously in recent years and not many people know it well, I am sure that in a few years it will be a place of reference for many tourists. One of the best decisions I have made in my life has been to come to Korea as an exchange student, I think it will contribute a lot to my professional future". 

Gabriela Pajuelo Chávez, 21, from Peru, is a fourth-year student at International Office and is studying at George Washington University, in the US capital and, as she says, "the international centre of public policy decisions in the country". "I have taken the opportunity to specialise in my interests in energy, emerging markets and international business in classes at the Elliot School of Foreign Affairs and the GW Business School, develop my start-up, INTI & Co., with a grant from the Lean Start Up program of the GWU Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and network with American companies on the Virtual Road Trip of the GW Women in Business club," she says. 

Gabriela has also had time to travel to Miami and participate in the National Student Conference on Hispanic Politics, organised by the public policy think tank American Enterprise Institute. "Throughout this experience, I have been able to meet friends from all over the world, learn a lot, get to know myself better, experience a different culture and define my professional goals more clearly," she says. 

"There is no textbook that can replace travel and immersion," says Anna Callahan, a student at International Office, a native of Philadelphia (USA). Anna is now in Israel at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity to live and study in Jerusalem. I intend to better understand the region with its rich and vibrant ancient history and hope to gain unique insights from living in a place where history and modernity live side by side, deeply intertwined. Anna is no stranger to the country's troubled reality. "In a place where conflict is unfortunately woven into the territory, I hope to learn from the people and culture of the region and come away with a deeper understanding of this country," she adds.

62 students from School Law are currently completing their exchange stays at universities in countries all over the world: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. By number of students hosted, the most chosen destinations were Korea (13 students) followed by Italy (7) and the Czech Republic (5). 

But what factors should a student student who wants to go on an exchange programme take into account? Álvaro de Lecea, student in the 4th year of International Office, now a student at the Hankuk of Foreign Studies in Seoul (South Korea) gives some advice. "You have to find out about the city and country you want to go to, the university, the lifestyle. It is advisable to talk to someone who has already been there, who can tell you about their personal experience". Alvaro de Lecea emphasises the multicultural nature of an exchange stay and advocates getting to know the local customs in order to live this experience in an even more enriching and close way.  

He also recognises that the exchange is an opportunity to generate new contacts that can favour your professional future. "You meet a lot of people from different parts of the world, both students and teachers. It's a unique opportunity to expand your professional networking," he says.