Foreign Trade University Students in BSc in Business Administration (International Management) Programme Swiss Segment

Administration and Visa Process (2015-2016)

Detailed Information for Students

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Contents

1.

Introduction

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2.

Qualifying Criteria

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3.

Student Visa for Switzerland

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4.

Funds

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5.

Studying in Switzerland

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6.

Studies and courses

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7.

Process

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8.

Lecturers and Staff

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9.

Students

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10.

Academic Calendar

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11.

Working

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12.

Accommodation

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13.

Meals/Food

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14.

Location - Olten

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15.

After Completion of Studies in Olten

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16.

And Finally

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17.

Appendix

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1. Introduction The School of Business, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), is a Swiss university which focuses on professionally applied tertiary education. It is a public, state-owned university accredited by the Swiss federal government and currently in the process of applying for the prestigious international accreditation AACSB. The International Management programme was established in 1999 as the first such course taught entirely in English in Switzerland. It has proven to be extremely successful, attracting not only many domestic students but many exchange students from all over the world. Graduates from this programme usually immediately find jobs in banking and financial services, public administration, personnel and marketing sectors, but also in logistics, trustee economics or insurance, or become entrepreneurs themselves. As well, the degree is one of the pre-qualifiers for Master programmes and graduates have found access to prestigious programmes in Switzerland and abroad. In 2013, Education Cooperation Agreement was signed between the FHNW and Foreign Trade University (FTU) in the domains of credit transfer and recognition and joint development of academic courses. Based on the so called ‘Fullerton’ and the ‘High Quality’ curriculum of FTU, FTU’s students are offered a gateway into the International Management programme of FHNW:   

 

Academic level: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Title provided by: FHNW Curriculum: Three years taught at FTU (in one of the two curriculums listed above) plus one year of studies taught at FHNW in FHNW’s regular BSc in BA (International Management) curriculum Location: the first three years will be taught in Vietnam by the FTU under supervision of FHNW (stage 1). The last year (stage 2) will take place in Switzerland. Admission: Admission to stage 1 one is granted by FTU based on the relevant Vietnamese regulation for Bachelor Programmes. Admission to stage 2 is granted by FHNW according to the additional requirements (see qualifying criteria below).

2. Qualifying Criteria FTU students in the BSc IM programme have to meet the following criteria to qualify for the segment in Switzerland: a. They must have passed all relevant modules from stage 1 in one of the two FTU curricula1. A Transcript of Record issued by FTU documenting this has to be presented a.

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In special cases the application process can be started before a student actually has passed all modules. However, final admission to study in stage 2 will not be granted before all relevant modules are passed. 3

b. c. d. e. f.

before the qualifying interview (see below). They must have passed the IELTS examination with at least a mark of 6.0 They must have a clean school record. They must provide evidence of sufficient funds for fees and living expenses for the Swiss segment They must have paid the the tuition fee for the Swiss sequence fully in advance. They must have passed a qualifying interview.

After meeting the qualifying criteria FHNW will issue a letter of acceptance. Before actually starting their studies, the students must in addition meet the following criteria: g. They must have completed at least 40 weeks of practical experience in business/related jobs before starting stage 2 and they must provide a full documentation confirming this. h. They must have a valid Vietnamese passport and a Swiss student’s visa.

3. Student Visa for Switzerland Full information on the application process for a student Visa is available online under http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edactr/vnm.Par.0074.File.tmp/Merkblatt%2 0Studenten%20visa%20ENG.pdf . FHNW has no influence on the visa procedure. Please be aware that the conditions and the process of visa application can change without previous notice. It is essential that the students consult the official website above before applying. At the moment the conditions for a successful visa application are as follows:  IELTS certificate with a minimum grade of 6.0  Academic record sheets in English showing the scores of all the courses examined by FTU  Bank proof of sufficient funds for the living costs in Switzerland  Official ‘Letter of Acceptance’ from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, School of Business  Valid Vietnamese passport  Visa application form (to be downloaded it from the Embassy’s website). Please read carefully the information concerning the Visa and follow strictly the visa application procedure as given on the web site. Students applying for a visa must go to the Swiss Embassy with their full dossiers. As the visa procedure can take some time we strongly recommend to submit the application in June, at the latest before July 2013.

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4. Funds The full tuition fees for FTU students for the Swiss segment from September 2015 to August 2016 after deduction of the subsidy from the Swiss government are CHF 14'400.00. This fee includes: full tuition, registration and administrative fees, examination, ICT infrastructure, library access and support, tutoring, study services, student council, bachelor thesis, graduation and degree certificates. The fees must be paid in full to the school within 3 weeks of notification of visa approval. The accommodation fees for the same length of time, payable in advance (within 3 weeks of notification of visa approval) are CHF 5'300. (This fee includes a CHF 400 deposit which is refunded if no damage has been done to the accommodation or related costs incurred at the end of the segment and CHF 100 for cleaning fee .) Students must have insurance cover for the following: illness and accident coverage valid in Switzerland, third party insurance. Costs (subject to definite federal subsidy) to be budgeted are: Fees (obligatory) Tuition Fees (full tuition, registration and administrative fees, examination, scripts, ICT infrastructure, library access and support, tutoring, study services, student council, bachelor thesis, graduation and degree certificates) 12 x 400 (single room, all utilities and amenities) + 100 Accommodation (obligatory) cleaning fee + 400 refundable deposit Total costs

CHF 14'400

5'300

19'700*

Estimated Cost of Living** Medical Insurance (obligatory but can be bought in Vietnam) Food 12 x 400 Bus ticket Monthly subscription (for under 25-year-old), or (Student dorm – School) Yearly subscription (for under 25-year-old) Toiletries, laundry etc. 12 x 20 Personal extras 12 x 50 Stationary Tourism/travel

1'100 4'300 500 495 240 600 150 1'000

*This sum must be included in the proof of funds. (There are other options available for students during the Swiss segment which are listed here but not explained in detail – this will be done later. For instance: tourism visits of other European countries during their stay, extra language courses, rail passes. Such extras are entirely voluntary and must be financed separately.) ** Estimations only

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Students are required to have an up to date laptop (for the software and specifications see the appendix). Much of the learning in Olten is done electronically (the schoolrooms are mostly cabled, there is WLAN reception, most lecturers use learning platforms and teaching software). There are work stations for students - access is free of charge - and students are supplied with (free) ICT school accounts. 5. Studying in Switzerland For the students qualifying for the Swiss segment life here will be very different. They will be far away from family and friends in a country with a different culture, different language, different food, different regulations and different customs. They will experience culture shock and be homesick. An important factor here is that the European system generally requires more self-sufficiency from students than the Vietnamese system. To support FTU students to adjust to such independence, the School of Business has a number of services in place.  Collection at airport and taken to accommodation where some basics are explained (see below for further information on accommodation)  Introduction days (information about life in Switzerland in general, about the school and the campus, introduction to transport and meal options, to post office and bank options, to the ICT structure, the library, the timetable etc.)  Student Council: this council represents the students and liaises with the dean or administration of the school. They also organise social events for students (outings, visits, parties)  Vietnamese-speaking support: there is a Vietnamese-speaking lecturer available where the situation requires.  Feedback sessions: there will be feedback opportunities with the people in charge of the programme. Meetings and briefings will be held with the FTU students to monitor progress, receive requests, support and help where possible. 6. Studies and courses FTU students will be mixed with the students in the International Management programme which includes domestic students and exchange students from partner universities around the world. Classes are held entirely in English. Students learn in several different environments, always dependent on the course and the course targets: in lectures, in classes and often in study groups or alone. There may be tutoring opportunities and e-learning platforms as well.

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In the final year the courses are: Modules FHNW SEMESTER 5 Major, part 1 (select one of the below listed courses) Marketing 1 Finance 1 Minor, part 1 (select one of the below listed courses) International Logistics 1 Intercultural Management 1 Social Media 1 Special Areas in Economics (select one of the below listed courses) International Economics and Politics Financial Markets: Current Issues Financial Bubbles and Crashes Context: Intensive programmes (select one of the below listed courses) Doing Business in China Doing Business in India Context: Foreign Languages Academic and Business English Business Communication 5 Negotiation & Conflict Resolution Project Work Project Management Live Project (group work) Total Semester 5 Credits Modules FHNW SEMESTER 6 Major, part 2 (= same as part 1) Marketing 2 Finance 2 Minor, part 2 (= same as part 1) International Logistics 2 Intercultural Management 2 Social Media 2 Management 9 Management Game Management 10 Strategy Innovation Special Topics of Management (select one of the below listed courses): Globalisation of Business Enterprises International Trade Management Bachelor Thesis Total Semester 6 Credits 7

6 ECTS 6 6 3 ECTS 3 3 3 3 ECTS 3 3 3 1 ECTS 1 1 3 ECTS 3 6 ECTS 6 8 ECTS 1 7 30 ECTS

9 ECTS 9 9 3 ECTS 3 3 3 2 ECTS 2 7 ECTS 3 2 2 (2) (2) 9 ECTS 30 ECTS

Students generally have a workload of 50-60 hours per week. This final year is very challenging and demanding. To lighten the burden of the thesis, FTU students will already be allocated their topics at the beginning of the summer semester. 7. Process When students are informed that their application for the student visa for Switzerland has been approved, the amount of SFr 19'700 must be paid in full to the FHNW within three weeks. The FHNW then issues confirmation of payment. The applicant forwards this letter plus their Vietnamese passport to the Swiss Embassy in Vietnam, who then issues the visa (these can be collected in person or be sent per mail). Time January 2015 - March 2015 March 2015 - April 2015 June 2015 August 2015 before 7 Sept. 2015 7-11 Sept. 2015 14 Sept. 2015

Event Pre-selection for qualifying interview Qualifying interview Dossier to Swiss Embassy - Visa application Fees transferred Arrival in Switzerland Introductory days Start semester

8. Lecturers and Staff It is a prerequisite for all professors at the FHNW that they not only have high academic qualifications, mostly PhD, but must also have didactic training and have at least 5 years of professional experience in their field of expertise. Thus students are ensured of highlyqualified teachers, who not only know the theory but know how this is applied in practice. All teaching and communication in this course is done in English. All books, scripts and electronic support are in English. The school infrastructure is dual-language. 9. Students There are nearly 2000 undergraduate students at the School of Business – which is spread across three campuses. At the Olten campus- where FTU students are – there are 700 business students (there are also about 900 students from three other faculties): more than one third of these are in the International Management programme. In the last year (where FTU students come) there will be about 55 domestic students in 2015/16 and we expect about 45 exchange students. However, the exchange students will not be present in all classes. The domestic students will have followed roughly the same academic programme in the previous two years: generally they will be two years older than FTU students because of the 8

different education system and the professional experience criteria. These students will often still live at home and therefore commute: they may well not be around in evenings and at weekends. The exchange students usually come from one of our 120 partner universities to study with us for one semester, some stay on for two semesters. They will be in similar business courses at their home university: the most frequent groupings come from Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. These students will also be housed in the university accommodation and will therefore, like the FTU students be around at weekends and in the evenings and provide enriching cultural exchange. 10. Academic Calendar FTU students are required to arrive at least one week before the start of the autumn semester so that they can attend the Introductory Days, fulfil some administrative tasks and settle in. At the start of each semester, students are given schedules of their lessons as well as full information of special days, holidays, contact details etc. The autumn semester classes start on 14 September 2015 and finish 22 December 2015. A two-week holiday break follows (Christmas and New Year). Now follows a period of individual exam preparation. Semester examinations are held for two and a half weeks starting 12 January 2016. The examinations are followed by a very brief holiday-break. On 9 February 2016, students are expected back to join a special seminar week. The regular spring semester then starts on 16 February 2016. At that point FTU students will also be allocated their Bachelor thesis topic to allow especially those who leave immediately at the end of classes a longer preparatory period. Spring semester classes end 8 June 2016, followed by a short individual exam preparation period and then final examinations are held again for two and a half weeks, starting 15 June 2016. Bachelor Theses must be submitted by 7 August 2016, 12 noon. Students must leave Switzerland by the end of their visa period. 11. Working FTU students come here on a student visa. It is against the Swiss law to work without an additional working permit2. If students do take on work without valid working permits and are found out they will be immediately extradited to Vietnam, possibly facing criminal prosecution and fines. In addition, any insurance they have will not cover them for accidents in such an illegal workplace.

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Working permits for students are – in theory – obtainable for companies domiciled in Switzerland who would like to hire students. I.e. not the student but the company has to apply at the respective authority. Such working permits are by law limited to 15h workload per week for people with student’s visa.

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The university strongly disapproves of illegal work and furthermore, considering the heavy workload for the FTU students, is convinced that any job besides studying would be a work overload. 12. Accommodation Different countries, different customs: that also applies to accommodation. In Switzerland there is usually no on-campus accommodation (this is a small country, distances are not great, public transport is very efficient). As well, Europeans prefer a certain amount of privacy and accommodation available is therefore designed for this. Students are housed in a modern block of apartments, which is within 10 minutes by bus or 25 minutes by walking of the School of Business buildings. Each student has his/own room which is furnished with a bed, cupboard, desk, chair, telephone. Shared kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities as well as rooms for leisure activities are provided. Here again, students will be confronted with the self-sufficient customs and norms in this country. Students are expected to do their own washing and cooking (and follow the rules of use and cleanliness set). While some service is offered (fresh linen supplied each week, cleaning of communal areas) students must maintain a certain level of cleanliness and orderliness, clean up after themselves when they have used the kitchen or bathroom, etc. When this is not observed, or damage is done, the matter is done for them AT COST (for this reason also there is a deposit which is against damages). The philosophical basis for this is mutual respect (you don’t want to clean up the mess of another person, either). This accommodation is modern, clean, spacious, and safe. The monthly rent includes all utilities. It may be possible for students to find independent accommodation (flat share or home-stay) and this may enable some savings. The university can try to organise this, but cannot promise it. Should such accommodation be found at the student’s request and should this result in less cost, then the surplus will of course be refunded to the student (or their parents). However, the university highly recommends that students stay in the accommodation assigned because the heavy workload plus the cultural adjustments may lead to students being overwhelmed by the extra work and stress involved in alternative home environments. 13. Meals/Food Switzerland is a culture where most people cook and eat at home. Generally only a few dishes are prepared and only one warm meal is eaten per day. We recommend that students learn to cook a few dishes before they come here. (The ingredients, also for Vietnamese dishes, are easily available not only in normal supermarkets but also in the special Asian food markets). In that way students can buy ingredients fairly

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cheaply together, take turns in cooking, and eat together. The food culture here is very different and will occasionally cause homesickness. There are of course opportunities to buy meals outside the home: there are many restaurants (also Asian restaurants), takeaways and some food stalls. However, these are much more expensive than in Vietnam. There is also a restaurant inside the university’s building which serves healthy food at, by Swiss standards, very affordable prices. 14. Location - Olten Olten is a very small city. By Vietnamese standards it is merely a district! This means there are certain disadvantages (a more limited number of cinemas or restaurants) but also advantages (it’s safe, also at night, and it does not take long to get to school or the shops or sports fields). Another main advantage is that Olten is the rail hub of Switzerland and there are excellent, fast and frequent train connections not only to all cities and regions of Switzerland but also to other countries. As it is a regional centre and a national conference centre, there is a good selection of infrastructure. 15. After Completion of FHNW Studies in Olten The final examinations finish early in July 2016. The Bachelor thesis is submitted by 6 August 2016. It will then take two weeks before all the evaluation and assessing is complete. The Graduation Ceremony is at the moment scheduled on 25 September 20163. Since FTU students generally must return to Vietnam before that date they will receive their diplomas by registered mail. Should it happen that a FTU student does not pass all of the examinations, there will be retake and re-sitting options in line with the FHNW study regulations (one repeat per module). As soon as the examinations are finished, and unless a visa for a prolongation was awarded, students must return home. Students may of course apply for Master programmes at our university or other universities, but this involves a new application and must be carried out from Vietnam (most European countries require this). Students wishing to add on a Master programme immediately after their Bachelor are advised to gather information while they are in Switzerland. Students must not simply remain in Switzerland. This is against the law and could have legal consequences.

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Please be aware that the actual date could slightly change before the final scheduling

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16. And Finally We are fully aware that the cost of enabling a FTU student to come to Switzerland for 10 months of study is, for most Vietnamese families, a heavy financial burden. Switzerland, as a country with one of the top standards of living in the world, is expensive. We believe, however, that students will get excellent value on this investment and will launch them on a successful career. It is our desire and concern that the Swiss segment for the FTU students is a success: not only academically but also personally, professionally and culturally. It is our aim to provide good quality courses and services. We look forward to welcoming our FTU IM students to our international campus! Websites for further information: About Olten http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/olten.html (in English) www.olten.ch ( in German) About living in Switzerland http://switzerland.isyours.com http://www.englishforum.ch/ 17. Appendix Appendix 1a Fullerton Programme Appendix 1b High Quality Programme 12