Four Steps to Making Your Year Abroad a Success

More and more young people choose studying abroad as the starting point of a successful career. Every year, thousands of students take a new path in life and embrace new challenges overseas. After years of providing help and advice around academic exchanges, I've developed four simple steps that I believe will help you prepare fully for your long journey abroad.

Before you leave, ask friends and family to help you set some goals

You definitely don't want your academic exchange to become a dull experience, so ask the people around you — classmates, friends, mentors and lecturers — for ideas and suggestions on how best to achieve your goals.

For example, we had a group of students travel from Kazakhstan to Hong Kong for a semester, and together they drew up the purpose and objectives of the trip. By doing so, they produced a complete to-do list and arranged far more than they might otherwise have done before leaving Hong Kong.

Don't forget to keep up with news from home

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is forgetting that in a few months' time you'll have to return to your home university. Plenty of courses there will carry on without you, and new ones will start. So staying in touch and maintaining communication with your home university is genuinely important. Before you go back, you should check all deadlines at your home university for grants, internships and scholarship opportunities, and keep an eye on any sporting events or competitions you're interested in.

Share what you've learned with others

Sharing your experience with others can help you build a valuable network. Speak with the lecturers at your home university — perhaps they'll be happy to integrate your experiences into their lesson plans, or use you as a case study. Or you could create a useful viral blog post that takes off — meaning the community at your university can benefit from learning more about where you've been. Either way, find a way to share your experience with people who can learn from it.

Be energetic and engage with your new surroundings

Moving to a new place is never easy, but as long as you stay energetic and make the most of every opportunity, you'll have the chance to succeed. Talk to sports clubs and societies to find like-minded people. Check the university calendar for events you can attend, and go and meet some new friends. Explore new customs, cultures and food with an adventurous spirit. Remember: you won't get this chance to study abroad again, so don't waste a single minute.