Study Abroad - 2024 entry

The Sustainable Energy Futures programme offers you the possibility to apply for a place to study the subject abroad through the University’s International Student Exchange Programme. You must attain average grades of 60% or above in your first year and maintain these grades in your second year to be considered for entry to the Sustainable Energy Futures with Study Abroad programme. The full application process is described on the International Office’s website at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/international/abroad/exchange/apply/.

If you are accepted onto the programme, you will spend one academic year abroad, usually the third year of a four-year programme. Credit for academic studies during your year abroad is arranged by agreement between Exeter Engineering and the host institution. These marks are then translated back into your degree. 

The module aims to provide you with a different and supplementary learning experience, predominantly in subjects related to sustainable energy but with the possibility of additional related subjects (subject to approval), ensuring the quality of education as offered at the University of Exeter, but providing the chance to experience learning in a different institution and interact with a different culture. The module aims to expand your subject knowledge, to expose you to, and learn from, different methods of study and learning and to experience academic and university culture from a different, international perspective.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

 

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

 

1. Demonstrate enhanced communication skills together with an appreciation of the difficulties and benefits of working in a foreign culture;

2. Function confidently in a professional and understanding manner in an international setting;

3. Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding in and around the area of sustainable energy development, and assess and critically evaluate related information and analysis in a variety of contextual settings;

4. Understand, in depth, the issues relevant to sustainable energy technologies and their development, deployment and social context in the host country;

 

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

 

5. Demonstrate an appreciation of the impact of transnational issues on sustainable energy development;

6. Take an analytical and systematic approach to problem solving;



 

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge: 

 

7. Act in a professional and ethical manner;

8. Demonstrate enhanced critical thinking, in particular an ability to analyse conflicting and diverse sources of information to present a reasoned and supported argument in written format;

9. Undertake independent/self-directed study/learning (including time management);

10. Achieve consistent, proficient and sustained attainment;

11. Exhibit improved verbal and interpersonal skills including interacting with professionals whose primary language is not English;

12. Sort, manipulate and present data in a way that facilitates effective analysis and decision making.

This is specific to the host university concerned. The programme of modules studied abroad should be equivalent in workload to that required for 120 Exeter credits.

You will stay for one academic year (year 3 of a 4 year degree programme), living and studying at an approved host university abroad with whom Exeter has established links. During this time, you must be registered for study at your host university (as well as at the University of Exeter) for modules approved by the Study Abroad module coordinator. During this year, teaching methods will vary according to the programme of study at the host university but generally they will comprise a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical and laboratory work. In addition, independent study will be a major component of all the modules taken and you will be expected to direct your own preparation, reading and research.

You will be expected to take a full module load as per the host university’s own student workload. These would normally be taken from years 2 and 3 modules (if the host university operates a three year degree programme) or years 3 and 4 (if the host university offers a four year degree programme) and should primarily be in a subject area related broadly to sustainable energy. Limited content can be taken outside areas related to your degree programme (subject to the approval of the Exeter module coordinator).

The Year Abroad counts as a single 120 credit module and as such is not condonable; you must pass this module to continue on the four year programme. None of the composite modules making up the overall year score is considered as non-condonable for our students; you can fail individual modules without 'failing' the year as long as you achieve a weighted average of greater than 40%.

If you fail the Year Abroad module you will be transferred to the standard three year programme. You will be assessed by your host university during your academic year abroad with their grades converted back to University of Exeter grades to contribute towards your degree classification. The Study Abroad Office provides a table of mark conversion ratios which we use to bring the foreign marks into line with ours when they are not percentages. These are then aggregated into a weighted average depending on the various credits each module is worth. This then becomes the study abroad mark. The rules governing failure and referral will be determined by the host institution.
 

If the student does not pass certain modules at the host institution, however the overall average mark is above 40%, the Study Abroad Module is considered to be completed.

If the overall average mark for the whole Study Abroad module is below 40%, the student will have to take reassessment of the equivalent modules at Exeter in August.

•       https://www.exeter.ac.uk/studyabroad/outbound/

Researching Your Study Abroad Placement Handbook
 

Reading list for this module: