First and foremost, Switzerland is purely a study program Therefore, the time spent during the four months’ stay in St Gallen will be filled with exciting excursions, personal travelling, studying and doing projects with international students.

Secondly, University of St Gallen is arguably the top German speaking school in Europe where students are of top quality and it provides a good platform to network and establish wonderful connections. Not only that, the strong alumni support enables the lessons to be very practical by guest speakers from industries such as Investment Banking, Management Consulting and Top Management from other Swiss companies. This provides a very different and unique studying experience as compared to our local education system.

Thirdly, it is a very scenic place where u can engage in different outdoor activities such as mountain trekking, hang gliding and “zorbing”. Being surrounded by France, Germany, Austria and Italy, u can travel to any of these countries by train or plane which will take at most 5 hours from St Gallen. Apart from Western Europe, cheap bus rides do bring u all the way to Prague, Czech Republic in the eastern side of Europe.

About Switzerland

Switzerland, also known as die Schweiz in German, has 4 official languages, heavily influenced by several major European cultures from its neighbouring countries. Different languages are used in different parts of the country – German (73%) in the north east and centre of the country; French (21.5%) in the west; Italian (5%) in the south; Romansh (0.5%) in the southeastern canton of Graubünden. The German spoken in Switzerland is predominantly a group of Alemannic dialects collectively known as Swiss German, which differs slightly from the German spoken in Germany. Learning one of the other national languages at school is obligatory for all Swiss, so most Swiss are supposed to be at least bilingual. However, most of the older Swiss speaks Swiss German only.

The canton of St. Gallen is located in the northeastern part of Switzerland, thus the Swiss living there usually converse in German. Whilst most street signs and directions are printed in German, the younger generation of Swiss can generally speak and understand basic English. However, it is still useful to learn some commonly used German phrases before you head for St. Gallen. The most commonly used phrase in Switzerland is Gruezi, a welcome greeting which means Hi or Hello.

The School: University of St Gallen

University of St Gallen (HSG) is well considered as the top German business school in the German speaking region. Therefore, top students from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and some countries of Eastern Europe study in HSG.

Apart from its excellent standing, HSG provides a very conducive environment to initiate exchange students through its Buddy System and semester wide activities that brings u to Ski, visit mountainous regions and excursions to different parts of Switzerland and Germany.

What others have to say?

“I can definitely say that it was the best time of my entire university life. All the travelling, the friends I made and the exciting stuff we did, they were amazing. In total, I visited 13 European countries, covering Western and Eastern Europe, went to the top of Europe: Jungfraujoch, Interlaken, and even had time to appreciate the local Swiss culture!”
-    Alan Tan,University of St Galle Spring 08/09

"GIP Switzerland was definitely a fulfilling and enriching experience for me. Not only did I get to immerse in a uniquely different learning environment in one of the top Business Schools in the German-speaking part of the world, I also forged close friendship bonds with the Swiss and fellow exchange students. More importantly, the 4 months spent in St. Gallen allowed me to learn to live independently, away from the comforts and familiarity of home.
 
The University of St. Gallen (HSG) has top faculty across various business specializations, including marketing, finance, strategy management and law. The modules it offers have interesting and flexible curriculum that allows students to stretch their creativity, and makes learning a more enjoyable experience. The most interesting part about lessons at HSG would probably be the “textbook-less” kind of teaching style. Instead, course materials come from a variety of sources, including magazine articles and thesis papers. This unique learning style really pushes students to read up widely on their own, participate actively in class, and go beyond just reading textbooks.
 
Being located in the heart of Western Europe, Switzerland is the gateway to visiting renowned cities, like Paris, Venice, Rome, Amsterdam and Berlin. Of course, with world-class tourism standards and breathtaking scenery, Switzerland itself has much to offer - from the magnificent snow capped Mount Titlis; the nostalgic old towns of Zurich; the serene Lake Lucerne; the bustling shopping streets of Berne; the cosy and “car-less” town of Zermatt; and the little known hills of St. Gallen. Visiting these cities was more than fun and leisure - it gave me a deeper insight into the rich cultures and history of Europe and widened my horizon, something particularly useful for me as a tourism student.
 
Certainly, these 4 months have not only groomed me into becoming a more confident and responsible person, and broadened my global network of friends, it has also given me a huge collection of wonderful memories that will last for a long, long time!"

- Liu Wen Qing, Nanyang Business School, Year 3

Information Package

For students who are currently preparing for your trip, you can download an information package. This package is like a travel kit, offering advice on what to bring, costs breakdown and the various places of interest.

Download Information Packages here