Exchange to El Tecnológico de Monterrey,

Campus Monterrey

Name: Alex Magdanz

Date: August 21, 2007

Exchange Dates: January-May 2006 and August-December 2006

Coordinator: Giovanni Cascante

Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ 1

Academic Program.............................................................................................................. 2

Residences........................................................................................................................... 4

Costs .................................................................................................................................... 6

Assistance ........................................................................................................................... 8

Health and Insurance ......................................................................................................... 10

Evaluation ......................................................................................................................... 11

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Academic Program

My exchange to El Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus

Monterrey took place from January to May and from August to December, 2006. During

that time I studied a variety of courses from both International Programs and regular

departments. I didn’t take any specific Spanish language courses. However, all but one

of the courses that I took were taught in Spanish. The following is a list of courses that I

took while on exchange along with the courses for which they were considered

equivalent.

January – May, 2007

Transformadores y Motores Eléctricos - ME 269 Electromechanical Devices and Power Processing

Termodinámica I - SYDE 381 Thermodynamics

Cultura de México - No Credit Sought

Modelación Dinámica - General Technical Elective

Proyectos en Mecatrónica II - SYDE 361 Introduction to Design **

August – December, 2007

Alemán Intermedio II - No Credit Sought

Sociedad y Desarrollo en México - No Credit Sought

Ingeniería de Control - SYDE 352 Introduction to Control Systems

Evaluación de Proyectos - SYDE 331 Engineering Economics

Economía - GENE 22C Macroeconomy

Microcontroladores - ECE 324 Microprocessor Systems and Interfacing *

* Credit transfer still in progress

** Additional report required for credit transfer

I was unable to find courses which would be considered equivalent to SYDE 311

Engineering Optimization, and SYDE 351 Systems Models I. However, upon return to

Waterloo I was able to enroll in courses considered to be anti-requisites and was thus able

to fulfill the curriculum requirements. There were few difficulties in regards to enrolling

in courses at Tec de Monterrey. One frustration was the time spent waiting in line to

enroll in courses. Expect to spend one or two hours waiting to speak to a counselor about

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enrolling in courses. Another frustration was the brief course descriptions given on the

website. Do the best that you can to find the courses you need based on those

descriptions, knowing that you have the entire first week of classes to find alternate

courses if one does not turn out as expected. Once you are on campus and know the

professor that will be teaching the course, it is possible to find much more detailed

information about the course including a full breakdown of how many hours are spent on

each topic by asking the professor for the course plan.

The instruction methods at Tec de Monterrey differ significantly from those at

Waterloo. Class attendance is mandatory, and missing six total class hours results in

failing the course. Courses run for 16 weeks, and the passing grade is 70%. Fortunately

the exam schedule is known right at the beginning of the semester based upon the block

of time that the class is in, so travel plans can be arranged well ahead of time. I found the

technical content of the classes to be somewhat less challenging than that of Waterloo,

but the teaching was amazing. All of the classes that I was in had less than 30 students.

Regular assignments ensure you don’t fall behind in a course and also comprise most of

your final mark. Most of all, the professors are extremely helpful. All of my professors

were very approachable and insisted that I come see them if I was having any problems

with the language or did not understand something.

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Residences

Tec de Monterrey offers two types of accommodations: residences and host families.

In addition you are able to find your own housing if you wish.

For both of my semesters at Monterrey I lived in university residences. In my first

semester I lived in a residence just off the main campus. Rooms were shared by two

people and included a desk, bed,

and closet. Air conditioning is

available depending on the

building you live in. All of the

residences have daily maid service

including making the bed for you.

They also have a program where

you can drop off your dirty

laundry, and then pick it up the

next day, clean and folded. However, it is much cheaper to do your own laundry at the

laundromats near campus. Each floor on residence has a shared kitchen, bathroom, TV

room, and study room. There is also a sink in each room for washing up.

In my second semester in Monterrey I lived in the residence for varsity athletes called

Centrales. As the name implies it is located right in the middle of campus. It was not as

modern as the other residence, but being within a five minute walk of anywhere on

campus definitely made up for it. All students living in university residences have access

to an outdoor pool, and there are regularly scheduled events to help you meet other

people. The only real downsides to living in residence at Tec de Monterrey are the noise

and the price. All of the buildings are made out of concrete and stone, and thus sound

tends to carry well through them. Residence is also a bit pricy, costing over $500 CDN

per month. Having said that, I would not hesitate to live in the university residences

again, and think that it is the best way to meet Mexican students.

One recommendation I would make to potential exchange students is to not live with

a host family. The cost is even more expensive than living in residence and I heard a

shocking number of horror stories about living with host families during my time in

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Monterrey. Generally people found that interaction with the family was infrequent and at

worst cold. Some families also set strict curfews for their exchange student(s). Many

students living with host families found they had trouble connecting to their host family

and also had trouble connecting with other students.

Finding your own place to live is a good option for residence while at Tec de

Monterrey. There are many places for rent available near campus and during the

orientation week while there are only international students there, it is very easy to find a

group of people that are looking for an extra roommate. If you are unable to find a place

right away, nearby hotel accommodation is relatively cheap for one or two nights and

there is also a hostel in another part of the city. Renting a house or an apartment is

definitely the cheapest form of accommodation while studying at Tec de Monterrey.

Most of the rentals that I heard of were in the range of $300-350 CDN per month.

The cafeterias on campus serve excellent, healthy food during working hours, and

compare in price to on-campus cafeterias at UW. Food in grocery stores is also

comparable in price to that in Canada, with some items such as fruit and corn tortillas

being cheaper. Unfortunately you will probably need to take a bus in order to get to the

closest grocery store. Restaurants greatly vary in price, but the vendors near the

university are relatively cheap. A typical Mexican dish will cost between $30-40 pesos.

Do not miss a chance to try horchata – a milky rice drink with cinnamon, and Jamaica – a

juice made from the hibiscus flower.

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Costs

The costs of studying in Mexico are in general equivalent to or less than the costs of

studying in Canada. Waterloo students studying on exchange at ITESM pay Waterloo

tuition. As discussed above, the price of living in residence at Tec de Monterrey is

comparable to the price of living in residence at Waterloo, while the price of living in

your own apartment in Monterrey is generally less than in Waterloo. The price of food is

also generally comparable to the price in Canada with a few exceptions.

Travel in Monterrey costs much less than in Waterloo. Public transit costs from 4-6

pesos (about $0.45-0.65 CDN), but there are no transfer passes. Cab fare is also

significantly less in Mexico than in Canada. There are a plethora of taxis in Monterrey

and taking a cab is usually the most convenient way to get to where you need to go within

the city. In fact, the ITESM administration recommends that students use taxis only, and

not the public transit system. However, I used the public transit system during the full

time of my exchange without problems.

Thanks to subsidization by the Mexican government, textbooks and other school

supplies are very cheap. In Mexico textbooks cost less than half of the price that they

would in Canada. For the very frugal there are even used textbook sales where you can

find previous editions for even cheaper during the

first two weeks of classes.

Students of ITESM get excellent deals at

many places by displaying their student card, so

be sure to get your permanent card. During the

first weeks you will be given a temporary paper

card that gets you access to the campus. You will

receive an e-mail telling you when the permanent

cards are being distributed. Make sure you go

during this time frame and have your picture

taken and return for your permanent student card.

Most bus lines offer students a 50% discount.

There are also excellent deals from some airlines for being a student of Tec. Within

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Mexico, the student discount makes bus travel extremely economical. For example I

took a bus from Ciudad de Oaxaca, Oaxaca to San Cristobal, Chiapas, a twelve hour bus

ride, for the equivalent of $12 CDN.

I was unable to find any deals on airfare to and from Mexico as the semester dates

essentially meant I was traveling during peak season. It cost me around $800 CDN for a

return ticket from Edmonton to Monterrey both times I went.

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Assistance

The assistance given to international students by Tec de Monterrey staff is second to

none. All international students arrive one week before the regular students for

orientation. If you are arriving on the official arrival day to Monterrey airport, there will

be students from Tec to welcome you and guide you to a bus that will take you to

campus. Orientation week is an excellent opportunity to

meet other exchange students and explore the campus and

city together. Since everyone on the campus during that

week is in a very similar situation, it is easy to find people

who are looking for an extra roommate or who want to work

together on obtaining a Student Visa. Orientation week consists of a few seminars each

day on Mexican culture, studies at Tec, practical issues such as how to obtain your

Student Visa, and of course events or parties each night. All seminars and events are

offered in both Spanish and English. One downside of orientation is that it is so easy to

make friends that are international students during this time, that looking back after the

exchange, many students regretted not interacting more with the Mexican students once

they arrived. Joining a club or team on campus is an easy way to also meet Mexican

students.

An interesting feature of the Tec de Monterrey campus is that it is a closed campus,

meaning that you need an ID to enter. The security guards are, for the most part, a little

more flexible with exchange students. They can also help you find any facilities that you

are looking for.

The international programs staff is amazing. Despite the relative insanity of

orientation week for them, they are incredibly friendly. One bit of frustration you might

experience is a little bit of a wait time in order to sign up for

classes and get your schedule. Do not worry if you think there

might be problems with your documentation when you arrive.

They make arrangements for people who were unable to write

the Spanish fluency exam to write it during orientation week,

and will do everything in their power to help you into your exchange. One girl showed

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up to orientation week without them having any documentation about her application

whatsoever. Despite this, they were still able to accommodate her.

The professors are also very approachable. One reason for this is the small class

sizes. They will be more than glad to help you out with any material you do not

understand. They can also help you to get the documentation you need to validate the

courses once you return to Waterloo.

The ITESM exchange application process at Waterloo is quite lengthy. Be sure you

start early so that you have enough time to complete all of the components. Some people

at UW who were helpful during the application process are Giovanni Cascante (UW

Coordinator), Cindy Howe (Administrative Coordinator), and Professor Roe (Director of

Exchange Programs). Be sure to get your application in before the deadline as it can take

over a week to get all the signatures that you need. If your application is late or there is a

problem with it, do not worry too much as the ITESM staff will do everything they can to

help you.

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Health and Insurance

Tec de Monterrey requires that you have international health insurance. If you do not

already have health insurance upon arrival, they will charge you $2846.25 pesos (about

$300 CDN) to insure you on their own plan. Fortunately the health coverage through the

University of Waterloo includes international health insurance, so you will not need to

worry about this fee, provided that you give them adequate documentation. If you do not

have the information card that came with your University of Waterloo health insurance

card, then information can be found through the University of Waterloo website. This

will not be a great concern for you as they are very familiar with international students

having coverage through their home university.

I did not have any health problems while I was in Mexico, so I do not know much

about the medical facilities available. I do know that all students living in residence have

access to a doctor on campus, much like Health Services at Waterloo. Furthermore,

varsity athletes have access to their own doctor and physical therapists, and all care is

provided free of charge, much like at UW.

Security in Mexico is very dependent on the neighbourhood that you are in.

Monterrey is one of the safest cities in Mexico, however, there are some places that you

just shouldn’t go. Some neighbourhoods are heavily involved in drug trafficking and you

are definitely at risk by going there. Speaking to the locals is the best way to find out

where not to go. I also heard a few stories about the river markets, but personally I never

had any problems there. If in doubt, travel with friends and you shouldn’t have any

problems at all. The campus itself is incredibly safe. To enter you must present ID that

proves you are a student or staff member. As well, to take a bike off campus, the owner

must present the card that corresponds to the sticker on the bike to prove ownership. To

get your bike sticker and card go to the Tec security office. All residence rooms have

locks of course, and they also have closets with latches for padlocks if you feel the need

to lock your closet as well.

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Evaluation

There is no question in my mind that going on exchange to Tec de Monterrey was a

positive experience. It did require a little more work, but the friends made and the

experiences gained certainly outweighed the trouble.

The main times when the exchange caused me more work for my academic program

included the application process and credit validation process upon return from the

exchange. The application process is somewhat lengthy, and having more deadlines in an

already busy schedule did not help with stress level. Finding courses that will count

towards your academic program is perhaps the most difficult part of application. The

International Programs staff is not

really able to help you with your

course selection unless the courses

you are choosing are within the

International Programs department.

I suggest that you find the closest

matches you can to the Waterloo

courses you need to take by using

the ITESM course calendar, then in

your first week there be sure to get

a course syllabus and check that your courses do indeed match up. If they don’t you can

always switch courses in the first week, and the professors will have a much better idea

of what courses are available that will suit your academic program. Of course, the course

descriptions on the Waterloo course calendar are brief and not very good, so to be

proactive you could find out which Waterloo professors will be teaching the courses you

would have taken and get a course syllabus for those courses before you leave. This will

help you to better find matches for those courses.

The credit validation process upon return from exchange was probably the most extra

work caused by going on exchange. Be sure you bring back as much material from the

course as possible including the course syllabus, notes, labs, quizzes, and exams. Getting

the ITESM course hour plan from the professor also helps smooth out the credit

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validation process. Although the professors at Waterloo are very generous with trying to

validate your credits, be prepared that not all the courses you took there will be worth the

credit that you wanted and that you may have to write a report or two to make up for

course material that was not covered.

There are too many positive aspects of going on exchange to discuss them all,

however, a respectable shortlist would include learning a new language and culture,

making new friends, traveling, and experiencing a totally different way of learning.

When I arrived in Mexico I could not understand spoken Spanish, nor could I speak well.

However, when I left I was able to speak and understand near fluently, and had

experienced a culture very different to that of Canada. I am also still in contact with

many friends from my exchange. There are numerous opportunities to travel with

International Programs groups, or just with friends and bus fare is cheap! Finally, the

method of teaching and learning at ITESM is very different than at Waterloo and I found

that it was a refreshing way to study engineering.

I would not hesitate for one moment to recommend others to go on exchange to El

Tecnológico de Monterrey.

E-mail: haveyouseenthewind@hotmail.com

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