A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: Austria

  • Sarah Selkirk at University of Klagenfurt, Austria

    Sarah Selkirk at University of Klagenfurt, Austria

    Pre-departure

    I attended the Algorithmic and Enumerative Combinatorics Summer School which took place in Hagenberg, Austria from 29 July to 2 August 2019. Along with this summer school, I decided to extend my trip to visit the University of Klagenfurt which is also in Austria, and spent a few days sightseeing in Vienna, Graz, and Salzburg as well.

    I am an EU citizen, so I did not need to do any pre-trip administration such as obtaining a visa to enter Austria. However, since I was travelling around Austria quite a lot (the Austrian desk attendant at my accommodation in Vienna told me I had visited more places in Austria than he had), I needed to plan my train travel. This was a new experience for me, as I had never been on a train (or public transport) before this trip, and some things which seemed obvious to regular public transport users were very confusing for me. This can be made even more confusing when information is in a foreign language, so I would recommend contacting people at your destination who are familiar with train or bus schedules.

    To make things easier (and cheaper) for train travel within Austria, I was advised to purchase a ‘vorteilscard’ which is a card which gives a 50% discount on all train travel. In addition to this, I bought a Summer Ticket for the train, which allows you (provided that you have a vorteilscard) to travel for free on all trains for a month. This worked out significantly cheaper than buying all of my train tickets individually, and also saved the stress of having to plan which trains to book tickets for – I simply got onto a train and showed the conductor my Summer Ticket. In total, the vorteilscard and Summer Ticket cost 80 EUR, while the total cost of all the train trips I took would have been just under 160 EUR.

    Travelling from the southern to the northern hemisphere resulted in me leaving South Africa mid-winter and arriving in Austria in scorching heat. Of course I expected it to be warm, but I didn’t expect how hot it would be. While all buildings in Europe have heating for the cold winters that they have, it turned out that most buildings did not have air conditioning in 35 degree heat, so it is important to be aware of the heat and pack accordingly. Finding accommodation which has fans or air-conditioning is highly recommended.

    Since you are dependent on public transport, I recommend getting day or week passes for the buses. In Vienna they have a transport pass which gives you discounted access to all trains, trams, and busses within the city. Public transport can sometimes only get you so far, and so there can be a lot of walking to do. I would recommend packing good comfortable shoes for walking long distances.

    Experience at Host University and Summer School

    I spent from 20 July to 28 July in Klagenfurt, visiting some researchers at the University of Klagenfurt. Klagenfurt is a beautiful town, surrounded by mountains and next to a large lake (the Wörthersee) which is a popular tourist attraction. I had a number of interesting mathematical discussions with the researchers at the University of Klagenfurt and gave a talk about my research to the mathematics department on 23 July.

    In Klagenfurt I was regularly taken to Strandbad, the place that people go to swim or do other water sports on the Wörthersee. At the end of the week I went paddle-boating on the lake which was one of the highlights of the visit for me. Another popular attraction in Klagenfurt is a place called Minimundus which has miniature models of various landmarks of the world. This was really fascinating to see, and by the end of the tour of Minimundus it felt like I had been on a world tour. There are not just miniature models of attractions of the world, but also reenactments of historic events, such as the moon landing. Here a miniature reenactment of the rocket launch drew quite a crowd.

    After spending a week in Klagenfurt, a postdoc from Klagenfurt and I travelled to the summer school in Hagenburg together. Travelling via train in Austria is a great experience since the Austrian landscape is very beautiful, with picturesque views of the mountains (including the Austrian alps), lakes, and rivers. In Hagenberg we arrived at our accommodation in a university residence close to the Research Institute of Symbolic Computation (RISC), who were the hosts of the summer school.

    At the summer school there were three invited speakers who each gave a daily lecture along with a tutorial, and on the first day some other attendees gave talks as well. The invited speakers were Nicolas Broutin, George Labahn, and Alan Sokal, who were speaking about random trees and graphs, order bases, and continued fractions respectively. I particularly enjoyed the talks on continued fractions, and learned a lot from the various talks and experience.

    One of the most enjoyable aspects of the summer school was the opportunity to meet and interact with other researchers in my field. I had heard of a number of people who were at the conference by seeing their papers online or through mutual friends, but it was nice to actually meet them. On Wednesday evening everyone at the summer school was transported to Hirschbach for the conference dinner.

    A big highlight of the summer school was that one evening a summer school attendee who is a celebrated combinatorialist and former professional pianist, gave an organ concert in a church next to the venue. I have not often heard an organ being played, and never as well as that. It was really beautiful. One of my favourite things about Austria is how much classical music seems to be part of their culture.

    After the summer school ended, I spent a few days in Vienna to do some sight-seeing. Vienna was a really magical city, with some beautiful architecture and a really excellent public transport system. While I was in Vienna, I went to the Albertina art museum which had some really interesting exhibitions on (including some of Picasso’s art).

    I also went to several the famous Viennese restaurants or cafes as recommended by one of the people I met at the summer school. At the famous Hotel Sacher I had their specialty Sacher Torte which I have since tried to make myself in South Africa.

    All in all, visiting Austria and the summer school was an incredible academic and cultural experience!

    Return to Stellenbosch

    I came back to Stellenbosch in the second week of the second semester, and so I quickly became quite busy afterwards. Regardless, I missed Austria a little bit and even found myself missing parts of my trip that I was scared to do before I left – such as navigating the public transport system. Since experiencing an effective and convenient public transport system with trains and buses to anywhere you could possibly want to go, I have often thought how nice it would be if South Africa would also have such a system.

    I realised that we are quite fortunate when it comes to the costs of living in South Africa. In Austria it would cost me 2 euros (R32) for a 500ml bottle of Coke, and a simple burger at a standard restaurant would cost around 9 euro (R144). At one point while I was abroad I stopped trying to convert currency because the cost of normal items could be quite expensive, particularly in tourist destinations such as Vienna. The price of accommodation was also very expensive compared to costs of staying in South African university dormitories for a summer school, or in affordable accommodation in a large city.

    One of the biggest contrasts for me was coming back to South Africa and seeing the poverty that people in our country face. During my three weeks of travels in Europe I encountered only two homeless people, but on the streets of Stellenbosch it is not uncommon to encounter even two homeless people on the walk from your car to your university building. I found this difference quite sad.

    I finished my masters degree a few months after visiting Austria and the summer school, and my experience abroad made me really like Austria. As a result, I decided to take a doctoral position at the University of Klagenfurt, which I visited during this trip. This was partially as a result of me having the opportunity to visit – the people there were so welcoming and friendly, and I really enjoyed their mathematics department.

    I would really recommend international summer schools and international travel to anyone doing a postgraduate degree at Stellenbosch University. It is really an opportunity to grow academically and experience new places and cultures.

  • Nikiwe at Salzburg University in Austria

    Nikiwe at Salzburg University in Austria

    Pre-Departure:

    Upon my nomination of the program, I was able to get direct correspondence with the host University – whom were not only helpful but seemed quite excited to have us attend the programme. I still had almost three months until the actual programme date so I was quite relaxed in terms of booking of flight tickets and visa applications. The panic only started to kick in when only a month was left and I had not done a thing!

    Ergo, by the time I booked flight tickets prices had gone up quite a bit! Quick tip: check how much flights are online and compare them to quotations from at least two travel agencies to get the most buck for your money. Also be sure of the dates you wish to travel on as some programmes require that you arrive the day before orientation. In addition, confirm the accommodation period if the host university is providing it (this is also important for visa purposes).

    The rest of the process of organising everything else was surprisingly easy!

    Once I had received the Visa Letter from the SU Student Affairs office it was more a matter of making sure all of my documents were in order. This wasn’t too excruciating a task seeing as there is a checklist provided for on the Study Abroad Module. Once I had the Visa Appointment booked, however, the consultant required explicit instructions of my accommodation upon arriving at the host university as well as how long they would be providing the accommodation for (PS: MAKE SURE TO DOUBLE-CHECK ALL THE DOCUMENTS YOU NEED ON THE VISA WEBSITE BEFORE BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT!). The second Visa appointment went much smoother after “triple-checking” that all my documents were in order. The period between visa application and receiving the visa took exactly 10 days – something which I was very grateful for as it was my biggest worry! After finalising all the formalities, I made sure to have three copies of each document (passport, ID document, host university address and visa) for my hand luggage and suitcases. Overkill – I know – but necessary as well.

    Extra tips:

    1. Make sure to download phone applications that have an offline map of the destination you are travelling to.
    2. Download applications of the bus or train systems as this will definitely make your life easier.
    3. English is not as universal as you may think, familiarise yourself with some easy words that are essential – for example “I’m lost, Please Help”.
    4. Check flight times and check-in online to save you queuing time.
    5. Travel with a portable phone charger everywhere you go – you never know where you may end up!
    6. Don’t forget to get a universal charger for purposes of charging your laptop and other devices as it is much cheaper in South Africa than overseas.
    Experience at the Host University:

    The programme was on European Private Law – a summer exchange for the duration of two weeks with the University of Salzburg.

    Each lecture was presented by a representative Professor for each country ranging from England, Italy, Scotland, Portugal and other Nordic Regions to Canada, Louisiana and Puerto Rico. The duration of lectures differed from an hour to three hours at a time depending on the country. There were additional panel discussions pertaining to the creation of civil codes, mixed legal systems, comparative law, and law and languages. We further had workshops which consisted of group discussions that focused on family law, breach of contract and transfer of title scenarios. We had received a programme schedule of the seminars that would be held and were all quite diverse in the countries that they represented. Each seminar was given with the purpose of educating and informing the audience of how the creation of the respective “civil code”, South Africa being one of the few to present on our mixed legal system. The programme was on the whole very informative and had many different perspectives. We were not obligated to submit a final test or examination which made the whole programme more relaxed. The biggest difference between classes held in Stellenbosch as compared to the programme is that the seminars were held for much longer periods with breaks in between. The seminars were very interactive although a little clustered.

    What I did not expect was a very hot 33 degrees Celsius upon arrival! Lesson learnt, check weather reports of EVERY day of the trip and pack accordingly! Salzburg’s weather went from extremely warm to decidedly chilly in a matter of days – not forgetting the numerous thunderstorms that decided to make an appearance towards the end of the trip.

    Albeit a full schedule, it makes it easier to plan out all the activities that you are interested in so that you know how much time to set aside. My biggest regret is not having prearranged my schedule so that I could get the most out of enjoying the actual change of scenery and visiting more neighbouring villages in Austria. We did, however, get to visit Wolfsgangsee – a very large and beautiful lake as blue as the sky which was a welcome breath of fresh air from the hot weather with its open shores that allowed for an awesome swim.  We also went to Halstatt, a small village which is known as the hallmark for the production of salt in Salzburg; the visit was absolutely breath-taking in addition to the Salt-Mine Tour which we took. Bad Ischl, on the other hand, known as a “spa town” had by far the best lager I had ever tasted!

    The best part of the trip was the fantastic group of people we got to meet who were also attending the summer school. These were students from all parts of the world which made the experience that much more exciting and fun.

    Taking in the beautiful riverside view
    Taking in the beautiful riverside view
    Return to Stellenbosch:

    Two days prior to my departure from the summer school, reality started to kick in! Although it was a beautiful experience, I couldn’t help being excited about going back home and seeing all the faces that I am much more familiar with! As soon I arrived home, however, I found myself missing the 8PM sunsets on the terraces of some Austria’s oldest buildings, the morning runs next to River Salzach and her neighbouring fortresses, the short passages of the small town and steeped gravel pavements to the Stiegl-serving beer gardens, and especially the exquisite views of the Mirabell Palace gardens and her statues. Not to mention the Mascarpone-centered chocolate bars! Yum-my!

    The programme opened my eyes to how different laws work across the globe, what influenced the development of certain legal systems and how different outcomes can be reached in a variety of ways. I did not anticipate such notable differences between the various legal systems. I further realised that just and fair outcomes can be achieved through various means, which implies that one legal system is not superior to another.

    I couldn’t help but notice all the differences between life in South Africa compared to that in Austria, our economic and political priorities compared to that of most other countries which were presented, as well as the numerous accolades South Africa received for having “one of the best Constitutions in the world”. I found that South Africa makes more use of electronic means of payment, as this tends to be limited in Austria where a few corner restaurants only accept cash payment. This was quite surprising as presumed that Austria, as a developed country, would be more “up to date” in this respect. On the positive side, I found it a wonderful discovery that fresh and wholesome foods are more readily available in Austria as compared to South Africa’s refined-foods dispensation.

    The perspectives gained from other students who were a part of the programme were more personal and gave me insight into the kind of lifestyle and set-up of their respective countries.

    This intrigued me and ignited my curiosity about cultures and experiences in foreign countries. As such, I am already planning trips to these awesome destinations and I most definitely am planning to travel to a lot more places in the near future (especially considering that I made so many new friends who happen to live across the globe).

    I find myself constantly keeping a look-out for study opportunities such as summer or winter schools, as well as opportunities to study further overseas.

     

  • Aziwe at Graz International Summer School Seggau

    Aziwe at Graz International Summer School Seggau

    Before:

    I had already spoken my acceptance into existence as I warned all of my family and friends of the events that I would, unfortunately, be missing. The acceptance letter paved the way for my road to Austria and I was beyond excited. (more…)