A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: Germany

  • Cameron Nel at Hochschule Konstanz, Germany

    Cameron Nel at Hochschule Konstanz, Germany

    Leaving on a Jet Plane

    Pre-Departure

    It’s happening! I’ve submitted my application to the international office at Stellenbosch University and it was approved. I am going to Germany. A little time spent on the internet and I book my flights to Germany. I booked a return with an unsettled return date, as it was cheaper. I will just have to schedule the return date closer to the time when I actually know when I can come back to the Republic of South Africa. Now I just need to setup a Visa application and get into contact with my host institution – Hochschule Konstanz. The application to arrange an appointment for the Visa was quick, as on the website of the Consulate (I intend on going to Cape Town), there is a concise guideline of what all I need to bring to the appointment and when and how to book it. For future reference, I recommend that it’s better to arrange a Visa appointment as soon as you can i.e. after flights are booked, book the appointment.

    I communicated with my host’s international office and a Ms.Favata was super helpful. She tried to answer each question to the best of her ability and even called across the sea when things were a bit unclear. I had applied for accommodation by filling out a simple application form. Once I had done this, I just had to email it to Ms.Favata before the exchange student deadline and everything was set. I eventually found out where I was staying – a student block of flats about 600m from the campus grounds. This was all organized by the company Seezeit, a company which organizes all the student accommodation in the town of Konstanz. What was great about this was that it was super cheap per month. After sorting out accommodation I arranged my own Health Insurance for the Visa appointment. Furthermore Ms.Favata sent documents stating my enrollment for the semesters I was to spend at Konstanz. She had basically sorted me out for the appointment. Hence, everything went smoothly and I received a study visa two weeks later.

    Ensuring that everything would be okay with regards to baggage and arriving in Konstanz, I researched everything I could about transport to and in Konstanz. There is no airport in Konstanz and the closest is Zurich so I had to make sure that my Visa would be okay in Zurich. I also carried all my documents on my person incase I needed to back up my story. Everything went smoothly and few questions were asked. It seems that a study visa is not easy to attain so the officials were rather relaxed with me. I booked a train ticket and arrived safely in Konstanz. I also arranged before the time with the secretary of my block of flats to leave my keys in the safety deposit box so I couldn’t really have asked for a smoother travel. I arrived at the blocks, typed the code in, retrieved my keys and proceeded to become a resident in Germany.

    Experience at Host University

    I enrolled for the entire summer semester at Hochschule Konstanz. I took up less subjects than I would have had at Stellenbosch University as I intended to explore the town, country and continent! The semester started from March and ends at the end of July. The Hochschule had a nice group of exchange students and we were induced nicely to the ins and outs of the town and eventually a small group of exchange students became my friends. We explored, swam in the Bodensee and did what exchange students do. I also became good friends with one of my flat mates and he helped me a lot with questions on Germany – he was German.

    On the academic side, the actual work load of each subject I found to be much less than that of Stellenbosch. The schedule is a lot more open than Stellenbosch and each subject maybe has about 7 contact hours with the subject lecturer a week. Practicals exist but aren’t as frequent, at least from my experience. The classes are smaller, attributed to a small university, so relations with the lecturer is a lot more personal. They also only have a final exam at the end of the semester and that was interesting as you don’t really know what you’re in for until it’s happening! All my courses were in English, except for the German classes of course. One or two of the courses were catered for exchange students, however I attended one or two classes that were actually apart of other degree fields in the Hochschule. Here I also never really experienced much difficulty in the subjects, however it is possible that the courses were watered down because they were in English. Apart from that I found a comfortable rhythm in the classes and could easily balance workload and extra-mural activities.

    I even applied for their student racing team and helped out at the workshop a few times where I could. It was just a pity as the actual race events coincided with other events I had already agreed to and could not experience the full tilt of the racing days. After this my investment in the Hochschule group declined slightly as I relocated priorities. I found a small sport club where I could practice and cycled to and from each week. The Hochschule had a committee that arranged events for the exchange students, and this committee was called Helping Hands. One guy kept in contact with me frequently and I was even invited to his birthday which consisted of a small group. I felt special. I think the entire experience as a whole was a very positive one as I cannot really think of what I would have preferred that I had the power to change. I maybe would have invested more time in getting to know the actual residents of the town, but I can at least always go back. I have contacts.

    Return to Stellenbosch

    Returning to Stellenbosch provided some difficulties such as arranging accommodation and transfer of one or two courses. Fortunately, I had one friend that still needed a place to stay so we managed to eventually locate a flat that we were happy with. After that, some admin was involved in assuring that I was successfully transferring credits. This process took some time but not much effort. I attend a class of mostly new faces so integrating into the class took a bit more time than it would have, had I attended the class of 2019. My perspective has changed, not only at the university but also how I view certain aspects of the country.

    Small things and big things. For instance, I am a lot more aware of the recycling sections. I go out of my way now to recycle properly and actually keep all my plastic bottles – I think I still get “pfand” for them. I am less tolerant to people that litter now and don’t care about keeping things clean. We have a beautiful country and I wish we could look after it more. I was the victim of a language barrier in Germany and now I know what it feels like first hand. I at least appreciate the immense effort in South Africa to include everyone. I found that in Germany there was seldom or no effort at times, to include those that cannot speak the language. I also now appreciate the freedom we have to pursue things and try things out. Entrepreneurship for example; starting a business in Germany is not as easy to do. I found that there is a such a massive opportunity for our country to improve and it makes me excited. I could not wait to come back. The different cultures make me feel at home.

    I secured a great internship abroad and the supervisor mentioned to me that when I am done studying my masters I should let him know and maybe he could arrange something. For me that is a big opportunity. We also intend to stay in touch and now I can safely say I have a good contact for future opportunities. This experience definitely changed my view on working abroad. I used to be content with just working in South Africa, but now I believe that I need to at least work abroad for a few years. Europe is a great continent to progress in experience in the Engineering department. The opportunities are abundant and the remuneration is attractive. I can see myself working in another country to kickstart my career. It would be a great experience to learn so much from the different cultures in the work place and the way they work and operate. However, once I have completed a few years abroad I see myself returning to South Africa to settle down in the country that I love. All in all, I still want to give back to the country that gave me so much to begin with.

  • Brandon Dinwoodie at TU Munich, Germany

    Brandon Dinwoodie at TU Munich, Germany

    Predeparture

    My Time at TU, Munich

    I applied for my Visa about 4-6 weeks before my departure date. I applied for a Work Visa in order to allow me to complete an internship in Germany before my exchange started. I did a lot of searching on online-internship-listing sites in order to find a company to do an internship at. I spent time working on my CV, researching how to open a bank account in Germany and finding a place to stay.

    Once I found a place to do an internship at in Berlin, I started working to find an apartment to stay. I asked the HR department of the company I had been hired by to please send around an internal email letting the employees know that I was looking for a place to stay. Fortunately, somebody at the business had a free apartment during the time of my internship and offered to sublet it to me.

    Once I had my internship and accommodation for the first two months sorted out, I could start preparing the necessary documents for my Visa. Such documents included my contract with the company I was going to work for, proof of accommodation, plane tickets, proof of enrollment at Stellenbosch University and more… I would recommend starting sooner rather than later when it comes to preparing for one’s visa application.

    The plane tickets served as a challenge, due to the fact that the visa office needs you to have a return ticket, however, I had no idea about when I would need to fly back to South Africa. As a result, I decided to book a flexible ticket which allowed me to reschedule both the date and locations of my flights within one year, while only having to pay the difference if the updates led to an increased cost. This allowed me to book my plane tickets and apply for my visa without having to worry about dates so early on. I would recommend booking your flexible return flight for the latest date which your visa will allow (generally 90 days) in order to afford you more time and flexibility to organize a residency permit when arriving in Germany.

    Due to having organized an internship before my semester, I wanted to leave for Germany as early as possible so I could get involved in the company for as long as possible. This was a good idea, however caused quite a bit of stress at the time due to the fact that I left about 2 days after my final exam. When booking flights, I highly recommend searching for alternatives as early as possible. In my experience, both Google Flights and Sky Scanner offer the best services when it comes to comparing flight costs and monitoring price changes. I ended up booking my flight with Emirates, with a day’s layover in Dubai (where I applied for a day visa to explore the city), to Frankfurt Airport.

    My Predeparture Tips:

    1. 1. Book your flights earlier to save money,
    2. 2. Book flexible flights if necessary,
    3. 3. Start your visa process in good time.

    Experience at the Host University

    My time at TU Munich was truly incredible. The beauty of Munich city, central location of the university and the extensive public transport network made every day a joy. I was fortunate enough to be in Munich during an unusually warm winter, meaning that I never had to suffer in insane sub-zero temperatures. Instead, during the coldest time of winter, the average temperature was only around -2 degrees Celsius, which is very manageable with a decent jacket and long pants.

    Although I found the university facilities quite underwhelming (keep in mind that it only costs 130 Euro a semester to study there), I was thoroughly please by the fact that all lectures that I took were recorded and could be watched again online at a later date. This provided me with a lot of flexibility and made preparing for exams way easier as I could always revisit a concept. All my lectures were offered in English, which was a huge advantage for me. I also decided to take an intensive German course during my time there, managing to complete both A2.1 and A2.2 while studying in Munich.

    I found the level of academic difficulty to be very comparable to Stellenbosch University, however the workload in TUM was much less than what I am used to in Stellies. At TUM, most modules have no projects or semester tests during the semester, but rather only one single multiple-choice exam which counts 100% of your grade. While this does allow more flexibility during the semester, it can lead to a lot of stress if one is not prepared to buckle down and study hard when the exam period comes. TUM offers a wide range of English courses in its Business Administration faculty and is therefore a great international university to attend when it comes to a business focused degree like BCom.

    I would recommend taking German to anybody who plans on doing an exchange to Germany. While it was not used in most of my social circles, it helped me when it came to things like doing groceries, applying for permits and dealing with merchants and retailers. Knowing some German puts you at an advantage when dealing with locals as they greatly appreciate it when foreigners take the time to learn about their culture and language. I therefore made a point of always introducing myself in German and speaking German whenever my level of comprehension allowed me to. One time where my German came in good use was when I was stopped by a German border patrol agent when returning from a weekend trip in Austria and I had forgotten my passport in my Munich flat. Being able to explain my predicament, while also showing respect by speaking to him in his native tongue, I was lucky enough to come off with only a 25 Euro fine upon showing the other documents which I did have on me at the time (including a photo of my residency permit).

    German came in handy when having lunch at my ‘TUM Buddy’s’ family. I applied to be allocated a ‘TUM Buddy’, which is a TU Munich student which is paired up with you for the purposes of providing you with help and support during your exchange. I would recommend really trying your best to get to know your TUM Buddy and forming a friendship with them, as they will likely be one of the only Germans that you get the chance to regularly interact with. In my experience, getting to know and befriending a German is very rewarding. The Germans that I met were very friendly, always available to help and managed to get me out of difficult situations on multiple occasions during my exchange.

    Speaking of difficult situations, prepare yourself for copious amounts of bureaucracy and admin when planning your exchange to Germany!

    Return to Stellenbosch

    The time to return to Stellenbosch came way sooner than expected. Time really does fly when you are having fun. Upon coming back, the first thing I noticed is how beautiful and modern Stellenbosch’s campus facilities are. We are very lucky to have such a great library, many communal computer facilities we can use, as well as a central and bustling student center such as the Neelsie.

    On the flip side, I also realized how warped our perceptions of what ‘normal’ life looks like may be. Driving out of Cape Town Airport and seeing all the informal housing settlements, as well as having to live through load shedding again and having to worry about my safety constantly were rude awakenings when it came to my return. We as South Africans need to realize that these aspects should not just be a part of ‘everyday life’, but rather understood as deep issues within our society and governance. As South Africans, we need to put a lot more pressure on our leaders and each other to improve the safety in and stability of our country – because how we experience daily life should not be accepted as normal or simply ‘part of life’.

    All in all, I am happy to back in South Africa where I can see my friends again, reconnect with my family and finish up with my degree. The warm weather and cheaper restaurant prices are always welcome after months of having to convert from the ZAR to the EUR. After such an experience, I can see myself going overseas again. I am exploring the idea of completing my master’s degree overseas in order to improve on my international mindset and further establish a global network of friends and business contacts.

    I am incredibly grateful to Stellenbosch University and all its employees and helpers behind the scenes who made it possible for a student like me to undertake such a life changing experience. It is quite something to say that you’ve lived overseas before, and that’s something that I can now say because of Stellenbosch University. If any of you reading this are Stellies students, I highly encourage you to get into contact with the SU International Office and explore what options are available to you!

     

  • Balthazaar Kloppers at Reutlingen University, Germany

    Balthazaar Kloppers at Reutlingen University, Germany

    Pre-departure:

    Here you should focus on your preparations for your trip abroad. It should include information about the visa application, as well as suggestions or “tips” regarding what works well and/or areas for improvement.

    Hello, to the potential study broad student. Firstly, I would like to say you have made the best choice of your university career by wanting to study abroad. Stellenbosch is a great place to study and it cannot be rivalled on many aspects. There is however a sense of not broadening our horizons further than a certain threshold as you stay there due to it being a student town. As a student, you want to experience as much as you can in a short as time as possible and therefore an exchange program is the best way to do it!

    My first tip would be to do your own research. Find out where exchanges are happening, about possible bursaries, what it requires and what you would like. Then go speak to the personnel at the international office. They are more than willing to help and will make the process so much easier. By chatting to them personally, they’ll get to know you and would only be beneficial to the application process.

    He after you are excepted to a exchange, speak to previous participants and also make contact with the host university as early as possible. This will make the whole process of going there much easier. Start your VISA application as early as possible so that you can plan flights and other administrative efforts. Plan financials, trips, academic schedule and other aspects ahead of time. Makes things a lot easier when you get there. Knowing what you want to do before you get there makes it easier to actually go and do those things and gives you a framework to plan around and allows you to do other things as you won’t feel that it will intervene with other things. Having a clear academic schedule makes it easier to plan trips or cultural experiences. It also makes you adhere to academic progress and can provide motivation to keep on working hard on academics.

    Also check stuff like the weather, where you are going to stay and what you would need to bring along. I would say packing first only the necessary stuff first and always keep spaces for things you want to bring back. The earlier you book flights the less you will have to pay so keep that in mind.

    You will never be fully prepared for your trip. That is the beauty of it. Don’t stress to much about the little things. Get all your admin out of the way so that you can focus on the important things. Make sure you have a good contact on both sides, at each university, so that you have someone to refer to each time you go. Make sure you have your financial arrangements in order, like activating your bank card for oversea purchases.

    Experience at the Host University:

    This section should include information about the academic programme, as well as other activities done during your stay abroad. Describe the academic programme in detail and more importantly compare your experience with what you have experienced at Stellenbosch University.

    The academic program for the DIME exchange at Reutlingen University is not that labor intensive. It however requires a lot of planning and group sessions. The subjects were very interesting and relevant. I enjoyed all the classes for their content and relevance towards my degree and the current market. It should be noted that I chose this exchange based on the subject matter as it would contribute to my thesis and also towards my career prosperity. We had to write a couple of exams and had to do projects and presentations, so there is a degree of academic responsibility, but if you have made it this far in your degree this is very easy to navigate.

    I highly recommend making use of the university facilities, such as the library, the classrooms, lecture halls and factory areas. Also, if you can and want to, extend your knowledge by taking extra subjects. I took German for Beginners and couldn’t be happier. It helped me communicate on a very basic level which helped a lot with small things such as travel, shopping, general enquiries and getting around. It makes the travelling and exchange experience so much easier. People are also more inclined to help you and they appreciate people trying to learn their language. I feel you show respect and consideration to people when you try and communicate in their language and you can see their appreciation when you interact with them.

    One difference at the host university is class sizes. It is mainly due to it being a prestige program and small university that the classes were a lot smaller. For all classes we were less than 20 students. It was a nice switch I found. I had a good relationship with lecturers and made me give more attention in class and made lectures more engaging. I found the classes to be more entertaining. Their classes were also a lot longer than ours. For example, the amount of work covered was a lot more at Stellenbosch for any given lecture period.

    I joined several football clubs here, to meet new people and keep active. The university offers a lot of social sports and they facilitate them which was very cool and allowed me to meet more people. Their student council is very accessible, and it was easy to communicate with them. I joined the gym but was disappointed when a week after I joined the price dropped for a week-long special from 20 euros a month to 1 euro a month haha! Public transport here is amazing and bus travel across Europe is amazing. Buy a Naldo ticket which allows you to travel an unlimited amount of times in the region. Going on sites like flixbus, BlaBlaBus Eurolines etc. makes holiday transport so easy and cheap. I visited Prague, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich, Porto, Budapest, Vienna and Amsterdam in my time here and the travel sometimes was cheap. For example, it cost me 11 euros to Amsterdam and back. Meet new people and make effort, the weather is gonna be cold and suck sometimes but it is up to you to make the best of it.

    Return to Stellenbosch:

    As I returned to Stellenbosch, I found myself quite nostalgic of my time in Germany. It was an amazing experience and I was somewhat reluctant to come back. But as all good things it had to come to an end. As I came back, I acclimated quickly. I was back in the office working the first Monday after my return, had my first braai the night I came back and got to see most of m loved ones as soon as I arrived back.

    It was a few days before I got into the swing of things, found my feet and returned to somewhat normal skin-color. I realised how much I missed the South African spirit, the people and the WEATHER. I’ll never take hot days for granted ever again.

    When coming back to South Africa, don’t delay things too much. Get back into a nice routine and gradually do all the stuff that you wanted to do when you got back. Trying to cram all the social and family time into the first week will just end up leaving you exhausted. It is important to touch base with your supervisor as you return and with the people that are helping you along your thesis journey. I would recommend doing this as early as possible. Things however got a bit difficult when the coronavirus broke out as I got back from overseas.

    Take what you have learned from your experience and apply it to your life. No really. It sounds like a cliché but it couldn’t be more true. I learned so many personal skills, developed as a person and grew stronger in relationships and it was evident when I got back. Being able to communicate better and being more self-efficient is something that I noticed a lot. I make meals everyday instead of very now and then since I have been back. It is an embarrassing fact that I only learned to do laundry when I was 23, but that is something that I have been doing since I’ve been back, haha!

    All in all, it was a great opportunity that I was glad that I made the most of. Thanks to Stellenbosch University and to Reutlingen for making it an incredible experience and helping with the entire process. Everyone wants you to succeed and it is evident in the help that they provide, so thanks to them and if you are reading this and wondering if you should go