Jan Retief took part in a semester exchange at Maastricht University. Here is his blog posting about this experience.
Pre-departure:
Studying abroad for a semester was never really part of any plan. When I started my masters last year, I planned to do it, get it done and find a job in South Africa. The thought of going abroad and studying never even remotely crossed my mind. It ended up being the best decision I have ever made.
Pre-departure:
I have been interested in going on exchange since my first year at university, but did not have the opportunity to go until I started my postgraduate studies, so I had plenty of time to familiarize myself with the various options. The international office at my home university and their website were very helpful in this regard.
I eventually decided to choose a university which offered courses in machine learning, which I was very interested in, but which was not part of my curriculum in the past.
I had visited the Technical University of Munich (TUM) once before with my school and was intrigued by the campus and by Munich as a city. The TUM also ranks as the top university in Germany, and especially well for informatics. Fortunately, I also have a European passport, so the fact that I would not need a visa also made the continent more attractive.
Pre-departure:
When I received the news that I have been accepted for the exchange programme, I was overjoyed. I directly began to gather all the documents I required for the study visa application. Since I have been through a visa process before, I knew more or less what was needed and what the time it would take to get all my document. A document of particular importance is your proof of health insurance. As such, I applied for the German insurance, the Techniker Kransenkasse (TK), but unfortunately, this insurance only covers students once the semester commences. I had no choice but to apply for a second insurance since the summer semester starts in April and my research was going to start in March. I applied for Mawista Science, which turned out to be very good for researchers and it is affordable. I would advise this insurance for students/researchers if you are looking to save money and still have an insurance that is accepted by the German authorities.