{"id":5852,"date":"2020-08-04T04:52:42","date_gmt":"2020-08-04T02:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/?p=5852"},"modified":"2020-08-19T22:12:28","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T20:12:28","slug":"marion-kretzschmar-at-reutlingen-university-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/2020\/08\/04\/marion-kretzschmar-at-reutlingen-university-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Marion Kretzschmar at Reutlingen University, Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December 2017, which was the end of my third year of my bachelor\u2019s degree program in Industrial Engineering, I started to conduct some research about Stellenbosch\u2019s partner universities in Germany.\u00a0 My dream was to either complete my full masters at a German university or at least attend one semester.\u00a0 Throughout my research, I coincidentally stumbled across Reutlingen University.\u00a0 This university works in close collaboration with the Industrial Engineering department, offering a relatively unique opportunity for the master\u2019s students:\u00a0 a double degree program.\u00a0 The Digital Industrial Management and Engineering master\u2019s program is an exchange program where students have the opportunity to attend three semesters at their home university and one semester as an exchange student at the host university (German students would come to University Stellenbosch and the South African students would go to Reutlingen University).\u00a0 In my view, this was a WIN-WIN situation, as I would be able to commence an exchange semester, while also receiving an additional master\u2019s degree from a European university as well as one from Stellenbosch.<\/p>\n

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Pre-departure<\/h4>\n

Fortunately, I have a European Passport, which spared me from the tedious Visa application process.\u00a0 Since I am also an international student at Stellenbosch, I was relatively well prepared regarding the application and registration process in a foreign country.\u00a0 \u00a0With help from our German study coordinator from Reutlingen, the application process was relatively simple.\u00a0 He also put us South Africans in contact with the Reutlingen International Office (RIO), who contacted us regarding the accommodation.\u00a0 We were lucky enough to apply for the student dormitories, situated directly on the campus grounds.<\/p>\n

Once I was accepted, I started conducting my research about the university.\u00a0 One disadvantage was that the program we enrolled for is a very small degree program, and therefore only limited information could be found on the university website.\u00a0 However, the German study coordinator was very helpful and helped a lot with all the arrangements in Germany.\u00a0 He also informed me about all the different documents I need for the registration process at the university at the beginning of the Semester.\u00a0 Surprisingly enough, even though Germany is a first world country, no documents are accepted in a digital format, only as a hard copy.\u00a0 Luckily, throughout my past five years at University Stellenbosch, I have found it to be very useful to keep a digital backup of all documents, but also a file containing all the hard copies of all the documents that might be required by the university.\u00a0 Through this, I was able to handle all unplanned and unforeseen situations successfully and seamlessly.<\/p>\n

The admin part aside \u2013 now the actual travel arrangements had to be done.\u00a0 Since I was not entirely sure when my semester in Germany would start nor end, I only booked a one-way ticket to Germany.\u00a0 I was lucky, and for me, it worked out relatively well regarding the pricing and time, but I would recommend to all the future exchange students to rather book a return ticket and also do it far in advance as it will, most likely, turn out cheaper.\u00a0 It now seems like a girly thing to say \u2013 but packing turned out to be rather challenging.\u00a0 One piece of advice \u2013 don\u2019t bother to pack too much of your South African wardrobe \u2013 you won\u2019t be able to use them. \u00a0Rather buy a nice winter jacket and a pair of boots in Germany, as they are geared for such temperature drops.<\/p>\n

Experience at the Host University:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I mentioned earlier, I am an international student at Stellenbosch as well, so I am used to being far away from home.\u00a0 Therefore, the far distance from home did not bother me at all.\u00a0 An additional advantage was that I also speak German fluently, so I did not experience any language barriers at all.\u00a0 When I arrived in Reutlingen for the first time, thanks to google maps, I found the university very easily, without experiencing any problems.\u00a0 I have arranged a meeting with the study coordinator in advance, who assisted me with the registration process as well as the key collections for the dormitories.\u00a0 He showed me around the campus and also informed me about the different courses I will need to attend in order to meet the prerequisites of the program.<\/p>\n

Stating with the accommodation, I lived in a relatively new and modern building, directly on campus.\u00a0 I shared a kitchen and two bathrooms with five other international students, two of them being the other South Africans attending the same course as me in Reutlingen.\u00a0 We did a lot of different activities together, such as hiking, visiting different Christmas markets, or attending various events organized for the international students.\u00a0 The university did not only offer events for international students, but also for the local students to join.\u00a0 This made it very easy to meet new people.<\/p>\n

The academic courses that I attended were mainly focused on the new topic Industry 4.0 \u2013 digitisation, digitalisation, and digital transformation.\u00a0 The classes were relatively small, ranging from five to twelve people per session.\u00a0 Because I was enrolled in a double degree program, I was put in contact with one of the German professors, who became the co-supervisor of my master\u2019s thesis.\u00a0 He assisted me with my research project.\u00a0 The courses were very interesting and informative as the subject matter is directly related to my research topic.<\/p>\n

As expected, because of the exceptionally well-functioning public transport system, traveling has been made very easy.\u00a0 I have purchased the Naldo semester ticket, which is a ticket you purchase once-off and can travel throughout the surrounding areas without additional costs.\u00a0 For longer distances, I would recommend Flixbus or BlaBlaCar.\u00a0 Reutlingen has the advantage that it is situated relatively convenient \u2013 Stuttgart and Heidelberg are very close, and Munich is not too far away either.\u00a0 Furthermore, Switzerland, as well as Austria, are also travel destinations, I would recommend to everyone, especially if you would like to have the full winter wonderland experience.\u00a0 There are a few shops and pubs to visit in T\u00fcbingen, which is only 10 minutes by train and has a great nightlife.\u00a0 It reminded me a lot about Stellenbosch, as it is also a rather smaller city and very student oriented as the whole city mainly consists out of the university.<\/p>\n

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Return to Stellenbosch:<\/h4>\n

Once I came back to South Africa, I had to make use of my car again in order to get somewhere further away.\u00a0 The accessibility of long-distance locations is definitely made so much easier in Germany with public transport.\u00a0 However, I have missed our beautiful Stellenbosch, the fact that all shops and clubs are within walking distance away from the university and my flat, my friends, our campus and also the beautiful Winelands and mountains.\u00a0 I am grateful that I had the opportunity to go to a foreign country, meet new friends, widen my network, and also experience some kind of personal growth as well.\u00a0 I have learned to be more open towards meeting new people and also not being too shy to ask for help if needed.<\/p>\n

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