Kategorie: ‘Course of Study’
Research stay at the University of Oxford
- Business Administration and Engineering Mechanical Engineering M.Sc.
- United Kingdom, Oxford
- University of Oxford
- 04/2023 – 06/2023
Application/Finding an internship
During my master’s studies I developed an interest into various mathematical tools to model economic processes. Since I also wanted to take the chance to spend some more time abroad at the end of my studies, I decided to look for interesting chairs and institutes that align with my research interests to conduct my master thesis. Since the topic I was looking for was rather niche, there weren’t that many opportunities available and I quickly stumbled upon a research group at the University of Oxford after simple research on recent publicati
ons in my area of interest. With some background information on the coursework I have done previously and the research questions I was interested in, I reached out the administration of the institute. Luckily, two researchers reached out to me afterwards, stating that they have received my inquiry and would be happy to support the research for my thesis. After that, only some simple formalities had to be done for me to get an access card (“Bod card”) to the Universities’ libraries. I decided to physically stay in Oxford for the duration of one trimester (~2 months) since this didn’t require me to pay any fees to the University. This was a specific characteristic of the program of the receiving institute and does not necessarily hold true for other faculties as far as I know, so that should be kept in mind. The more “official” framework in which research stays in Oxford are processed through is the status of being a “recognised student”, which does require the payment of significant fees.
Accommodation & Living expenses
The University of Oxford consists of various colleges that typically provide for accommodation and food. Since I was a visitor to a specific institute and not a recognised student, it was unclear in the beginning whether I could make use of these services. Therefore, I decided to look for private accommodation. My receiving institute provided me with a short list of some possible opportunities and I decided to stay at the Commonwealth House, a well-located shared house affiliated with a local church at the rate of roughly 750 GBP a month including a simple but totally sufficient breakfast during weekdays in a common room with other tenants. While this seemed very pricey to me initially, this rate is more at the cheaper end in the center of Oxford and is similar to the ones that are paid for for college accommodation. Overall, I was content with the accommodation but for a prolonged period one might be better off with a different place, since the sanitary facilities and the kitchen were often in rather poor condition. As I found out later, often enough colleges do have some limited availability of rooms for non-members. To find out about that, a short email to the responsible person at the college is sufficient.
As mentioned, breakfast was included most of the time at my accommodation. For lunch, one typically went to one of the very beautiful dining halls at the colleges, where a meal was available for between roughly 3.5-5 GBP. Groceries in the supermarket were available for a small premium compared to German prices. Overall, the ERASMUS scholarship made up for any additional expenses compared to my German student life.
Everyday life/ the internship
During my time in Oxford, I was highly flexible regarding my schedule. Typically, I started working at around 9:30 am and left at 17:30. While I had a work desk available at my institute, I often went to one of the beautiful old libraries Oxford has to offer. Since I worked on a rather programming-heavy task which didn’t require any other infrastructure than my laptop I was very flexible on where to work. Once a week, I met with my supervisors to discuss my progress and any open questions. Apart from the thesis-related tasks, I was able to join the seminars at my group, which included visits from various academics or presentations from group members regarding their current research.
Free time/tips
The possibility of activities outside of studying are almost overwhelming during term time. For once, there is probably a student society for any kind of interest. Let it be the Wine Society with frequent wine tastings, the Diplomatic Society with visits from international diplomats or the German Society with Germany-related pub quizzes, there are plenty of things to do. Furthermore, one should look out for associate memberships at one of the
colleges if one is not affiliated with any of them as a regular or recognised student. The colleges offer further social activities, that are split between undergrads in the Junior Common Room (JCR) and grad students in the Middle Common Room (MCR). To find out about possibilities to join them as an associate member, one should look for the respective constitution by just googling a specific college + “MCR” [or JCR, depending on where you are in your studies] + “constitution”. Luckily, I had the chance to join New College as an associate member and therefore gained access to their activities as well, with the most noteworthy being the chance to attend their formal dinners. While these came at a cost of roughly 25 GBP, they provided a three-course meal of very high quality and the chance to mingle with other people and bring friends from other colleges. Typically, a suit or cocktail dress was obligatory for these dinners. Also, the colleges often have their own sports grounds where one can play tennis, squash or even rent a boat to go punting. The latter is something that is definitely to be done when in Oxford. The many canals and rivers provide a very scenic view on the city and the nature surrounding it. Furthermore, the University itself has a vast array of interesting talks and speeches by renowned academics which opens up further opportunities to spend free time on.
If one finds time for other things to do, Oxford also offers many nice museums, medieval colleges and pubs (my favorite being The Old Bookbinders) to explore during the day or in the evening. Also, the surroundings are worthwhile a visit. London is only a 1.5-hour bus ride away as well. I personally found it hard to find time for activities outside of Oxford during my limited time there, since the city itself has so much to offer.
Conclusion
Overall, I can highly recommend an academic stay in Oxford. Not only does the renowned university attract interesting and diverse people from all over the world, but the city also has a unique charm with its medieval colleges and libraries, creating an unparalleled atmosphere.
Wonderful Erasmus stay in Madrid
- Chemistry M.Sc.
- Spain, Madrid
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC/INTA)
- 09/2023 – 12/2023
Application/Finding an internship
I wanted to go for astrochemistry. That’s the one thing I had in mind when going through all sorts of research institutes in Europe which promised somewhat better weather than Germany. Then, a warm autumn night in Spain must be the perfect addition for stargazing. Eventually, I wrote an email to the Center for Astrobiology (CAB) in Madrid, where I reached out to the Head of the Interstellar and Circumstellar Medium Group. He happily accepted my application and offered me to stay for a research internship in his group. The CAB is a subdivision of the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial INTA, a state institution. There, lots of paperwork and filings were required, but eventually, my stay was official and my badge was ready. Now let’s go, from Aachen to Madrid.
Accommodation & Living Expenses
The campus of INTA and CAB, positioned in the far outer circles of Madrid, and more close to the smaller towns of Alcala de Henares and Torrejón de Ardoz, made me take a 45-minute bus ride from Madrid every morning. I could have chosen to live in the smaller towns. but would I want to miss, living in the centre of one of the biggest metropoles of Europe? Definitely not! I got myself a flat via the local agency viveyestudia.com, which focuses on accommodations for international students. I had a good correspondence with their agent and got a good comparable price(485€ per month). I went to live with 3 other students from all over the world and immediately made good friends with them.
Madrid itself is huge. I may repeat this, Madrid is huge. Even if the Madrid Metro system is one of the best I personally know, it is still good to live in a well-accessible area. My flat was close to Plaza de Manuel Becerra, a crossing of two highly important Metro lines (2 and 6) and a lively but not hectic area. Perfect to reach everything and still not drowning in the noise of the city. Additionally, the metro is wonderfully cheap and extremely powerful to get everywhere, even far outside of the city with no further expenses (Toledo, El Escorial or the Sierra de Guadarrama) Get yourself a Personal card (TTP) as early as possible and pay 8€ or 20€ per 30 days to get pretty much everything!
To taste some of the best local Spanish culinaries I often went out to pay the extra money but never felt overwhelmed by any prices for food or drinks. Especially for buying groceries and cooking in our own kitchen seemed wonderfully inexpensive (at least in comparison to Germany)
The general culture in Madrid is perhaps the best aspect regarding money and expenses, as most museums, palaces, or other cultural sites are either free or highly subsidized.
Everyday life/ the internship
Every morning, during weekdays, there was exactly one bus to get me to CAB. 7:15 in the morning gloom, was when I hoped on to snooze for another bit until I started my day in my Lab at 8. My days either consist of planning or analyzing data from experiments or emptying cups of coffee while letting a simple question about space evolve into a one-hour discussion remotely tangential to my research. Then, perhaps my biggest personal cultural shock, we had lunchtime at 2 p.m., way too late in my opinion, but that’s the Spanish way I was told.
On days when I was absent from the CAB, the weekend and luckily lots of Spanish holidays late in the year, I was adamant, that it is impossible to see everything in Madrid in just three months. After three months this still held true. I spend days on end wandering through Retiro Park, the Prado Museum or the endless bars and tapas places of Malasaña, always finding something new.
Free time/tips
One of the most important things, and as said before, get a Personal card (TTP) for the Metro, as early as possible, because it is that damn good to get around with. To get a great first impression of Madrid I highly recommend the Faro de Moncloa, a tower with a breathtaking observation deck, from which all the important sites of Madrid and its surroundings are visible. Another thing is the Gran Via, which itself is no secret tip because it is THE tourist hotspot. But you have to look up the dates of some special occasion when the Gran Via is closed down for cars to have pedestrians walk all over the place. It’s a wonderful way to observe the vibrant road in a completely different way.
While walking the streets of the Spanish capital, at no point you will go sparse on Spanish European culture. Especially then you have to keep in mind that Madrid is also strongly connected to all the other countries in the Spanish-speaking world of Latin America. If, like me, who has not been to South America before, Madrid is a wonderful place to dive into these cultures as well. Order some Pisco Sour in a Peruvian bar, get a plate of the best Columbian dishes to fill you up or try all the empanadas you can find.
Conclusion
Madrid is a beautiful city, with beautiful weather and wonderful research and researchers. Perhaps my most ambiguous but most remarkable impression was, that everyone I met was super friendly and a joy to be with. While the culture is bright and interesting and the city life is vibrant and beautiful, it was the people I got to work and live with, who made this whole stay the best. I can not tell if it is the field of Astrosciences, if it is the attitude or the people there in Spain, or if it is just pure coincidence, but doing research in this group at CAB just felt good!
I hope others will come to Madrid, have a wonderful Erasmus stay, and share my experience.
Internship in Trondheim
- Biology M.Sc.
- Norway, Trondheim
- St. Olavs Hospital, Trondhiem
- 06/2023 – 11/2023
Before the stay (planning, visa, vaccinations, travel, …):
I started an internship at St. Olavs hospital in Trondheim, which is the university hospital of NTNU,
after already spending the summer semester at NTNU. I therefore had arrived in January already
and had therefore already spend a long winter and beautiful spring their.
Regarding finding accommodation in Trondheim, the student welfare organization SIT organizes
student housing for incoming Erasmus people. Those accommodations are generally cheaper
(while I was there around 4500 NOK) than rooms on the private market (generally between 5500-
7500 NOK).
If you plan on spending the spring semester in Trondheim, your chances are good to get a place
with SIT. If you are not a student, you would have to find something on the private market, which
unfortunately usually just offers 12-months leases (July to July), few 6-months leases (July to
January; January-June) and almost never shorter leases.
Arriving in the fall semester is more difficult. Spots are very limited, and you may want to check
out the private marked. But if you like the adrenaline rush and the suspense, you can also wait
until just two weeks before you are supposed to arrive in Trondheim. I know of some people that
still got a spot with SIT this close to their departure date. NTNU and SIT are a bit last minute that
way. But speaking from experience, not everyone gets a place with SIT in fall semester.
Unfortunately, the private market housing situation in fall is not ideal either as explained above.
Also, if you extent after having started your semester abroad, be ware that, at least for an
extension into the fall semester, SIT is not guaranteeing you a place to stay. There priority is to
make space for the newly arriving exchange students which do not have the chance to go room
hunting on site.
With all the hustling around finding housing and doing all the Erasmus paperwork, the departure
time arrives quickly. Especially when arriving in summer I recommend planning a longer trip on
your way up north and visit Norway west coast or checking out Denmark and Sweden. You could
do the same if you arrive in winter but its much less fun. It’s going to be dark 80 % of the time
anyways, although I have to admit, that snowy Norway looks breathtaking.
I decided to drive up the 21 h to Trondheim with my car because I wanted to have the opportunity
to spontaneously go on road trips and other places. Although Norway in the middle of winter is
icy and snowy, the ‘’highway’’ E6 is usually ok to be driven. But it is a one lane street leading over,
around and through mountains, so in case of fresh snow you might have to wait a bit until the
streets are cleared. However, it was still cold and sometimes we drove for hours without seeing
car, while it was down to -18°C outside.
Having a car in Trondheim was especially useful since I did not have to rely on others or the public
transport to go on road trips or cabins that were further away, but you can do a lot of stuff without
one as well. Public transport in the city area is really good, and if you plan ahead you can also
reach places in the periphery a couple hour away (Just make sure to check the time table
beforehand, some bus lines drive sparsely on Sundays). And even if you want to go somewhere
where there is no good public transport connection, there are tones of Facebook groups in which
you will find yourself new friends that have cars:D Speaking of Facebook: You’ll need it.
Everything relies on Facebook: Every restaurant or club as a Facebook page (or Instagram
account) and NTNUI groups (NTNUs sports group, of which there is every sport you can imagine)
communicate and inform through it. Also, you’ll need an empty phones storage when coming
here. There are apps required for everything – laundry, NTNUI sports groups, for identification,
public transport, your student ID, renting cars…
Experience in the host country (accommodation, daily life, free time, …):
Trondheim is a bit like Aachen – a moderately sized student city with great surrounding nature.
Living in Moholt, one of the main student villages (‘’studentby’’), was awesome. This is where the
biggest chunk of Erasmus people lives. It is therefore the center of the Erasmus life. You can
spontaneously meet up in someone’s apartment (if the roomies are ok with it of course) and spend
a fun night hanging out, cooking together or drinking. But be ware, stores don’t sell alcohol after
8 pm on weekdays and 6 pm on weekends.
Next to a washing room, there are also a grocery store, a library, a café/restaurant, a gym and
even a hairdresser on the premises. Without leaving the student city you can do a BBQ, play
beach volleyball, or hang out at ‘’Lofted’’ (the common room) to play table tennis, play board
games or study (they have free coffee!).
On more thing that I really appreciate are the student run rental organizations. Check out what
the university offers, since some of these can also be used/accessed by non-students. ‘’Restore’’,
for example, is located in Moholt studentby. They collect and hand out donated furniture and
equipment to students for free. If you get one of the limited spots on their opening days you can
get everything from stools and desks to bed covers to plates and cutlery to bikes and what not.
At the end of your stay, you can easily bring that stuff back so that future exchange student benefit
from them.
Furthermore, “Bumerang” is located in Moholt studentby. They rent out everything you may need
for the outdoors for free, from tents to skies & snowboards to ice skates to fishing rods. The same
goes for the non-profit organization ‘’BUA’’. In winter, lakes are usually frozen so you can
spontaneously go ice skating there and the fjord is perfect to try out fishing or just spend the long
midsummer nights there with good food and some friends.
Continuing with the student run organizations, the “Koiene” group allows NTNUI members to rent
out their cabins in Trøndelag. Their cabins are super basic, no electricity or running water, but it
is a great way to spend a weekend away and out in nature with your friends. Here are some
pictures so you can see how beautiful it is out there. Also in fall and winter, some cabins are
perfectly located far away from any light pollution to stay up late and, with a bit of luck, see
northern lights.
Experience at the host institution (professional, cultural, …):
The internship that I did was actually my Master’s Thesis. I therefore spend most of my time at
Campus Øya in the laboratory of St. Olavs hospital. I really recommend working in their
laboratories if possible since their laboratory equipment is modern. I learned a lot, not just
academically but also about differences in how institutions are run. Be aware that there are
differences in formalities and expectations. For me it was difficult in the beginning to figure out
what requirements needed to be met. Although I tried to communicate a lot, there were still some
misguided expectations on both sides that needed to be overcome on the way.
Furthermore, it was very interesting to talk to my colleagues with different backgrounds and to
find out about the academic structures in Norwegian research institutions, as well as the working
mentality. They really leave the office at 4 pm on the dot!
I also took a Norwegian language course. Even though you might not need the language
afterwards, it was nice to get a short introduction into the language. Especially for German
speakers it is not that hard. As a plus, you’ll also be able to understand a bit of Swedish or Danish
since their languages are closely related.
Tips for interested students:
I don’t have many more tips other than the ones I have already mentioned: Be aware of the
housing situation for the winter semester; be conscious about what it means to move somewhere
that is dark and cold most of the year; and just try to experience as much as possible. Also, for
when you arrive at NTNU, I can only encourage you to join different groups at NTNUI and maybe
try out something new. As mentioned, they have virtually everything. Normal stuff like, handball,
Taekwondo and rugby, but also fencing, diving, disc golf, dog training, horseback riding and
climbing. I for example picked up sailing and kayaking which was awesome. After the (kinda
costly) 3-days beginners course you are allowed to go to their weekly trainings for free. All of
these activities, as well as many cabin trips and meeting friends help you a lot with making it
through the dark winter hours.
