As my time in Krakow is now unfortunately coming to an end, I have to admit that it was seriously a great unique experience! The only thing I can say is promoting the ERASMUS Program and encouraging other students to do the same! In the following part, I will tell you something about my university, back in good old Germany, in the very south western part of the country.
The University of Applied Sciences, founded in 1946, is a relatively small school with approximately 5500 students enrolled. It is split up between five campuses within the city called Saarbruecken with a neat, little old town and 175.000 inhabitants. In my opinion, the city is a good place to have a beer or go clubbing, the city is definitely the nicest when it’s dark out!
The location of the University is truly brilliant in a european point of view. The french border is no further away than 5 minutes by car, Paris with the express train 1 and a half hours away, the beautiful country Luxemburg is also only 40 min away which offers a beautiful old town also listed in the UNESCO world heritage list.
Here you can see the location of my university and state (Saarland, the one and only state in Germany that looks like a little pig -> the state marked in black, the city with a red dot)
Due to the very close French border you as a student can chose to focus your studies on Germany and France. In 1978, as the first university in Germany, as a result from the close cooperation of the French and German government, we established a well-honored double-degree program with several French universities.
The atmosphere within the university and with the involved coordinators is very familiar due to small size of students. The International Office at the University is very friendly and helpful, they will also help you find an accommodation: an apartment in a student hall, a room in a shared flat or something individual. With the University’s own student card you will be able to use every kind of public transport within the state for free.
Staying a semester/year in Germany of course enables you to learn or improve your german language skills as it remains to be an important language in Europe. The university offers a free preparatory intensive german course before the semester starts, as well as free courses during the semester, also worth ECTS credits.
To sum up, I can only encourage anyone to participate in the ERASMUS program, as it is a very good or perhaps even the best chance to learn different languages or cultures and of course to get a different perspective especially on the perspective in your field of study on Germany, the European Union or Poland. I promise along with everybody else that shared my Erasmus experience with in Krakow, that it was truly a one in a lifetime experience that you will never forget!!
Here is the English website of my university:
http://www.htw-saarland.de/index_html_en/view?set_language=en
In case of any questions, I am more than glad to help you with any questions!
Clemens
cmohrmueller@web.de
See you & meet you in Saarbruecken!!