Life of the exchange student in Europe: study, travel and insights

My name is Borisov Fedor, I am a student of the UMTE and an exchange student in the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt.

Preparation

When I had to choose the university after finishing school, I decided to apply for the university which provides the opportunity to participate in the mobility program abroad. The UMTE gives this opportunity.  Looking through the list of universities and countries for the mobility, I chose Germany as my mobility destination without hesitation, as I have always been attached to this country.

Going to Germany

When I got the acceptance letter from the German university, the matter of documents appeared. I didn`t have any problems with handling the documents but there were several things I wanted to know beforehand. Moreover, it was not very financial requiring.

Finding a housing wasn`t challenging as well: the university provided us a website with all the information necessary about the dormitory and the link for registration.

Studying in WS

Studying process took place both online and offline at the beginning, during the classes we put the information learned in practice which is, to my mind, the most important part of education. Currently the studying process goes online due to the COVID-19 situation worldwide. The government of Germany imposes rigid restrictions covering all aspects of life.

Due to the COVID-19 spreading, practical classes were transferred from the classroom to Zoom, and after explaining the material, the teachers created virtual rooms where students discussed everything in groups, did tasks and then checked the results together with the teacher.

Putting off your hometask is a bad idea as you can get the feedback from other students and professors as soon as possible if you submit everything in time. 

Thanks for the visa, the whole Europe is open for us. The price for travelling to different countries was affordable for going anywhere every month if you like. For example, I celebrated New Year in Paris and in November I visited my friends in Rotterdam. It is more than easy to travel to any European city with the special card.

Important to know

I am beyond grateful for this program for the qualified education and the school of life I got as well. When you leave your comfort zone and meet the unknown situations, when the mindset of people around you and principles of life are different from yours you can get shocked from everything, it is completely alright. You enter the independent adult life and that`s fine!

Thank you UMTE for this opportunity.