European Business School - Germany

Transcription

1 European Business School - Germany Exchange Report CHOI Eun Global Business, Year 3 Spring 2016

2 Table of Contents Part 1: Monthly Activity Log Part 2: General Exchange Information Part 3: Items to Bring Part 4: Useful Links and Contacts Part 5: Best Practices of Host University

3 Part 1: Monthly Activity Log January 2016 School started at the end of January, so I had some time to travel around Europe before the school started. I checked-in first for the dormitory to unpack some of my luggage, but left the next day to travel until the day of orientation. There were orientation and welcome dinner right before the first week of school. February 2016 Classes began and we had quite a lot of assignments and presentations to do in February. Most were in groups and the most people in the class were exchanges. There were also many welcome parties hosted by school and student societies that it was easy to get to know the other exchange students. One of the module that I took ended in February, so I had to prepare for final exam by the end of February. On the last day of month, I left for travelling again. March 2016 I almost didn t have any classes in March. I had 1 class, but the participation was not mandatory. I spent the whole March travelling around Europe and was never in Germany. This is the period for local final year students to write and submit their thesis for graduation, so there are almost no one in school at this time of the year. April 2016 April was a busy month. Everyone was busy taking classes and there are a lot of assignments due dates in April. There are also small quizzes and exams going on, so most class participations are mandatory. This is also when the final presentation is going on, so it is very important to manage the time well for meetings and classes in order to finish the project within the time period. May 2016 Final exams starts from late April, but most starts from early May. Mine ended early in the early May that I could leave Germany right away. Some of the classes goes on till mid May and exam at the end of May.

4 Part 2: General Exchange Information Visa Procedures EBS provided the documentary support for visa procedures. It really depends on your passport nationality, but I didn t need any visa to enter the country. After the orientation in January, I submitted all the necessary document to the EBS office and could receive after 2 weeks. Orientation Activities Orientation activities only takes a few hours, but contain a lot of important information required to study at EBS. For example, visa procedure, insurance, and school websites information were explained at the orientation. Therefore, it is highly recommended to attend the orientation in the beginning. Accommodations EBS doesn t have dorms, but have school owned housings, which means that the landlord is the school. The space is very limited, that you are not guaranteed to have a dorm, so the majority uses Flat Hunt to search for accommodation. It is recommended to live in school owned houses, because a lot of the times the

5 landlords don t speak any English that there are many difficulty is sorting out housing problems. In terms of the location, Oestrich is close to campus and banks, but Winkel and Hallgarten are quite far away from the main Scholass Campus and are required to take bus. Course Registration Course registration is a little different from HKUST, but still easy to use. There will be an excel file of the course list and you can directly enroll to the courses you like. I took 2 modules, which is same as taking two 3 credit courses at UST. Sports & Recreation Facilities EBS does not have any gym or field, it is a very small campus with 3 buildings. If you want to go to gym, you can either go to the one in Oestrich-Winkel that costs 60Euro/month, or the one in Wiesbaden for 20 Euro/month. Finance and Banking Germany has relatively decent price level compared to the other European countries. Doing grocery will save more money than eating outside, so it is highly recommended to learn how to cook before or while on exchange. In order to apply for visa, you need to have a German bank account. To open an account in Germany as an exchange student, it is required to first put 590Euro/month x # of months staying in Germany in the blocked account. The

6 money will be transferred to your open account every month so that you can use them. The process is all explained during orientation. Social Clubs and Networking Opportunities There are many networking opportunities at EBS. There are many parties hosted by student societies that you can enjoy partying every weekend. Moreover, local students are also quite open to exchange students, that networking with the local students won t be a problem. There are also many business conferences/case competition open for exchanges as well, so you might as well join them to broaden your networking opportunities. Health and Safety You are required to apply for insurance for visa application. There are two types of insurance: public and private. Public has more comprehensive coverage, hence more expensive. The private insurance offers a basic coverage and the price is affordable. I chose the private insurance from a company called CareMed. The monthly premium is 27 Euro. Food Unlike what most people imagine about doing exchange program, there aren t many chance to try the local food unless you intend to. Because of the price at restaurant, most people do grocery and cook their own meal at home. People usually cook their own culture s dish, that it is also a great chance to try dishes from all around the world. If you want to try German food for cheap price, school cafeteria has some traditional German food like Schnitzel and sausages, but it is only open for lunchtime. Transportation School provides information about student card before you arrive in Germany. The student card can be used for transportation such as bus and train. However, there are only one bus every hour that goes to school and one train every hour that goes to the city center.

7 Part 3: Items to Bring Checklist! Laptop! Charger! Converter/Adaptor! ATM Card! Credit Card! Euro Cash! Document copies (Health insurance & Biometric photo)! Calculator! Bed sheets! Blanket! Medicine! Small luggage for travelling! Clothes for summer and winter! Shampoo and shower gel for travel use! Camera

8 Part 4: Useful Links and Contacts Course Registration - CampusNet ME=EXTERNALPAGES&ARGUMENTS=-N ,-N001124,- A0002 University Website Housing Coordinator Julia.Bayer@ebs.edu International Student Coordinator Ina.schnakenberg@ebs.edu