Jaden (Sem 1, 2024)

My Exchange at The Hochschule Konstanz University of Applied Sciences

I had a wonderful time at the University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz! For someone who had no experience with Germany, I was not sure what to expect when going to a place called Konstanz which was 1000’s of Kilometres away but I fell in love with the city at first sight. I was there for five months but would stay longer if I could as everything was amazing and had my breath taken away. 

During the five months I spent in Konstanz I was able to learn about a wide range of subject areas and also experience a completely new culture which I fell in love with. I also got to expand my worldview as I met many people from many different cultures and diversity which we do not have on our shore. I got experience in a wide range of diverse and interesting educational topics like Ubiquitous computing, Software Security and System architecture. For some of these courses I was challenged for example in Ubiquitous computing I was challenged to make a smart home system from a mini computer board, this was exciting to me as I had no knowledge on making things with hardware before. I was also challenged to make an autonomous robot car with my team members which was a super cool experience. 

Besides the studying days in Konstanz were relaxed. There was a beautiful river in the middle of the town right outside of my student accommodation. In your spare time you would see students drinking the typical German beer by the river, socialising and swimming. You could travel easily by bike to nearby islands and towns and there was so much to see in the city. One of my favourite things that I saw while I was there was the 24 hour thrift market which they have which involves 2 countries and 9 kilometres of vintage stalls. I also quite enjoyed the Gassenfreitag which is a street festival every first Friday of the month from May to October where you can listen to live music and socialise and enjoy a Pretzel. 

My favourite things at the University had to be the Mensa, which is a cafeteria with cheap meals around 5 dollars. I also enjoyed the helpfulness of the international team at the University. I liked the amount of faculties and opportunities there were to bond with peers. 

The accommodation I had was good, it was a shared apartment with quite a spacious room and the walk to university was a refreshing five minute walk by the lake. If you had lectures till late you may have caught a glimpse of the sunset by the lake.

Konstanz was also in a very convenient location, it was five minutes to Switzerland and Austria and France were around the corner. It was very easy in between studying to book an affordable bus in order to go to somewhere close. 

Q&A

What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?

Some highlights were taking part in a wide range of practical courses. I had courses where I learnt secure software development, courses where I learnt how to make a smart home system and a course where I was challenged to help in the development of an autonomous robot car.

Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?

I would recommend you take some time to look into German festivals if you were visiting! There were so many free festivals to visit from Frühlingsfest (mini Oktoberfest) to Gassenfreitag (Konstanz’s own festival). These festivals are amazing with free entry and lots of stalls to visit and sometimes even amusement rides. The vibe at these festivals are spectacular and are not to be missed. It is also fascinating to learn about the tradition in these festivals. 

What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?

• Go out of your way to make new friends. Remember you will be surrounded by a bunch of exchange students who also don’t know anybody take this as an opportunity in order to meet as many people from different backgrounds as you can. Also make friends with the locals as there is always people who want to share and learn new cultures. 
• Learn some of the local language, you will never know when you need it and it always helps with making new friends. It is also a sign of respect. 
• Keep calm, sometimes things may not always go your way and it is important to understand this happens and adding stress does not help the situation. 

How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?

I budgeted 1000 dollars a month for the Semester. This genuinely worked as the accommodation was 600 month and I spend around 70 dollars a week on food and the rest was spending money. I would suggest that students look into budget options in the country they are going to. For example in Germany they had an app called 2Good2Go which sells food that is close to its expiry date for mega cheap prices, they also have a app called Flixbus which is affordable travel options. I would suggest to construct a budget students also look at online supermarkets, consider their rent and how much travel they want to do.

What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?

My most significant takeaway of this program is to put effort in going outside of your bubble, only then will you have opportunities and meet many amazing people. Also accept that not everything goes to plan and that is okay. Part of travelling and doing a semester abroad is learning new life experience and you are bound to have a few hurdles but in the end you will get there and learn how to deal with the unexpected. Another key take away is to be friendly, you never know when another person will need it!! The friends that assisted me across the way helped my life so much and I have been inspired to be like them and provide that hospitality in NZ.

Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?

Final Comments