I started planning my stay abroad before three months of my departure. At the beginning, I was afraid from the language, even if I have B1 certificate in German, it was difficult to me to start a conversation with native speakers, but I had learned a lot of new vocabulary and I did not find any difficulties with dealing with people in Germany. Also, I read a lot about the culture in BadenWürttemberg before I come and that helped me. In addition, I had my health insurance from DAK, before I come, in order to be insured if any sickness or aliment happened to me.
Before I came, I had to apply for a visa for staying abroad. It is a “Studium und Praktikum Visa”, with the help of my home university, there were some documents that I should have with me when I went to the German embassy. It was not that hard, and they were very nice and helpful to me, so I completed the application process, and everything was fine.
For the insurance and German Banks, it was also very simple and easy to open an account in a bank, and with the help of DHBW Lörrach, it was all easy. They helped us with the appointment of the bank account opening process, so we did not find any troubles with anything. Also, the usage of the online banking is very easy, and everything is clarified in the application.
In DHBW Lörrach, all what you have to do, is asking, and you will get the answers of your questions directly. I am a curious person, so I asked a lot of questions during my stay here, and I got answered for all of my questions, and that helped me very much. So, my tip for the incoming exchange students, just keep asking, to not feel yourself dispersed and to deal with anything that you face.
I would recommend visiting a lot of museums, castles, such as “Dreiländermuseum” which means Three Countries Museum. It was named so because Lörrach borders three different countries, which are “France, Switzerland, Germany”, so it has an amazing spot. Also, the travel expenses is not that high, but the scholarship helped us a lot to have our roundtrips without any financial problems.
After the help of the international office of DHBW Lörrach with finding the accommodation, I arrived, and I received the keys of my accommodation from the Prof. Dr. Jan Olaf. He is a very nice person, and he was very helpful with us. The apartment was very clean, everything that could we need was in the apartment, so everything was literally perfect. There is not a single mistake
in the accommodation. The cost for the accommodation was very reasonable (350 euros) Inclusive of all other expenses, so it was perfect for my stay in Lörrach.
Also, you have to be aware of your money here, scholarships will help you a lot, as it helped me in my stay in Lörrach. Because I applied of STIBET I scholarship, and I got it, it helped me to finance myself for all of these four months without any help of anybody. Just some money management, and you will live the best days in your life here.
And for sure, the welcome weeks helped me better with orientation, so I met all of the international office and some of the lecturers from the university and they was very friendly and nice to us. Even we met the rector of DHBW Lörrach Prof. Gerhard Jäger, he was very kind and he all of the meeting was very nice and with such a friendly environment.
Regarding the courses and the study, everything was going very well and very satisfying. The professors and lecturers were very understandable and helpful. The courses here was based on activities and they were very interactive, instead of the theoretical basic methodology that I used to had in my home university. They were letting us get the knowledge from our researches and
based on the knowledge that we already had. So, it was a very useful and helpful semester for my business knowledge, and I did not find any difficulties with dealing with the courses.
During the semester, every week there were activities that you can do with the students, just as “Football, Badminton, Basketball”. For me personally, I participated in the Badminton team, because I love this game and this helped me to enjoy my free time, and to improve my skills in this game. The students were very friendly, and I enjoyed my time with them.
My tips for all leisure activities are choose the right places and activities that suits you and go communicate and interact with the students and the people here and you will have a lot of fun.
The daily expenses were not that high, it is very reasonable, and the scholarship helped me a lot to not having any financial problem.
On of the best experiences was the visit to “Vitra Design Museum” with the Prof. Gnad, and Herr Lozz. I learned a lot about the sustainability, recycling and we had a lot of fun in their museum. The university provided us with transportation from and to the museum, and it was literally perfect.
At the end, I recommend any student that wants to study abroad, that Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University Lörrach (DHBW Lörrach) is the best place that you can come to. Everything is perfect with the university and the environment. I had not faced any problem here, and I had a lot of fun, experience, learning, everything. Do not be afraid to ask or entertain with
anybody of DHBW Lörrach, definitely they will be nice and helpful to you.
Thanks for the international office, professors, doctors, lecturers, students in DHBW Lörrach. It was a very unique experience that everyone should try.
