Schlagwort-Archive: UAS7 Study and Internship Program

Exploring Bavarian culture and European landscapes

Liz Haeckler

Name: Elizabeth Haeckler
Major: Chemical Engineering
From: Pittsburgh University
To: MUAS
Program: Study Program, Spring 2019

Elizabeth Haeckler, a Chemical Engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh, participated in the UAS7 Study Program in spring 2019. For one term, Liz was enrolled in the Engineering and Management program at Munich University of Applied Sciences (MUAS). In this interview, she talks about her experience.

Liz, why did you decide to apply for the Study Program?

I wanted to study abroad because I learn by doing. What you read in a textbook takes on a new meaning when you are standing by the Berlin Wall or on Hitler’s Rally Grounds. The events become real and you begin to understand the impact they had on the local citizens. Germans specifically embrace their history, teaching future generations, so it is not repeated. 

Being immersed in a new country also allowed me to learn the language more easily and experience the Bavarian culture through locals. 

What did you enjoy most about your stay?

Making friends from around the world and getting to see their perspectives on travel, culture, and engineering!

To whom would you recommend applying to the Study Program? 

Anyone who has a thirst for knowledge about European culture or language, but especially engineering majors. My study abroad gave me a global perspective on human-centered design, allowing me to understand what different nationalities value and apply German solutions to American problems.

Any tips for future SIP students?

Practical tip: Use an online bank! They are backed the same way as normal branches, but are easier accounts to manage.  

Travel tip: Explore the region you are in. While each major European city has its charm, eventually they begin to look the same. Opt to explore the nature and secrets of the area you are in. My favorite travels were where the tourists were not. If you enjoy nature, take a trip to Slovenia. Lake Bled and Vintgar Gorge are some of the most beautiful places I visited while abroad.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Liz!

Info UAS7 provides study and internship opportunities for students enrolled at accredited colleges and universities in Canada and the United States as well as students enrolled at one of our partner institutions in Brazil.

Want to learn more? Go to http://uas7.org/scholarships.html or email info@uas7.org!

From Philadelphia to Bremen: an Energy Engineering Internship with UAS7

Austin Omolo, Chemical Engineering Student at Drexel University (Image: Lindsey Webb, University of Central Florida)

Austin Omolo, a Chemical Engineering student at Drexel University, participated in the UAS7 Internship Program this spring. Austin spent one semester at Bremen City University of Applied Sciences, where he interned at the Energy Engineering lab with Professor Smolen. 

The UAS7 consortium cooperates with several University Partners in the U.S., amongst them Drexel University, in order to facilitate student and faculty exchange, research collaboration and shared thematic projects. Students from UAS7 partner institutions are particulary welcome to participate in the Study and Internship Program (SIP), while it is also open to applicants from other accredited U.S. or Canadian colleges or universities.

Upon his return to Philadelphia, Austin was happy to share his experience with us and prospective exchange students. Here is his personal SIP Story:

Austin, why did you decide to intern in Germany with UAS7?

I already had exposure to the German language before. UAS7 provided me with the opportunity to learn more about German culture, to sharpen my language skills, and to delve into the world of scientific research.

Austin at his research lab in Bremen. (Image: Lindsey Webb, University of Central Florida)

What have you enjoyed most about your stay?

I really liked the culture. Bremen is a small, yet vibrant city that has a lot to offer. I really enjoyed the festivals, the beer, and getting the chance to live like a native.

What did you do after you returned from Germany?

I spent some time with family, and about a month later went back to school to commence my next school year. Currently, I am in Philadelphia, and I am halfway done with the school year. I am already looking forward to my next internship. I just might end up in Germany again!

Are you still in touch with Germany? 

I do keep in touch with some of the friends I made in Germany. Hopefully, I will get to see them soon!

Last question: what are your future plans?

I plan on completing my undergraduate education and joining the workforce in the energy sector. I also intend on traveling as much as possible. Germany really sparked my interest, and I hope I can get to see the rest of the world soon.

The interview was conducted by Nele Kirstein.

Would you like to share your experience with us, as well? Contact info@uas7.org.

“Germany has always been the plan” – UAS7 Study Program at HAW Hamburg

Danielle Kline, 20-year old mechanical engineering exchange student from the University of Pittsburgh, wanted to be in Germany. That was the plan from the time she was on school exchange. »At middle school only five people took German in my year. I don’t know why but something drew me to it«, she remembers. »When I was fourteen I went to Ulm on exchange and it was life-changing. I wanted to travel; I wanted to be in Germany.« From day one of her freshman year at Pittsburgh she regularly visited the Education Abroad Office and asked “Is it too early to apply?” only to be told, “yes”. At the beginning of her Junior Year it was finally time. She applied through the University of Pittsburgh collaboration with UAS7* for a study abroad semester in Munich. »A few weeks later I opened my eMail and read ‘Congratulations! We would like to offer you a place at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences’. I thought, OK, at least I’m going to Germany«, she remembers, laughing.

Developing an idea for Airbus

In Hamburg Danielle signed up for four engineering classes; three in English and one in German. Her favorite class is the “Industry Team Design Project”, for which she had to make a difficult choice. »This class is on a Friday afternoon and signing up for it meant not having Fridays free for long weekends for travel«, she explains. Not an easy decision, we know, because study abroad is also about experiencing Germany and the surrounding European countries. But this class is special and when she talked to the professor about it, she was sold. Professor Jutta Abulawi worked for Airbus before she joined the HAW Hamburg and she brought her contacts with her. In her class students are put into teams and are asked to develop ideas for different aircraft issues. The projects come from Airbus and at the end of the semester the students present their ideas to Airbus experts on site at the Hamburg plant. After four months Danielle can say: »I really, really love it. It was one hundred percent worth it.«

Danielle is part of a team of international and German students, working on one of six projects for Airbus. Her team is developing an idea for an integrated trash compactor in the galley to utilise currently unused space. They have to develop a design concept and CAD models, look at stress and cost analysis as well as prepare the project documentation. Each team member has a specific role and they learn to work together as they would in industry. »It is the coolest thing!« Danielle beams. »At Pitt we focus more on theory. And even in internships the projects are more ‘intro tasks’. This project allows you to work as an engineer and be part of the process of designing something. It has been invaluable, really invaluable!«

Danielle with her fellow classmates and Prof. Dr. Jutta Abulawi at Airbus

Getting to know Germany and the Germans

When we meet up to take photos of Danielle the room is buzzing with students in the final stages of their project work. The presentations at Airbus are in two weeks and there is still a lot to do. But Danielle’s group is confident that they will be ready and it is lovely to see the easy-going way they work together. Team meetings aren’t always on campus. Often the students meet at one of their apartments, order in pizza and it becomes a social event. »The cliché of Germans being cold and hard to get to know isn’t true. We laugh a lot together. They are fun to be around.« Danielle says of her team colleagues. »And working with German students is great. I feel much more connected to Germany. They know how things work and it helps you get to know the place better. The other international students are great, but they are as clueless as I am in many things«, she adds, laughing.

Getting to know more of Germany was definitely one of her study abroad goals. Before coming to Hamburg she volunteered for a few weeks on a farm in Southern Germany. During her semester at the HAW Hamburg she has visited cities and towns from the Northern coastal beaches to the mountains of Bavaria. »it often takes a moment to sink in that I am seeing all the places that I read about in my school text books«, she says, smiling. Her knowledge of Germany has grown as has her ability to speak German. After nine years at school she modestly considered her language skills “half-decent” when she came to Hamburg. Over the past months she has become much more confident speaking to people and understanding the different dialects. »I never could have imagined that that was possible. The growth is just ‘whoosh’!«, she says, drawing a curve with her finger from the table to the ceiling.

Danielle also took one engineering class in German. »Schwingungslehre (the theory of oscillations), has been an uphill challenge. It is a subject I have struggled with, so I put more effort into it than into any other class I have ever taken«, she reflects of her experience. »It is very, very difficult, but I am doing everything by myself and in German! At home I was, how should I say, more relaxed about studying, so I will be taking those studying skills back with me to Pitt. And I kept telling myself, I will never have to do Schwingungslehre again!«, she says, laughing.

Enjoying the World Cup with international friends

Next steps outside the comfort zone

All these experiences combined have put a new idea into Danielle’s head. She is thinking about doing a Master’s degree in Germany after she graduates from Pittsburgh (sorry, Mom!). »The German system fits my goals better than the U.S. I am not sure yet if I want to work in industry or in research and in Germany graduate programmes are not so mutually exclusive.« She has done some research and talked to students and professors to find out more about the options within her chosen field of renewable energies. »I think it would be great to get the skills in a country where there is a thriving industry and great career opportunities. I have the option to study in German or in English. And the financial factor also plays a role. In Hamburg I wouldn’t have to pay tuition for my Master’s«, she adds.

Listening to Danielle chatting away it is hard to imagine that there have been times where the whole “studying abroad experience” was a challenge. »I was so passionate about going to Germany and yet the night before I was due to leave for Hamburg I was freaking out, thinking ‘Can I do this?’«, she remembers. »And that feeling comes back every time I start something new or go outside my comfort zone. But you do it and you love it and at the end you think, how come I was so afraid?« So going abroad is scary? »Absolutely, but it is totally worth it!«

(Text and Images: Ingrid Weatherall, HAW Hamburg)

Adventsempfang bei Generalkonsulin Brita Wagener

reception-2

Generalkonsulin Brita Wagener (3.v.r.) freute sich über den Besuch der Gäste von UAS7 (v.l.n.r.) Dr. Britta Schumacher, Delchov Ivanov, Amrina Piroos, Matthew Robinson, Anna Messerschmidt, William Marin und Eric Chapek.

Auch in diesem Jahr lud die Generalkonsulin Brita Wagener wieder zu einem Adventsempfang für Freunde und Alumni der im Deutschen Konsulat New York ansässigen Hochschulverbindungsbüros ein. Am 14. Dezember freute sich die UAS7 Büroleiterin Dr. Britta Schumacher über die Teilnahme von sechs UAS7-Gästen, die für die Abendveranstaltung aus Delaware, Philadelphia und New Jersey anreisten. Zwei der Gäste sind Studierende der Fachhochschule Münster, die über den UAS7-Austausch zur Zeit ein Studium und Praktikum an der Drexel University absolvieren. Vier weitere Gäste sind Absolventen des UAS7 Study and Internship Program (SIP) und haben noch beste Erinnerungen an ihr Studium, bzw. Praktikum an der Hochschule Bremen, der TH Köln und der Hochschule Osnabrück. Weiterlesen

UAS7 auf Karrieremesse an den Goethe Instituten New York und Washington DC

img_2083

William Marin (links) und Calvin Xu (rechts) sind Alumni des UAS7 Study and Internship Programs (SIP) und teilten ihre Erfahrungen mit interessierten Schülern und Studierenden am UAS7 Stand in New York

Am 14. und 21. Oktober fand in den Goethe Instituten Washington DC und New York eine deutsche Karrieremesse für nordamerikanische Schüler und Studierende statt. Unter dem Motto “Career Booster German(y)” und “German4Success” beteiligten sich an beiden Orten jeweils ca. 20 deutsche Aussteller, darunter Organisationen, Universitäten und Firmen wie Lidl, Trumpf, Lufthansa und Air Berlin. Beide Veranstaltungen waren mit jeweils rund 500 Gästen sehr gut besucht. Es kamen sowohl Schulklassen aus umliegenden deutschen High Schools als auch Lehrer, Eltern, Studierende und Professoren. Die Veranstaltung in New York richtete sich v.a. an Interessierte aus der Tri-State Area, während die meisten Gäste in der Hauptstadt aus Schulen und Universitäten in Maryland, Virginia und DC anreisten. Das New Yorker UAS7 Büro beteiligte sich an beiden Veranstaltungen mit einem Infostand und mit einem Workshop zum Thema “Career Oriented German Universities”. Besonders nachgefragt waren Bachelor- und Masterstudiengänge in den Bereichen Business und Engineering. Aber auch das Study and Internship Program (SIP) kam v.a. bei “College Freshmen” sehr gut an. Die New Yorker Büroleiterin Britta Schumacher freute sich besonders über die Hilfe von zwei Alumni des UAS7 Study and Internship Programs, die den interessierten jungen Leuten aus erster Hand vom Studium an einer UAS7 Mitgliedshochschule berichten konnten (siehe Foto). Aufgrund der hohen Nachfrage möchten die beiden Goethe Institute auch im nächsten Jahr wieder einen solchen Thementag ausrichten. Auch das New Yorker UAS7 Büro ist dann wieder gerne dabei.

Weitere Infos zu den Veranstaltungen:

https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/ney/ver.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&event_id=20723635

https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/de/ver.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&event_id=20783463

Weitere Fotos finden Sie unter der UAS7 New York Facebook Seite:

https://www.facebook.com/UAS7newyork/

UAS7 global citizens – study and intern with SIP

Feiyu Lu-SIP-Virginia Tech-2015-new

Feiyu Lu, Virginia Tech, UAS7 SIP scholarship student, 2015/16 at HAW Hamburg

From China to the United States to Germany – at 21 Feiyu Lu is already quite the global citizen. Her international life started at sixteen when she moved from China to the United States to complete her high school education. Her motivation was to improve her English and to see if she would like to live in America for a longer period of time. »I put this to the test by choosing two very different locations. I spent one year in New Mexico where it was hot with a desert climate and one in Ohio, where it was cold with a lot of snow«, she says, laughing. In her application for the UAS7 Study and Internship Programme (SIP), she wrote that the experience taught her to respect and embrace different cultures and values and to adapt to new environments.

Choosing Germany

After high school she applied to study at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg because of its strong focus on engineering and also on study abroad programmes; though going abroad wasn’t her intention at the time. She became a Global Ambassador at the Cranwell International Center, helping to organize events for new international students and also initiated a Foreign Language Tandem programme to encourage Virginia Tech students to learn a language. Her own interest in Germany and the German language was developed through a friendship with a German girl in high school. »We started by teaching each other words in Chinese and German. She was very kind and gave me the idea, that Germans are nice people. She lives in Berlin now and we are still in touch.« Feiyu is taking German as a minor at Virginia Tech and it was through her German professor that she heard about UAS7 and SIP. “I also met a HAW Hamburg student who was doing an exchange semester in Blacksburg and he said lots of good things about the city. That was when I started thinking that study abroad would be a great way to improve my German.« Weiterlesen

Mapping the Ecuadorian Rainforest with the UAS7 Study and Internship Program

John Marbut is an Aerspace Engineering student from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Prescott, AZ), who is currently participating in the UAS7 Study and Internship Program. Mr. Marbut applied for the UAS7 program in February 2015 and was selected for a Study Semester at Munich University of Applied Sciences (Wintersemester 2015/2016), as well as for a hands-on lab internship at Hochschule Bremen City University of Applied Sciences (Sommersemester 2016). We recently learned that John Marbut’s time in Germany had been spectacular and full of adventures so far since he has had the opportunity to join a research team from UAS Munich to Ecuador in November 2015. In the following blogpost John Marbut writes about his experiences in mapping the Ecuadorian rainforest.

Please note that the original blog post first appeared on the Student Blog from Embry Riddle Aeronautical university. We have John Marbut permission to publish his article on our blog: http://riddlenationaz.erau.edu/2016/02/02/john-marbut-mapping-the-equadorian-rainforest-with-uas/

k

John Marbut in Ecuador (Image by Hochschule München)

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to join a research team and senior thesis project at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, the major focus for the project was mapping the Ecuadorian rainforest. The group was actually invited to do the mapping through their partnership with Amazonica who works with the tribes to help improve their quality of life by improving education and providing medical supplies. The planned project required us to modify the UAV/Drone (it can fly autonomously or via remote control) from the last AUVSI competition. We needed to be able to get high resolution photos of the rainforest in order to be able to generate a 3-D map of the area we flew over, so the team installed a new payload containing more batteries, room for the camera, and an infrared trigger to start the camera. The antenna used to update the information about the drone’s had a range of about 5 miles, however the autopilot could fly without making contact with the homebase and the drone had a maximum flight time of just over an hour. The picture above is from our last flight in Shartamensa, home to some of the Achuar tribe.

Weiterlesen