Education Made in Germany Survival Guide Living and Studying in Hof Dear Student, Welcome to Hof University of Applied a little German will help you get along a Sciences! great way, not only in daily life but also in your lectures and internships. Secondly, We are glad that you have decided to join we encourage you to actively participate our university! You take a step into the in campus life, to make an effort to meet unknown - we are aware that such a deci- your German fellow students and to par- sion means a major change in your life. take in the many activities that are orga- nized especially for you (for instance by We sincerely hope that your time in Hof the InTeam or the International Office). will be both academically and personally enriching for you. We strongly encourage In this booklet, we try to give you all you to make the most of this time - travel the information you need to quickly and around Germany and Europe, get to know smoothly settle in in Hof. We hope that your fellow students (both the internatio- you find this information useful. If you miss nal and German ones) and discover new anything, just let us know, we are happy cultures and perspectives! about any feedback. If you have further questions, please feel free to always get From our long-time experience in this in touch with us! field, we would also like to give you two well-meant pieces of advice on your way. Have a good time in Hof! First of all, please take your German less- ons seriously - being able to speak at least Your International Office team 1 2 3 Contents 1. AFTER ARRIVAL 9 Special equipment 22 Step 1: Say hi to the International Office 9 3.5 Library 24 Step 2: Open a bank account 9 3.6 Center for Languages and Intercultural Competence 25 Step 3: Take out a health insurance 9 3.7 Student affairs office 26 Step 4: Enrol with the university 9 3.8 Office hours of professors 26 Step 5: Sign your rental contract 9 3.9 Student clubs 26 Step 6: Register with the city of Hof (and extend your visa) 10 3.10 Eating on campus 28 Orientation period for international students 10 3.11 Recreation on campus 31 2. STUDYING IN HOF 13 4. LEGAL ISSUES 32 CampusCard 13 4.1 How to apply for a student visa 32 Certificates of Enrolment 13 4.2 Extend your visa in Hof and get a residence permit 32 How to choose your courses 13 4.3 Traveling with your visa 34 Course descriptions and ECTS guide 13 4.4 Working in Germany during your studies 35 Signing up for language courses 13 4.5 Working in Germany after graduation 35 Timetable and timetable changes 14 4.6 Health insurance 36 Study and examination regulations 14 Exam registration 15 5. PRACTICAL ISSUES 38 Re-registration for the next semester 15 5.1 Medical care 39 5.2 German bank account 38 3. SERVICES FOR STUDENTS 16 5.3 Transport 41 3.1 International Office 16 5.4 Mobile phones 43 3.2 Career Service 17 5.5 Mail and delivery services 44 3.3 Student Counseling 17 5.6 Supermarkets 45 3.4 IT Service 19 5.7 Green consciousness 46 Your user name and password 19 How to set up the university WLAN 19 6. THE CITY OF HOF and THE REGION 48 University email address 19 6.1 Introduction 48 How to access the university emails 20 6.2 Tourism and sightseeing 49 Printing 20 Lake Untreusee 49 Copying 21 Sign post forest 49 Scanning 21 Public park: Theresienstein 49 24h-access-card 22 Botanical garden 50 4 5 Zoo 50 Local sausage man: Wärschtlamo 50 Museum Bayerisches Vogtland 50 Hof Observatory 50 6.3 Events and Cultural Offers 53 Theater 53 Symphonic orchestra 53 International Film Festival 53 Traditional festival: Volksfest 53 Hof’s public holiday: Schlappentag 54 International pole vault meeting 54 Christmas market 54 Tourist Information Office 54 6.4 Sports and Nightlife 56 Indoor swimming pool 56 Open air bath 56 Climbing park 56 Outdoor sports 56 Sports clubs 56 Fitness centers 57 Ice skating rink 57 Cafés, restaurants, bars, clubs... 57 6.6 Places of worship 59 6.7 The region of Upper Franconia 60 7. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY 61 Appendix: The most important (university-related) German words 62 6 7 1. After Arrival We are aware that starting from scratch in to do so immediately. Please note that this a new country, possibly with a complete- payment cannot be made in cash at the ly foreign language, can be quite tough. university but always has to be done by A lot of the administrative procedures in bank transfer. It may take up to two weeks Germany might seem very strange and for us to receive the fee in our accounts. confusing to you. Your access to the university’s computers Therefore, in order to make your start in and your student ID card will only be acti- Hof or Münchberg as smooth and easy vated after the university has received the as possible, we encourage you to arrive fee. a couple of days before the beginning of your actual lectures so that you have some time to settle in and get the required Step 3: Take out a health insurance formalities done. The International Office Students enrolled at a German universi- is always there to help you! ty are required by law to have sufficient health insurance cover during the entire On the following pages, we give you an duration of their studies. Without the proof overview of the most important adminis- of health insurance, you cannot be fully trative formalities. Please note that this enrolled at our university! list is a guide and that certain procedures might differ according to your particular For further details on the health insurance, status and to the working methods of the please see page 36. involved institutions. As with all the infor- mation in this brochure, Hof University of Applied Sciences cannot be held legally Step 4: Enrol with the university responsible for the information given. If you are admitted for a full-time Bachelor’s or Master’s program, you have to officially enrol in the program during Step 1: Say hi to the International Office the dates given on your Admission Letter. After your arrival in Hof, the first thing you Take care to bring all required documents! should do is to inform the International Of- fice that you are here now. We can give After enrolment, you will receive your you up-to-date information on the next CampusCard and a letter with your exam steps you need to take. registration number (see page 13). Step 2: Open a bank account Step 5: Sign your rental contract Before all else, you need to open a Ger- If you have not yet done so from home, man bank account. This bank account is you need to make an appointment with required for instance for the monthly pay- your landlord and sign the rental contract. ment of your rent or for transferring upco- Make sure you have your bank details with ming fees. For details on how to do this, you as your monthly rent and the security please see page 38f. deposit will be deducted from your Ger- man bank account. If you have not yet transferred the adminis- trative fee for the first semester, you have When moving into your room, you will also 8 9 receive a Security Deposit Form (“Ein- when your actual lectures begin. zugsprotokoll”) - a form recording the cur- rent status of your room. Make sure you We strongly recommend you to participa- fill in this form and report any damages te in this two-week program as it will make that you might have discovered at the be- your start in Germany much easier. ginning of your stay! Otherwise, the costs for fixing these damages might later on be Please note that there is only a limited deducted from your security deposit. number of places available and that we cannot accept students who arrive late. Step 6: Register with the city of Hof (and extend your visa) All international students, both from Euro- pean and non-European countries, need to register with the city of Hof (or Münch- berg) within the first weeks of their arrival. Non-EU students normally also have to extend their visa and apply for a residence permit. For full details on the process of registration and the required documents, please see page 32f. Orientation Period for international stu- dents For all exchange students coming to Hof (e.g. Erasmus) or international students admitted to Software Engeeniering and German-Indian Management Studies, we offer a two-week Orientation Period befo- re the beginning of each semester. During the Orientation Period, a German Intensive Language course on different levels will be offered which you can join for free. The course is a great opportunity to meet your fellow international students and to get to know your new environment before the start of the semester. Also, all administrative formalities like opening the bank account and the Ger- man health insurance, rental contract, re- gistration at the Foreigners’ Office etc will be done during this time. The Internatio- nal Office will assist you with all of these things. Thus, you can have a relaxed start 10 11 2. Studying in Hof CampusCard In the same pdf document, you will also For the duration of their studies in Hof, find the key data of your student status students receive a multi-purpose Cam- and important dates (e.g.