ZEIT Germany Is Available World- All Over the Place

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ISSUE GERMANY STUDY, RESEARCH, WORK: A GUIDE

SETTLE IN LEARN A LOT BE COOL Taking the first step: Staying the course: Going the extra mile: Find the right people and places Clear the initial hurdles and Learn to love the culture and to ensure a smooth start tackle a tough language become hip in it, too

if you’re thinking of moving to Germany thinking of moving if you’re . All you need to know All you

Z Meet the new Germans

GERMANY EDITORIAL IN THIS ISSUE

4 42 THE EXCHANGE THE BEST Migration to Germany is at a AMBASSADORS peak, and grassroots movements Michelle Müntefering on are trying to help integration Germany’s image abroad

14 46 FIRST 100 DAYS A QUICK STUDY A guide through the Form a quick first Manuel J. Hartung (Publisher), Deborah Steinborn (Editor-in-Chief), bureaucratic jungle impression of Germany Jana Spychalski (Editorial Asst.), Anna-Lena Scholz (Advisor), Julia Steinbrecher (Art Director), Caspar Shaller (Asst. Editor). 16 49 Not pictured: Haika Hinze (Creative Director) CLASS ACTS THE FALLBACK CITY Oldest, biggest, oddest. Frankfurt could become a go-to Germany’s performance during this year’s Superlative German universities place for expats after Brexit World Cup may have been a disaster, but 22 53 elsewhere the country is scoring some win- GLOSSARY ALT-RIGHT FRAT HOUSE An alphabetical list of key terms Some German fraternities have ning goals. Universities, research institutes, to cut through the jargon a bad reputation. Is it justified? and industry are attracting young global 24 56 talent, thanks to free tuition, generous BUDGET FAR FAR AWAY research funds, and a hot job market. There Living and studying in Germany In the Harz Mountains, are challenges. Nationalism is on the rise is dirt cheap, our research shows global scientists seek practical applications for futuristic ideas across Europe, parts of Germany included. 26 And much more could be done to integrate MY FAVORITE THINGS 62 Three newcomers reveal what WHAT´S FOR LUNCH? migrants nationwide. But, as this issue amazes them about Germany A university chef talks shows, many parts of society are trying about student eating habits 30 to help. ZEIT, Germany’s leading weekly MAP OF GREETINGS 64 newspaper, covers education and much German dialects are ROAD SHOW more. ZEIT Germany is available world- all over the place. Germany is trying to mend A map to locate them transatlantic ties with the US wide at locations of the German Academic Exchange Service, Goethe-Institut, and 32 65 HOW TO BE COOL MASTHEAD Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, to name IN GERMANY The staff. Plus: Distribution just a few. It guides you through studying, Rule of thumb: partners and further details Don’t try to be cool researching, and working in the country. 66 Have fun! – The Team 41 WHAT A WORD! WORD PLAY Grammar versus gender ZEIT Germany is available digitally in its entirety at Some apps help you learn the equality? A look at man, a most

Photo Monika (cover): Keiler; Photo (this page): Lisa Morgenstern www.zeit.de/study-research-work language. Others are a drag frustrating German word

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GERMANY THE EXCHANGE Migration to Germany is at an all-time high, but foreign students and professionals can still encounter hurdles. The good news is, changes are already underway

BY DEBORAH STEINBORN PHOTOS PAULA WINKLER

Ghanaian-German actress Dayan Kodua in a Hamburg city park

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Susan Amirbeigiarab’s expectations were high when staff member at the city’s university clinic, who had she moved to Germany in 2013. Back in Iran, she’d spent some time in Iran, offered her an entry-level heard that student life in the country was good, research post after many others had turned her with strong academic programs, generous research down. The director of Schotstek, a private Hamburg grants, and a welcoming culture that extended to foundation that mentors ambitious students with a higher education. migration background, offered her a scholarship. With a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cel- These people, Amirbeigiarab says, helped her to lular biology and an advanced, B2-level German- go from selling croissants at a bakery to becoming language certificate in hand, she thought she’d be a a young academic with the zeal to diversify life sought-after young researcher, too. “I never expected sciences in Germany. Amirbeigiarab completed her so many problems,” the Tehrani native, now 28, says master’s degree in November 2017 and is enrolled of her first years as a master’s student in Hamburg. in a doctoral program in biochemistry at the Uni- She couldn’t find housing. Her savings quickly ran versity of Hamburg. out, and part-time jobs were hard to find. She was the Amirbeigiarab says she often hears that German sole foreigner in her program, and she felt isolated. universities are very international. That’s what at- Amirbeigiarab’s early struggle in Germany isn’t tracted her to the country in the first place. “But it’s an anomaly. Many migrants enjoy their host coun- not completely true,” she says. If a department has try. But some encounter unforeseen hurdles, such forty students and just one foreigner, for instance, as outdated laws, organizational shortcomings, and, “MY GERMAN “that’s not international,” she says. “So many aspects sometimes, a narrow cultural mindset. That’s the of the system need to change.” case although the country long ago ceased being a MENTORS REALLY With that need in mind, Amirbeigiarab is now monoculture. In the early 1960s, it began to recruit WANT TO applying for dual citizenship in Germany. And the foreign workers, overwhelmingly from Turkey. individuals who helped her along the way, she says, CHANGE THINGS. Today, the Turkish-German population is Europe’s were the deciding factor. largest immigrant community. WITH A GERMAN “These people, completely of German heritage, Amirbeigiarab eventually turned the situation PASSPORT, have looked into the problems that migrants in their around. Today, she’s a doctoral student in biochem- country face,” she says. “They’ve seen the imbalance istry, and she wants to become a dual citizen. She I CAN EFFECT and what a lack of understanding can do. And they thanks a few individuals – a German grassroots of CHANGE FROM really want to change things. With a German pass- sorts – for helping along the way. If Germany is to port, I can effect change from within, too.” prosper in a multicultural climate, academia and WITHIN, TOO” Indeed, German higher education is under pres- business should follow their lead and further reduce sure to become more international, and recent migra- traditional barriers to integration. SUSAN tion flows are part of the reason. A growing demand Immigration to Germany is at an all-time high. AMIRBEIGIARAB for broader access to higher education worldwide, In recent years, Europe’s largest economy has seen a the so-called massification of the education market, massive influx – and not only of people fleeing war got that trend underway. The European migrant or suppression. Last year, the number of foreign na- crisis of 2015, which has led to an influx of asylum tionals living in the country rose nearly 6 percent, seekers and economic migrants in Germany, has to 10.6 million, according to the Federal Statistical only accelerated it. Office. Higher education faces the same trend. More Many efforts to internationalize programs are than 350,000 international students were enrolled at happening at the grassroots level. Humboldt Uni- German universities in 2017, federal statistics show. versity of Berlin is one of the country’s largest public That’s 5.5 percent higher than in the previous year. universities, with well over 35,000 students at latest “Without a doubt, this newest influx is a gain for count. Some dozen members of this vast student our society,” write Herfried and Marina Münkler in population joined forces in 2015, determined to help their 2016 book, “The New Germans: A Country foreign peers in need. Confronting its Future.” However, the academics It was the height of the European refugee crisis, emphasize, both sides need to step up to the plate. and Jana Wiggenhauser was one of those volunteers. Migrants must adapt to the local culture, they say. She recalls how this small group of students took on “But we ourselves must also take action.” new responsibilities rapidly. “The migrants had so Ask Susan Amirbeigiarab what things convinced many tough stories, tough situations. In some cases, her to slug it out after moving to Germany, and she volunteers were totally overwhelmed,” she says. lists three people instead. A landlord rented her an Over time, the university’s administration, the apartment when she had no place to stay. A German German Federal Ministry of Education and Re-

6 Susan Amirbeigiarab, a native of Iran, is pursuing a doctoral degree in biochemistry

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helping him out of Syria just in time. The 42-year-old geographer completed his PhD in soil cartography at Humboldt back in 2010 and went back home to teach at the University of Aleppo. He stayed in touch with his German mentor. When Mohamed fled to Turkey in late 2015, paying a smuggler to get across the border, his German mentor contacted colleagues, Humboldt’s leadership, and the German embassy in Ankara to help expedite his visa application. Once Mohamed arrived in Berlin, Schröder helped find housing, funding, and other assistance for the Syrian scholar. “It was my salvation that colleagues at Humboldt went out of their way to help,” Mohamed says. Today, Mohamed is a Philipp Schwartz Fellow, a position funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The Philipp Schwartz Initiative helps scholars who are forced to flee their homelands because of their research, political views, or war. His family made it to Germany late last year, a major relief after waiting almost two years. Mohamed is now developing advanced land-use maps of metropolitan regions for urban planning. He hopes to use the technology to help rebuild Syria when the war ends. Philipp Schwartz fellows are an elite group, Mohamed admits. Just 124 scholars have been Hamburg University of Applied promised funding since its inception by the Hum- Sciences’ Department Design boldt Foundation and Germany’s Federal Foreign Office in 2015. But it’s one approach to welcoming talented foreigners in need. A Berlin social startup turned Ahmad Afyouni’s integration in Germany from frustrating to fruitful. Syrian geographer Mohamed Ali Mohamed in Berlin Like Mohamed, he had fled Aleppo in 2015 and found his way to Germany. Arriving in Goldberg, a town with a population of 3,600 in the former East search, and the German Academic Exchange Service Germany, the 25-year-old Afyouni spent a lot of (DAAD) offered funds and support to volunteers. time waiting – for asylum processing; for the green And so the grassroots efforts of a few students, within light to take language and integration courses in the course of just a few years, were professionalized. “IT WAS Rostock, about a 2-hour bus ride away; and for the Today, six initiatives assist refugee students at MY SALVATION chance to continue his studies. Humboldt with class registration, legal counseling, Then, one day in spring 2017, an unusually help- networking, and more. The international strategy THAT ful school administrator referred to something called office has staffed up to help. Student volunteers are COLLEAGUES Kiron, suggesting it could be an option. “I thought, now looking ahead and focussed on developing a ‘Kiron?! What on earth is that?’ ” Afyouni recalls. wider network with other institutions of higher WENT OUT He googled the name and discovered that Kiron learning throughout Germany. OF THEIR WAY Open Higher Education, a platform for refugees, Lessons learned within this realm, however, can had an agreement with the University of Rostock. help the broader foreign student population as well, TO HELP” Afyouni could take courses online while he waited. Wiggenhauser emphasizes. “The university system He applied immediately. in Germany is known to be bureaucratic,” she ad- MOHAMED Kiron launched a crowd-funding campaign in mits. “But it’s learning how to be less strict and more ALI MOHAMED 2015 after two young German social entrepreneurs flexible. Less German, you might say.” noticed that solutions seemed to exist for most bar- Mohamed Ali Mohamed thanks Hilmar Schrö- riers refugees faced – except in higher education. der, his PhD advisor at Humboldt University, for At the time, both men were volunteering to help

8 Obtain your PhDinahighly innovative, interdisciplinaryand international environment.

PASSION FOR SCIENCE maxplanckschools.org

MaxPlanck School of Cognition MaxPlanck School of Photonics MaxPlanck School Matter to Life Y: APPL MN AUTU 2018

MAX PLANCK SCHOOLS ajointinitiative between German Universities and German Research Organizations Ahmad Afyouni transferred to the University of Rostock from Kiron Open Higher Education

10 GERMANY refugees in the country’s capital. They contacted English-language program, and she worked with online course providers, universities, and decision- people from many different cultures every day. makers in politics and business to talk about the “WE MUST “Then my husband got this great opportunity to lack of options in this realm. Then they hammered ENCOURAGE move to Germany for work. We kept coming back to out a solution. the question: ‘When will we have the opportunity to Today, Kiron uses online courses developed by THESE do this again?’ ” she recalls. The couple and their two universities including Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, STUDENTS school-age children sold their house, packed up, and and MIT to allow students who have fled their moved to Hamburg. She’s now learning the language home countries to study business and economics, TO GET A HIGHER and working as an English tutor on the side. Her mechanical engineering, computer science, political EDUCATION husband, an attorney, works as general counsel for a science, and social work. Curricula meet European global energy group with offices in Hamburg. Higher Education Area standards, so students can AND PURSUE THEIR “After Donald Trump was elected president, it take courses online while working to fulfill university PASSIONS” felt as though our country was becoming more in- application requirements. ward looking and inhospitable to foreigners,” Wang Like other grassroots initiatives, the startup DAYAN says. That was the deciding factor. “We really wanted has slowly won the backing of some industrial and KODUA our children to spend time overseas and see that there political heavyweights. The Federal Ministry of are equally valid points of view around the world.” Education and Research, the Schöpflin Foundation, The Wangs represent a kind of talent that’s being Volkswagen, and other prominent groups provide drawn to Germany in increasing numbers. And one funding. More than 3,300 students are registered with Kiron. And 56 universities, 32 of them in Germany, have partnered with it. Those inroads are impressive, especially since only about 3,000 refugees are officially registered as students in the country, according to the German Rectors’ Conference, an association of public universities. No one knows how many refugees are really enrolled in higher eduation, the association adds in a recent report; once registered, their status changes. In the long run, Kiron management hopes its approach can be integrated into a broader, national solution. “Germans don’t notice all the hurdles in higher education,” explains Tobias Ernst, Kiron’s CEO. “But for all migrants, it’s extremely challenging even to figure out how to become a student in Germany, from language barriers to bureaucracy.” To attain that goal, Kiron is working with several universities to integrate digital-learning tools into the wider university landscape. In the long run, Ernst notes, it’s the best way to improve higher education in Germany. “We are democratizing higher education, and we can serve as a broader model,” he says. Ahmad Afyouni is a good example. Now 27, Afyouni has transferred credit points he completed at Kiron to the University of Rostock and is enrolled in a master’s program in business informatics there. People migrate to Germany from around the globe for very different reasons these days, but they all hope to encounter a culture that’s open to their needs. Hilary Wang had been mulling for a while whether to apply for a one-year sabbatical from her job at Portland State University, so that she and her family could live overseas and learn another language. The linguist taught at the university’s intensive Hilary Wang is a linguist from Portland, Oregon

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Integrating into the German culture as a black African, Kodua says, was a decades-long struggle. “There were no role models for me, no one in my surroundings, and no public personalities who looked like me,” she recalls. Teachers didn’t encourage her to attend university, even though her grades were good. She was interested in acting, and moved to Berlin to attend a performing-arts school. In her 20s, with money she’d set aside from modeling jobs, she traveled to Los Angeles to attend the Howard Fine Acting Studio in Hollywood. “When I got to LA, I met so many African-Amer- icans,” she recalls. “All of them were doing such interesting things, everything from hairstylist to taxi driver to banker. I had an awakening. Why weren’t there any famous black Germans? Why didn’t we ever see black doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, architects, or cashiers in Germany?” Over time, these questions turned into a mission. So when Kodua returned to Germany to pursue acting, she also sought answers to the problem. Today, she is a successful actress, appearing on the popular television series “Tatort” and in theater productions. She is also author of “My Black Skin: Black. Successful. German.” Published in 2014, the book profiles 25 little-known, successful, black Germans from all walks of life, including a Con- golese immigrant who has become a parliamentary member in the city of Bremen, a fashion designer who emigrated from the Dominican Republic, and a lawyer in Kiel who was born in Nigeria. In order to initiate change, Kodua says, such Dayan Kodua believes migrants need more role models in Germany stories must be shared with all Germans, including politicians, businessmen, those who can trace their German ancestry back a thousand years, and those from which Germany can learn and benefit as well. who have just arrived. She’s spreading the word. D ID YO U KN OW . . . ? The country faces a shortage of skilled professionals She regularly visits inner-city schools where fami- with higher educational degrees and diverse work lies with migration backgrounds often live. She Conference ’ experience. Whether such migrants can really adapt Germany has 10.6 million also encourages business leaders to help change to the local language and culture remains to be seen. migrants, 5.9 million of whom outdated mindsets in broader society. Migrants who overcame major hurdles in Ger- come from outside the EU “It’s so important to emphasize the positive,” many long ago, meanwhile, are sometimes among she says. “We must encourage these students to the most powerful agents of change. Take Dayan 2.8 million students get a higher education and pursue their passions. Kodua. She emigrated from Ghana in the 1990s, at are enrolled at universities The only way is to provide role models, people who the age of ten. She vividly recalls boarding a plane, and universities of applied look like they do and have found their own way.” alone, with a child travel pass strapped around her sciences in Germany When she talks with students, Kodua likes to neck. Her parents had already moved years before. share a story that gives her hope. Recently, pass- In Germany, Kodua says, she often was the sole 13% of all students ing through Hamburg’s main train station on black person around. In middle school, she had come from abroad her way to a meeting, she noticed a black, female Turkish, Polish, and Russian classmates, but no pharmacist working at its bustling pharmacy. It was fellow Africans. And her adolescent years in Kiel 3,000 refugees are officially the first time in all her years living in Germany that Gaarden, a tension-ridden, inner-city neighborhood registered at German higher- Kodua had seen a German of African descent in in one of northern Germany’s most populous cities, education institutions such a position. It encouraged her, and she hopes didn’t differ much in that respect. to see more. Rectors German Service, Exchange Academic German Sources:

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BANK ON IT To open a bank account with a traditional bank, you must visit FIRST a brick-and-mortar branch. As with your official registration, most forms are only in German, but worry not. There’s surely 100 someone on staff who can help. You’ll need a passport or FIND SOME DIGS other valid ID, and, of course, First things first: You need a base your proof of registration. Stu- for your adventure. Universities DAYS dent accounts are usually free offer student housing, but many of fees, but you’ll have to prove young people live in shared apart- you’re a student first. If you don’t ments referred to as WGs. This Think Germans are efficient? yet have a student ID or Semester- stands for Wohngemeinschaft – a Then you haven’t encountered their yen bescheinigung, just ask nicely if living community. Here, you’ll for bureaucracy. But there’s help. you can hand it in later. have your own room but share Or try to use an online bank, a bathroom, a kitchen, maybe a Five (not so simple) steps to settle in such as N26 or comdirect. They living room. don’t charge fees, and they offer In Germany for a semester or support in English. an internship? A sublet, called a Beware that cash is still king Zwischenmiete, might be easier. in Germany. Many stores and It’s already furnished, whereas in restaurants don’t accept debit regular apartments, renters often BY CASPAR SHALLER ILLUSTRATION GOLDEN COSMOS or credit cards, and banks often have to install their own fridges charge a fee for withdrawing cash and stoves. at ATMs outside their network. The landlord receivesWarm - Public savings banks, called miete, basic rent plus incidentals. REGISTER Sparkassen, have the most ATMs Gas, heating, and electricity are This is vital. You’ll need proof And be sure to get all your pa- but might be hesitant to open ac- included; telephone and internet of registration, the Meldebestäti- perwork in order before going counts for people who are only bills aren’t. Public TV and radio gung, for everything from bank to the office. You will need the in the country for a few months. license fees, called GEZ, cost an accounts to health insurance. following: 1. A valid passport. Credit and loans are reg- additional 17.50 euros per month. The Anmeldung, or regis- 2. TheAnmeldeformular , or reg- ulated strictly in Germany, so Landlords may ask for as tration, often baffles visitors. In istration form. Print it out at getting a credit card is difficult much as three months’ rent as a Germany and other European your new home. These forms are if you don’t have regular income. security deposit, or Kaution. If countries, you have to register only available in German, but Pre-paid credit cards are avail- nothing’s damaged, the deposit your address with local govern- filling out your name, date of able, though. will be returned when you move ment every time you move. birth, and address is easy with out. Get a signed list of pre-exist- According to German law, you the help of Google Translate or a ing damage before you move in. must do so within 14 days of mov- dictionary. 3. A Wohnungsgeber- Sadly, the housing market is ing. Government offices some bescheinigung, essentially a form full of scams, even in Germany. times work very slowly, so meeting confirming you are allowed to Never pay before you sign a lease. this deadline is nearly impossible. live in the apartment. Your land- Viewing an apartment should But scheduling an appointment lord should give you a signed never cost anything. On the upside, at the Meldebehörde within two version of this form when you renters’ legal rights are strong. The weeks of moving should suffice. meet to sign the lease. If you are local Mieterschutzbund, a tenants’ In most cities, it’s possible to subletting or living in a WG, the rights organization, can help with schedule an appointment online. lease holder needs to sign. Your problems. Popular websites to But the next free one might be in lease is not a replacement for this find a room in aWG are: three months. Try checking the form. Once you have all these www.wg-gesucht.de website first thing, at 7 a.m. You documents, registering should www.studenten-wg.de might get one on short notice. be a breeze.

14 THE RESIDENCE PERMIT You’re almost done! You finally you’re flush. The first: a recent can become a legal resident of bank statement that shows you’ve the Federal Republic of Germany. got 720 euros per month, that’s (If you’re an EU citizen, you al- 8,640 euros for the year, to cover ready enjoy the right to freedom living expenses. Some states even of movement). Non-EU students require you to establish a blocked need a residence permit, or Auf- bank account, from which you enthaltstitel. These tend to be can’t withdraw funds. valid for two years, but can be If you have a job or a scholar- renewed when they expire. You ship, bring proof. Alternatively, need to make an appointment at your parents can provide proof of your local Ausländerbehörde, the their income via the German em- immigration office. bassy back home. And if you’ve Which documents you need got a job, bring along a work con- differs slightly depending on the tract, a job description (Stellenbe- type of visa, but the following are schreibung), and an employment musts: a valid passport; a biomet- permission form (Antrag auf Er- ric passport picture; a completed laubnis einer Beschäftigung). application form called Antrag auf If you’re freelancing, be sure GET INSURED Erteilung eines Aufenthaltstitels, to bring along proof that you have OUTSOURCE RED TAPE Once you have a bank account, get which you can download ahead clients, plus a CV, a cover letter, If settling in seems daunting, and some health insurance (Kranken- of time; your lease; proof of regis- professional references, and a print- you can afford it, hire an agency versicherung); it’s crucial. You need tration; German health insurance; ed portfolio of your work. You’ll to help jump the hurdles. Services proof of it to register at a university and 110 euros in cash. also need a thorough financing cost anywhere from ten euros for or when you accept a job. If you want a student visa, plan that includes revenue fore- registration assistance in your If you’re from the EU, you can you’ll also need a university casts for the next few years. language up to about a hundred use your home insurance with a Semesterbescheinigung and proof If all your papers are in order, for the whole shebang (regis- European Health Insurance Card. that you can finance your stay. you’ll finally get that cherished tration, health insurance, and If you aren’t, or if you are staying There are three ways to prove ID. Welcome to Germany! blocked bank-account assistance). for more than a year, you’ll need There’s a cottage industry in either public (gesetzliche) or private expat services. One such group is German insurance. SympatMe, founded in 2014 by Public insurance policies cost some tech-savvy Berliners who 82 euros a month for students noticed that some of their friends under 30 or 150 euros per month had a tough time when moving if you’re older. Private insurance is to Germany. much more expensive. Visiting a SympatMe can help you get a doctor is usually covered by both visa, find and register your apart- kinds of insurance, and most pre- ment, open a bank account, set up scription pills are too. internet and phone, and even get To get a policy, you’ll need expat discounts. Its website offers a passport, registration, proof of assistance in several languages. student status, and domestic bank- Founded in 2016, Frank- account details. If you plan ahead, furt-based Fintiba offers a basic scan and e-mail completed forms, package to deal with setting up then visit a local office to show the the blocked accounts that non- remaining documentation in per- EU students may need for visa son once you arrive. applications. A so-called plus A list of health insurers is at package covers health insurance www.krankenkassen.de. Techniker as well. Both companies’ websites Krankenkasse is a popular option explain in-depth all that German among students. red tape.

15 Cram for exams on the lawn. UNICUM, Germany’s national student magazine, voted the campus at University of Passau most beautiful

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“THE OLDEST” HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY CLASS ACTS What is Germany’s oddest-sounding degree? What’s its smallest bachelor’s program, and its oldest university? A tour of Germany’s In the shadow of the historic castle, higher-education landscape Heidelberg University has seen it all, from literary titan Goethe to software giant SAP

When HEIDELBERG UNIVER- were detained there. Offending SITY was founded way back in students served detention for as 1386, Germany was still part of long as a month. They were, how- the Holy Roman Empire. So if ever, allowed to leave the cellar you want to split hairs, Heidel- each day to attend lectures. berg is just the oldest university Heidelberg University started on modern German ground. out with just four departments: It’s hard to miss the signs of theology, law, medicine, and phi- a long history in this scenic col- losophy. Today, it is one of Eu- lege town situated alongside the rope’s most distinguished univer- Neckar River. sities, with 30,000 students, and it The famed castle ruins are vis- has helped turn the wider region ible from just about anywhere in into one of Germany’s leading town. And most students quick- scientific hubs. ly get to know the Philosophers’ Indeed, the city is home to Walk, where famous intellectuals several world-famous research such as Mark Twain, Georg Wil- facilities, including four Max helm Friedrich Hegel, and Johann Planck Institutes. And SAP, the Wolfgang von Goethe would software giant, is based nearby. walk, talk, and contemplate the The university motto,semper meaning of life. apertus, or always open, is apt for An old student detention a place where every fifth student is room, in a cellar, is one of the international and more than half most peculiar campus sites. From are women. the late 1700s to 1914, students Only the library doesn’t quite who pulled pranks in class by day stick to this spirit: its doors always

Photos: Christina Körte, Simon Koy BY JULIA GUNDLACH or disturbed the peace at night close at 1 a.m.

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“THE LARGEST” “THE MOST DIVERSE” UNIVERSITY OF HAGEN BARENBOIM-SAID AKADEMIE, BERLIN

The University of Hagen has At the Barenboim-Said Akademie, amassed more than 70,000 students. music students from Arabic and African Most have never set foot on campus countries play for peace

It’s Germany’s largest university, they’re studying. On average, it You’d be hard pressed to find a postgraduate artist diploma. Stu- with 72,974 enrollments at last takes them twice as long as regu- more culturally diverse institute dents receive a monthly stipend of count. Yet few students at the lar students to finish a degree – of higher learning in Germany. 735 euros and free housing. UNIVERSITY OF HAGEN ever 12 semesters to complete a bach- The BARENBOIM-SAID AKADE- The school places a clear em- have set foot on the main campus. elor’s degree and nine semesters MIE, which was founded in 2015, phasis on performance studies, That’s because Hagen is the for a master’s degree. unites young musicians from but about a third of course work only state-funded distance-learn- Hagen’s students are between around the world. In fact, just one focuses on humanities including ing university in the country. In 29 and 35 years of age. That’s old- of its current ninety students is a history, philosophy, and post- all, it has more than 50 study er than the norm, even for Ger- German citizen, though several colonial theory. centers in Germany and other mans, who tend to study until are dual citizens. Still, students spend much European countries. So students well into their 20s. The academy is the brain- more time playing and listening do have to show up for exams, but Students register online and child of conductor and pianist to music than studying in a li- not necessarily in Hagen. receive course materials by snail Daniel Barenboim and Edward brary. According to Mena Mark In 1974, North Rhine-West- mail. Some of the usual red tape Said, a renowned intellectual. It Hanna, the academy’s dean, the phalia established a public re- has been cut so that students can supports young musicians, par- combination of musicians from search university dedicated to dis- better balance studies, jobs, and ticularly from Israel, Palestine, the mostly Arabic and African coun- tance learning. The state wanted personal lives. The university Middle East, and North Africa, tries and Western-style classical to address overcrowding at univer- awards bachelor’s, master’s, and in the spirit of the Seville-based music creates a beautiful musical sities and make it easier for work- doctoral degrees in many fields. West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, dissonance. ing people to continue studying. It’s also possible to pursue a habil- which also was founded by the The Pierre Boulez Saal, a con- Hagen, on the southeastern edge itation, a qualification necessary duo. It hopes to pave the way to cert hall designed by the Ameri- of the Ruhr region, seemed a good for a professorship at German a peaceful and fair resolution of can architect Frank Gehry and fit. The Ruhr is the largest urban universities. political and cultural conflicts. the Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa area in the country and the fifth Graduation ceremonies at Building on the principles of Toyota, is at the academy’s heart. largest in the European Union. Hagen are optional – students the Divan Orchestra, the academy It seats up to 700, and concerts Today, more than 80 percent can also receive their diplomas offers a bachelor’s degree in mu- open to the public are held there

of Hagen students work while by mail. sic, a preparatory program, and a regularly. Photos: Alexander Coggin, Volker Kreidler, Lorenzo Maccotta/Contrasto/laif

18 “THE MOST RATIONAL” LEIPZIG UNIVERSITY

If you attend university in Ger- formatics, philosophy, linguistics, many, you’ll likely encounter the or biology. The program delves typical lecture-hall experience into induction and probability, and struggle to find a free seat at theoretical informatics, and clas- the back of an auditorium larger sical and non-classical logic. A than an airplane hangar. Courses bachelor-level course on rational in popular subjects, such as law or argumentation is open to all uni- politics, are often crowded. versity students. The opposite is true at Ger- Currently, only six students many’s only master’s program in come from abroad. Leipzig is logic, offered by LEIPZIG UNI- evaluating whether to inter- VERSITY. Two professors teach nationalize the degree. As an just 35 students about the art of ar- all-English Erasmus Mundus joint gumentation and logic. At the end master’s program, it could draw of the two-year program, students more foreign students to Leipzig receive a Master of Arts in logic. and help the program to grow. If Since there are no bachelor’s the program changes in this way, programs in logic in Germany, participants would spend their students are academically diverse. Goodbye, overcrowding. Only 35 students are first year in Leipzig and a second Most participants have studied in- enrolled for a degree in logic in Leipzig year at a European partner school.

Welcome to Philipps-Universität Marburg!

forexample ELP: English languageprogram Arts & Humanities B.A. Romance Cultures B.A. Anglophone Studies ELP M.A. North American Studies ELP State Law Examination Traditional and Modern: B.Sc. Biomedical Science Fornearly five centuries theUniversityofMarburg has been ahub of B.Sc./M.Sc. research and teaching in the heartofGermany. At Philipps-Universität Psychology Medicine M.Sc. Biodiversity Marburg we placeparticular value on fostering adiverse, interdisciplinary and Conversation and particularly international study and research environment for B.Sc./M.Sc. students and scholars alike. Think, study and research beyond borders Data Science M.Sc. Economics and apply now forone of our manyinterdisciplinary of the Middle East ELP undergraduate, graduateand short-term study programs. M.Sc. Functional Sciences Materials ELP M.A. International www.uni-marburg.de/en/studying Development Studies M.A. Peaceand ConflictStudies ELP Social Joint Degree with Kent, UK M.Sc. International Sciences Business Management ELP Double Degree with Paris, FR M.Sc. International Political Economy ELP Special & Double Degree with Dallas, USA Short-Term Study Programs GERMANY

“THE MOST RELAXED” “THE NERDIEST” CITY UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, BREMEN CODE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, BERLIN

No hammocks here. Pack some energy drinks. In Bremen, analyzing and researching CODE University is Germany’s first leisure is serious business private college for programmers

A college degree in leisure? To an international flavor. Bachelor Thomas Bachem developed a all-night coding. After receiving many students, it may sound students must spend one semester knack for technology early on. At 2,000 applications from more too good to be true. Parents may in another country. They can 12, he taught himself to code. In than 25 countries, 88 students think it’s fake news or a bad joke. intern abroad too; students have his teens, he developed software. were selected for the inaugural But in Germany, where vacation, even gone to the Kathmandu En- At university, Bachem was frus- winter semester of 2017. holidays, and Sundays are sacro- vironmental Education Project in trated with theory-heavy German Students choose between sanct, the study of leisure is taken Nepal. The master’s program does computer-science programs. So he international English-language very seriously. not require an internship but is studied business instead. bachelor’s degrees in software In the northwestern port city otherwise similar, albeit with a Bachem later became a suc- engineering, interactive design, of Bremen, the CITY UNIVERSITY stronger emphasis on English. cessful tech entrepreneur, but or product management. OF APPLIED SCIENCES offers The program doesn’t require his frustration stuck. With some The university is located in a degree programs in leisure studies, students to lie in a hammock or friends from Berlin’s tech scene, giant warehouse on the eastern a branch of the social sciences. picnic in a park with friends. Pro- he founded CODE UNIVERSITY side of the former Berlin Wall. City University has a strong focus gram Director Renate Freericks OF APPLIED SCIENCES last Representatives from Facebook, on hands-on learning via intern- admits that potential students year. It’s Germany’s first private online retailer Zalando, and the ships, and has offered leisure sometimes ask whether it does. college for software program- networking site Xing regularly studies since the late 1990s. Its Graduates pursue careers as mers, and the 32-year-old has stop by. 7-semester bachelor’s and its tourism planners, cultural man- become the country’s youngest These perks come with a 3-semester master’s programs agers, or wellness coaches. The university chancellor. sizable price tag. The three-year were introduced in 2005. leisure sector has grown in re- Applicants face a rigorous ad- degree costs roughly 27,000 eu- Bachelor students complete cent years, and so have job and missions process. School grades ros in tuition fees. But students core coursework in social, busi- research opportunities in the are irrelevant: an online motiva- can choose an income-dependent ness, environmental, and legal field. One recent student thesis tional letter, a video interview, repayment model – essentially, a studies before specializing in a has compared sauna cultures in and a project “challenge” are the loan that they can start to repay leisure topic of their choice. Germany and Russia; another, the first steps. Promising applicants after graduation. According to Courses are taught mostly in influence of tourism on European are invited to an assessment day, program administrators, most

German, but the program has integration. complete with energy drinks and students opt in to the scheme. Photos: mauritius images / Felix Strohbach, CODE University of Applied Sciences

20 Photo: Amac Garbe /www.amacgarbe.de Be more. and Excellen Do all even As And of ab We disciplines, ad We sports our aU road yn you all o are better. am niversity ff endeavours. that share er… spectrum ic, … and part cosmopolitan and in In plenty our so av research, of one ibrant, vision? of Excellence, of Our of 121 the opportunities much colourful of visio degree university in Then eleven ce teaching, n: we jo ab programmes, it. in Universities city. con righter with us to tinuously in We at get 18 adminis TU hope future involved faculties Dresden! of al strive to Excellence tration ively for see covering in all. campus, to you the and become cultural in in in all Dresden Germany. aw academic ide scen variety soon! e. tu-dresden.de Z

GERMANY

BOLOGNA PROCESS n. (Hochschulreform, Bologna-Prozess) 1. a series of agreements between European countries to ensure common standards of higher edu- GLOSSARY cation; named after the university where education ministers from 29 countries signed a declaration in 1999. 2. introduction of a two- tiered structure of bachelor’s and OF TERMS master’s degrees, and easy transfer of credits between institutions German academia is complicated. DINING HALL n. (Mensa) Key terms to help cut through the jargon, a location that provides meals from A to Z to university students and staff.

The German name stems from BY DEBORAH STEINBORN ILLUSTRATION GOLDEN COSMOS Latin for table. Comparable to a cafeteria or canteen, it’s inte- gral to student life in Germany. Subsidized meals usually cost less ELITE UNIVERSITY n. (Elite- ERASMUS PROGRAM n. Ministry of Education and Re- than four euros universität) 1. a term used to refer (Erasmus-Programm) 1. a student- search to promote cutting-edge to 11 public universities given spe- exchange program financed by the research and conditions for schol- DUAL STUDY n. (Duales Stu- cial status by Germany’s Federal European Union, combining all ars, better cooperation between dium) 1. a system that combines Ministry of Education and Re- current EU schemes for educa- disciplines and institutions, and apprenticeships in a company or search. 2. Germany’s Ivy League. tion, training, youth, and sport. the global renown of German uni- non-profit organization and high- According to the European Com- 2. acronym for European Com- versities and research institutions er education in a field of study. mission, four German elite univer- munity Action Scheme for the 2. a program mostly found in sities are among Europe’s top ten Mobility of University Students GERMAN ACADEMIC business administration, engi- universities: Technical University EXCHANGE SERVICE n. neering, and social services. It’s of Munich, University of Freiburg, EXCELLENCE INITIATIVE (Deutscher Akademischer Aus- particularly popular in German Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, n. (Exzellenzinitiative) a long-term tauschdienst, DAAD) 1. a federally states such as Baden-Württemberg and Heidelberg University effort by the German Federal and state-funded, self-governing

“It‘s beautiful and EUROPEAN CAMPUS D EGGENDORF affordable here, I‘m I NSTITUTE OF ROTTAL-INN gaining work T ECHNOLOGY experience on my sandwich course and I‘ve been on a study semester abroad. I‘m having the time „ T OUR of my life! STUDYA AWARD-WINNING UNIVERSITY IN GERMANY

# Undergrad & postgrad degrees in English # Brilliant lifestyle & international campus # No t uition fees # G reat range of courses # F antastic career opportunities

www.dit.edu Some have the ability to confer PhDs, while others do not

UNIVERSITY n. (Universität, Uni) 1. an institution of higher learning with facilities for teaching and research, typically comprising an undergraduate division that awards bachelor’s degrees and a graduate division that awards master’s degrees and doctorates. On average, it hosts 16,500 students. 2. an educational body with the right to confer PhDs

UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES n. (Fachhochschule, FH) 1. an institution of higher vocational education, often in areas such as engineering or busi- national agency of institutions search at universities and other RESEARCH INSTITUTE n. ness. On average, it hosts 4,500 of higher learning in Germany. institutions through a variety of (Forschungsinstitut) a research students. 2. an educational body 2. the largest German support or- grants and prizes. It’s the largest body independent of the uni- that usually doesn’t confer PhDs ganization for international aca- such organization in Europe versity system. The top four – demic cooperation. 3. a popular www.dfg.de/en/ Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz UNIVERSITY RANKING n. source of scholarship funding for Association, Max Planck Society, (Hochschulranking) a ranking of foreigners studying in Germany POST-DOCTORAL QUALI and Leibniz Association – employ institutions of higher learning, www.daad.de/en/ FICATION n. (Habilitation) more than 82,000 researchers ordered by various factors. The 1. a qualification necessary for CHE University Ranking de- GERMAN RESEARCH a professorship at German uni- TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY tails German higher-education FOUNDATION n. (Deutsche versities. 2. highest qualification n. (Technische Hochschule) institutions based on assessments Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) issued through the process of a a university that specializes in by students and faculty members an organization that funds re- university exam engineering sciences in Germany. www.ranking.zeit.de/che/en/

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GERMANY BUDGET

Annual Monthly Monthly Cost of Living and Studying (in euros) Tuition Rent Transportation

Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena University of Applied Sciences 402 258 0

University of 308* 304 15 Tübingen

ESADE Business & Law School Barcelona & Madrid 16,200 600 65

Columbia University in the City of New York 45,790 1,000 106

* Non-EU students pay an additional 3,000 euros/year

In cooperation with our solution partners:

Less Bureaucracy -MoreEnjoying Germany! Living and studying in Germany is cheaper than elsewhere in the western world. The numbers speak for themselves

BY JULIA GUNDLACH AND CASPAR SHALLER ILLUSTRATION GOLDEN COSMOS

Monthly Health Monthly Monthly Cup of Total Foreign Insurance Groceries Telephone Coffee Students Students and Food and Internet as % of Total , federal and state statistical offices,

89 135 33 2 4,545 19 UNICUM

89 164 33 2.30 27,741 14

0 200 20 1.50 9,425 35

247 263 26 4 32,429 35 Sources: Deutsches Studentenwerk, ZEIT calculations ZEIT

Less Bureaucracy -MoreEnjoying Germany! Welcometothe university where youcan choose from over Find outmorehere: 150study programmes.Inatownfullofstudent life. Andwhere www.be-justus.de youcan affordtolive. MY FAVORITE THINGS What should you really know about Germany before you get there? Newcomers share what most shocks and delights them about student life, culture, work, and play in the country

BY DEBORAH STEINBORN AND CASPAR SHALLER

AFTER AN EFFICIENT DAY’S WORK, LET YOUR HAIR DOWN DURING FEIERABEND. IF YOU’RE AT THE LIBRARY, SET UP YOUR PAUSENSCHEIBE BEFORE HEADING OUT FOR BEER OR SPARKLING WATER

26 Z

GERMANY

THE INTERNATIONALS cal viewpoints are in Germany until I attended a birthday party in Berlin recently. I showed up in a pink dress shirt, jeans, and Nike sneakers. Everyone else was Munodiwa Bore, 21, wearing only black clothing. is a Bachelor of Science student Turns out most of the guests at Jacobs University Bremen were followers of the anti-fascist from Harare, Zimbabwe movement. I saw a guy with a large German flag in his hands, and thought, “Oh, interesting.” Then he held it up, and he set it on fire. Ausking Shi, 23, I approached him to ask why is an intern at Hamburg he’d burned the flag. We got into shipping group Hapag-Lloyd a very political discussion. It was a from Melbourne, Australia little awkward for me, since I was wearing commercial brands. Well, better a far-left party than a far- right party, I thought. Since I’m of Asian descent, that could have been really awkward. – Ausking Alex Swanson, 25, is a Master of Arts student at WATER EXPLODES the University of Hamburg DUST OFF YOUR REEBOKS. The major shock I got, right when from Bellevue, Nebraska, US THE ’80S HAVE MADE A COMEBACK I first arrived, was the sparkling water. They drink so much of it THE ’80S ARE BACK for everything, and many are so to show when you’ll return, or a here, and it doesn’t even taste of I wish I had known that Ree- hard to pronounce. – Ausking guard will take away all your stuff. anything at all. boks are cool! Everybody wears Sort of like getting your car towed My host mother picked me up white Reeboks, on the street and GREEN PASTURES when the meter runs out. – Alex from the airport, and she brought on campus. They’re 29 dollars The first thing I noticed right along a flower and a bottle of wa- (25 euros) on sale back home in when I got off the plane was all RECYCLING RULES ter. I was so excited that I forgot Nebraska but in Germany, they the green. Zimbabwe is very dry It seems as if you need a uni- all about the bottle. Later, in my cost four times as much. Here, and Harare is right in the middle versity degree to take care of new room, I sat down to drink you need to look stylish and be of the savanna, so my eyes lit- garbage in Germany. Mastering some. But when I opened the bot- practical, too. Everything has erally could not take the amount the difference between the yellow tle, it exploded all over the place. to be waterproof. I have a pair of green. I felt like I had to wear trash bag, where the organic waste Had my host mother put of Reeboks in my closet now, color-block sunglasses all the goes, the bin you have to throw something in it, I wondered? Was although they’re metallic. – Alex time. – Munodiwa the paper into, and the one for the it some kind of practical joke? glass, is so complex. Then I tasted it. To my horror, it THE LANGUAGE PAUSENSCHEIBE? When you return empty bot- was just plain old water, but with There’s this theory that the The library is a beast to figure tles, you get a deposit back. I love bubbles. Back home, the only language you learn while grow- out. There are so many hidden going to the supermarket with my fizzy drinks we have are sweet- ing up determines how you see rules. Checking out a book is empty crate of beer bottles and ened soft drinks. Now, I can’t the world. Maybe Germans are an endeavor. You need to show getting four euros back. Yay, free drink still water anymore. When so pragmatic because their lan- your registration, a passport, and money! – Munodiwa I’m home in Harare, I joke that I guage is, too. I speak other lan- other documents just to apply for need to ship sparkling water from guages including English, Dutch, a library card. POLITICS IS SERIOUS Germany. – Munodiwa and Vietnamese. And I haven’t Then there’s thePausenscheibe . I identify myself as politically encountered anything that’s as It’s like a study-break pass. Say very left-wing, so I didn’t think WHAT’S VITAMIN B? precise as German. I’m still learn- you’re studying at the university many people could be much B refers to Beziehungen, the ing the constructs, but it’s all so library and want to go to the bath- more left than me. I didn’t German term for relationships.

Photos: Thomas Meyer/OSTKREUZ, Dávid Biró, personal 3x submissions exact. It feels like there is a word room. Place this pass on your desk realize just how extreme politi- If you’re a good networker in

27 GERMANY

Germany, then you have a lot of of making a mistake, they will just Vitamin B. say they can’t. When I moved to Germans network differently. Germany and didn’t speak Ger- I think it has to do with the divide man yet, I would ask, “Excuse between business and pleasure. me, do you speak English?” And It wasn’t easy for me to network people would reply, “A little.” here. I even had barbecues on my In German! I would ask myself, balcony in the WG, the group “Then how did you understand apartment, almost daily to try to what I just said?” – Munodiwa meet people when I first moved in. But there’s another aspect to INSURE YOUR KEYS German networking that im- People have insurance for every- presses me. I’ve met a few people thing here. Now, I do too: a who keep a personal distance and general policy and one for health- yet are so immensely helpful. A care, Hausratsversicherung for my flatmate, for one, helped me to get apartment and bicycle, and a my current internship as well as Haftpflichtversicherung, which is a new place to stay. I don’t know liability insurance. I would really him well at all, yet he was so recommend other people to get willing to help. And he is incredi- that one. bly connected, so he seems to have I was very surprised to find a lot of that Vitamin B. – Ausking supplemental dental insurance on sale at my local bank branch. PLEASE KNOCK FORGET ABOUT BEER. SPARKLING WATER At the bank! For some reason I Germans knock a lot. Always IS THE BEVERAGE OF CHOICE still don’t get, horse-insurance knock on a door before entering policies are really popular. You can an office, even if the door is open. insure keys, cars, pets, eyeglasses, Also, students knock on their have not seen him in the eight told me. I found out, actually, cell phones, bikes, and vacations. desks at the end of a lecture or months I’ve been here. We have because I failed one. So I went to Germans I’ve met talk about all seminar. At parties, it’s a way to a date to meet soon; we planned it the Prüfungsamt (the test-taking the things that could go wrong. say goodbye to everyone at once. well in advance. – Ausking office). After a long conversation, Maybe the thirst for insurance Otherwise, you’d have to shake I found out that I could repeat the reflects that. – Alex hands with every single person. FRIENDS FOR LIFE test. Twice! Just knock three times on a In the beginning, it was hard to There’s a whole test-taking FEIERABEND! table near the door and say Tschüss. get close to Germans. When I first and test-registering system here Feierabend, which in direct trans- You’ll be just like a local. – Alex stayed with my host family, I told that foreigners tend to find out lation means “party evening,” is my host sister a personal story, about the hard way. You don’t just used to refer to the end of the SPONTAN IS RELATIVE and all she replied was, “Okay.” register for classes, you have to reg- workday. And it reflects a much Spontaneity is not a state of mind I thought that was very cold. But ister for exams. bigger concept that I’m still in Germany. In Australia, the the longer I knew her, the longer If you want more time to grappling with. There’s a strong word can be positive or negative, her replies became. study, you can register to take division between work and depending on how it’s said. It’s At first, people seem very the exam later in a second round. personal life. Germans I’ve met ambiguous. Here, it’s always pos- reserved, but in time you can Efficient German students know are such hard workers. They are itive. If someone says you’re spon- build substantial relationships. that they can take extra time to extremely efficient and focused on taneous, it’s a real compliment. In many other cultures, people prepare for the tougher exams at getting a lot done during office Despite that, Germans aren’t are very open, almost a bit nosy, the end of a semester, and they hours. But once the workday is spontan! It seems like they want right away. But then they aren’t sign up to take them later on. It’s over, they are gone. And they tend to be but don’t know how. They there for you later. If you have a like optimizing the school year. not to mix business and pleasure. make plans weeks or months in German friend, you have a friend Very efficient. Alex– Colleagues will say to me, “I advance. In Australia, I had a Ger- for life. – Munodiwa can’t wait to enjoy my Feierabend man friend who was like a brother STRICTLY SPEAKING tonight.” But they don’t elabo- to me. He lives back in his home- REGISTER FOR TESTS Most Germans can speak rate. And it’s rare for co-workers town in Lübeck now, which is not You get three chances to take the English quite well, but they are to head out for a drink together

far from where I’m living. Yet I same test here, and no one ever perfectionists. So if they’re afraid after work. – Ausking Photo: David Avazzadeh

28 LEARN GERMAN EXPERIENCE GERMANY German language skillsare your keytoGermany andits numerous possibilities. As themarketleader, theGoethe-Institut guarantees youacomprehensive, highquality language offer. LearnGermaninyourown country, at 13 locations in Germany, or viadistancelearning. WWW.GOETHE.DE/DEUTSCHKURSE HAMBURG

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30 Z

GERMANY YOU SAY GOODBYE AND I SAY HELLO Germany’s regional dialects form a baffling smorgasbord of linguistic variety. Mapping the nation’s wild ways of greeting

BY MILENA MERTEN ILLUSTRATION GOLDEN COSMOS

Germans can be sticklers for What’s more, German greetings students use the Bavarian greet- means “morning” in northern greetings. You’ll get away with differ from region to region. ing Grüß Gott (something along dialect. Locals from Bremen to Guten Tag and Auf Wiedersehen Saying Hallo and Tschüss is the lines of God bless) and the Hamburg use it to say hello at in most parts. But these expres- perfectly fine up north. But in formal farewell Auf Wiedersehen any time of day or night. But sions are quite formal. So never Bavaria, these very same greet- (until we see each other again). you’ll quickly be labeled an greet club bouncers in any city by ings are considered rude. Other forms of greeting un- oddball if you use this term to saying Guten Abend. They might One school director in Passau derline the north-south divide greet a southern German - espe- not let you in. even banned them, insisting that as well. The word Moin actually cially if you do so after lunch.

HOW TO MANAGE THOSE TONGUE-TWISTING ... AND HOW TO SAY GOODBYE GREETINGS WHEN SAYING HELLO ... WITHOUT EMBARRASSING YOURSELF

Grüß Gott gʁyːs gɔt Ade adeː Griaß di gʁɪ͡ ɐs dɪ Pfiat di p͡ fɪ͡ ɐt dɪ Guten Tag guːtən taːk Servus sɛɐvʊs Moin mɔ͡ ʏn Tschüssing ͡t ʃʏsɪŋ Salü salyː Adieu adjø Gliggauf glɪg a͡ ʊf Tschüss ͡t ʃʏs Tach tax Adjüss at͡ ʃʏs

31 COOL IN GERMANY IN COOL HOW TO BE 32 GERMANY Z

Photo: Jörg Brüggemann/OSTKREUZ HOW TO BE COOL IN GERMANY

Suddenly, Germany is hip. And you can be, too. Instructions for a rom-com makeover from the author of the hit book “How to be German in 50 easy steps”

BY ADAM FLETCHER

33 GERMANY

Even during times of calm, warmth, and prosperity, scan the horizon for icebergs (this page), Nikita Teryoshin (next page) OSTKREUZ

About four years ago, the international media be- throats, hoping the sudden tsu- 1. DON’T TRY TO BE COOL Anne Gabriel-Jürgens/ , gan to declare Germany the coolest country in nami of praise would pass so that Everyone knows it’s a paradox: the only way to be the whole world. First, The New York Times wrote, they could return to their more cool is not to care about being cool. But German “There’s a new can-do nation. It’s called Germany.” comfortable position as repentant coolness is even more demanding than that. Not OSTKREUZ Then, Angela Merkel was voted Person of the Year former bad guys. only do you have to look like you’re not trying. You by Time Magazine. German coolness is new, you must look like you wouldn’t even know how to try The Economisttrumped that (bigly) this spring, see. They don’t really know how if you wanted to, which you don’t. when it dedicated an entire issue to “Cool Germany.” to do it yet. That’s part of what You should therefore treat coolness as if it’s a The nation has transformed, like the goofy girl in the makes them just so damn… high-school birthday party to which you haven’t rom-com who wears her hair down one day and well … cool. It’s complicated. For been invited. Don’t try to get yourself invited, and removes her dorky glasses, leading everyone in the all those who aren’t that familiar don’t reveal that you care about having been so room to gasp: “Wow… Germany… you’re… HOT!” with the country just yet, I’ll ex- badly snubbed. At home, this positivity was met by the sound plain. Here’s how you can become Instead, go about blending into the background

of 80 million Germans tutting and clearing their a cool German in ten easy steps. as quietly and modestly as possible. Not that cool Photos: Fritz Beck, Jörg Brüggemann/

34 Make an understatement. For German fashionistas, neutral colors and functional wear are the norm

Germans don’t like to let loose. They do. But they And please, if you order a non- nothing in your outfit – you’re inexplicably “in” really only do so in certain, select areas of life. alcoholic beverage, make it a again a month later because you’re retro. Take cars, for one. They should be black, fast, Wurzelsaftschorle, bitte. Because Trying to win at fashion is like trying to win at and shiny. Forget the adage, “Drive it like you stole Apfelsaftschorle is so 1999. the German card game Skat while playing alone, in it.” In Germany, it’s more like, “Drive it like you’re the dark, with no cards. Accordingly, cool Germans fully aware of how many more monthly payments 2. DRESS NORMCORE hate it. So they have smartly sidestepped this giant you have left until you own it.” And whether you’re Extend that same modesty (cars clothing Zeitverschwendung entirely. driving a Porsche Cayenne or a Range Rover, your and eyewear aside) to all areas Instead, they’ve adopted an ingenious solution eyewear should make the sort of statement that your of life, especially clothing. After called Normcore: normal turned hard-core, a unisex personality will really struggle to back up. all, fashion is stubbornly bereft fashion trend characterized by unpretentious, aver- What’s more, if you have kids, their names of rules. You might be “in” one age-looking clothing. Attire in Germany isn’t about should do the same. Say Tschüss to Christian, Sara, minute, only to be hilariously be- making a statement. It’s about making an under- and Julia, and a very warm Hallo to Alois, Tiana, hind and “out” the next, only to statement, sponsored by neutral colors, Scandinavian Liam, and Kalea. discover that – having changed minimalism, and navy-blue Herschel backpacks.

35 Be square. Profit from all those outdated stereotypes, and exceed the world’s expectations GERMANY

3. BE OPTIPESSI Germany is a famously glass-half-empty nation. Even during times of total calm and prosperity, Germans are always scanning the horizon for icebergs. The most regularly usedTisch in this culture isn’t found in the kitchen, but in the mind, in the form of good old sturdy pessimistisch. However, within the past five years, there’s been a subtle yet perceptible shift in this worldview. And cool Germans are leading the way. Having grown up watching their cautious parents worryingly working and saving for hard times that never came, they’ve decided to throw (measured) caution to the wind. They no longer feel pessimistic. And while they haven’t quite crossed over to full-blown optimism yet, they’re in a uniquely new state of mind. It’s called optipessi. This state, which you’ll need as a cool German, shuns

Avoid the rat race. Enjoy the newfound culture of free time and big families

neutrality. It favors a calm yet engaged, rational yet park benches are still fine). They’ve 5. PERPETUATE emotional state, and is open to the possibility that rightly concluded that the rat race NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES the future might be great, or awful, or greatly aw- is rotten, materialism is meh, and Not all national stereotypes work their citizens ful, or awfully great. So no matter what previous capitalism just makes you kaputt. equally. Some exert higher demands. Italians, generations told you, what the insurance salesman But families are fantastic. So cool according to the cliché, get to be free feeling, free sold you, and what your unbefristeter Arbeitsvertrag Germans have gone from being speaking, free gesticulating, passionate communi- promises you, you can’t prepare for it. There’s no the world’s most asexual pan- cators. Mexicans get to sleep all afternoon, wear point in worrying (too much). Go ahead and drink das to fornicating their way to a sombreros, and drink tequila. another Schnaps, take another exotic holiday, and veritable baby boom. Germans, on the other hand, are expected to be have another child… Four kids are the new two, as humorless, uptight, and good with a screwdriver. evidenced by Germans’ newfound Make one joke a week and they’re the office come- 4. PROCREATE love for old Dutch cargo bicycles, dian. Arrive ten minutes late for a business meeting Cool Germans are done with long hours, long time piled high with tots. So, get down and they’re seen as social renegades. Park against

Photos: Simon Koy (opposing page), Julia Luka Lila Nitzschke, Simon Koy (this page) horizons, and career long shots (long drinks and long to it. Everyone’s watching. the Gehweg and they’re practically Che Guevara.

37 GERMANY

Go ahead and do it yourself. How hard could it be? Self-sufficiency is a (cool German) virtue

Who profits most from these incorrect, outdated Amongst cool Germans, by con- 7. HOLIDAY WHERE stereotypes? Why, Germans, of course. They happily trast, patriotism is strictly verbo- OTHER GERMANS DON’T propagate them, lowering expectations, which they ten. They define themselves pri- The same rules apply when abroad. Hiking through then get to casually, effortlessly surpass, whilst … marily as Europeans. Namibia, cool Germans like to believe they’re brave, In fact, if they could get away fearless explorers. This illusion would be shattered 6. REJECT PATRIOTISM with it, when asked where they’re if they were to head out on the trail and bump Cool Germans, rather than being proud of mod- from, cool Germans would likely into Stefan and Sara from Wolfsburg, who happen ern, successful Germany, have decided to remain answer “Central Europe.” to be carrying exactly the same Jack Wolfskin healthily suspicious of patriotism, treating it like a And if they were pressed for backpack. Therefore, as a cool German, spend your travelling salesman that’s arrived unannounced at more specifics, they’d probably evenings on Google Earth searching for remote their door: “Fourth biggest economy in the world! say, “Ecke Poland, Czech Repub- mountain villages in the Balkans, or desolate valley One million refugees accepted! Apfelsaftschorle, am I lic, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzer- farm land in the seven ’stans where you and a right? I’m right! We’re the good guys, folks! Go Team land, France, Belgium, Nether- 3,000-euro single-lens reflex camera the size of

Us … Here, take a flag.” lands, and Denmark.” Madagascar can finally get some quality time alone. Photo: Ériver Hijano

38 8. UMARMEN GERMAN FRAUEN Previously, to be German was to be an M&M: hard on the outside, a little softer in the middle. Cool Germans are challenging their inherited cultural stiffness. Even amongst men, the stiff handshake is out, and the loose hug is in. “Come here, you… ”

9. DIY HILDEGARD VON BINGEN You may have been raised in a culture that believes The Polymath, 1098-1179 if something needs doing, you should pay someone with life skills to do it for you. This means you acquire no new life skills, but you also get no new blisters. It’s a trade-off, the ethics of which you can happily mull while kicking back on the couch with your feet up. But you live in Germany now – with people who EMMY NOETHER see self-sufficiency as a virtue, know how to put up The Mathematician, 1882-1935 shelving, and have installed their own kitchens. So, if you want to win the respect of cool Germans, or become one yourself, you need to stop hiring help the second a lightbulb blows. Moving home? Don’t hire a moving company. They’re not trustworthy. Strong-arm all the people you’ve ever met – and a few passers-by – into form- ELISABETH SELBERT ing a human chain that stretches from the back of the van (which you’ve also borrowed from a friend) The Lawyer, 1896-1986 all the way to your doorstep. Welcome Laying some flooring? You know what to do. Do it yourself. How hard can it be? You only tread on it. Installing that new kitchen? to theHeart Hold a weekend Kücheneinbauparty and put it together with a few pals. Cool Germans know MARLENE DIETRICH of Europe that if you’re doing something, do it yourself. The Actress, 1901-1992 n 10. REBEL More than 260 In a desperate attempt to re-brand the country as degree programmes anything but replete with efficient, frugal engineer- n No tuition fees ing marvels, Germans have initiated some of the most spectacularly inept development projects in n Among Europe’smost recent history: Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and innovative universities the Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Then, Volkswagen HANNAH ARENDT was caught fiddling with emissions tests, deliberately The Philosopher, 1906-1975 n Partnerships with over-poisoning the Umwelt. Some might say it was global companies just an expensive anti-PR initiative. Perhaps that tells you how being the planet’s most ordentliche people (e.g. Adidas, Siemens, can really get to you after a while. Audi and Schaefﬂer) Cool Germans, though, are secretly a little bit proud of these scandals. Kind of like parents who are n Uniqueresearch proud to hear their kid is the class clown. It’s not the ANGELA MERKEL environment best scenario, but it’s better than being the class nerd. The Chancellor, born 1954 In other words, while old Germany was about adhering to the rules, cool Germany is about pre- Last issue: German Männer from tending hard to be embarrassed when you’re caught Gutenberg to Röntgen Kick-start breaking them. Illustrations: Jelka Lerche; Source: ZEIT research your career www.fau.eu 39

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robotic-like voices, though de- velopers claim users prefer them to human voices. Lessons are less varied than Babbel’s. The mobile app doesn’t exactly duplicate the online platform, and lessons are WORD simplistic and can be annoying to use on a smartphone. Rosetta Stone is the oldest platform, launched in 1992 by American entrepreneur Allen PLAY Stoltzfus, who had learned the language through immersion Deutsch goes digital. while living in Germany. On- A growing number of apps line packages start at 14 dollars can get you started (12 euros) a month. Rosetta Stone has a special claim to fame. It has been used BY ANNE NELSON for decades by the US Depart- PHOTO LUDWIG ANDER-DONATH ment of State. Younger users may

find lessons creaky. Instructional voices speak v-e-r-y slowly and photography is old-fashioned. Students with some knowledge of German should take the My German lessons began around my grand- placement tests on Babbel and parents’ kitchen table, where the language was E-LESSONS Duolingo with a grain of salt. adult code for information unintended for little They can be skewed by a lack of TEACH VOCABULARY ears. That made it irresistible, but the only vo- familiarity with the software or cabulary I acquired was Dummkopf and Wurst. My AND SMALL TALK app. Set up a ghost account for college semester wasn’t much more successful, IN A FUN WAY the first round, then take the test force-feeding me subjunctives before breakfast. again with another account for a Luckily, a host of online platforms helps me more accurate assessment. these days to maintain an intermediate level. Pro- bites are crisp and clear, with standard German Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, and grams are improving rapidly, with different cost accents – a far cry from my grandparents’ Rhine- Babbel have been joined by an structures and approaches. The three best-known land dialect. ever-growing universe of free digital programs, Babbel, Duolingo, and Rosetta The subject matter isn’t universally useful (un- online courses. These include Stone, all have a German connection. less you’re looking for an ice-skating date), but the DeutschAkademie’s online Babbel, the world’s top-grossing language- lessons help to acquire conversational skills and Deutschkurs, BBC’s Learn Ger- learning app and e-learning platform, was founded vocabulary. All in all, Babbel is a solid and afford- man, and MOOCs (Massive in Berlin in 2008. It offers a free sample lesson, but able choice. The company has been growing rapid- Online Open Courses) listed on further study requires a monthly fee of about ten ly, and it won Fast Company’s award for learning edX and Coursera. dollars (eight euros) including the mobile app. software in 2016. The gold standard of lan- Babbel combines inductive and deductive Babbel’s competitor, Duolingo, is free, although guage learning always will be im- methods of instruction. Inductive lessons start adware has been added to enhance the business mersion. So sign up for an online with examples, then explain the rules. Deductive model. Ads can be removed for a monthly fee program – and book a flight. It lessons offer the rule first, then move to examples. roughly as much as a Babbel subscription. may not help you to understand In an early lesson, for instance, you’ll echo Launched in 2009, Duolingo is the brain- Rhineland dialect, but you’ll be Frederike and Hannes’ intense negotiations over child of German-Guatemalan technologist Luis sure to get that ice-skating date. a potential ice-skating date. “Super, dann können von Ahn. Duolingo relies heavily on gamification, wir zusammen gehen!” (“Great, then we can go to- rewarding daily use with points that lead to free Anne Nelson is author of “Red gether!”) Another lesson lays out the rules of telling premium lessons. Lessons can be curiously ad- Orchestra” and has taught digital time, such as when to use “halb,” “vor,” and other dictive, especially as you rack up days towards a media courses at Columbia conventions, before moving on to exercises. Sound streak. Duolingo’s drawbacks include its synthetic, University in the City of New York

41 Z

GERMANY “THE BEST AMBASSADORS”

Germany’s first-ever Minister of State for International Culture is only 38 years old. Michelle Müntefering talks with ZEIT Germany about the country’s image abroad, her multicultural neighborhood back home, and American baseball

BY MANUEL J. HARTUNG AND DEBORAH STEINBORN PHOTOS MONIKA KEILER

The Economist recently placed “Cool You’re referring to the benchmarking tool Germany” on its cover. Why has Germany used to track the experiences of interna- become so hip? tional students worldwide ... Birkenstock sandals are back in style! That’s right. And the Student Barometer And Berlin is a particular attraction, almost has found that, during their studies, this as much as my hometown of Herne in the group – representing about 30 percent of state of North Rhine-Westphalia. all foreign students – has integrated well, But seriously, today’s younger generation learned the language, and is familiar with of Germans is more internationally focused our culture of administration. For instance, than ever before. Young Germans are study- these students know what the Ausländer- ing, traveling, and working in other coun- behörde, the German foreigners authority, is. tries around the world. Others, however, struggle with hurdles And these exchange students are the best such as language and bureaucracy. Another ambassadors we could possibly have. finding of the study: many international What’s more, Germany’s ability to learn students find it difficult to establish a real from its difficult past has contributed to connection with their German peers. a certain image abroad. That’s why we can Meanwhile, Germans who have studied actually talk about Germany being cool in abroad know what it feels like to be an out- today’s times. sider, and they approach foreign students There’s a lot of buzz about us because differently. They are welcoming and helpful, we’ve developed into a very stable country, and they want to get to know people from both politically and economically. Müntefering is a New York Mets fan but other cultures. hasn’t yet been to one of their games That’s why I am such a proponent of Many students and professionals who exchange programs. We need cultural ex- move to Germany settle in well. Others change across national borders in Europe. don’t stay long at all. Obstacles to integration and bureaucracy overwhelm them ... “THERE’S A LOT OF Hasn’t Germany’s global appeal suffered due to right-wing populist movements We are aware of that issue. About a third BUZZ ABOUT US BECAUSE of students who come here graduate and and the Alternative for Germany party? want to stay. That’s according to the Interna- WE’VE DEVELOPED INTO Germany faces the same problem as many tional Student Barometer ... A VERY STABLE COUNTRY” western democracies at present: Populism,

42 Minister Müntefering on the rooftop terrace at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin Z

GERMANY and right-wing populism in particular, is on Schwartz Initiative, which provides scien- the rise. That’s one side of the picture. tists who are threatened in their own coun- The other side of the picture, however, is tries with financial and logistical support a Germany that is open to the world, more to continue their research while in exile. than ever before. And this side can be found It’s a joint effort of the Federal Foreign particularly in cities that have a large student Office and the Alexander von Humboldt population. Foundation. We want to extend this initiative even further to help artists and What can you, Germany’s first Minister other intellectuals. for International Culture, offer the world? Space for the critical exchange of ideas is Germany wants to attract more top inter- becoming ever smaller, and that is happening national talent. Doesn’t that contribute on a global scale. Scientists, journalists, and to a brain drain elsewhere? artists are being suppressed. The scope of Germany is in global competition to at- freedom is shrinking in many cases. We tract the best talent. China, for example, has want to keep that scope wide and allow for plans to attract 500,000 additional foreign multilateralism and partnerships world- students to its universities by 2020. wide. We believe we can do so through in- At the same time, we must help ternational cultural politics. countries that are under pressure in order to prevent a brain drain. We offer local How do you plan to accomplish this? Müntefering riding the scholarships in Iraq and Jordan. And we We work with cultural organizations all elevator at the are focusing on longer-term support for re- over the world. An example is the Philipp Federal Foreign Office development in Syria as well.

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Seizethe chance: careers.boehringer-ingelheim.com How much time have you spent abroad? home base, in the New York City borough I was born in 1980. Back then, studying of Queens, reminds me of my own home- abroad wasn’t a given, particularly among town in the Ruhr region. It’s a working- working-class families. class neighborhood, just like mine. And the So my main experience abroad was a team’s spirit of “never giving up” makes my 12-hour ride in a camper, with my family, heart beat for the underdogs. down to Lake Garda in Italy every summer. “SPACE FOR THE Later on, when I was older, I attended a lan- Which German stereotypes bother you? guage summer school for a couple of weeks CRITICAL EXCHANGE We should be wary of generalizations. in the United Kingdom. OF IDEAS IS No one likes the know-it-all, and I’d like us But in a sense, I experienced the world BECOMING EVER to break away from that part of our image. abroad every day at home in the Ruhr SMALLER AROUND Some parts of the German stereo- region. There, I grew up alongside the chil- THE WORLD. type might be worth keeping, though. Our dren of immigrants from Poland, Turkey, attention to detail in crafts and engineer- Greece, and Italy. WE WANT TO KEEP ing is one. Our history of workers’ participa- THAT SCOPE WIDE” tion is a strength too. We can learn a lot Why is a collector’s-item bag from the from it, especially when it comes to New York Mets, an American baseball challenges such as digitalization. team, hanging in your Berlin office? Having said that, when I fully plan Sports and culture are international my weekends well in advance, my friends phenomena, and baseball is an important abroad sometimes say: “Michelle, you’re part of the American culture. I’ve travelled so German!” But is that really typically a lot over the past four years, and the Mets German? Or is it just me?

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LANGUAGE CLASSES Learning a language is the best way to get to know a country. And there’s a wide selection of language courses in Germany. Summer and winter schools are conveniently tailored to the academic year, so students can learn German during semester breaks. A QUICK Language classes can be com- bined with other subjects, such as German culture. Classes are usually full-time and spread over four to six weeks, so most uni- STUDY versities offer student housing. Moving to another country to study Scholarships are also available through the German Academic is a big step. Get a first impression Exchange Service (DAAD). The of Germany and its universities in just easiest way to find a class that’s right for you is the DAAD’s web- a few weeks site www.daad.de. It features a BY LUISA SCHUMANN database of summer and winter

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Formoreinformation please visit www.artes.uni-koeln.de BOOT CAMPS academics. “I really enjoyed the three-month place- CLASS TRIPS Apart from language classes, many German ment in a program for plant ecology,” she says, adding Experiences in a new country universities offer short courses in a staggering array that her boss even asked her to extend her stay. are great, but sharing them with of subjects. There’s even a finance bootcamp at the After one year in Germany, Goede is returning to your classmates as a group could Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and Brazil to finish her bachelor’s degree. She’s thinking be even more enriching. a summer school in graffiti and urban art in Berlin. about coming back to do a master’s program. “I will If your class is interested in Prices vary considerably. For a mere 120 euros, pack my warm gear,” she says. “Working outdoors specific topics, look up the art- and you can learn about European language develop- in the snow in Germany was a real shock.” history-themed trips offered by ment at the University of Potsdam (accommodation organizations such as Visit Berlin, not included). Or study engineering and pro- RESEARCH EF Educational Tours, or Plan My gramming robots while working in a state-of- Scientists who want to experience Germany’s re- School Trip. These initiatives can the-art lab at the Robotics Summer School, of- search facilities, or academics who want to trawl its help to plan your class trip. fered by Aachen University. That program costs massive university libraries, can apply for short-term Once you’ve selected a tour 2,800 euros including boarding. Check out research visits at universities or research institutes. and a schedule, consider applying www.shortcoursesportal.com to find a program that Finding the right school for your subject is for funding. The DAAD offers fits your interests and schedule. easy − just get in touch with institutes that do re- travel grants for groups of up to search in your field. And there is financial help. As 15 students, provided they are WORK EXPERIENCE soon as you have a project set up with your host accompanied by a teacher. You could dive straight into professional life university, you can apply for a scholarship. The If your application is accepted, instead. Many international students go for work DAAD offers short-term grants for research financial support for the trip will placements to get to know Germany. Stephanie projects lasting up to six months. The grants include cover 50 euros per person, per day, Goede, a 23-year-old biologist from Brazil, coordi- monthly stipends of about 1,000 euros as well as for a trip lasting as much as 12 days. nated with IAESTE, a program that places young financial assistance with health insurance. Gute Reise!

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THE FALLBACK CITY As Great Britain gears up to leave the European Union, Frankfurt could take over as the new go-to city for expat bankers. If it can convince them to come, that is

BY DEBORAH STEINBORN PHOTOS EVELYN DRAGAN

London has a long tradition as the financial center of weekend in Frankfurt!” says Menges. “Explore the Europe, but Brexit has thrown that role into doubt. city, experience the short daily commute, the fast Now, some business leaders in Frankfurt hope their drive to the airport, the great neighborhoods, and the city can step in after the United Kingdom’s impend- surrounding region. The quality of life is incredible.” ing withdrawal from the European Union. This zeal comes as the UK’s membership in the These are big shoes to fill, especially for a city EU fast approaches its end. Great Britain is set to that has long lived in the shadow of financial capitals leave the political and economic union at midnight such as New York and Hong Kong. And London, on March 29, 2019. of course. The British capital has a population of Already, it has become a less-popular destination 8.8 million, and its historic financial district is home for international talent. The number of professionals to the London Stock Exchange, the Bank of Eng- arriving in Britain from the EU fell 26 percent in the land, and the European headquarters of many banks. past year, according to an April report from LinkedIn, Frankfurt’s population, by contrast, is a modest the employment-oriented social-media group. 700,000. Its reputation as a financial hub beyond Germany’s Federal Statistical Office doesn’t Germany’s borders has improved somewhat since the regularly track such professional migration. But it European Central Bank opened for business there does track British applications for German citizen- twenty years ago. But a metropolitan vibe is still a WITH BREXIT ship. And they have skyrocketed since a majority of far cry away. IN SIGHT, Britons voted in favor of Brexit in 2016. With Brexit in sight, the city of Frankfurt is FRANKFURT According to a recent report by the statistical of- spreading the word that it’s a valid alternative. “We’re IS SPREADING fice, a record 7,493 Britons became German citizens not saying that we’re better than London, just that in 2017, a 162 percent increase from the previous THE WORD we’re a great fallback,” says Eric Menges, chief ex- year. “A connection with the forthcoming Brexit ecutive of FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH, one of sev- THAT IT´S A VALID is obvious,” the report says, even though absolute eral promotional bodies in the German city. ALTERNATIVE numbers remain small. These groups are sending delegates armed with Several international banks have either an- slides, data, and other marketing ammunition to nounced or already implemented a shift in jobs away visit London-based top brass at international banks from the British capital. Early this year, Deutsche and asset managers. The message? “Come spend a Bank said it would relocate its client business to

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Frankfurt. Standard Chartered, pher Jürgen Habermas carried the torch as the most Citigroup, and others have made GOLDMAN SACHS renowned German thinker in the city. plans to expand their Frankfurt Despite that weighty history, Frankfurt is often HAS STARTED TO offices. Goldman Sachs has start- written off as little more than a pit stop for bankers. It ed to relocate some senior bankers RELOCATE SOME SENIOR is sometimes sarcastically referred to as Mainhattan to its Frankfurt office. BANKERS FROM for its aspirations to be a metropolis and its modest These banks all are seeking LONDON TO FRANKFURT skyline of tall buildings along the Main, a river that to ensure continued access to the bisects the city. single European market. But other The bigger problem? Most colleagues back in European cities are in the running, famous nightclubs. Frankfurt, meanwhile, has London don’t want to leave the British capital, says too. Emmanuel Macron, France’s Germany’s busiest airport and the world’s biggest a British-American executive from Deutsche Bank president, is pushing for Paris, and annual book fair. who has undertaken the move. last November he accomplished a Yet Frankfurt has a rich cultural history as well. The banker, who declined to be named, explains coup. The French capital won the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe grew up in the city. his own reasons for coming. His wife, a Lithuanian bidding for the new headquarters Goethe University Frankfurt, where 18 Nobel Prize citizen, had grown concerned about her post-Brexit of the European Banking Author- winners have studied or taught throughout the status. So the couple decided to relocate. ity currently in London. years, is named after him. Bettina von Arnim, the “The United States didn’t seem like an option As for its image, Frankfurt has acclaimed writer and intellectual, also lived there. So given the presidency of Donald Trump,” the banker gotten a bum rap for decades, and did generations of the Rothschild banking dynasty. adds. “Germany has its problems, but all in all it’s not just amongst expats. Munich In the past century, philosopher Theodor W. not bad. The same applies for Frankfurt.” has Oktoberfest, the world’s Adorno and others formed the Frankfurt School of This image problem dates as far back as the largest beer festival. Berlin has social theory, an intellectual backbone of the early 1500s. The famous Protestant reformer Martin Berghain, one of Europe’s most Federal Republic of Germany. Later, the philoso- Luther referred to it as a “gold- and silver-hole” during a brief visit there, adding that he wouldn’t lish-speaking expat bloggers. She place any bets on Frankfurt. The city lost out to THERE IS STILL A LONG studied German in college and Bonn after World War II as the seat of the western wanted to live abroad. Walker may WAY TO GO BEFORE German capital. There’s still a big drug problem rave about her city of choice. But around the main train station, although the situa- THE FRANKFURT LABOR the buzz heard about Frankfurt tion has improved since the 1990s. Hipster bars and MARKET OVERHEATS, right after Brexit was announced restaurants are now cropping up along Kaiserstrasse, SAYS A HEADHUNTER has died down. In recent months, its main strip. it’s become apparent that interna- Menges, the FrankfurtRheinMain CEO, says tional banks would rather spread the sentiment that Frankfurt lacks flair is unfair. The German job market is booming. And Frank- their business around Europe than “That old prejudice is totally flawed,” he says. Frank- furt may not have the same low housing prices that center everything in one place. furt has made great strides in recent years to become Berlin still boasts, but it offers a relatively low cost of Perhaps as a result, the early an international and attractive destination, he says. living and easy access via air and rail to most places enthusiasm of some Frankfurt- Yet while proponents like Menges emphasize in Europe. based financial-services profes- quality of life and an international feel, perhaps Frankfurt’s devoted expat community, mean- sionals also has waned. “We the best thing Frankfurt has going for it is the job while, is trying to polish the city’s reputation. “I love were very optimistic about how market itself. it,” says Alisa Jordan Walker of her experience in much business Brexit would bring A 2017 survey by social-media group InterNa- Frankfurt so far. The 27-year-old native of London us,” admits Andreas Krischke, tions found that Frankfurt is currently the most at- moved there two years ago. She admits that she founder of Indigo Headhunters. tractive German city for foreign professionals, the picked Frankfurt solely for its job opportunities, But “the great rush has not yet main reason being career opportunities in the city. but “the every-day quality of life can’t be beaten.” taken place. There is still a long Frankfurt was voted the tenth-best expat city in the Walker, who teaches at an international business way to go before the Frankfurt world, according to the global survey. school in the city, is just one of about a dozen Eng- labor market overheats.”

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when a blogger revealed that one of its new members was active in an extreme-right youth organi- ALT-RIGHT zation. This prompted the university’s student parliament, the so-called StuPa, to recommend the fraternity be removed from a list of student groups. FRAT HOUSE Being on the list ensures support from the university, such as Are German fraternities harmless upholders of university tradition? free use of university classrooms. Or are some Burschenschaften a far-right breeding ground? Many students The issue is currently under investigation by the university’s in Münster are fighting to maintain their university’s liberal values legal team. “The University of Münster opposes any uncon- stitutional political activity,” says a press statement. It won’t com- ment further, citing the ongoing investigation. “Burschenschaften are a special type of fraternity,” says Alexandra Kurth, a professor of political-science at the Justus Liebig Univer- sity Giessen, and an expert on German fraternities. Fraternity traditions often baffle outsiders, with fencing, singing outdated songs (including the pre-war national anthem), and wearing uni- forms that include little hats or sashes. But they offer members benefits, such as cheap housing and scholarships. Fraternities also provide access to an extensive network of alumni in important positions. “Fraternity members are very well connected,” says Kurth. After initiation rituals focused on fencing and drinking, members stay “brothers” for life and BY CASPAR SHALLER ILLUSTRATION GOLDEN COSMOS support their fraternity finan- cially. Famous alumni include Wandering through Münster, counterparts in other western right-wing thought at univer- Henning Schulte-Noelle, former nothing suggests that this pros- countries. For one, they have just sities throughout the country, head of insurance giant Allianz, perous university town north of a few thousand members in the partly due to ties to the far-right and Eberhard Diepgen, mayor of Cologne is torn by the same polit- entire country. Students at Ger- party Alternative for Germany Berlin in the 1990s. ical conflicts rattling Germany. man universities can go for years (AfD), which gained a seat in German fraternities have a But as in other parts of the without noticing them, or never Germany’s federal parliament in long tradition dating back to the world, the far right is resurgent, notice them at all. Yet they have the 2017 national elections. early 19th century. Their origins and civil society is fighting back. been influential in business and The conflict recently came lie in nationalist political clubs German fraternities, called politics for a long time. to the fore in Münster. In May, that called for the unification of Burschenschaften, are central to Now, some stand accused of the Burschenschaft Franconia, a Germany’s many statelets into this debate. They differ a lot from functioning as laboratories for local fraternity, made headlines one country.

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What this nationalist legacy cent Instagram posts are adorned means today is unclear. Philipp with calls for women to find their Schiller, the StuPa’s current pres- place in the home, and for Euro- ident, suggests meeting at the peans to defend their homelands university dining hall to discuss against Muslim hordes. the petition against Franconia. Facebook recently banned the Amid squat 1970s buildings, movement from its networks, in- the dining hall is just around the cluding Instagram. The German corner from the baroque palace secret service is surveilling Ident- that is the main building on cam- itarians for possible anti-demo- pus. Münster is a bike-friendly cratic tendencies. This is why city, and cyclists are everywhere Münster’s student parliament re- on the way to the buzzing uni- acted so harshly to Franconia’s versity quarter. About 20 percent new member, says Schiller. of Münster’s 300,000 residents “To me, it’s inexplicable and are students. deeply disturbing, but Franconia “We want to distance our- seems to think it is perfectly selves from extreme right-wing okay” to accept a member of a movements,” says Schiller, the far-right group, says Ebrahim StuPa president. “Franconia goes Al-Fakih, the president of ASV, beyond conservative into reac- Münster’s foreign-student orga- tionary territory.” The fraternity nization. The medical student only accepts men – and only men from Yemen hopes the university of German descent. Brothers will heed the StuPa petition. visit celebrations at Wartburg The 28-year-old stresses that Castle in Thuringia and the he hasn’t experienced racism or Academic’s Ball in Vienna, both xenophobia at the university. of which are associated with the “Student life in Münster is won- nationalist far right. derful,” he says. Still, he worries Münster’s student parliament right-wing connections again versial member, allegedly was a that Franconia hasn’t distanced claims Franconia shared Face- and again.” One fraternity mem- member of the Identitarians. The itself from the new right. “These book posts of right-wing extrem- ber in Jena was involved with the Identitarian Movement is the hip groups seem like relics of the ists. These have been deleted, but National Socialist Underground, new kid on the right-wing block, past,” he says. one remaining post glorifies the a Neo-Nazi terrorist group that a European version of the Amer- Just down the road, Bur- writer Ernst Jünger, whose think- murdered ten people, mostly ican alt-right. schenschaft Franconia is alive ing influenced German conser- with migrant backgrounds, back Originating in France, Iden- and well. On a leafy boulevard, vatives in the 1920s. in the 2000s. Today, Kurth says, titarians are sometimes called Zacharias D. Ryan opens the From a legal standpoint, some fraternity alumni are in- Nazi hipsters because they have door to the fraternity’s two-story the root of the matter is this: volved with right-wing populist shed old markers of the far right. house. The 24-year-old is wear- Can a student organization be party AfD. Earlier this year, the They have replaced shaved heads ing his fraternity’s bright sash stigmatized just because some AfD became the first far-right and bomber jackets with skinny over a check-ered shirt. find its views unpalatable? “As party to enter German parlia- jeans, black rain jackets, and Eight people live here at the long as you’re within constitu- ment since World War II, upset- asymmetrical hair cuts. moment, Ryan says, as he heads tional boundaries, you’re on ting German political stability. On Instagram, young wom- to a sitting room where a por- solid ground,” Schiller says. Concerns are growing that en from the movement have trait of Germany’s last emperor, Letting an extreme right-wing some fraternities are far-right become influencers. Their posts William II, hangs. The painting group member join the fraternity incubators, propagating ideology consist of perfectly curated selfies was signed by the emperor him- was the last straw. “With all due and training new staff. These showing them clutching trays of self, Ryan says. The décor is me- respect to free speech, Germany fraternities “often share ideas and cupcakes, or gazing into the sun- dieval. Throne-like chairs flank a has a special responsibility after personnel not only with the AfD, set from scenic mountaintops. long dining table in a cavernous starting World War II,” he says. but with extreme right-wing But the changes are purely room. On one wall hangs a por- Kurth, the University of Gies- organizations such as the Iden- aesthetic. Underneath, the tradi- trait of Bismarck, the German sen professor, says: “Fraternities titarian Movement,” Kurth says. tional racist, nationalist ideology chancellor who united the coun- have made headlines with their Robert M., Franconia’s contro- lives on. The superficially inno- try in 1870. On another, there’s

54 a large bronze plaque listing the names of brothers POLITICAL PRIMER who died fighting between 1939 and 1945. German political parties Ryan isn’t impressed by the petition against the in a nutshell fraternity. Robert M. is no longer affiliated with Franconia, he says. The fraternity was aware of CDU/CSU Robert M.’s past, he adds. “But we acknowledge Christian Democratic Union / his personal development and believe in second Christian Social Union chances,” he says. COLOR: Black · CHAIRPERSONS: In Ryan’s view, Franconia is the victim of a Angela Merkel (CDU), Horst campus witch hunt. “As an organization with a Seehofer (CSU) · FOUNDED: 1945 · rich heritage, we provide an existential basis for the 2017 RESULT: 33 % · tradition-hating left, who are just using the Iden- POSITION: Center-right titarians as an excuse to ban us from the public sphere.” Free political debate, he says, is threatened by a culture of self-victimization and censorship. SPD And what does he make of the charges of sex- Social Democratic Party COLOR: Red · CHAIRPERSON: ism and racism? “If it’s anti-feminist to treat women Andrea Nahles · FOUNDED: 1863 · like special ladies, then we are proud to be anti- 2017 RESULT: 20.5 % · POSITION: feminists,” he says. Girlfriends and wives have yet Center-left to complain, he adds. And if a “non-German” is interested in fraternities, “we would be glad to help him find an organi- AfD zation best suited to him,” says Ryan, who holds Alternative for Germany dual German-American citizenship but is proud COLOR: Light Blue · that his ancestors stem from Germany. CHAIRPERSONS: Jörg Meuthen, There are many other options for foreign stu- Alexander Gauland · dents who wish to be integrated into student life. FOUNDED: 2013 · According to the University of Münster press de- 2017 RESULT: 12.6 % · POSITION: partment, about 8 percent of the school’s 45,000 Right-wing to far-right students are international. “We have been getting virtually only positive feedback about our efforts to THE LEFT PARTY assist foreign students with their life at the univer- COLOR: Magenta · sity,” it responds in writing. CHAIRPERSONS: Katja Kipping, Al-Fakih says he is happy with the university’s Bernd Riexinger · FOUNDED: 2007 · support for foreign students, from language classes 2017 RESULT: 9.2 % · to counseling. He praises administrators for being POSITION: Left-wing so responsive to student input. The best example, he says, was the recent blocking of an increase in student fees for internationals. FDP Schiller hopes the university will heed the Stu- Free Democratic Party Pa’s call for action against Franconia. “It is an im- COLOR: Yellow · portant act of symbolic resistance against political CHAIRPERSON: Christian Lindner · extremes,” he says. FOUNDED: 1948 · 2017 RESULT: 10.7 % · POSITION: The fight against the far right is taking place in Center to center-right other ways, too. When a high-ranking AfD politi- cian visited Münster this year, students organized huge protests against her speech. ALLIANCE 90/ “I’m proud of my city and very happy I am able THE GREENS to study here,” Al-Fakih says. Despite heated po- COLOR: Green · CHAIRPERSONS: litical debates about migration after the European Annalena Baerbock, refugee crisis of 2015, Münster was the only Ger- Robert Habeck · FOUNDED: 1979 · man city where the AfD party won less than five 2017 RESULT: 8 % · percent of the vote in the national election of 2017. POSITION: Center-left

Source: German Federal Statistical Office Many students are fighting to keep it that way. Mateus Collares Weigert from Brazil, Anna Lena Baumann from Germany, Maryam Maleki from Iran, and Ahmad Abdalwareth from Egypt (l. to r.) gather in front of pollution-control devices in a lab in Goslar

56 Z

GERMANY FAR FAR AWAY In the foothills of the Harz Mountains, an international research team finds practical applications for futuristic ideas

BY YERMI BRENNER PHOTOS ROMAN PAWLOWSKI

Imagine a brightly lit operating theater. A world- class surgeon is on call, ready to perform complex procedures. But the patient lying on the operating table and the doctor aren’t in the same room – they are hundreds of kilometers apart. Sounds like science fiction? “It’s not,” says Wolf- gang Schade, a German scientist whose international team of researchers is making this scenario a reality. At the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz In- stitute in Goslar, the Institute of Energy Research is developing a fiber-optic-sensor glove that may soon deliver complex medical treatment and other assistance from near and far alike. This fiber-optic cyber glove is just one of many innovations developed in Goslar, a city of about 50,000 near the scenic forests of Germany’s Harz National Park, about an hour’s drive from Hanover. Cyber gloves are worn like cloth gloves and use a multitude of sensors to capture data as fin- gers bend and flex. Virtual-reality buffs may be familiar with the technology. But the scientists in Goslar say the fiber-optic capability is new, and that its potential is high. Indeed, the innovation won a prize from the Association for Sensors and Measurement in 2016. Now, there’s hope that this technological advance will help solve complex practical problems in the fields of medicine and communications, such as installing a catheter from afar or recognizing sign language in an instant. The device is the brainchild of Schade and a small team of scientists from countries as far away as Iran and Brazil. About forty young researchers currently work in Goslar while studying at neighboring Clausthal University of Technology (see related story p. 60). Cooperation between the lab and TU Claus- thal ensures that scientific research conducted at A robotic hand used at Goslar´s the university is made available to the public, and Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute

57 GERMANY

sity campus in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The scientific team’s home of theory and calculation is on the second floor. Scribble-filled notebooks and unfin- ished cups of coffee rest on desks. Computer screens with complex algorithms crowd the work space. On the ground floor, team members get their hands dirty. Four laboratories each focus on different aspects of laser technology. There’s a cubic chamber about four meters tall just outside the labs. It can regulate both temperature and humidity in experiments. Within it, researchers can simulate different environments found on earth – a desert climate, say, or a hot and humid rainforest. Close by, two large ovens are used to test how batteries respond to different temperatures and other stimuli. The focus of the institute’s work is the field of photonics, and fiber-optical sensor systems are at the heart of the research. Optical fibers are flexible glass fibers, slightly thicker than a human hair. For decades, they’ve been used to transmit vast amounts of information at light speed. Schade’s team has modified these fibers so that they function as sensors that can measure nearly everything – from temperature to molecular concentration to three-dimensional shapes. This allows them to collect information from otherwise inaccessible places, like a catheter inside a human body or a lithium battery in the power unit of an electric car. The modifications also allow the fibers to deliver that information instantly – to a computer or a database, anywhere in the world. The practical application of complex research drew Maryam Maleki to the institute in Goslar. The 31-year-old PhD student studies fiber-optic sensors that could identify cancerous substances Clausthal Center of Material and explosive materials. Technology on campus Maleki, a native of Isfahan in central Iran, is one of seven foreign researchers on Schade’s team. Her professor back home in Iran, who had gradu- that it is applied in a broader and more practical ated from TU Clausthal, had recommended the way for society’s benefit, Schade explains. German university. Funding for the institute and its various re- ONE Maleki could have attended more globally search initiatives is provided by the Fraunhofer RESEARCHER IN known universities in Germany or even North Society, which is part of Germany’s vast network America, she says. She chose TU Clausthal because of research organizations. THE HIGH-TECH she was fascinated by the research potential of fiber- Fraunhofer conducts applied research for pri- LAB SAYS optic sensors and lasers, and because she wanted to vate and public enterprises. With a 2.1 billion-euro study at a school with close ties to industry. HE FEELS AS annual budget, Fraunhofer operates 69 institutes. She misses home sometimes but appreciates It is the largest organization for applied research in HAPPY AS the German countryside. “In Iran, I had to live Europe, according to Germany’s Federal Ministry A CHILD ON in a big, crowded city to study at a top univer- of Education and Research. sity. And that distanced me from nature,” she says. Schade’s team works in a rectangular, two-story A PLAYGROUND The research, she admits, can be stressful. The -ex building in Goslar. The location is convenient – perimental work she’s engaged in doesn’t always just 15 kilometers down the road from the univer- produce the expected results. But her colleagues

58 Accelerators Photon Science Particle Physics

have been welcoming and supportive from the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron AResearch Centreofthe moment she joined the team in September 2017. Helmholtz Association “It’s exciting to get acquainted with different people from around the world, with different languages and thoughts,” Maleki says about the culturally diverse research team. “I am comfortable here. I am Muslim, and I feel free to practice my belief.” All the researchers on the team either speak German or are taking courses to learn it. But the official language in the lab is English. Maleki shares an office with Anna Lena Bau- mann, a native of Konstanz, a lakeside city in the Wolfgang Schade, Director of state of Baden-Württemberg, and with Mateus the Institute of Energy Research Collares Weigert, a Brazilian who joined the team last January. For Weigert, who holds a Master of Science degree in 3D printing from Federal University of Technology Paraná, the opportunity to work with people who grew up in different environments is exciting. But the best part, he says, has been the explorative approach his professors take. In the Goslar lab, Weigert feels like a child having fun on a playground. “I can work, I can experiment, I can test, I can even make my own sensors if I want,” he says, adding that at his university back in Brazil, “I didn’t have this support or these devices.” Ahmad Abdalwareth, a 27-year-old from Cairo, WORLD RESEARCH. is one of the lab’s youngest researchers. He came to TU Clausthal as an exchange student to complete DESY is one of the world’s a bachelor’s degree in materials engineering. He decided to extend his stay at the technical univer- leading accelerator centres and sity to study towards a master’s degree in energy generates the world’smost and materials physics. intense X-ray light, accelerates Abdalwareth says he appreciates the opportuni- particles to recordenergies and ty to study abroad. While he has enjoyed Germany, opens completely new windows he says he is determined to return to Egypt at some onto the universe. Ultra-short point and make use of the knowledge he’s acquiring light pulses in action during his studies in Germany. “A lot of people in Egypt didn’t have the opportunity that I do,” he ACADEMIC CAREER says. “Maybe with this knowlege, I can do some- n Fellowship program thing important back there.” n Summer student program Bringing together researchers from different n PIER graduate school countries and backgrounds drives innovation, ac- n Helmholtz funding program cording to Schade. And he should know: He spent three years as a post-doctoral fellow and visiting LOCATION professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, n Hamburg in the western part of the United States. n Zeuthen (near Berlin) “It is always very helpful to see and learn how different labs work,” he says. “It’s important to get FOR MORE INFORMATION students from other universities into our group. www.desy.de/career They always bring new impetus, new impact, and new ideas, like fresh wind.” GERMANY MINE OF INFORMATION At Clausthal University of Technology, the international touch is centuries old

In his first few days at the Claus- BY YERMI BRENNER PHOTO ROMAN PAWLOWSKI Wan Gang was a visiting scholar thal University of Technology, and doctoral candidate in me- Xiaofei Liu struggled to commu- chanical engineering at TU nicate with other students. Clausthal in the late 1980s. He One day, a German classmate received a PhD degree there. approached him. “He wanted to After working in German indus- learn tai chi, and I wanted to learn try for some years, he returned German,” the 25-year-old says. to his homeland and became “We helped each other.” China’s chief scientist and, later, Liu, who’s studying towards its minister of science and technol a bachelor’s degree in energy and ogy – virtually the job in China’s raw materials, is one of 480 Chi- science sector. nese students enrolled at TU Gang’s 11-year term as min- Clausthal, as it’s often called. ister ended in March. Yet his On the outskirts of the Harz innovative approach towards re- National Park, it’s one of Ger- newable energies won him recog- many’s more remote universities. nition and respect locally and in- But it’s one of its most interna- ternationally. tional, too. Since Gang is a hero to many Overall, 30 percent of stu- Yi Jiang, a PhD student at TU Clausthal, science-minded people in China, dents and 20 percent of academic wearing laser goggles while at work the university in Clausthal-Zeller- staff are foreign; they hail from feld became an attractive desti- a hundred countries. And this nation for Chinese students who global flair is centuries old. expertise. Students from as far Of late, the school has in- aspire to study abroad. How did a small public uni- away as Iran were drawn here, creased its international reputa- That’s the case for 27-year-old versity in tiny Clausthal-Zeller- according to Abel. tion by initiating more than 150 Yi Jiang, a student from Wuxi in feld (population: 15,523) become When the economy shifted collaborations with foreign in- the southern Jiangsu province. such a magnet for foreigners, par- away from mining metals, the stitutions, such as the United Jiang has been studying at TU ticularly from China? The answer school (renamed Clausthal Uni- States’ California State University, Clausthal since 2014. He has begins with a rock called ore and versity of Technology in 1968) ex- Los Angeles; Spains’ Universidad already completed a master’s de- ends with a government minister panded to other applied sciences. Politécnica de Madrid; and Cairo gree at the university and is now a named Wan Gang. And as the mining industry University in Egypt. PhD candidate with a concurrent “We had international stu- dried up, Clausthal-Zellerfeld This, according to adminis- research position in neighboring dents more than 200 years ago,” evolved into a university town. trators, facilitates the arrival of Goslar (see related story p. 56). says Astrid Abel, head of the uni- The main campus is located non-German students and faculty Jiang points to a 1:9 faculty- versity’s International Center. smack in the center of town; to campus. to-student ratio as a big advan- Clausthal Mining Academy was most shops and restaurants orient In China alone, TU Claus- tage. In China, by contrast, he founded in 1775 after large de- their business towards students. thal collaborates with 22 uni- says, “you have thirty or forty posits of ore – a rock containing In spring, students cramming versities and research centers, persons per class.” valuable minerals such as metal for final exams populate public including the Chinese Academy Jiang’s favorite part about – were discovered nearby. Almost benches and lawns downtown. of Sciences in Beijing and the East being a student in Clausthal is the a hundred years later, royal status Through the years, TU Claus- China University of Science and cultural diversity. His friends now was conveyed. thal’s German alumni have at- Technology in Shanghai. come from India, Brazil, Japan, In the years that followed, the tained top-ranking management Many partnerships in China have and other countries. “You can global mining industry grew, and positions at industrial giants such come about thanks to the help of always learn about new cultures with it, demand for the school’s as RWE and Thyssenkrupp. alumni with clout. from others,” he says.

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GERMANY WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?

The Deutsches Studentenwerk, a Mensa means table in Latin. In German, tenwerk Würzburg Facebook and German association of 58 student- Instagram accounts, which high- service organizations, runs almost it’s a dining hall, the center of student light our meals and meal plans, a thousand university dining halls. life at any university. ZEIT Germany talks seem to have the right effect. They’re usually government-subsidized, so they manage to offer with a top chef at one of the country’s Have students’ tastes changed unbeatably cheap meals. These din- biggest universities within the past few years? ing halls feed more than 400,000 They’ve become more de- students and faculty members BY JULIA GUNDLACH PHOTOS LARA HUCK manding, that’s for sure. A bor- across the country every school day. ing potato stew just doesn’t do it Sebastian Welzenbach is just anymore. It’s crucial that meals 36, but he’s head chef at one of remain trendy. We even serve the country’s largest Studenten- Kimchi now. werk dining halls. The regional It’s a challenge. Students want university system of Würzburg, fresh regional, seasonal ingredi- Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, and ents, but they can’t afford to pay Schweinfurt runs nine dining halls a lot. On average, our meals cost in Franconia in northern Bavaria. 3.41 euros. That’s for a main Welzenbach has a lot on his course with two side dishes. plate. He is in charge of every- I think we juggle all the de- thing from recipe development mands of a wide student body to quality control and personnel. quite well. It takes a lot of plan- His team serves more than 2,000 ning, though. We make our meals per day, 222 days a year. meal plans up to three months Some 450,000 meals are served in advance. in the Würzburg university system each year. How did you adapt recipes to current trends? What does a typical workday I started working in the uni- look like for you? versity system in April 2009. I start work at 6:30 in the Even back then, we offered “Veg- morning, when many students gie Thursdays” to accommodate are still fast asleep. That’s when vegetarians in our student body. my team and I meet to dis- For the past three or four cuss the day. Fifteen minutes years, we’ve offered vegan meals later, four staff members and my too. Sometimes, those are our deputy start preparing lunch in most popular dishes of the day. the kitchen. The first students Vegan couscous with falafel show up for lunch at eleven in sells like hot cakes in our dining the morning, when we open. halls. And sweet potato-amaranth We serve both lunch and din- burgers do, too. ner, so until the kitchen closes We have a very diverse stu- at 8:15 p.m., we make sure that dent body. Students give us a lot no one leaves campus hungry. of input. So our menus also have This April, we reached a become much more internation- record of 2,700 servings during al over time. Cumin, masala, the lunch-hour rush. The Studen- and Thai curry pastes have all DeborahTranslation: Steinborn

62 * been introduced to the mix. We paragus in the spring, for instan- try to get as close to the authen- ce, and pumpkin dishes in the tic dish as possible. We also have fall. Pizza is always a hit. specials. In May, we served dish- We’ve noticed, however, that es from around the world. tastes really vary by faculty. One thing is for sure: Vegetarian options and salads Currywurst (a popular German are popular among the social fast food consisting of fried scientists. We make ten types of sausage and spicy ketchup) will salad every day. never be taken off the menu. Students in technical programs go for lots of meat and Which meals sell best? poultry. And in our branch close Burgers! Schnitzel and Curry- to the university sports center, wurst, too. Seasonal dishes sell the Schnitzel cannot be big very well. Traditional white as- enough for our customers! New experiences await you! WHAT STUDENTS EAT

In 2017, students within the university system 18 tons of Würzburg 20,000 of French fries consumed … pizzas

6,000 2 tons 15,000 dumplings of peppers burgers

1 ton 7 tons 10,000 of lettuce of cucumbers Currywürste Amaster’sin Bavaria: notjusta change of scenery. More and moreinternational students aredeciding to do amaster’s degreeinBavaria at the Universityof Bayreuth. No wonder:weoffer outstanding students atop-class environment. Atight-knit,green campus whereeverything you need is rightatyour doorstep Toppositions in international rankings* Abroad spectrum of programmes with no tuition fees English-taught, interdisciplinarymaster’s programmes focused on key topics of the future Strong international universitypartnerships Double master’s degrees with renowned universities Excellentprospects foraresearch-orienteddoctorate So when areyou coming to Bayreuth? www.uni-bayreuth.de

*30th in the international THE YoungUniversityRanking ‘250 under 50’ Z

GERMANY ROAD SHOW Transatlantic political relations are at an all-time low. German diplomats are trying to break the tension with a multimillion-euro marketing campaign across the US

BY MARIA RETTER AND DEBORAH STEINBORN ILLUSTRATION GOLDEN COSMOS

The German government and some of the Center of the US and Germany’s Körber The campaign’s focus, according to a dry country’s top business associations are planning Foundation. The study, which polled citizens conceptual document by the Federal Foreign a road show throughout the United States, to in both countries, notes that the Trump pres- Ministry, is “how Germans and Americans the tune of a whopping 20 million euros. idency “has been characterized by new ten- can inject fresh impetus into their friendship This autumn, Germany’s Federal Foreign sions for the transatlantic alliance and for US- in the fields of political, scientific, economic, Office, the cultural association Goethe-In- German relations.” That’s putting it mildly. cultural, and social life.” stitut, and the Federation of German Indus- German diplomats hope their flashy A sample of concrete projects includes a tries (BDI) will launch a coast-to-coast series campaign – an act of cultural diplomacy, if conference series of the German-American of events through the end of 2019. you will – can ease the tension a bit. Fulbright Commission and a summer camp They’re calling the campaignDeutsch - “We aren’t trying to sell a glossy version co-organized by the Max Planck Institute for landjahr USA. That’s “Year of Germany in of Germany,” says Christoph Mücher, direc- the History of Science and Berlin’s Haus der the US.” Some Americans wonder why they tor of the Deutschlandjahr USA campaign. Kulturen der Welt. didn’t just give it an English name. The goal “In a lucid anticipation of events, German Initiatives to promote collaboration in is to improve old transatlantic relationships officials early last year thought they might Industry 4.0 automation developments in and forge new ones in the era of US President want to strengthen their partnership with manufacturing are also being planned. Donald J. Trump, organizers say. the US.” Mücher tries to emphasize the livelier side Despite the sizable price tag, that may be Business leaders, meanwhile, hope to es- of the planning. Events, he says, will include a tall order. Relations between the US and tablish better business ties “in a time shaped Berlin-style techno clubbing in Los Angeles, Germany have been a cornerstone of the by ambivalence,” says Thomas Schuelke, a German industry pop-up tour, and a slack- liberal international order for decades. Yet vice president of Fraunhofer USA, a research line event in Monument Valley organized by transatlantic ties have been strained since group that is participating in the campaign. Bavarian start-up One Inch Dreams. Trump took office. It’s no secret that he and It isn’t the first time that Germany has Officials are fond of that last idea. “It re- German Chancellor Angela Merkel have had launched a campaign like this in a foreign flects the relations between Germany and the a fraught and sometimes downright chilly country. It’s held similar events around the US so well,” Mücher says. “It is a balancing relationship. An escalating trade war be- globe for decades. “Year of Germany in act right now. But the line is still taut.” tween the US and the European Union Mexico” took place in 2017. A first stab at Altogether, 900 potential projects have hasn’t helped matters at all. the concept came out in China in the 1990s. applied for funding. The initiative will take “The future of US-German relations is This time around, the budget is much larger, place from October 2018 through the end unclear,” says a study by the Pew Research Mücher says. of 2019.

64 PROFESSIONALSCHOOL MASTHEAD

Publisher Publishing Director Manuel J. Hartung Sandra Kreft Editor-in-Chief Publishing Manager Deborah Steinborn (fr.) Malte Riken (in charge), Art Director / Photo Director Lina Göttsch, Laurence Heesch Julia Steinbrecher Managing Director Creative Director Dr. Rainer Esser Haika Hinze Distribution

Editorial Advisor Nils von der Kall Rocca

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GERMANY WHAT THE ****! Debates about gender identity have created problems for English. That’s nothing compared to the struggle of German with its legions of gender-specific nouns. ZEIT’s culture critic takes aim at an unassuming pronoun: “man.” We try to translate

BY ELISABETH VON THADDEN ILLUSTRATION GOLDEN COSMOS

To overcome the Teutonic rigidity of gender-specific THIS IS A ROUGH Das tut man nicht, aber ich möchte einmal ein Stern- man nouns, modern Germans have reached for the aster- ENGLISH chen in unterbringen, um zu zeigen, dass ich isk. It can unite the male reader, der Leser, and his ein weibliches Subjekt bin, das macht, was es will, female counterpart, die Leserin, into the gender-neu- TRANSLATION egal was man dazu sagt. So: ma*n. Das Sternchen tral d* Les*er*in. Its work may not be pretty. But the bedeutet ja, dem generischen Maskulinum keine gender asterisk is a way of ridding German of the lazy Chance zu geben, der Tatsache also, dass im Deut- usage of masculine-only noun forms, or the long- schen viele Worte von Geburt an männlich sind. winded inclusion of male and female – for instance, Was wäre generisch maskuliner als man? Es stammt when addressing you, dear Leser und Leserinnen. aus dem Althochdeutschen, kommt vor seit dem But what about one pronoun that seems very 8. Jahrhundert, hat immer schon deutsche Eichen gender-neutral in one moment, and not at all in gefällt und Wildsauen gejagt, immer als man im the next? The pronoun man means “one” or even Sinne von Mann oder Mensch. “people” in English. Gender-neutral sentence open Es ist laut Wörterbuch so: man sei ein Indefinit- ings like “one can never tell” or “people believe” pronomen, was bedeute, dass nicht wichtig ist, wer would take the subject man in German. Yet few genau gemeint ist oder dass eine exakt gemeinte Per- words sound more innately masculine than man. M son nicht bekannt ist. Man ist ziemlich subjektlos. First used in Old High German, it morphed into Irgendwer. Leute. the modern German Mann sometime after the 8th Nun möchte ich diese Auffassung aber zer- century. It’s hard to deny that man implies both a streuen. Denn wie heißt es, 1808, in Goethes Mann person and a man. Yet the dictionary defines it as an von funfzig Jahren? Da ist ein Verliebter tief bewegt, indefinite pronoun, meaning it doesn’t refer to any „auf einmal ihre Hand zu fassen, diese zarte Hand particular man, woman, or thing. It’s just somebody, zu küssen … Man zog sie nicht weg … “ Man! Das anyone, almost as if there’s never a subject at work. soll ein Indefinitpronomen sein? Subjektlos? Dass Really? I beg to differ. In Johann Wolfgang von ich nicht lache. Das ist nur ein Beispiel von vielen. Goethe’s 1808 book Der Mann von funfzig Jahren, a Von Subjektlosigkeit also keine Rede. Und ist male character describes an amorous encounter with A das nicht beruhigend? Denn hat man bei diesem a woman. He’s excited by the touch of her hand; he Indefinitpronomen nicht vor allem Angst, es könnte caresses and kisses it. An intimate description, and der schrecklichen deutschen Haltung assistieren, then ... that word again! “One (man) didn’t pull away.” immer lieber in einem Kollektiv zu verschwinden There’s no subject in this context? That’s absurd. als individuell erkennbar als Mensch zur Stelle zu And that’s a relief. The signifierman, without a sig- sein? Man denke an die Totalitarismen, in denen nified, would have more than a whiff of totalitari- es hinterher keiner gewesen sein wollte. Doch so anism. It would merely reinforce the stereotype that ist es ja nicht, es verhält sich anders: im man steckt Germans prefer to erase the agent, or disappear into auch eine gute europäische Nachricht, denn es funk- a collective, rather than stand firm as individuals. tioniert genau wie das französische l’on, das ja auch Let’s instead be inspired by Goethe’s man. Like ein generisches Maskulinum ist. him, let’s see in the word man the person who did THISN IS THE POETIC Also: Nehmen wir es wie Goethe, und sehen not draw their hand away – unmistakably a woman. GERMAN wir in dem man, das seine Hand nicht wegzog, eine And I’d mark this insight with an asterisk. All in all, unverwechselbare Frau. Alles in allem würde ich

I’d say: man is ma*n. EXPLANATION sagen: ma*n. Maria Retter Translation:

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