Z 2020 2021 STUDY & RESEARCH THE STUDENT ISSUE ISSUE STUDENT THE

Live and Learn

IN THE ZONE ON THE MOVE BACK IN ACTION New take: Cultural acumen Perfect timing: Settle in and Already ahead: Universities combats coronavirus blues socialize as the locals do gear up for blended learning WHAT BETTER OUTLOOKFOR A CAREER IN LOGISTICS

Classroom view overlooking HamburgHarbor—Germany’s gateway to the world

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www.the-klu.org Z

GERMANY EDITORIAL IN THIS ISSUE

4 38 THE NEW NORMAL SHOWCASE The year in Germany, from Seoul to Berlin, Karachi protests to stand-up paddling to Freiburg: Two leading ladies share their immigration stories 12 FUN FACTS 42 Higher education at a glance, RESEARCH THIS! from quirkiest degrees From Alpine glacial modeling From left to right: Deborah Steinborn (Editor-in-Chief), to student’s word of the year to a Leipzig rock concert that Christian Heinrich (Assistant Editor), Julia Steinbrecher explores Covid-19 (Art and Photo Director), Manuel Hartung (Publisher), 14 Anna-Lena Scholz (Editorial Advisor). Not shown: Jana SPEND IT! 48 Spychalski (Editorial Assistant) Living and studying in EARN WHILE Germany can be dirt cheap YOU LEARN The worst of times can also be the best How to finance your studies 16 of times. When ZEIT Germany went to STREET TALK 50 press in late September, the country had students on university BABY STEPS life in the most unusual of years German higher education fared comparatively well in the coronavirus introduces new academic degree pandemic – so far, at least. This was thanks 22 programs for midwives to a strong healthcare system, a levelheaded STUDYING (WITH) THE GERMANS 55 government, and a bit of luck. Yes, univer- A British comedy writer’s pop DOCTOR’S ORDERS sities had to shutter campuses overnight. quiz on all things related to Navigating Germany’s studying in the German world universal healthcare system But many transformed this hurdle into an opportunity to position themselves for 26 58 LEARNING BY DOING FIRST DATES a future of digital learning. Is Germany a The coronavirus pandemic A humorous take on the safe bet? Foreign students seem to think so: leads German universities into a dating scene in Berlin future of digital learning they are registering for the winter semester 60 at universities in almost record numbers. If 34 ON THE MOVE you’re considering a similar move, discover SO CLOSE YET SO FAR What you need upon arrival, Ada Pellert, head of Germany’s from registration to insurance Germany with us – and enjoy the read! largest distance university, The ZEIT Germany Team explains online studies 65 MASTHEAD 36 The staff. Plus: Distribution ZEIT, a German weekly newspaper, covers education DEFINING partners and further details and more. ZEIT Germany’s print edition is available via VOCABULARY the network of the German Academic Exchange Service Key terms to help 66 (DAAD), Goethe-Institut, and the Federal Foreign Office, you cut through all that WORD PLAY

Photos: Conny Mirbach Maria (cover), Rohweder (this page) among others. A digital version is at www.zeit.de/germany university jargon For the bilingual student brain

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GERMANY Photos: Engel Tomas (this page), Victoria Jung (opposite page) THE NEW NORMAL

4 Responses to coronavirus restrictions have varied. Some hit Hamburg’s streets to protest (at left); others hit the hiking trails (above, near Winterberg in North Rhine-Westphalia)

Countries around the world face a new way of living due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Germany is no exception. But its coping mechanisms may be. How Germans made the most of a tough situation

BY DEBORAH STEINBORN

5 GERMANY kurt (opposite page) Photos: Daniel Chatard (this page), Doro Zinn, Marlen Müller, Ilkay Kara Germans love sitting in their cars, regardless of the destination. Drive-in movie theaters, like this one in the city of Dortmund, have made a comeback

The beaches may feel sandier in France, the sea is cases had remained relatively low. Indeed, due to a mix of responsive government, certainly warmer in Spain, and the Alps are higher Intensive-care units at the coun- a strong healthcare system, and plain old dumb luck, in Italy. But if ever there was a time to spend time in try’s well-equipped hospitals had Germans have not yet experienced a full-throttle Germany, this could be it. not overfilled. And the federal Ausgangssperre (lockdown). Even when the virus In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the gov ernment, known worldwide first hit in March, restrictions resembled more of a EU’s most populous country has fared well – so far, so for its frugality, had easily pumped “lockdown light.” good, at least. By the end of September (when ZEIT hundreds of billions of euros into For residents of Madrid, Milan, and New York Germany went to press), the number of Covid-19 the economy to stave off disaster. City, the lockdown of spring 2020 meant restrict-

6 Some enjoyed lockdown on a deserted bike path north of Berlin. Others camped out at the Baltic Sea

When restaurants briefly shut down in spring 2020, diners sought out acceptable alternatives. One option: pizza night on a Hannover rooftop

ing their movements outside the home to just one sports and leisure activities, gar­ waiting outside them were, with few exceptions, masked trip to a nearby supermarket per day. Res­ dening, and home improvement. extremely long – with everyone at 1.5 meters of idents of Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, in con­ Local Baumärkte (hardware stores) distance, of course. trast, could range fairly freely for exercise – jogging, were closed for just a few short Germany is notorious for the insatiable wander­ biking, hiking, or simply walking – at any time of weeks and were among the first lust of its citizens. The birthplace of Johann Wolf­ day. It was undoubtedly still a tough time for some stores to reopen when restrictions gang von Goethe, whose “Italian Journey” inspired parts of the population, but for many Germans, the were loosened again. And business generations of travelers, was not going to let the “new

quarantine offered a chance to rediscover the joys of boomed. The lines of customers normal” put an end to this noble tradition. Germans, Photo: Conny Mirbach

7 For some, the Ausgangssperre translated into time alone at home. For others, it meant discovering urban wildlife

Plenty of space for social distancing along the Weser River in Bremen

who consider themselves Reiseweltmeister – the travel alone, Germans bought 10,246 On the roofs of all those RVs and cars, Germans champions of the world – had no intention of giving campers and caravans – 58.8 per- are carrying more and more bikes, boats, and up their long vacations or even their short weekend cent more than in the previous boards. Stand-up paddling has turned into a na- jaunts. When flights came to a standstill, they simply year, according to the Caravaning tional pas time; SUP boards are now sold in some took to the roads instead. Industry Association. In the first supermarkets and hardware stores. And then there This meant exploring their own country and eight months of 2020, 80,797 are the bicycles. The only thing that could brake others within driving distance. Often, they took newly purchased vehicles hit the the record spike in bike sales from March through their accommodations along. In the month of August roads for the first time. September 2020 was a lack of supplies. 8

8 GERMANY age) Photos: Daniel Chatard (this page), Mathis Körner, Doro Zinn (opposite p When the going got tough, Austria closed its border with Germany. But not for long. German tourists were back on the roads as soon as it reopened

In the homeland of Bier and Riesling, the corona- and towns alike: frozen mochis, desserts? It started with TikTok influencers, of virus didn’t only increase healthy activities. Alcohol Japanese rice cakes filled with course, who posted video clips of the latest flavors consumption rose, too. According to a recent study ice cream. While other countries they’d discovered on store shelves. Indeed, the by Germany’s Central Institute for Psychiatric faced shortages of meat and eggs, Chinese video platform and social network was Health, 37 percent of adults said they consume Germany saw exploding demand more than ever a trend in the German-speaking more alcohol now than before the coronavirus out- for Japanese ice cream. world in 2020, morphing into an integral part of break. The same thing goes for sweets. Springtime How did the pandemic con- youths’ and young adults’ daily lives while schools brought an unusual youth fad to German cities nect to this odd craving for Asian and university campuses were closed. According to 9

9 GERMANY

Reif graduated from high school “lockdown light” that Germany experienced with honors and quickly found in the spring of 2020 – are nonetheless gaining herself a lot of fans on Instagram, momentum. amassing roughly six million fol- The grousing began in the Swabian city of lowers on the platform. While Stuttgart in April, initiated by a local group of her audience was at first lim ited contrarian Querdenker (literally “lateral thinkers”) to her home country, she’s recent- who demanded an immediate end to all corona- ly gained global attention. Reif virus-related restrictions. This faction loves con- does fashion, fitness, and food; spiracy theories – for example, the claim that Bill she models, works out, and cooks Gates is encouraging the virus’s spread in order healthy meals. And she presents to profit financially from any resulting vaccines, all these actions at nearly every or that Covid-19 is a figment of the imagination Chancellor ’s opportunity on social media. altogether. By the end of August, the protests had By so doing, she’s parlayed her gained steam. According to Berlin’s police depart- no-nonsense approach TikTok videos into an estimated ment, roughly 38,000 people gathered in Berlin to combating the coronavirus net worth of about three million on a single Saturday afternoon, often ignoring euros. Call her Germany’s answer social distancing and other safety measures, for a has left a lasting impression to Kylie Jenner. demonstration that made international headlines. Pamela Reif was not the only A de facto coalition of coronavirus skeptics German to experience a popular- was out in force that weekend: libertarians and ity boost during the pandemic. alternative-fact populists, anti-vaxxers, frustrated The most prominent person in citizens (many of them from eastern Germany the older set was of course Chan- who feel that society has abandoned them), and cellor Angela Merkel, who had plain-vanilla opponents of democracy, some of been considered a lame duck at them decked out in Neo-Nazi trappings. QAnon, the start of 2020. She had just the far-right conspiracy theory that originated handed over leadership of her in the US, has its hand in this mishmash group. party, the Christian Democrat- So does RT, the Russian government-sponsored ic Union, and announced she media network formerly known as Russia Today. wouldn’t run again in the next Members of the right-wing populist Alternative federal election in 2021. for Germany party, too, support (and are trying Then the coronavirus hit, and to profit politically from) the protests. Merkel hit crisis mode, reacting This may prove to be Germany’s biggest with calm, empathy, and reason. corona virus challenge: defending open democracy With a background in science against attacks from a small but growing number (she has a Ph.D. in physics), she of estranged citizens who oppose the majority’s took a methodical approach to levelheaded approach to combating Covid-19. combating the virus, too. By So far, this disparate mix of groups protesting the fall of 2020, she was once Germany’s coronavirus policies is very small com- again Germany’s most popular pared with the country’s overall population. Na- politician, according to nation- tional polls repeatedly show that most Germans wide opinion polls, far above approve their government’s handling of the crisis. Protests against the government’s coronavirus the scrum of politicians vying to It’s possible, however, that the voices of discontent response have drawn a motley crew succeed her. Some even quietly will grow louder in coming months. hope that Mutti (mommy), as The good news: this movement hasn’t discour- some adoringly call her, will stay aged foreigners from moving to Germany in order futurebiz.de, TikTok subscriptions have jumped to on in the role until the pandemic to study or do research. In fact, the country’s 5.5 million in Germany, with a particularly sharp is over. comparative state of normality seems to be call- rise between March and June 2020. Others feel very differently, ing to them. According to Uni-assist, the central TikTok’s growing popularity, in turn, has however. Call it the coronavirus point of contact between applicants with interna- given some German influencers worldwide at- paradox. Germany wasn’t near- tional educational certificates and roughly 170

tention they might not have received otherwise. ly as hard-hit as Spain, Italy, German universities,Photo: Conny Mirbach more than 60,000 foreign Take Pamela Reif, a 24-year-old resident of Karls- or France. Yet protests against students had applied for the winter semester by

ruhe, a midsized city in southwestern Germany. Covid-19 restrictions – that early September. Photos: Jose Giribas/SZ Photo/laif, Dominik Butzmann/laif

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GERMANY

THE THE SCHOOLS STUDENTS

BEST UNIVERSITIES IN 2020 2.9 Ludwig-Maximilians- MILLON Universität and Technical students enrolled University of MUNICH at German universities in 2019 HEIDELBERG University 14% Humboldt-Universität zu international students BERLIN and Freie Universität Berlin The town of Mittweida has the highest proportion of students: University of 46 % FREIBURG

University of 6 SEMESTERS TÜBINGEN are usually needed to complete a bachelor’s degree RWTH BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION QUIRKIEST DEGREE is the most popular major PROGRAMS

CYCLING AT HOME Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau 31% of all students live in STROLLOLOGY WGs, or shared apartments University of Kassel Higher education in Germany 25% live with their parents APPLIED has more to offer than just low or no tuition. LEISURE SCIENCE For the record ... 2% own their own Hochschule Bremen apartments BY MIRIAM KAROUT ILLUSTRATION ALINA GÜNTER CRYSTALLOGRAPHY University of Germany is a popular desti- stance, that you can get a mas- ON THE WAY Freiburg nation for students from near ter’s degree in cycling, sexology, and far. In 2019, 14 percent of or even strollology, the science of 93% of all students in INTERNATIONAL university enrollees came from strolling? That most bachelor’s Greifswald bike to campus WINE BUSINESS abroad. While some come for programs take six semesters Hochschule Geisenheim comparatively low tuition fees, to complete? That Chancellor 500,000 University others are just plain curious. Angela Merkel is afraid of dogs? And there’s a lot to learn – inside Impress your fellow students BICYCLES APPLIED SEXOLOGY the lecture hall and well beyond with some tidbits about life and are circulating in college town Hochschule Merseburg campus. Did you know, for in- learning in the country. Münster: population 310,000

12 THE THE PEOPLE POLITICS

POPULATION IN THE SYSTEM

Germany is a 83 REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY MILLION tis; Deutscher ; Deutschland.de; Largest country 709 dent poll in the EU in both population members in the Bundestag, and GDP Germany’s federal parliament

WORDS 3 MAJOR TYPES OF ON THE RADAR ELECTIONS Most popular German word among university students KOMMUNALWAHLEN in 2020 local elections Green Party Bundestag FERNWEH member and party spokesman TIDBITS LANDTAGSWAHLEN for research and universities. (a longing for distant places) Member of Union state elections Last year, the average German for Lesbians and Gays ukleare Sicherheit; CHE Zentrum für Hochschulentwicklung; Desta CULT TV SHOWS BUNDESTAGSWAHL tudis Online; Times Higher Education; university websites; ZEIT stu … ate KONSTANTIN KUHLE federal election 60 KILOS Free Democratic Party (FDP) of meat MONACO NEXT FEDERAL member of the Bundestag. FRANZE ELECTION Focus on media, digitalization, … drank and domestic policy 92 LITERS BABYLON will be held on or before BERLIN of beer and OCTOBER 24, CEMILE GIOUSOUF 166 LITERS DEUTSCHLAND 2021 First-ever Muslim Bundestag of coffee member from the Christian 83 THINGS YOU Democratic Union (CDU) DARK party (through 2017) … used DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT 242 KILOS CHANCELLOR andwirtschaft; Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, und N TATORT MAHMUT ÖZDEMIR nc.com; personal websites; Heinrich Böll Stiftung; Stadt Münster; S of paper ANGELA MERKEL Social Democratic Party (SPD) Europe’s longest-serving member of the Bundestag. … smoked Child of Turkish migrant 900 elected woman leader workers. Started his political cigarettes Holds a Ph.D. in physics career at 14

… produced more than Mutti 20 KILOS Nicknamed (Mommy) ALICE WEIDEL although she has no children Leader of the controversial of plastic waste right-wing Alternative for Loves to cook. Favorite recipes: Germany (AfD) party in the … recycled plum cake and roulade Bundestag. Openly gay, 70% she nonetheless opposes Period: 2018-2020; Sources: Bundesministerium für Ernährung und L Deutscher Kaffeeverband; Deutsche Hauptstelle für Suchtfragen; I of all waste Afraid of dogs same-sex marriage

13 Z

GERMANY SPEND IT!

Annual Monthly Monthly Cost of Living and Studying (in euros) Tuition Rent (1 BR Apt) Transportation

University of Greifswald 163 282 30

Eberhard Karls University 316 * 329 18 of Tübingen

ESADE Business & Law School Barcelona & Madrid 14,550 400 60

Stanford University Stanford, California 47,011 817 0 * Non-EU students pay an additional 3,000 euros/year

FOUNDED IN 1765, WE ARE THE OLDEST MINING UNIVERSITYINTHE WORLD.

tu-freiberg.de/study-programmes Living and studying in Germany is cheaper than in other Western countries. The numbers speak for themselves

BY CHRISTIAN HEINRICH AND DEBORAH STEINBORN ILLUSTRATION ALINA GÜNTER

Monthly Health Monthly Monthly Cup of Student Percentage Insurance Groceries Telecom Coffee Population of Foreign and Food Students

85 185 33 1.40 10,019 7

85 205 33 2.40 27,20 0 14

0 200 40 1.95 10,209 42

419 402 48 2.54 16,424 26 Sources: Check24.de; city administrative offices; UNICUM; university websites; ZEIT calculations

#YOUKNOWWHY

www.youknowwhy.net

Z

GERMANY

Students in Munich talk about university life in an unusual year of closed campuses and new long-distance approaches to learning STREET TALK

Stefania Plougarli, 19 Barbara Böhm, 22 second-semester second-semester computer science major anthropology and law student at LMU at LMU

I found the coronavirus-related I was always able to concentrate online studies quite refreshing. I well, and I enjoyed the lectures didn’t have to drive to lectures, to when they were moved online work, or to the library to study. due to the pandemic. But by I jobbed in the restaurant now, I’ve lost all my motivation business for two years. I didn’t and energy. I live with my par- like it at all anymore, but some- ents, and it’s hard to concen- how I couldn’t break away. When trate there. I can always shut my restaurants had to close because laptop during a lecture and lie of the lockdown, I quit working down or check my mobile phone. with food. Luckily, I was able Right now, actually, I should be to work more often as a tennis writing a paper. When I heard coach, which I much prefer. that the next semester would During the outbreak’s peak, I also take place online, I got started to play basketball. Once, depressed, even though every- two policemen approached and thing will go smoother now. But

niversity of Munich told me to stop. When they were other things make me laugh. The gone, I started playing again. A other day a fellow student left the short time later, they came back Alexander Koenig, 24 video on during a lecture and and fined me 150 euros! fourth-semester master’s student then walked by in his underwear. My best friend visited recently in robotics, cognition, and we built a desk. It turned out and intelligence at TUM really nice. We also sewed a lot. When Covid-19 hit Germany, I was in Ghana because my mother My wild semester in Tel Aviv I poured myself into my studies comes from there. Whenever I’m ended up back in my childhood and earned almost 40 credits there, I go to a dressmaker who bedroom near Munich. instead of the usual 30. Now, teaches me how to sew traditional I’d been in Israel for just a few my master’s thesis looms ahead. clothes. I bought some fabric and weeks when I had to break it off I’d planned to do the thesis at sewed clothing for all my friends. due to the coronavirus. Because Harvard University’s Biorobotics My friend and I also bought a I had sublet my room in Munich, Laboratory. I’d have started in sound mixer so we could DJ and I moved in with my parents in November 2020. But there are start making music. We wanted Rosenheim and finished my no visas at the moment, so I’m to be productive. If you ever get semester abroad via internet. starting remotely. I hope I can

LMU: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; TUM: Technical U so much time, use it! There wasn’t much else to do, so go there early next year.

BY KATHRIN HOLLMER PHOTOS BASTIAN THIERY 17 GERMANY

Alexandra Porenta, 26 Milena Wojhan, 26 sixth-semester fashion fifth-semester journalism student at the art student at the Academy Akademie Mode & Design of Fine Arts Munich

Our training is very practice- From one day to the next in oriented. So during the spring March, it felt like we were on the semester, when everyone was set of a dystopian science-fiction in lockdown, we developed a movie at the academy. Every- magazine called BREAK. It’s a thing was covered with neon- collection of statements by people colored tape. “Achtung! Corona!” working in cultural fields who signs were everywhere. When we reported on how and what they were allowed back in to retrieve were doing during the lockdown. our personal belongings, the at- We planned the magazine en- mosphere was really depressing. tirely via Zoom and GoTo meet- For me, the spring semester of ings. It was really efficient. In live 2020 was a phase of not being lessons, you often don’t get to the seen. I felt unobserved, free of point so quickly. any evaluation or feedback. I I spent two months back started to draw. YouTube was my home in Vienna in the spring teacher. I often watched anato- semester. I could study from my and drawing classes and there and do my part-time work art documentary films. I drew at Jameda, an internet portal. Simon Stöwer, 21 bodies, not anatomically correct Before Corona hit, I had been fourth-semester bachelor’s student ones, but very bruised, heavy in Milan for a few months on an in aerospace engineering at the bodies. Before, I had mainly internship. I liked it so much that University of Applied Sciences Munich worked digitally. But now, I am I can’t wait to visit Italy again. really interested in installations But at the moment you can only in physical spaces. plan from one day to the next. The summer semester was mega- we often just hung out together During the lockdown, I de- Now, I’m looking forward to my chaotic. We didn’t know which at home. We also took long walks veloped a longing for Tel Aviv. final semester. For our thesis, we subjects would be taught despite together. A friend sent me a link to Gaga need to organize photo shoots. the lockdown, and if so, how they That was in the spring. By Dance, where everyone dances We have to be creative in order to would be taught. We also had no the summer, everyone was able together online, each in their implement it in a cool way while idea how we would take exams. to move around Munich much own room. You meet hundreds still adhering to social-distancing Every day brought a new more freely again. So we could go of people from all over the world rules. Somehow we’ll manage! realization. Most lectures were down to the Isar River or over to and get a very private insight into moved online. So if you missed the English Garden without wor- their lives, all online. That’s how a lecture, you could listen to it rying that a policeman patrolling I started my day every morning later. But if you were unlucky, the streets would ask where we for two months. The dancing the lecture wasn’t recorded at were headed. People are tense, helped me a lot and gave me a all. Some times, attendance was though, no matter where you renewed sense of my own body. manda tory. And if you didn’t go. If you get too close nowadays, And I didn’t feel alone anymore. attend the lectures, you wouldn’t they look at you strangely. Now that restrictions have be able to take the final exam. The winter semester will start eased, there are many exhibi- What I missed most this soon. I’m hoping that things will tions taking place. And not just year was the freedom to just go be more clearly defined and less inside galleries. A lot of artists are out and meet people, or simply chaotic than early this year. And working with and in nature. The to stand in a subway car full of I hope that the outdated overhead last exhibition of my class took passengers at rush hour. I live in projectors some of my teachers place in a shopping center. The a shared apartment with three have had to rely on this year are pandemic is making it possible other students. In the evenings, replaced by then. to think differently.

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Berg Tuncer, 22 Marit Leilich, 27 fourth-semester sculpture seventh-year student at the Academy medical student of Fine Arts Munich at LMU

I’ve been living in Munich for two I was in the UK for my practical years now. The first year, I often year when infections started to traveled back to Istanbul to visit rise across Europe. The first eight my family. Since the pandemic weeks in Newcastle were all good. hit, though, Munich has felt like Then I was supposed to go to home. I feel like I have really ar- Scotland for an additional two rived. Suddenly, I was no longer months, but because of Covid-19 homesick for Istanbul. I was sent back to Germany. Of course, my family started At the last minute, I was to worry about me. They would granted a place at the university have preferred me to come home, hospital and could finish the year but I thought it was more sensible there. I was in trauma surgery, not to travel. and it was pretty chaotic. Only Ironically, I had wanted to the most essential operations were move to Paris in September 2020. being done. Often, I just changed But now, it feels like I would be bandages in the morning and was leaving my homeland all over sent home at 10 or 11 a.m. again. I already left my greatest Exams were also different. love, Istanbul, when I came to Julia Pfeiffer, 26 Instead of physically examining a Munich. patient, we got his or her files and third-semester master’s Next week, I finally will be were asked questions. The fourth student in robotics, cognition, going back to Turkey to visit exam subject, which is assigned by and intelligence at TUM my family for the first time in lottery, was omitted completely. eight months. If there were no I had actually planned to use Covid-19, I am sure I would be I am in a long-distance rela- At TUM, I am doing a semi- the summer months to travel and lying on the beach there now, tionship, and before Corona, I nar with the association Think- visit my family, because I won’t re- under a parasol. In Munich, I flew back and forth to London Tech e.V., which I co-founded. ally have much time when I start miss the proximity to the sea and to visit my boyfriend relatively The seminar is called Ethik“ to work. But I was very careful good, fresh fish. often. für Nerds.” Digitalization is a and waited to visit my parents. When the academy and all Because of entry restric- great opportunity, but we have Now I am applying for jobs. The the studios were closed, I had no tions due to the pandemic, this to deal with the impact it has situation for young doctors is still place to work on my installations. became impossible overnight. on our privacy and the data we really good, I hear. So instead, I took photos and The longest we had ever gone disclose. videos, wrote concepts, and read without seeing each other was What did I like about on- a lot. Two of my roommates are two months. line lectures in the summer se- also artists, so we often wound up Two weeks ago, he visited mester? The professors seemed just talking about art all day long. me in Munich. We talked a lot less authoritarian. We had I hope that soon more exhi- about the future more than views via video of their living bitions will be possible again. I usual. When he was visiting, rooms and bedrooms. really missed the material work we bought a camper together. Once, a professor left the during the peak of the lockdown. We said, “Let’s just do it!” We lecture for ten minutes and And I hope that the future have to get some proper insur when he came back, he said will also bring about positive ance for it, but then we plan to the postman had been there. change in my home country, drive to Italy or France. We watched through the cam- Turkey. It would be great to see a With everything moving era as his child pulled him new generation of creative people online, I’m very concerned away. All 40 students giggled

Translation: DeborahTranslation: Steinborn and politicians come to the fore. with digitalization and privacy. at that.

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GERMANY THE GERMANS STUDYING (WITH) STUDYING (WITH)

22 BY ADAM FLETCHER ILLUSTRATIONS ALINA GÜNTER Welcome to Germany, Ausländer! You’ve joined us at rather an odd time. That said, we’re happy you’re here and sure you’ll love studying in the country that gave the world Goethe, Schiller, and Marx, as well as Bach, Birkenstock, and Bratwurst. Are you ready for German University Life? Take this quiz from the British humorist and author of “How to Be German” to find out

The Questions

1 film) – but your clothes …? You’re heading in Your clothes must be Ordinary. Average. Minimalistic. Muted. for Anmeldung The only statement they should (registration). You’re make is one of unwavering understatement. Blend in with excited. You will your body, stand out with your ace this study-abroad beautiful mind. thing. S-T-O-P. Look down. Are you 2 dressed … On your way to class

A you must cross a … to kill? road. You stop at its B edge. You look left. … to maim? You look right. The C road is empty, yet the HINT … to confuse? an empty road until a green While there are some regional Ampelmännchen is lightbulb gives permission. D variations, the German repu- … to maximize your red. What do you do? C tation for rules-loving is largely invisibility? Cross gingerly and if anyone fact-based. Jaywalking, even if A shouts Halt! pretend to be a the road is empty, means risk- HINT Wait without shame: Ordnung confused tourist. ing the scorn, tuts, and shouts In Germany, your work ethic muss sein (rules are rules). of nearby natives, who will should be legendary; your read- D consider you an irresponsible, ing tastes exotic; your music B Cross confidently and if any possibly suicidal, social rene- playlists eclectic; your movie Wait, but nervously look left passerby reprimands you, gade. If you break rules here, favorites obscure (make your and right. Hope that a car lay down in the middle of the even seemingly innocuous ones go-to director a one-eyed Hun- comes, or that a child is also road and make star shapes like riding your bike on the garian communist who died waiting to cross so that you to emphasize just how empty sidewalk, prepare for admon- without completing a single feel less silly refusing to cross it really is. ishment.

23 GERMANY

ing around, no one will feed you D with them. During your studies, You sidle up and try big-talk: you’ll largely be left to your own How about this neo-liberalism we’re suffering from? devices – and we’re not talking about your phone. This might HINT sound bad at first to a foreigner. Germans aren’t really small talkers. But it actually offers a lot of op- They build friendships slowly, on portunity. It’s hard to free your a firm base of proximity, honesty, mind when your body’s trapped and repetition. Once built, they’re in a repetitive routine you didn’t rock solid. So give it time, don’t be choose. But this new freedom too forward. Enjoy staring. It isn’t will take some getting used to. frowned upon here, so no need to So ask questions. Be proactive. keep your eyes to the floor. Make a nuisance of yourself. Explore all your options. 5 4 Over lunch, in a live- Who’s that up ahead? ly discussion about It’s him again, the independent Hungarian Kommilitone guy you’ve had two cinema, a seminars with today, (fellow student) mis- the one who made takenly attributes the that point about post- 1969 movie “Those modernism being Who Wear Glasses” post-Marxist. You to Ildikó Enyedi. You didn’t understand it, knows it’s the work of but he sounded very István Bujtor. What do you do? intelligent. He’s on his own. He has excellent A Nothing. It’s a simple mistake.

hair. He could be B your friend. How do Nothing. But make a mental

3 B note not to trust this student you approach him? from now on, for he plays fast It’s time for class. Very little. You’re just flexible A and loose with the truth. But no one has told like that. You don’t. You ignore him. C If you’re meant to be friends you which class, C Immediately interrupt! Say, “I None. You’ve never met it will happen, somehow, via don’t want to be a pedant, but I or where? Is this a osmosis. structure you didn’t try to think you’ll find it was directed problem? How much knock down. B by István Bujtor, his second after You stare at him a lot and see if the criminally unappreciated structure do you D he gets the hint and makes the ‘A Holiday with Piroschka,’ need? Some. A bit of structure is first move. released on the 19th March 1969, always good. Oder C at 3 p.m. ?” A Lots! Structure’s great. It HINT You sidle up and try small- D stops you from drowning in At a German university, while talk: How about this weather Plan to slip that Kommilitone a puddle of possibility. you might find some spoons ly- we’re having? of yours a passive-aggressive

24 note after class, in which you 7 Thank you,Ausländer , your Probetag chastise him for his intellectual You hear through the sloppiness. (test day) is over. To see if you’ve passed grapevine that class­ HINT and will be invited back, count the You might have heard the ex­ mates are going to points for each answer and compare with pression, never let the truth get the Studentenkneipe in the way of a good story. In the table below. Did you make the grade? Germany, it’s more like never let (bar) tonight for First Will you earn a full term on campus? a good story get in the way of Semester Party. What truth. It’s your duty to correct do you do? people when they say something incorrect, no matter how utterly A inconsequential it may be. Ger­ You pre­game at home with Points & Results mans call it Klugscheißen (smart Jack: Jack Daniels. Once the shitting, literally translated), and world is sufficiently wobbly, if you dare do it, you will win you sashay to the bar and order we’re keeping you on for the their respect. the cheapest drink that comes The Points entire semester. Glückwunsch in a bucket. You don’t return 1) A: 1pt, B: 3pts, C: 2pts, D: 4pts (Congratulations). 6 home until you’re wearing 2) A: 4pts, B: 3pts, C: 2pts, D: 1pt someone else’s underwear. 3) A: 1pt, B: 4pts, C: 2pts, D: 3pts In the final seminar 16–19 points = 4.0 – Not good B 4) A: 3pts, B: 4pts, C: 1pt, D: 2pts enough, but you 5) A: 1pt, B: 2pts, C: 4pts, D: 3pts of the day, you join a You go, but only for an hour. get another chance. 6) A: 2pts, B: 1pt, C: 4pts, D: 3pts table with three other You dazzle people with your Sorry, but you’re not ready for 7) A: 2pts, B: 3pts, C: 4pts, D: 1pt people. How do you intoxicating wit but are sure life at a German university. You to get home nice and early so got in late; you left early; you greet each other? you’re fresh for class tomorrow. didn’t sign up for anything; The Results A C and you drove to campus. In a The handshake. You’ll turn up at the agreed 24+ points = 1.0 – You aced it! car. A CAR. All we can do is time, shoot for a nice conversa­ Outstanding work. We think offer you a place in aStudien - B tion or two, perhaps double as you will fit in well here. You kolleg (a foundation course) The hug. many drinks, then leave with struck the right balance between and hope that your rough, anti­ C three new friends and a few being intellectually intriguing intellectual edges get sanded The abrupt nod. old ones, riding your bicycles and socially aloof. You worked down enough that you can hard; you worked efficiently, but reapply again smoothly next D home as a big giddy group. crucially, you dressed anony­ year. Netter Versuch (Nice try). The elbow bump. D mously. You started the party, The bar? Ugh. No thanks. HINT kept it rocking at its midpoint, Less than 15 points = 6.0 Hungarian independent One day in the future, social dis­ left before it fizzled out, and You failed! tancing will end. On that day, cinema isn’t going to watch you’re still in a fit state for to­ Thanks for nothing,Ausländer . itself. in Germany, few people will morrow’s classes. Gut gemacht While you tried, sort of, you’re notice the difference. Germans HINT (Well done). not a good fit for intellectual have been socially distanced Although Germans drink regu­ Germany. You expect to have since Covid­1. If a short, sharp larly and can talk for hours about 20–23 points = 3.0 – Respectable. your hand both held and shook. nod is inappropriate, there’s little minute differences in regional You’ve survived your first day You dressed in a shiny gold shirt they like more than a crisp, long, beer, they’re social drinkers on campus admirably, newbie. that distracted fellow students platonic handshake. To get this rather than binge drinkers. You’re coming along. Of course and a crow who fell off a win­ right, lock eye contact, slide back Nights out start late, end in the there are still some areas to im­ dowsill and broke its wing. one full meter, and then thrust early hours, and revolve around prove upon, such as your knowl­ This isn’t for you. We could go out your hand. Ideally, one of challenging conversations, edge of independent Hungarian on, but we’ve organized a little you should be on tippytoes. Re­ humiliating Kicker (table foot­ cinema, and your aggressively party to celebrate your exit, with ally stretch yourself out. That’s ball) defeats, and enthusiastic, shiny shoes, but let’s not nit­ coffee and cake.Auf Wiedersehen it. Lovely … unpretentious dancing. pick. You did fine enough and (Until next time).

25 LEARNING B

26 When the first wave of coronavirus hit, German universities got to work on digital alternatives BY DOING

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It’s no secret that global higher education is struggling with the ripple effects of Covid­19. But the pandemic may also give German universities a chance to leapfrog into digital learning approaches. Students – across the street and around the world – could benefit

BY DEBORAH STEINBORN PHOTOS DAVID AVAZZADEH

Take a course in pole dancing while enrolled at Eu­ in the summer, and plans to write his thesis this fall rope’s largest sports university. Explore the salt marshes while starting a job in the German capital. of Hallig Hooge, an island in the North Sea, with one Today, Saurabh sees the long months of online of the continent’s biggest public research institutions. instruction in a positive light. “Sure, it was a little hard Create riveting art from the unpredictability of life when I was sitting all alone in a hotel room in India, in a Stuttgart lockdown. Protest social injustice and in quarantine,” he says. “But after a couple of months, learn about the EU’s political system while you’re at it. it seemed some things, like corporate finance, were Or simply learn corporate finance at your own pace. better to learn digitally. I could go back and review These days you can do it all virtually, from afar, parts I didn’t understand. It was easier to participate without setting foot in a lecture hall or walking across and follow the lessons.” a college campus. Saurabh’s experience isn’t an anomaly. According Welcome to Germany’s rapidly evolving Hoch- to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), schullandschaft, or higher­education landscape. Lit­ about 80,000 international students headed home erally overnight, some of the country’s largest public in the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic. That’s universities and its smallest private colleges have more than a fourth of all 300,000 foreign students vaulted forward with technological tools for learning. who were registered at German universities at the Covid­19 gave them little choice, but they’re benefiting time. The majority of those who left did complete from the change. the semester’s work digitally from abroad, according Of course there are kinks to work out. In some to a representative survey conducted by the DAAD. cases, basic infrastructure is still lacking, from telecom In a country of long­standing academic traditions – cables to adequate recording systems. Legal constraints including paper­based, in­person final examinations also pose challenges to conducting courses entirely mandated by law – this was no small feat. online. But many believe the change is here to stay. “Covid­19 was an incredible accelerator for digital­ University administrators claim this digital transition ization at German universities,” says Alexander Knoth, will make Germany a more attractive destination for head of digitalization at the DAAD. Knoth has been higher education even after the pandemic is over. Some preaching the potential benefits of e­learning since his students think so, too. Even when “old” campus life days as a doctoral student and researcher at the Uni­ returns – the jostling through classrooms, cafeterias, versity of Potsdam more than a decade ago. “For me,” and hallowed halls – new forms of digital learning he says, “the coronavirus outbreak was a bull’s eye.” will remain. Universities that had already explored digital learning “At first, it was just an emergency solution,” says were pushed to step up their plans, and fast. And those Parag Saurabh, a 34­year­old MBA student at the that hadn’t? They had their work cut out for them. European School of Management and Technology That’s where, clichéd as it is, the characteristic in Berlin. “The best possible alternative was online German tendency to think and act methodically instruction.” started to kick in. In spring 2020, when Germany was in lockdown RWTH Aachen University, Germany’s largest and campuses were shuttered, Saurabh caught the last technical university, offers a case in point. Located at flight back to his hometown of Gurgaon, near New the scenic border to both Belgium and the Nether­ Delhi in India, to be with his family. He finished up lands, the historic university had been looking forward the semester online from there, returned to Berlin to the 2020 festivities to mark its first 150 years. As

28 Study like Cézanne: Some students turned the lockdown into art till Life with Skull, / mauritius 1896-1898 images (this page)

late as mid-March, administrators were still planning Studierendenausschuss), the committee is rather like a special party in Berlin. Chancellor Angela Merkel a student union in Anglo-Saxon countries. “AStA’s was on the guest list, the stage was set. Just a couple of involvement made a crucial difference,” says Krieg. days later, the event had been canceled and RWTH’s “We were in telephone contact every single day, often campus shut down. Written exams and lab courses several times a day. When problems in the transition to were called off indefinitely. And foreign students, digital coursework arose, we knew right away, thanks who make up 25 percent of the student body, were to the student association. We were able to react.” scrambling to return home. In the first weeks of the crisis, student representa- “It’s an understatement to say we were all taken by tives recall, they left their desks only to get some sleep. surprise,” says Aloys Krieg, RWTH’s vice president And they are still on the job. “It’s like a marathon,” for education. “But it is also no exaggeration to say says Alexander Schütt, a master’s student in sociology that we got to work immediately to find solutions. We at RWTH whose student-rep duties morphed into a knew that students needed to take their final exams full-time job when the coronavirus struck. “We are all and that we had to transition to online teaching as a little exhausted now, but we keep going.” He ticks smoothly and rapidly as possible.” off the challenges they tackled in recent months: How Working mostly out of their own homes, ad- to ensure all students get to take their final exams ministrators joined forces with representatives of the and round out the semester? How to get students up general students committee. Commonly referred and running online? How to help foreigners return

Laptop images: photo by Maria Rohweder (p. 26); painting by Paul Cézanne, S to by its German acronym, AStA (for Allgemeiner to campus in the fall? And the list goes on. “With so

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Chemistry lab in times of coronavirus: Experimenting at home

many thousands of students, there is always something course completion. Matters were often resolved on a that needs to be clarified,” Schütt says. case­by­case basis – by assigning an additional paper, In hindsight, RWTH’s biggest challenge had noth­ for instance, or postponing an exam until the university ing to do with technology. Rather, how would all those board could clear the exceptions. students actually fit into the quaint city of Aachen By late summer, RWTH staff felt confident that the while adhering to new rules for social distancing? The winter semester could proceed smoothly – whether on overall population is 245,000, and there are 45,000 campus, online, or in a combination of both – even if students at RWTH. Germany faces another virus outbreak. Accommodat­ German law specifies that university exams must ing foreign students still presents a challenge, however. take place in person, with just a few exceptions. This China accounts for 22 percent of RWTH’s interna­ may seem like no big deal, but Aachen lacks a con­ tional enrollments, followed by India at 12 percent. vention center or other large facility, which would Due to restrictions on international mobility stemming have enabled physical distancing for large numbers of from the pandemic, “it will be extremely difficult for test takers. How could students take their tests? Staff these students to return to Germany for the winter and student reps tackled the task with mathematical semester,” admits Krieg, the VP for education. precision. They rented all the extra rooms they could Partly to address this, the university recently adopt­ find. They agreed on a new, delayed exam schedule. ed a new initiative introduced by the state government And for foreign students who had left town in the out­ of North Rhine­Westphalia called a Kann-Semester – break’s first days, they tried hard to find loopholes for literally, a “can­do semester.” In this format, students

30 can complete a semester’s coursework, but they don’t Medien, a non-profit university of art, design, and have to if, midway through, they change their minds or media, are taking new ways of learning in their own encounter too many logistical obstacles. This applies to creative direction. all university enrollees, but it should help international Were it not for Covid-19, students in a film and students in particular. video theory class would have spent the summer Indeed, universities are working diligently toward semester preparing documentaries and art exhibits blended-learning, e-learning, and off-campus solutions. throughout the surrounding Black Forest region. In- A study published by the DAAD in July shows that in stead, the 24 students published weekly video diaries dealing with the pandemic, German universities have about living and studying under coronavirus restric- seized the opportunity for progress in digitalization and tions. They turned the lockdown into art. One diary committed to helping students from abroad. entry offers a hair-raising juxtaposition: the quietude of Half of all universities surveyed had compensated leftover dishes and a laptop, camera taped over, in the for the cancellation of in-person classes with completely kitchen of a Wohngemeinschaft (shared apartment) with virtual events, while the other half relied on a mixed an ever-louder din outside. It’s the sound of thousands model of classroom and digital teaching. At 98 percent of protestors against coronavirus measures marching of these universities, staff could work from home, and past the building on their way downtown.

Some students have found that the cloud has a silver lining: learning in totally new, creative ways and places almost 90 percent offered virtual counselling hours At Justus Liebig University Giessen, a large public re- to students. search university in the state of Hesse, professors in the Indeed, throughout the country, universities have field of science found their own creative vibe. introduced digital laboratory experiments, reinvented Hans-Peter Ziemek is one of them. The tenured research excursions and cross-cultural internships in biology professor couldn’t bear to cancel an annual virtual formats, and developed hybrid course offer- excursion to the North Sea; it’s something he has ings – half online, half analog – to be flexible for the offered for years to his grad students in education. So, pandemic’s duration and beyond. for two weeks in June, 18 students spent time with him When ZEIT Germany went to press in September on Hallig Hooge, a small German island. 2020, the cloud of the coronavirus was still hovering Instead of making the trip in person, they “trav- over Europe. Germany has been something of a model eled” to the island via the internet – with videos, live in its systematic, scientific, and orderly handling of the broadcasts, and online presentations. Beforehand, pandemic. When the number of infections escalated students received a set of packages with secret contents in March, politicians brought public life to a grinding by old-fashioned mail and links to pre-recorded videos halt. They introduced rigorous testing and later loos- and invitations to e-meetings. Their instructions: to ened restrictions step by step. open each package on a particular day of the week. Higher education has moved in a similar vein. On one day, they explored the salt marshes via Concerned that the virus could again spread rapidly video with a guest lecturer who explained how plants if campuses reopen too soon, universities have post- and soil interact in this environment. On another poned the winter semester several times, most recently morning, each student unwrapped sandpaper, string, to November 2. a block of amber, and instructions on how to polish Yet some students have found that the cloud has a the fossilized resin. Janina Heinigk, a student in the silver lining: learning in totally new, creative ways and group, spent two and a half hours polishing the amber places. Alexander Schütt, the student-rep at RWTH, at home. “That was a cool experience,” the future biol- can imagine a career in politics after completing his ogy teacher says. She now plans to integrate practical master’s studies. He has put his studies on hold in and digital elements into her own lessons as a teacher. order to focus fully on his leadership role in student Ziemek didn’t want to leave out the usual, final fun governance during the pandemic. “If ever there was either. So he rounded out the digital excursion with a a situation that calls for change and development,” he good old-fashioned Umtrunk, or round of drinks. In says, “this is it.” their final package, students found ingredients for a In Stuttgart, meanwhile, students at the Merz Pharisäer. This northern German cult drink consists of Akademie Hochschule für Gestaltung, Kunst und coffee, two cubes of sugar, a dollop of whipped cream,

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and a shot of rum. They toasted their successful online calculation-oriented corporate finance but track-and- excursion on Zoom. field, dancing, and other physically oriented subjects. As recently as a year ago, online art diaries and digi- For staff at the school, which is located in downtown tal biology excursions might have sounded too futuristic Cologne, the pressing question was how to digitally in some corners of German academia. Pole dancing via implement courses in practical sports. The answer, at Zoom still does. Yet in the “Corona semester,” “Pole first, seemed to be “not at all!” one professor recalls. Dance Fitness via Zoom” was one of the most popular But the pandemic inspired a true rethink in many courses at UniSport2, a joint initiative by the German areas, says Thomas Abel, director of digitalization Sport University Cologne (DSHS) and the University and diversity at the school. And students adapted of Cologne. quickly. (The university was lucky that it had already “Demand was high, and the courses were almost replaced old, rotting telephone cables the previous always fully booked,” says Eckhard Rohde, head of the year as part of a longer-term plan to update technol- sports department at the University of Cologne. And ogy on campus.) this was despite obstacles, he adds: “Not every student Universities still face hurdles. Many foreign stu- apartment provides enough space, and not all students dents are struggling to enroll in the winter semester. can afford to buy a pole for 85 euros or more.” Pole With many embassies and agencies abroad closed, they dancing as a sport has caught on among students ever may not be able to obtain documentation required to since Madonna and other stars claimed it as their secret register at German universities. And like in the US, en- recipe for staying fit. For the online version, students rolling in an online-only course of study isn’t enough simply needed to find their own pole. for a student visa granting entry into Germany; the To be sure, DSHS – Europe’s largest sports uni- federal government placed a ban on that back in July. versity, with about 6,000 students – faced a particular Only students from one of seven countries on a so- challenge. The courses it had to move online weren’t in called positive list are exempt from this ban.

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“There is still huge interest abroad in studying in to the Ministry of Education to help foreign students. Germany,” says Stephan Paulini, the co-founder of “It would be a blatant case of double standards if the MyGermanUniversity, an online platform. “But the federal government were to stick to this,” Gehring paperwork that is necessary to sign up as a student at wrote in a letter to the ministry, referring to the ban a German university is a challenge. To get a student on foreign students enrolled in online-only coursework. visa, you need documents that you simply cannot get International students want to come. Uni-assist is your hands on in many parts of the world right now.” the central point of contact between applicants with Then there are the travel restrictions, Paulini adds. foreign educational certificates and about 170 German “Students are wondering if they will actually be let universities. In September, it said that despite the coro- into the country when they get to the border,” he says. navirus, at least 60,000 foreign students had applied His company offers regular coronavirus webinars to for the winter semester at participating universities. international students interested in Germany, and he The jury is still out on whether they will ultimately says this is probably the most common question posed sign up or instead delay or cancel their studies abroad. by students attending those e-meetings. “The whole world is wondering what the winter Some universities are finding ways around the pa- semester will look like,” says Jan Kercher, expert for perwork, while others are allowing students to at least external studies and statistics at the DAAD. “Decisions begin the semester online from abroad. Politicians are will likely be made on short notice. But if universities weighing in, too. Kai Gehring, a member of the Green are interested in international students, they will do Party in the Bundestag, made an official plea in August everything they can to get them to come.”

Study at aprivate! www.private-hochschulen.net GERMANY SO CLOSE YET SO FAR

Learn remotely? Ada Pellert, head of FernUniversität in , Germany’s largest distance university, with 77,000 students, explains how to do it

BY DEBORAH STEINBORN PHOTO DAVID AVAZZADEH

What mistakes do university students make when they study from a distance? The main challenges are the same as in tradi- tional university settings: self-motivation and self- management. No matter where students study, it’s important that they develop strategies to motivate themselves and to structure their studies.

So self-motivation and an app are all that a stu- dent needs for distance learning? Not necessarily. With digital studies, it’s also easier to maintain the illusion that everything is going fine. If a student doesn’t have to physically come to campus, he may not realize that he hasn’t attended a course for a month. He may not notice so quickly whether this is due to initial overload or because he may not want to study that particular subject after all. Students should reflect regularly on how their studies are going and discuss their progress with peers. The student advisory service also can help.

What mistakes do professors make when they teach from a distance? The cardinal mistake made by teaching staff is the assumption that formats and concepts devel- oped for classroom teaching can be copied directly into digital formats without adaptation. Effective distance learning takes into account the specific needs and conditions of students and incorporates strategies to meet them. So teaching staff should think about how to structure learning effectively when students are no longer bound to a particular time or location. They need to support participation and self-directed learning. Choosing the best tools and strategies for specific types of content and teaching situations requires careful planning and reflection.

How can students get to know each other if they don’t physically meet? Getting to know each other virtually is more Ada Pellert, 58, is accustomed difficult at first. But students can and should to working from a distance

34 network digitally much as they In the summer semester of 2020, Open Access reg­ INTERNATIONAL. INDIVIDUAL. INSPIRING. would on campus: on social media istrations increased around 35 percent compared to platforms, in reading groups, or last year. through political and social initia­ Overall, enrollment in the 2020 summer tives. Our university has regional semester showed a slight rise compared to the centers for this purpose in every previous year. Preliminary information for the federal state, where students can winter semester suggests that enrollment has get to know each other personally. risen further, but we don’t have final numbers yet. It also really helps to work to­ gether on projects. The FernUni­ As a distance-learning university, how has the versität organized an educational coronavirus outbreak changed your approach to hackathon this summer semester teaching? with that in mind. When students Since teaching from a distance was already rou­ cooperate on a project, they auto­ tine for us, very little changed. The biggest issue was ANNIKA HANKE, matically learn to work together, how to run exams. That’s because even though we HEAD OF BUSINESS even if it’s in a digital format. are a distance­learn ing university, exams primarily DEVELOPMENTDIGITAL, take place in person – either on our campus, at one GALERIA KARSTADT So digital studies are better for of our regional and study centers, or abroad through KAUFHOF, team players? partnerships with other institutions. This has to do ISMGRADUATE Definitely. Students who net­ with the legal requirements for exams at German work with each other get through universities, which have prevented the widespread their studies more easily. At home implementation of digital exams. alone, the opportunities to distract The good news is, the pandemic is driv ing in­ yourself are simply greater. novation in new options for legally­compliant elec­ If you have to write a term tronic assessments. At the FernUniversität, for in­ paper and would rather go to the stance, we have introduced online proctoring and swimming pool or tidy up your online open­book exams. apartment, you’ll be more motivat­ ed if you have a date with a fellow FernUniversität in Hagen has offered support to student to work on that term paper teaching staff at other German universities dur- than if you were all on your own. ing the current crisis. Who has reached out? You can think of it like sports. We started a community in cooperation with a If you make an appointment with think tank called Hochschulforum Digitalisierung a friend to go jogging at 8 a.m., to addresses digitalization in higher education and you’re much more likely to get out support colleagues at traditional universities who the door. were forced by Covid­19 to switch to distance learn­ ing overnight. Has student enrollment at Fern- At a kickoff session in April, there were about Universität in Hagen risen as a 200 attendees from all over Germany. Since then, result of the Covid-19 pandemic? the community has provided a platform for teachers We have seen especially strong throughout the country to talk about their experi­ demand in our Open Access Stud­ ences in the “corona semester.” It has hosted digital ies program, which lets interested events on topics including student engagement, ex­ students register for individual periences with online exams, accessibility, diversity, courses or modules without com­ and hybrid teaching formats. mitting to a full degree program. Our teaching staff also has made its distance­ Studyatone of Germany’sbest This gives students the flexibility to learning expertise available to other universities. private business schools. pursue learning according to their And a training program for e­learning, which we Bachelor,Master, MBA, full-time individual needs, whether they had already developed, was made available to the or part-time. want to expand existing skills and general public as self­learning courses on our open For moreinformation: en.ism.de knowledge for professional reasons, Moodle platform. These courses cover topics such pursue a personal interest, or just as instructional design and tools for implementing find out whether distance­learning digital learning. They’ve proven very popular. We’ve Dortmund ·Frankfurt/Main ·Munich · is a good fit for them. had more than 700 external registrations already. Smartphone image: FernUniversität in Hagen, Volker Wiciok Hamburg·Cologne ·Stuttgart ·Berlin Z

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BAFÖG n. (German Federal Train ing Assistance Act) federal act DEFINING regulating state-funded financial assistance for students in higher education. Half of this financial VOCABULARY support usually takes the form of a grant, and the remaining half an interest-free state loan totalling no more than 10,000 euros. The loan must be repaid in installments after completion of studies.

BOLOGNA-PROZESS m. (higher education reform) 1. a series of agreements between European countries to ensure common standards of higher education (named after the uni- versity where education minis- ters from 29 countries signed a declaration in 1999). 2. introduc- tion of a two-tiered structure of bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as easy transfer of credits between institutions within the bloc of countries.

DEUTSCHER AKADEMI- SCHER AUSTAUSCH- DIENST (DAAD) m. (German Academic Exchange Service) 1. a large federally and state-funded, self-gov erning support organi- zation for international aca- demic cooperation. 2. a popular source of scholarship funding for foreign ers studying in Germany. www.daad.de/en

DEUTSCHE FORSCHUNGS- GEMEINSCHAFT (DFG) f. (German Research Foundation) an organization that funds re- search at universities and other institutions through a variety of grants and prizes. It’s the largest funding organization in Europe. www.dfg.de/en German universities have a language all their own. Key terms to help cut through the jargon DUALES STUDIUM n. (dual study) 1. a system of combining BY DEBORAH STEINBORN ILLUSTRATION ALINA GÜNTER apprenticeships at a company

36 or non-profit organization with Helmholtz Gemeinschaft, Max higher education in a particular Planck Gesellschaft, and Leibniz field. 2. a program mostly used Gemeinschaft, employ about by students of business adminis- 82,000 researchers. tration, engineering, and social services. HABILITATION f. (post-doc- toral qualification) 1. a postdoc- ERASMUS-PROGRAMM n. toral degree necessary for a full (Erasmus Program) 1. a student- professorship at German univer- exchange program financed by sities. 2. highest academic quali- the European Union, combining fication, involving formal defense all current EU schemes for educa- of a major work of independent tion, training, youth, and sports. scholarship. 2. acronym for European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility HOCHSCHULRANKING n. of University Students. (university ranking) a rank ing of institutions of higher learning EXZELLENZSTRATEGIE f. based on diverse factors. The CHE (excellence strategy) 1. a long-term University Ranking, for example, effort by the German Ministry ranks institutions according to of Education and Research to student and faculty assessments. promote cutting-edge research https://ranking.zeit.de/che/en/ conditions for scholars, better cooperation between academic MENSA f. (dining hall) a location disciplines as well as institutions, that provides meals to university and the global reputation of Ger- students and staff and is integral man universities and research in- to social life on German campus- stitutions. 2. an initiative award- es; subsidized meals usually cost ing special status to 11 German less than four euros. public universities. According to the Times Higher Education PRÜFUNGSAMT n. (ex- World University Rankings 2020, amination office) A university four of these so-called elite univer- unit that handles all matters re- sities are among Europe’s top 25: lated to student exams. Students Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität need to register to take exams in München, Technical University Germany. The office also issues of Munich, Heidelberg Univer- educational certificates. sity, and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. TECHNISCHE HOCH- SCHULE f. (technical university) FACHHOCHSCHULE f. a university that specializes in (university of applied sciences) an engineering and related fields. institution of higher vocational Some confer doctorates, while education, often in areas such as others do not. engineering or business. On av- erage, an institution of this kind UNIVERSITÄT (UNI) f. (uni- hosts 4,500 students. versity) 1. an institution of higher learning with facilities for teaching FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT and research that also awards n. (research institute) a research bachelor’s and master’s degrees. It body typically outside of the hosts on average 16,500 students. university system. The top 2. an education al body with the four, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, right to confer doctorates. EUNSOON JUNG, 33, BERLIN

38 Z

GERMANY SHOWCASE

From Seoul to Berlin

Eunsoon Jung wanted to learn more about the playwright Bertolt Brecht. Now, she’s challenging the male-dominated world of German theater at a top arts academy

BY FIONA WEBER-STEINHAUS PHOTO MONIKA KEILER

When she applied to the Ernst Busch Academy of says. Most state universities don’t The program is intense, with many weekends de- Dramatic Arts in Berlin in 2017, Eunsoon Jung felt charge tuition. The only hitch: voted to rehearsing. Tuition is free, but in her spare fully prepared for the final round of auditions. Jung didn’t speak the language. time, Jung covers her living expenses by waitressing. The trained actress from Seoul had practiced all So in 2015, she arrived in Heidel- In their second year, the students attended theater her lines and even built her own stage set out of card- berg with just two suitcases and workshops in Vienna, Copenhagen, and Seoul, board. But there was no wireless connection in the began to study toward a language where their workshop took place at Jung’s former building and she couldn’t use her translation app. So certificate. She researched direct- drama school. The experience highlighted the dif- before she presented her work, Jung addressed the ing and performance artistry ferent teaching styles, according to Jung. In South jury: “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, please courses and soon became aware Korea, teachers expect you to follow their rules and judge my creativity and not my language.” of the Busch Academy’s strong not ask questions, she says. In Berlin, she feels free. Today, the 33-year-old is a third-year student of reputation in Germany. That’s the case at Busch, but sometimes less so directing at the academy and speaks fluent German. At the time, Jung didn’t know outside of school. She admits she’s sometimes anxious More significantly, she’s part of the first all-female how deeply entrenched gender about her safety. “I thought that Germany had re- class in the 69-year history of one of Europe’s most inequality is in the theater scene ally confronted its Nazi past, so I wasn’t prepared to prestigious drama schools. in Germany, a country that’s been experience racism here,” she says. In the Covid-19 That weekend three years ago, the jury chose six governed by a woman for the last pandemic, racist comments toward Asians became women out of 127 applicants. The decision wasn’t a 15 years. The German Culture far worse, she adds: “Sometimes, you need good political statement, school management emphasizes. Council analyzed national the- headphones to drown out the slurs.” “They were simply the best,” says jury member and aters between 1994 and 2014 and Jung and her classmates find inspiration in their theater director Thomas Ostermeier. Six days after found that 78 percent are directed solidarity. When they caught wind that a local con- the semester began, the hashtag #MeToo went viral. by men. What’s more, men direct ference about feminism and solidarity in theater had To Jung and her classmates it felt like a call to arms. 70 percent of all theatrical produc- hired actor Lars Eidinger to DJ the afterparty, they As an actress, Jung had toured India, Mexico, tions and write 76 percent of all were frustrated that a man had gotten the job. So they and Japan with a performance group. But she didn’t plays in the country. jumped onstage with wrestling masks and cardboard want to take cues from other directors anymore: At the very start of their first signs for a playful protest. “I wanted to decide for myself.” semester, the six women decided And when the Volksbühne, one of Berlin’s well- She looked into studying in Germany, not least to work collectively to strengthen known theaters, was looking for a new manager, because she was fascinated by the playwright Bertolt their own artistic ideas but also to they collectively wrote to Berlin’s senator for culture Brecht. She had heard of his “distancing effect” Ver( - point out this broader sexism. See- suggesting that all six of them be hired for the post. fremdungseffekt) – a technique to remind an audience ing that all tenured professors in They didn’t get the job. But the Busch Academy will of a performance’s artificiality – and wanted to learn Busch’s directing department are allow them to manage its school theater in 2021. more. She was also intrigued that Germany, like Ko- male, for instance, they repeatedly Call it a tryout for their utopian idea of running a rea, has a history of being divided. There was a prac- demanded the appointment of a theater collectively – six women in charge of a theater tical aspect, too. “I could afford studying here,” she female professor. historically run by men.

39 GERMANY

From Karachi to Freiburg

A biologist from Pakistan thought Germany would be a stopover in her career. Twenty years later, she’s one of the most prominent researchers from abroad

BY EVA VON SCHAPER PHOTO LENA GIOVANAZZI

Decades later, Akhtar still recalls how surprised she was by that sign of reliability, even though she’s lived and worked in the country since 1997. After a long stretch at the European Molecular Biology Labora- tory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, her research took her not around the globe but just two hours by car to the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, where she’s been promoted several times. In July 2020, she was appointed the first international and female vice president of the Max Planck Society’s prestigious Biology and Medi- cine Section. It’s fair to say she’s now one of the country’s most prominent researchers from abroad. It wasn’t part of Akhtar’s original plan to stay so long in the EU’s most populous country. After com- pleting her doctorate at London’s Imperial Cancer Research Fund, now part of the Francis Crick In- stitute, Akhtar looked very broadly at opportunities in the US and the UK. But she also became aware of Germany and, more specifically, Heidelberg’s EMBL. The organization had a very high profile in science and did “beautiful basic research” in the areas that interested her, she says. “And that’s how I decided to come to Germany.” Akhtar was born in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, in 1971, but her family moved around a lot. Her father worked for an internationally active bank, which relocated the family to the United Arab Emi- rates and then to France’s capital, Paris. Akhtar had expected that her own career would lead to just as many destinations. As a scientist, “it’s very common to move between countries,” she explains. All things relating to biology fascinated Akhtar early in life. Now, she sees that human cells interact ASIFA AKHTAR, 49, FREIBURG like an orchestra, and biological research could help that orchestra play a symphony perfectly. Back when she was still a teenager, she chose to study the subject at University College London. When she first arrived in Heidelberg, Asifa Akhtar uled to arrive. Punctual public Today, her research focus is epigenetics. This rapidly was surprised by a phenomenon she observed at transportation? This was a big expanding field aims to understand how organisms bus stops. All over the picturesque riverside town change from London, where she that contain the same set of genetic information in southwestern Germany, passengers would appear had just received her doctorate in can produce a number of cells with a wide range promptly one to two minutes before a bus was sched- molecular biology. of functions.

40 AHaven for InquisitiveMinds

Akhtar has made significant contributions to the field of chromosome regulation, and her work has Imagine doing your research without been recognized with both a European Life Science the daily interruptions of academic life. Organization Award and a coveted Feldberg Prize. In In asereneenvironmentinGermany’s her new role as VP at Max Planck, one of her tasks Northwest whereyou can still enjoy is advising the society’s president. intellectually stimulating encounters. But laboratory work is still her first love. “You don’t know what the outcome is going to be, and that is fascinating for me,” she says. Like the outcome Whether youresearch the oceans, of her experiments, her success in the German re- the brain, renewable energies,or search world wasn’t at all foreseeable. It gave Akhtar political change,Fellowships at Hanse- a career track record that she hadn’t expected when Wissenschaftskolleg –Institute for she arrived. Advanced Study (HWK) areavailable She spent more than a decade at EMBL, then to excellentscientists from the natural was named an investigator at Freiburg’s Max Planck and the social sciences as well as the Institute, where she still works. The investigator post is part of a program to draw young researchers to humanities.* Max Planck institutes, a network of about 80 highly regarded research institutes hosting 15,000 scien- •Junior and Senior Fellowships of tists. Soon thereafter, she was promoted to director, 3to10months a coveted, tenured position that offers scientists the •Emphasisonexcellence and cross- freedom to choose their research topics. disciplinary exchange In her new role as vice president, Akhtar intends to focus, among other things, on increasing the de- •Diverse opportunities forregional mographic and cultural diversity of the researchers cooperation themselves. Akhtar, who has a son and a daughter, •Individual and family accommodation says pursuing a career as a parent in Germany can •Flexible funding schemes be challenging. “You have to sometimes make very difficult decisions to go forward,” she says. She wants Learn moreat: to encourage young researchers to persevere and find a supportive environment. For her, a major pillar of www.h-w-k.de/apply support has been her family. “I think that Germany is very progressive,” she says, adding that she sees the local society developing positively in this respect each and every year. There is one thing, after all these years, that Akhtar still struggles with: the language. “I’m not perfect in German, and my kids are always joking that I cannot speak it properly,” she laughs, noting that she tends to gesticulate with hands and feet to get her point across. People, however, “are very accommodating,” she adds. The pleasure she takes in German reliability, which she experienced early on, has only grown over the years. She still appreciates the general culture of organization and orderliness, and she emphasizes Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg that for scientists with a heavy workload, it greatly Institute forAdvanced Study enhances quality of life. “I love the German tendency towards organization,” Akhtar says. “A lot of stress that you’d find in some other places is just taken away from you here.” * Fellowships awarded based on competitive selection. Collaboration with regional research institutions 41 required for experimental work. Z

GERMANY RESEARCH THIS!

Glacial modeling in the Alps, a rock concert that doubles as a Covid-19 experiment in Leipzig ... Groundbreaking science is underway in the German-speaking world

BY CHRISTIAN HEINRICH AND DEBORAH STEINBORN

42 Photos: Elias Holzknecht Innsbruck. Since Innsbruck is sit is Innsbruck Since Innsbruck. of atAustria’s University Sciences Cryospheric and of Atmospheric Department the within housed is It groups. research climate leading –one it’s world’s of the as called Climate, and atIce science proach hand. in apickax and shoulders on your backpack aheavy with mountain icy up atall, by hiking top: route to the classic the take to have to help you, but you still modeling mathematical vanced You ad computers and super have Austria. in mountaintop Alpine on an change climate Research That’s how researchers ap That’s how researchers - - - most extensive full glacier mass mass glacier full extensive most er. Today, the among are these Kesselwandfern and tereisferner Hin Alps, Ötztal the in glaciers large of two balance mass nual an to record began unit climate tropics. the and Himalayas, the Polar regions, the Alps, the in research climate and of glaciological long tradition a has university The warming. duepublic attention to global more more and gained has search away. ahike just are glaciers the region, Ötztal glacial the in uated Back in 1952, in Back and ice the re climate years, recent In ICE AND CLIMATE AND UNIT ICE Hike up an Austrian Austrian upHike an to do your climate mountain slope slope mountain INNSBRUCK research - - - - Hintereisferner glaciers are a are glaciers Hintereisferner ter. This is where is Nicholson’ster. This team stone’s city’s the cen from throw 2009. in arrived on doorstep,” your She she says. right “to research do the tunity oppor by the intrigued She was Innsbruck. in underway research groundbreaking the about heard Nicholson range, mountain Asian Himalayas. the places, of all via, Alps to the came national Scottish The team. 18-person-strong the leads Nicholson Lindsey searcher world. Re the in records balance The Kesselwandferner and and Kesselwandferner The the in researching While

- - - itoring. itoring. mon glacier long-term institute’s the sponsor Service Hydrological Tyrolean the and of Innsbruck more. The and University Alps, the in changes length glacier modeling on glaciers, dynamics snow-cover modeling and suring complex terrains.” very over these operates climate how the to understand important “It’s so she explains. climate,” in of changes aresult as rise sea-level to contributing and fast very ing chang are glaciers “Mountain of research. field its bulk the does Ongoing projects include mea include projects Ongoing – D.S. 43 - - - GERMANY

STUDYING HUMANITY LEIPZIG

Where do we come from? Who in the magazine “Science” about are we? What makes each of us the limitations of psychological unique? These are three big ques- research. Studies tend to be con- tions about the meaning of life. ducted in a very small number Researchers at Leipzig’s Max of countries, which fall under Planck Institute for Evolutionary the acronym WEIRD: Western, Anthropology (MPI EVA) want Educated, Industrialized, Rich, to answer them in a way that re- and Democratic. This means that flects all regions of the world. over 95 percent of participants live Studying humanity’s origins in countries that harbor 10 per- isn’t just about finding and analyz- cent of the world’s population. ing ancient remains with molec- Such a biased sampling produces ular methods. Understanding equally biased results. And that, present-day human behavior is in layperson’s terms, is simply not crucial, too. So psychological fair. So MPI EVA is committed to studies very much belong to the Exploring the origins studying humans globally, from institute’s tool kit. of humankind and what northern Namibia to Vanuatu Daniel Haun, director of in the southern Pacific. The ap- comparative cultural psycholo- makes each and proach could well revolutionize – C.H. gy at MPI EVA, recently wrote every one of us unique psychology. Photos: Marzena Skubatz, Robert Koch Institute

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FollowUs! THE CAPITAL OF NOBEL RESEARCH GÖTTINGEN

Göttingen’s connection to the have played a major role here for Nobel Prize goes back to 1905, centuries. Today, 30 percent of the the year microbiologist Robert overall population consists of stu- Koch received the Nobel Prize in dents. Georg August Universität Medicine for his trailblazing re- of Göttingen is one of Germany’s search on tuberculosis. Koch had larger universities. And its six big retired from Berlin to the town of research institutes employ a com- his alma mater, where as a young bined staff of 2,500. man he had discovered his passion Scientists at the Max Planck for medicine. Institute for Biophysical Chem- Since then, the coveted award istry, for one, recently announced has been given to 44 other aca- that using nanoscopy, they can demics affiliated with the uni- optically dissect individually versity town, either because they marked proteins in cells at high- grew up, studied, or worked there. er resolutions than ever before. Göttingen, population 120,000, A population Physicist Stefan W. Hell, head of justifiably savors its reputation of just 120,000 but that research team, is Göttingen’s as the city of Nobel Prize win- most recent Nobel laureate. He ners. In a way, it’s no surprise. 45 Nobel laureates was awarded the Nobel Prize for Research and academic teaching since 1905 Chemistry in 2014. – C.H.

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CONCERTS FOR CORONA ALLIED IN RESEARCH HALLE BERLIN

Restart-19 aims to learn Glue for your bones? more about the risks Well-funded universities of catching Covid-19 work together to make at large events this scientific leap

When did you last enjoy a live and the states of Saxony-Anhalt This glue is sticky! So sticky in Ziegler, who is both president of concert, tapping your feet to the and Saxony signed off on funding fact that it can reconnect broken the FU and spokesperson for the tunes of your favorite musicians? soon thereafter. bones. If research continues apace, Berlin University Alliance. “Now In Leipzig, 4,000 volunteers did At the concert, each visitor’s it may soon replace complex, in- that we have started collaborating so in the service of science one day temperature was taken upon ar- vasive procedures requiring metal more closely, we have an interdis- in August 2020. rival, every move was tracked, rods, screws, and plates to repair ciplinary and creative power un- The performance by singer- and detailed data was collected. everything from a skier’s broken like almost any other,” he adds. songwriter Tim Bendzko was part To minimize infection risk, vol- leg to a dancer’s torn heel. The numbers back him up: of an elaborate study organized unteers were tested for Covid-19 Not only is this super adhe- with a pool of 1,700 professors,

by the Martin-Luther-Univer- in advance. “The arena probably sive biodegradable, it’s also able 100,000 students, and a special azeley/getty images sität Halle-Wittenberg. Called was one of the safest places in the to withstand damp surroundings. annual budget of over 23 million Restart-19, it aims to see how world that day,” laughs Moritz. And it’s just one of several impres- euros mainly from the German Covid-19 can spread during large The findings of the 10-person sive research outcomes of the new state, the alliance is likely to pro- indoor events. team are expected by the autumn Berlin University Alliance, which duce even more groundbreaking The pandemic has hit live of 2020, and Moritz can’t wait. brings together Freie Universität scientific and scholarly develop- music and events hard. In Saxony, “We need to learn how to live with Berlin (FU), Humboldt-Univer- ments soon. local scientist Stefan Moritz was the pandemic,” he says. “This is sität zu Berlin (HU), Technical That budget stems from the enlisted for help. “There was a lot one big step toward doing so.” University of Berlin, and the German Universities Excellence of literature on how large events Word of the project has caught medical school Charité Univer- Initiative, a push to promote cut- cause the virus to spread rapid- on. Moritz says he’s been contact- sitätsmedizin. ting-edge research and teaching ly, but no research on why that’s ed by researchers in Australia, Bel- The consortium has already opportunities for young scholars. the case,” explains Moritz, who gium, Denmark, and the Nether- achieved breakthrough research When the consortium won “ex- is head of the clinical infectious lands who want to pursue similar like the super bone glue, which is cellence status” in 2019, academ- diseases department at the uni- studies. But the best finding so now in a test phase. “Each of the ics all over Berlin were jubilant. versity in Halle. Event planners, far, according to Moritz, is that individual institutions involved The money will go toward fos- business leaders, and politicians at the concert, people were able has an enormous capacity for re- tering cross-disciplinary research – D.S. – C.H. quickly agreed to the concert idea, to have fun again. search on its own,” says Günter environments. Photos: picture alliance/Hendrik Schmidt/dpa-Zentralbild, Peter D

46 Give the future a human touch. Yours.

www.tum.de/en/studies

Innovation since1868. Z

GERMANY EARN WHILE YOU LEARN

Scholarships and other grants help foreign students and researchers finance their stays

Every year, Germany gives millions of euros ties available. Donors range from church to students in the form of Stipendien, an FOR DESIGNERS groups to private businesses, foundations umbrella term encompassing scholarships, Design magazine AIT and (known as Stiftungen in German), think fellowships, and grants of all kinds. the Sto Foundation fund four tanks, and personal estates. So narrow Yet many aspiring university students interior architecture and down options according to your interests from abroad don’t know that they can design students at European and background. qualify, too. In 2019, the German Aca- universities on an annual basis. The DAAD, the German Center for demic Exchange Service (DAAD), a pop- Amount: up to 1,000 euros Foundations, the German Federal Min- ular source of scholarship funding, sup- per month istry for Education and Research, and ported 145,000 students and researchers in Euraxess offer extensive funding data- the country and worldwide. And 60,500 of FOR DO-IT-YOURSELFERS bases. But look at smaller organizations, them were foreigners. Funding is there for The IKEA Foundation too. Mira Maier, founder of Mystipendium, the taking. You just need to spend some offers scholarships for bachelor an online platform for research on scholar- time tracking it down … theses and other university ships, says supply often outstrips demand. projects related to housing, “Small foundations may have very specific product design, and lifestyle. selection criteria … and difficulty finding 1. NARROW YOUR FOCUS Amount: project-based students who match these criteria,” she says. Research diligently. Scholarships, fellow- “As a result, millions of euros in scholar- ships, and grants vary widely in criteria and FOR DREAMERS ships aren’t utilized.” amount rewarded. In 2019, three of Ger- The Volkswagen Foundation’s many’s large scholarship bodies alone doled Experiment! program funds bold out an estimated 700 million euros to fund research ideas in science and 2. BE CREATIVE tertiary study, research, and profession- engineering as well as life sciences. With so much scholarship funding availa- al development. And there are thousands Amount: up to 120,000 euros ble, if you can think of an unusual scho- of public and private funding opportuni- over 18 months larship category you may just find it. So

48 BY CATHRIN SCHAER ILLUSTRATION ALINA GÜNTER be imaginative in your research. Are you students have clear political leanings. The studying at university while parenting a FOR WANNABE POLITICIANS Konrad Adenauer Foundation, for instance, small child? Did your parents never at- The German government’s is associated with the center-right Christian tend university? Are you Jewish, Muslim, International Parliamentary Democratic Union (CDU), the Rosa Catholic, or Protestant? Are you engaged Scholarships allow 120 recent Luxemburg Foundation leans hard left, and in environmental causes? Were you born university graduates from 42 the Heinrich Böll Foundation dubs itself in Zimbabwe? Do you love building IKEA countries to work in the Bundes- the Green Political Foundation. Consider furniture? Are you LGBT? tag for five months. Recipients what fits best with your own political beliefs. And don’t overlook the easy shots. shadow an MP for 15 weeks. And like elsewhere in the world, there Take the Deutschlandstipendium, which Amount: 500 euros per month, are differences in what is expected in return provides financial and other support to plus housing and other benefits for higher-education funding. Most schol- high academic achievers from all over the arships are no-strings-attached. Fellowships world. In 2019, more than 28,000 students FOR MUSICAL may require a token in return. You may each received financial assistance through CHURCHGOERS need to publish your research findings in the program. Cusanuswerk, a Catholic a newsletter, say, or present them to an Even BAföG, a state-sponsored student foundation, offers many scholar- academic or public audience. Some donors loan system most often awarded to lower- ships to qualified students, might expect you to stay in their geograph- income students, is available to foreigners. including one to church-going ic region or work for them for a period of BAföG stands for “federal training as- students from the European time after completing your studies. sistance act” and usually, only half of the Union who are enrolled in music payments a student receives during his or studies at university. her studies must be repaid after graduation. Amount: up to 1,148 euros 4. JUST DO IT per month for four years Don’t talk yourself out of applying. “A big challenge many applicants need to 3. SOUL SEARCH FOR CREATIVES ON THE RUN overcome is a lack of confidence,” says Before applying, ask yourself how a par- The Weltoffenes Berlin Fellow- Britta Voß, spokesperson for the German ticular scholarship could help further your ship, run by the state government, Academ ic Scholarship Foundation. “Have career path and life goals. supports at-risk artists, musicians, faith in yourself. Applying is worth it in If the funder has a work-study require- writers, and other creatives every case.” ment, how much time can you commit to who have fled their homelands. If that’s not enough to convince you, over the course of your studies? And what Amount: up to 2,500 euros just weigh the odds: a comprehensive 2016 are the funder’s guiding principles? Indeed, per month for up to one year, study by Mystipendium and Stiftung some well-known foundations that pro vide project-based Mercator found that 36 percent of funding scholarships and other opportunities to applications in Germany are accepted.

Deadline for Scholarships: 1 December

 From Bachelor’s degree to PhD  Broad rangeofcourses  Pureand applied mathematics  Course programinEnglish  Scholarships/positions  Funding for conferences and summer schools  Mentoring program and soft-skills training  Funding for students withchildren

The Berlin Mathematical School is ajoint graduate school in mathematics at the three Berlin universities: www.math-berlin.de Freie Universität (FU), Humboldt-Universität (HU) and Technische Universität (TU). Since 2019, the BMS is the e-mail: [email protected] graduate school in the Cluster of Excellence , which is funded by the Excellence Strategy. Z

GERMANY BABY STEPS After a decade-long political process, German legislation has elevated midwifery to an academic profession. Higher education is reacting with a host of new bachelor’s and master’s degree programs

BY CAROLE BRADEN Photo: Eylül Aslan / Connected Archives GERMANY

Christina Kalafa works long days and nights, often on weekends, in a German hospi- tal delivery ward. The student midwife finds this work both intense and affirming. She has found her calling in the age- old medical profession that assists in birthing babies. A fourth-year bachelor’s student at Fulda University of Applied Sciences, located in the state of Hesse, Kalafa will be among the first midwives in Germany to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Hebammenwis- senschaft – the science of mid- wifery – when she graduates next year. The child of Kenyan and German parents, 22-year-old Kalafa moved to Hesse from Uganda in search of higher education. She enrolled at the FINANCE MASTERED university in Fulda in 2017 just as her chosen profession Christina Kalafa, 22, was taking a historic turn in is studying toward a bachelor’s IN COBURG Germany. After a decade-long degree in midwifery, a new The two-year Coburg MBA program Financial political process, legislation el- program of study in Germany evated the field to an academic Management is a full-time, residential course profession in 2020. of study, that leads to a general management The country’s midwives degree with a dedicated focus on finance. (Hebammen), nearly all of them women, had long been state to state, but the dual course of study generally Now with optional Dual Degree from USC classified as tradespeople, re- takes four years, as it does in Kalafa’s program in Australia - without prolonging your studies! ceiving their training via a Fulda. The legislative change is likely to make once- vocational curriculum, or Aus- rare master’s and doctoral degrees in the field more bildung. Throughout postwar prevalent as well. 5 REASONS TO APPLY German history, midwives had “It seemed like the perfect fit,” says Kalafa of her overseen the births of millions decision to study midwifery. As an 11th grader back 1 Highly international student group of babies, including compli- in her hometown of Mukono, near Uganda’s capital 2 Integrated 20-week internship cated deliveries, yet their pro- of Kampala, she knew she wanted to work in the field 3 A2 Goethe certification fessional training was roughly of medicine one day. She considered training as a 4 Excellent learning environment equivalent to that of plumbers paramedic and attending veterinary school. 5 Low tuition fees or seamstresses. But then Kalafa started to explore the role of The recent academiza- the Hebamme, which includes caring for women tion of the field has required throughout their pregnancies, assisting them in the higher-education institutions labor process, and providing new mothers with post- to expand programs of study, partum support, including help with breastfeeding building in scientific, theoreti- and infant health. cal, and research components Now, about a year shy of graduation, Kalafa is to create a standardized bach- working hands-on with mothers in the Fulda-based elor’s degree. Requirements hospital as she completes the 3,000 hours of practical

may still vary slightly from experience her program requires. She loves it. Photo: Domenic Driessen LEARN MORE www.coburg-university.de/mbafm 52 German-speaking midwives have been skillfully Some midwives have freelance sta- catching babies since at least the 17th century. To- tus, which offers appealing free- day’s most experienced midwives have been per- dom but also requires business Let’sset forming their jobs well, without academic degrees, acumen and a big insurance bud- for decades. Perhaps this is why, at least in part, the get. These freelancers sometimes country was the last European Union member state pay house calls or work in one of Knowledge to require academic training for the profession. Germany’s roughly 130 birthing The change will certify midwives to work in centers, and they may deliver in- in Motion other countries and thus increase their field of op- fants on contract in a hospital. portunity far beyond the country’s borders. “For us, Those who offer special ser- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität it’s a revolution,” says Babette Müller-Rockstroh, a vices, such as a water-based birth Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) is one professor of midwifery science at Fulda University. or foreign-language assistance, Germany’s birthrate has gone up over the last are particularly in demand. of the largest research univer- decade, from 677,947 in 2009 to 778,100 in 2019, “The English speakers are fully sities in Germany. Our values according to the Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), booked,” says Candice Deidre of innovation, diversity and the country’s statistics bureau. So demand is high. Bender, a South African living in “We don’t have enough midwives,” says Yvonne Frankfurt who gave birth to a girl passion arethe key to our Bovermann, board member and an education ad- in January 2020. Bender says she consistently high national visor at the Deutscher Hebammenverband, a pro- called some 300 Hebammen but and international rankings. fessional association based in Berlin. Many jobs are never found an available provider Come and join the FAUfamily. vacant, especially in hospitals. Bovermann attributes of at-home prenatal services. this in part to a historically tense relationship be- Applicants to degree programs tween midwives and doctors, round-the-clock on- in Hebammenwissenschaft need a call hours, and less-than-stellar pay rates. Hochschulzugangsberechtigung, the Bovermann is nonetheless optimistic. Birth- standard university entrance qual- ing, like other health-related services, is a business, ification. This generally consists of 37000+ and increasing demand for out-of-hospital options (but is not limited to) the equiva- students such as home deliveries gives midwives more op- lent of an Abitur (a high school portunities for work. Furthermore, as Germany’s diploma) and a C1-level language demographics become more diverse, job prospects certificate. Müller-Rockstroh, the will improve for foreign-born midwives. And it’s university professor, stresses that possible that changing attitudes toward gender in a strong command of German is the country will soon be reflected in the profession also key. as well, as more German men as well as transgender For all that work, there are re- 275+ and non-binary people are drawn to it. wards, not least the free tuition. years of history Indeed, the numbers of students are on the Kalafa, the bachelor’s student rise throughout Germany. According to Destatis, from Uganda, describes the ap- enrollment in programs connected to midwifery peal of obtaining an academic increased 44 percent in the 2018–2019 academic degree without exorbitant tuition year compared with a decade ago. At the University fees. She was fortunate that she of Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein, the first class in had learned German from her 260+ a Bachelor of Science in midwifery will graduate in mother and in school, she adds. 2021. Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen will “For any international student degree pro- follow in 2023. Ostbayerische Technische Hoch- who can master the language,” she grammes schule Regensburg, Landshut University of Applied says, “the opportunity is there.” Sciences, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, and Kalafa’s professor agrees. Now others have rolled out degree programs as well. is the perfect time to bring new All over Germany, women of childbearing age cultures and contexts to German say midwives are in short supply. Services vary. Vor- midwifery, Müller-Rockstroh #1 onas Baumgärtel sorgehebammen provide prenatal care; Beleghebam- says. “Most of us would appreci- /J innovator men deliver babies in hospitals or birthing centers; ate a higher number of applicants AU ©F those who provide postnatal care and coaching are from other countries. They can called Nachsorgehebammen. Midwives may oversee enrich our understanding of the just one part of this journey or cover all of the above. women we care for.”

53 https://study-at-fau.de

Z

GERMANY DOCTOR’S ORDERS

Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. The German healthcare system is better than most. Even so, familiarize yourself with the rules before your first appointment

BY CATHRIN SCHAER PHOTO IRIS HUMM

If you have a cold and visit two German doctors, one might give you antibiotics while the other sends you home with well wishes and some herbal tea. Indeed, the spectrum of medicine is wide in Germany, but you can rest assured that you’ll get excellent care. The country was one of the first to develop universal healthcare. With just a few excep­ tions, patients can seek both preventive and curative healthcare whenever they wish for it. Nonetheless, the system has its idiosyncracies, and it’s good to familiarize yourself with the local quirks. “Every health system is embedded in a differ­ rent culture and is a little bit different, of course,” says Evert Jan van Lente, director of EU affairs for AOK, a large public health insurer. What may be less obvious to expats eager for some TLC: you’ll need to be patient. “Once you find your way, it’s a good system,” says a 36­year­old gallery assistant from New Zealand who has lived in Berlin for the past 12 years. “But you do have to go through a few missteps before you figure things out, and that can be frustrating.” For one thing, even if you call a local doctor for an appointment, you may find that there are no slots available for several weeks. This is partly because doctors divide their time between scheduled appointments and what are known as Sprechstunden, or open consultation hours, where patients just turn up and sit in the waiting room until the doctor can see them. It generally takes time before your name is called, so set aside two to three hours for this kind of visit. Protocol around this is tricky. Some practices require patients to register by phone before attending Sprech­ stunden. Others are drop­in only. It’s always best

55 GERMANY to check an individual practice’s in cash, you may find yourself at the front of the line homepage. After so much time for an appointment. Cash comes in handy if you in the waiting room, don’t expect DON’T EXPECT A DOCTOR plan to be reimbursed via travel or private insurance; the average general practitioner to TO SPEND MORE THAN doctors often can claim higher fees in such cases. spend more than 10 to 15 min­ 10 TO 15 MINUTES WITH YOU In general, most agree that the German health­ utes with you. This simply reflects care system is efficient and honest and will do all it Germany’s universal healthcare can to get you well again. But sometimes there is a system. Regardless of how long sense that patients are supposed to take responsibility the visit lasts, doctors only earn a various factors: whether or not you come from an for themselves. (In that respect, it’s a little bit like certain amount per patient – pa­ EU member state, what type of visa or residency being a student at a German university.) tients with public insurance, that permit you have, how long you’re planning to stay, The autonomy isn’t all bad, though. You can is. If you have private insurance, and whether you have a job or a spot at a university. pick your own specialist (without, for example, that doctor you visit may spend a Compared with other countries, German health being bound by “in­network” requirements as is the bit more time on the consultation. insurance pays for almost everything, AOK’s van case in some other countries). That isn’t possible in Health insurance (Kranken- Lente says. “Because Germans are very technology many other countries. This also means you can seek versicherung) is generally compul­ oriented, they do a lot of diagnostics and operations. a second opinion without worrying about referrals sory in Germany for everyone, There’s no other country that does more MRIs, and or costs. including foreigners. Expats have sometimes maybe a few too many,” he says. As for referrals, you don’t need one unless you’re three main options: private health “You have to remember that in Germany, every going to see certain types of doctors, such as radiol­ insurance, public health insur­ doctor’s clinic is a small business, so they are profit ogists. There are long waiting times for some spe­ ance, and trav el insurance. This oriented,” van Lente adds. These financial concerns cialists, however. For example, psychotherapists on can be come complicated because affect a number of things. How you pay, for example, average have 20­week waiting lists throughout the what you sign up for depends on makes a difference. If you’re willing to pay for a visit country, according to Germany’s Federal Chamber

We arecurious. What abbout you?

fhms.eu/worlddwide of Psychotherapists. German insurers also love it are partially covered by health if you are proactive about staying in shape. Some insurance. But don’t bank on it. health insurers even cover a percentage of the fees MANY PHYSICIANS Always check the fine print for so-called preventive classes such as Pilates, yoga, STILL LIKE TO SEE of your health insurance policy. water aerobics, or Nordic walking. EVERYTHING ON PAPER Some insurers don’t cover preg- Many insurers cover as much as 80 percent of nancy terminations, for instance, the course fees, and some may even reduce insurance while others will even cover an premiums if you can document taking part in such extended stay at a rehab facility. activities. And if you have a chronic illness or are scription, take the packaging along with you for If a health problem arises recovering from one, they may pay for you to go to identification purposes. suddenly, international visitors a sanitorium or rehabilitation facility for a period of Don’t expect to buy anything even remotely often head straight to a hospital recovery called a Kur. medicinal from a supermarket or drugstore. You’ll emergency room because they’re Lastly, learning the language goes a long way. need to go to a pharmacy, or Apotheke, where you unsure of where else to go. Unless Even as a student, for one thing, you’ll do well to can consult highly trained experts about all kinds of it’s really an urgent medical mat- learn the word for a sick note: Arbeitsunfähigkeits- over-the-counter treatments, which is why pharma- ter, however, industry observers bescheinigung. If you’re too sick to work for more than cists are sometimes seen as ad hoc nurse practitioners. recommend instead visiting a three days, German law requires you to give this to Some pharmacists as well as many doctors in the doctor’s regular Sprechstunde. your employer as proof of your disability or illness. country know a lot about homeopathy, an alterna- Last but not least, many Doctors are usually happy to oblige. tive form of medicine that is popular among many physicians in Germany still like Need your prescription filled? Ask for Medi- Germans. It was invented in Germany, and don’t be to see everything on paper. If you kamente, also known as Arzneimittel. Medication perplexed if your pharmacist or doctor recommends have non-digital medical records, names can be very different in German from your herbal tea or pressure points. Indeed, some forms of bring them along to your first own native language, so if you have a regular pre- Komplementärmedizin, or complementary medicine, appointment.

HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SUCCESSFUL CAREERS

7Strong in Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg, Bremen,Osnabruck and Munster Reliable Global Partners forInternational Cooperation Calvin Xu,Senior IT Analyst, NASDAQ www.uas7.org New York –UAS7Alumnus Z

GERMANY

DAY 1 THE ARRIVAL We made it! I am so excited to film dating culture in Berlin, Germany. Our consultants say Berliners are not into that whole mansion glitz and glamour, so the contestants (they’ve insisted on gender parity) will sleep in tents. The set for our show will be a bar along the Spree River made en tirely from driftwood and old beer crates. Who are these people?

DAY 2 THE OPENING PARTY I met these people. Out of the ten, nine have tattoos of geomet­ ric shapes, four have doctorates, two say they are something called “jazz comedians,” and one works for a local start­up that sells shoe­ laces by monthly subscription. At the party, everyone just wound up sitting around nodding their heads to deep house, discussing FIRST the theory of the subcon ­ s cious by Sig­ mund Freud, and DATES attempting to out­ vegan each other. Almost no usable footage today.

DAY 3 ON-CAMERA vestiges INTERVIEWS of the patri­ Disaster! All contestants said, on archy (which, camera, that they’re not looking without a doubt, for love or anything serious right must be smashed). now. They just want to hang out As if that weren’t and see what happens, no pres­ enough, then Alice, a sure. No pressure? It’s a freaking “social entrepreneur in dating show! the pet bereavement in­ dustry,” informed the produc­ DAY 4 tion team that all the contestants THE ROSE CEREMONY had agreed to form a Betriebsrat Total failure! First the men, then (some sort of labor union, I think). the women refused to hand out And their very first petition, be­ roses, all totally agreeing that mo­ lieve it or not, was to rename the nogamy, making the first move, show “Let’s Just Hang Out and reality TV, and roses are sad See What Happens, No Pressure.”

58 DAY 5 “Pretending is so fake,” he said, THE FIRST DATES blowing it out. Contestants were randomly as­ “We can hang out if you signed for one­on­one dates. And want,” said Alice. “No pressure. I Alice got Gregor, a self­described already invited my crew to drop by anarchist angel investor. “It’s later. We’re going to this new club not a date,” he said. “Yeah, that opens every seventh Tuesday German doesn’t even have of the month at 7 a.m., in the back a word for dating,”she room of a shop that sells bins.” replied. He agreed. “Osama’s Bin Laden? Cool,” “Just pretend it’s said Gregor. “I was going to meet a date,” I said, some people to play Kicker and lighting the drop some Ketamine. Shall we table’s combine?” “Sounds good,” Alice candle. said. “But no pressure.”

DAY 6 EVICTION CEREMONY Stacy Winnebago, a (fictitious) After a round of unsuccess­ ful dates involving at producer for the reality TV show least ten people that “The Bachelor,” reveals a lot about no one accepted as dates, we made dating in the diaries she keeps while it to the first filming a doomed Berlin special eviction cere­ mony. There, BY ADAM FLETCHER Gregor, on ILLUSTRATION ALINA GÜNTER behalf of the Betriebsrat, can­ celled the eviction. They’re illegal under Germany’s very strict rental protection laws, which also cover tents. What’s more, the contes­ tants now required profit sharing and mandated equal screen time as well as an end to the show’s excessive use of roses, which they consider “flowerist.”

DAY 7 CANCEL CULTURE? We got a call from the US: the show’s cancelled. I guess I should be sad, but I respect the Berlin way of non­dating dating. Gregor and I have been hanging out a lot. It’s, err, refreshingly simple. I stayed in his tent last night …

DAY 8 THE END I quit my job! I’m staying in Berlin! Are Gregor and I dating? Ugh. Let’s just hang out and see what happens, no pressure …

59 Z

GERMANY

PLAN IN ADVANCE other renters. WG living some- No matter what university you’re times comes with persnickety attending, your adventure will rules (proper division of fridge begin with paperwork and some shelf space, for one), so inquire very long German words. De- before you take the plunge. pending on your nationality, you If you’re only spending a few might not be allowed to travel to months in Germany, a sublet Germany if you don’t have a visa (Zwischenmiete) might be easier. (Visum). Apply for a student visa It’s already furnished, whereas in at the nearest German consulate regular apartments, renters often in your home country. Take care have to install their own kitchens, of this as soon as you receive an including refrigerators and sinks. acceptance letter from your cho- Landlords may ask for as sen university. ON much as three months’ rent as If you’re not an EU citizen, a security deposit (Kaution). If obtaining a visa for Germany noth ing’s damaged, the deposit often requires proof that you’ve will be returned when you move set up a blocked account (Sperr- out. Get a signed list of pre-exist- konto) with a domestic bank, and ing damages before you move in. that this account has a consistent, THE Looking for lodging can be minimum amount of money in it. frustrating no matter where. Ex- (In 2020, that sum was 10,236 plore all your options. Browse the euros.) This proves that you local newspaper and Kleinanzeigen can afford to live in Germany. (classifieds) on and offline, includ- The account is “blocked” in the MOVE ing eBay’s German-language offer- sense that withdrawals are not to ings. Consider other options such exceed a certain amount – up to as Wohnen für Hilfe initiatives, 853 euros – per month. which pair students with senior In many countries, this pre- Ausländeramt, Meldebestätigung, citizens in a barter arrangement; condition applies to student visas, students get free housing in ex- too, so be sure to look into requi- Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung ... change for assisting their elderly rements well in advance. Studying in Germany involves a lot roommates with day-to-day life. Fintiba, a service provider Or try one of the platforms for based in Frankfurt, offers help: of bureaucracy. But it doesn’t have shared housing: housinganywhere. for 89 euros they’ll open a Sperr- to be complicated if you know where com/de and WG-gesucht.de. konto for you in 10 minutes. to head once you arrive REGISTER IN FIND SOME DIGS BY KATHARINA HECKENDORF, CHRISTIAN HEINRICH, YOUR CITY AND CASPAR SHALLER Once you’ve landed in Germany, Registering your new address you’ll need a base for your ad- (Anmeldung) with the authorities venture. Most universities offer should be at the very top of your affordable student housing via to-do list. You’ll need proof of the Studentenwerk, also called registration (Meldebestätigung) Studierendenwerk, a state-run to do everything from opening organization for student affairs. a bank account to applying for Far more popular than dorms, health insurance. Try to make an however, are shared apartments appointment with your local reg- (Wohngemeinschaften, known to istration authority (Einwohner- all as WGs). Literally translated, meldeamt) before you arrive, as these are “living communities.” these authorities tend to book up Here, you rent your own room weeks in advance. Covid-19 has but share a bathroom, a kitchen, added a whole new layer of com-

and usually a living room with plexity. Check official websites for Photo: Charles-Henry Bédué

60 Shared apartments are far more popular than dorms 61 GERMANY coronavirus-related office closures proof of health insurance; as well and other restrictions. as about 110 euros to cover the Be sure to bring along your fee. Keep in mind that at many passport, the signed and com- offices, you may still need to pay pleted registration form (Anmel- this fee in cash. deformular), and confirmation from your landlord that you are allowed to live at your new ad- PAY YOUR BILLS dress (Wohnungsgeberbescheini- A few weeks after you move in, gung). If you’ve found a spot in a just when you think you’ve cut shared flat, the main tenant can through all the red tape, an en- provide this form. velope will arrive in your mailbox Usually, you’ll receive the from an organization called the Meldebestätigung right away. This ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio document can help open many Beitragsservice, still referred to by doors for you while settling in. its former abbreviation, GEZ. It’s A few weeks after you register, a bill for obligatory contributions you will automatically receive to German public television and your tax ID (Steuer-ID) in the radio. Everyone living in the mail. Even for part-time work, country has to pay these contri- which many university students butions, which amount to about seek, you’ll need this tax iden- 210 euros per year, paid quarterly. tification number to get paid. Got a pet? You’ll have to reg- ister your dog – but not your cat – with the tax office within four OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT weeks of entering Germany. The Proof of a local bank account is “dog tax” (Hundesteuer) varies indispensable to life in Germany. Consider getting some personal liability from city to city but ranges from For example, you’ll usually need insurance – just in case 90 to 160 euros per year. to provide your bank informa- tion to register for services like internet, telephone, and health OUTSOURCE RED TAPE insurance. INSURE YOURSELF GET RESIDENCY If settling in seems daunting and Public savings banks, which Health insurance (Krankenver- You’re almost done! The last step you can afford it, hire an agency you’ll find under the German sicherung) is obligatory in Ger- to becoming a legal resident of the to help you jump the hurdles. monikers of Sparkasse or Volks- many, but once you have it, you’re Federal Republic of Germany is Services range from 10 euros for bank, have a good network entitled to visit any doctor or the important residence permit registration assistance up to about of automated teller machines hospital. (Aufenthaltstitel). Students from 100 euros for the whole shebang throughout the country. Student A student policy will likely the European Union can skip this (registration, health insurance, accounts at these types of savings cost you in the realm of 85 euros procedure, since they already en- and bank-account assistance). banks tend to cost between 3 and per month, depending how much joy freedom of movement within SympatMe, a Berlin startup 8 euros per month. money you earn on the side. You the EU. But all non-EU students that caters to expats, offers a Online banks such as ING can find and compare health need one. Make an appointment free welcome package with an or Comdirect are also popular insurers at krankenkassen.de. at the immigra tion office (Aus- e-book, application forms, and op tions for foreign students, alt- Not surprisingly, you might länderbehörde). access to an online community. hough you might have fewer op- need some personal insurance, The exact documents you need You can also buy additional tions for withdrawing cash auto- too. After all, what if you drop will differ slightly depending services. For 14.90 euros, for matically. You can open such an a friend’s smartphone? on the type of student visa you example, the company helps account at home or underway Consider purchasing personal have, but the following are al- with the application form for using optical char acter recogni- liability insurance (Haftpflicht- ways required: a valid passport; your registration at the local tion (OCR) technology. To do so, versicherung), which starts at a biometric photo; a completed Einwohnermeldeamt. If you don’t however, you will need a camera- about 30 euros per year for in- application form (the Antrag auf speak the language at all, or are equipped laptop as well as your dividuals. Compare policy prices Erteilung eines Aufenthaltstitels); just getting used to it, this may

passport for official verification. on check24.de. your lease; the Meldebestätigung; be well worth the extra cost. Photo: Zara Pfeifer

62 Your guide to studying in Germany

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GERMANY

WORD PLAY Academic terms can be baffling in a foreign language. Try your hand at this bilingual crossword puzzle before your first day at university

BY DEBORAH STEINBORN ILLUSTRATION ALINA GÜNTER

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12

13 14

15

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ACROSS DOWN

4. ORAL PRESENTATION 1. PROFESSORIAL CHAIR 7. PREPARATORY COLLEGE 2. STUDENT ID 11. LECTURE HALL, AUDITORIUM 3. MANDATORY ATTENDANCE 12. STUDENT SERVICES ASSOCIATION 5. HEAD OF FACULTY, DEAN 13. LECTURE 6. WRITTEN EXAM 14. COURSE SCHEDULE 8. INTERNSHIP 15. LIBRARY 9. ACCEPTANCE LETTER

16. SHARED APARTMENT 10. ON-CAMPUS CAFETERIA

MENSA ZULASSUNGSBESCHEID PRAKTIKUM KLAUSUR DEKAN ANWESENHEITSPFLICHT STUDENTENAUSWEIS LEHRSTUHL DOWN DOWN 10. 10. 9. 8. 6. 5. 3. 2. 1.

WOHNGEMEINSCHAFT WOHNGEMEINSCHAFT BIBLIOTHEK STUNDENPLAN VORLESUNG STUDENTENWERK HOERSAAL STUDIENKOLLEG REFERAT ACROSS ACROSS 16. 15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 7. 4. ANSWER KEY ANSWER

66 RAISEYOURLEVEL. LEARNGERMAN. WITH US. TheGoethe-Instituteoffershighquality German language coursesatevery language level. goethe.de/sprache

Sprache.Kultur. Deutschland.