Zhang Lian

I am very glad to have the chance to study in Paderborn university in Germany as an exchange student. I had one unforgettable semester there and learned lots of things in all aspects. I'm glad to share my experience, and I hope this is helpful for the future exchange students.

I had a wonderful time when I was in Paderborn university. What I learned in Paderborn university benefits me a lot.

Work

In the GET lab, I engaged in the research of rescue robot, which is my main task in Germany. If you want to know more about GET lab, you can find all information about GET lab on the lab’s web site. Maybe you can find something you are interested in or useful for you. Rescue robot, including hardware and software, is one of the most important programs in GET lab. Staffs of the lab work in group. Sometime, someone gave a report about his or her work, and all the people discussed the problem together. There are many exchange students in the GET lab.

Study

Study includes two parts: German course and professional courses.

It costs a lot of time to learn German well, because it is a very rigorous language. German is taught in English, so you’d better have a solid foundation in English. What is more, English is also important for your everyday life in Germany. professional courses are taught in English or German. If you want to get credits in Paderborn university, you have to study hard. There are both oral examination and written examination. You should make an appointment for the oral test . If you have some problem about how to choose the courses or make an appointment for the oral examination, you can go to the international office for help. Teachers in international office always warmly helped us.

Life

There are different accommodations you can choose. It is convenient to live near the school. In the university there is a cafeteria, which offers lunch. With student card you can get a discount. It costs 2 or 3 euro each lunch. In Germany you have to cook by yourself at night, or you have to buy some food, which is expensive. You can get general cooking materials in supermarkets, near to the university. Some special materials can be bought in Asian supermarkets, in the center of the city. I like chocolate, pizza and waffles. They are delicious and cost less. Other things, such as soft drinks and beers are very cheap and taste well.

Spare time

Germany people usually work from Monday to Friday. They don’t work at night. So you will have a lot of spare time. In your spare time, You can go to party and travel around Germany or even other counties of Europe, except England. You can’t go shopping on Sunday, for all shops closed.

Other

You can take part in the activities of Eurobiz. Every Tuesday, they go to party for drinking and dancing until midnight. It will make you sleeping the next day. So you’d better not participate in if you have work to do in the next day. At weekend they always organize trips to other cities. Usually, each trip costs 5 or 8 euro with guide. Through the activities of Eurobiz you can meet a lot of exchange students from other countries.

Thanks

First, I will thank Prof. Mertsching and Prof. Yuan to give me this chance to study abroad. Thanks teachers in GET lab. Mr. Fischer, Mrs. Kleinmann and Tobias helped me a lot in my work. Also thanks the teachers in international office, they helped us a lot in all aspects.