Students on our undergraduate degrees have the opportunity to spend a year abroad at a partner university between their second and third years. Here, Samuel Newman shares his experiences as a study abroad student in Germany this year.

Servus! My name is Samuel Newman. I’m a third-year BSc (Hons) International Relations student from Canterbury Christchurch University and doing an intermediate exchange year-abroad at Zeppelin University in Germany, has been one of the best years of my personal and academic life thus far. It would be a challenge to condense all that I have done in Germany this past year into a blog, for I have had so many exciting and life-changing experiences that I would fail to really express in this short summary. So, before I begin, know that I could write an essay on the things I have done during my time at Zeppelin University (ZU).

Firstly, Friedrichshafen is a relatively small town on the north side of Lake Constance, or Bodensee in German. It has a population about the same size as Canterbury just less of a ‘student city’. It is surrounded by typical, and beautiful, little towns such as Ravensburg, Lindau, Meersburg, and bigger cities such as Ulm, Konstanz and Bregenz, all within an hour by train or ferry. My favourite restaurant/bar is called Café im Rathaus, in the city centre, please visit and let them know I said hello, or as I have grown to say here in south Germany, Servus! The staff here are amazing, friendly and will get to know you by name. Friedrichshafen may be small, but it sits perfectly between some amazing cities: Stuttgart, Zurich, Munich, Vaduz and Strasbourg are only a few hours away in all directions, similarly the Bodensee is bordered by Austria and Switzerland and is close enough to Lichenstein and France too, which is great for people who want to travel out from the heart of Europe. For example, since September, I have travelled to ten countries and countless cities, and I have friends who did it in half that time! As I currently write, with a view of the Swiss Alps in the distance, and the flags of Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Lichtenstein and the European Union, right outside my bedroom window, this year has exceeded every expectation.              

Now I have introduced Friedrichshafen, I will talk about Zeppelin University. The University is rather new, just over twenty years old, and is a small university compared to Canterbury Christchurch University (CCCU), with about 700 students studying a multidisciplinary bachelor’s degree from Culture and Communication, Corporate Management & Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Politics and International Relations to name the more popular subjects. The great thing about Zeppelin is that most of these courses are open to anyone, for example, I was able to partake in a business module in my first semester despite being enrolled as Politics, Administration and International Relations (PAIR) student. At the beginning of each semester here at Zeppelin University, there is the ‘Orientation Week’ which is one of the most exciting weeks to be had at ZU. There are several great activities, from yoga, to sports, group-games, a lot of drinking and pub-crawling, and a huge party at the end. It is a great opportunity to meet your future friends, and really be introduced to living in Germany and the ZU community that you will belong to. Zeppelin University has two campuses, the main one called FAB (Fallenbrunnen) and another besides the lake called SMH (Seemooser Horn), which are about a 20-minute walk between, or around ten minutes by bike.

The teaching style is very similar to what I experienced at CCCU, with smaller and friendly seminar classes between 10-20 students on average, guided by expert professors in their respective fields who are more than welcoming and to whom I will keep in contact with even when I return to the UK. There are some common themes to the teaching structure at ZU, that being most weeks there are student presentations, but these are only about 10-15 minutes long and help cover the theme for that seminar and a main essay or exam at the end of the semester to be completed. Each course ranges from 6-9 ECTS (12-18 university credits) depending on the type and hours studying.

Outside the academic curriculum, ZU hosts an abundance of student initiatives (societies) which are incredibly well-administrated. Some of the major ones, like the ZUTaten and Female Founders, brings in a dozen or more external experts in business, entrepreneurships, banking, the civil-service and more, to host workshops, discussions, presentations and even offer internships. Other popular initiatives include the Club of International Politics, a society that frequently host political guests from varying backgrounds: from members of parliament, various ministries, military personnel and foreign ambassadors. These initiatives are professional, engaging, and draw in large audiences that you can be apart of, and work really well for those wanting to know more about specific career paths, or just to network. Another aspect of ZU that is rather unique is the student administration. There exists a position in the executive called the Student Vice President, currently Lena Haas, who works alongside the President of the university by taking an extra year out of their studies to help represent the students at the highest level. Similarly, there is the Student Senate, who run more local level internal politics of university and help resolve various situations, write legislation, or bring events to the university through their connection to various administrative committees. I was fortunately elected twice to represent the international students at the Student Council, a forum for elected students to bring their concerns, feedback, or other dialogue to the aforementioned Student Council, who would then relay that further up if needed. These opportunities ensure that the students remain at the heart of ZU.

The community at ZU is one of its defining features, the community is close and friendly and small enough that everyone knows everyone. If you ever need help, just ask, because even if a student here cannot answer the question personally, they will direct you to someone who can. The professors here and helpful and want you to succeed, the staff who support them made my journey personally easy and helped me integrate in a foreign country smoothly; the International Office here at ZU, with Nina and Barbara, deserve a huge thank you for all that they do! It is a mature, but fun environment to be in, where you can find friends to party with, travel with, cook with and live with depending on your time here. This feeling of community is known as the ‘ZU Spirit’, where we belong as a family regardless of country, background, or identity. With this community, you will attend fancy parties or dinners, go to house parties, travel around Europe, have some amazing courses and meet some amazing people, but most of all find a sense of belonging here at Zeppelin University. If anyone reading this wants to get in contact with me about my time in Germany, you are welcome to contact me on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/in/samuelenewman

I also want to dedicate this to some of my amazing new friends from all around the world, for I would never have met them without this opportunity at Zeppelin University, and to me, that has been the highlight of my year abroad:

José Israel from Universidad Panamericana Campus Guadalajara, Mexico. Nikola from West University of Timișoara, Serbia. José Carlos from CETYS Universidad, Mexico. Christian from University of Wyoming, USA. Daniel from CETYS Universidad, Mexico. Sebastian Fernandez from Tecnologico de Monterrey Campus Sante Fe, Mexico. Sebastian Forsado from Tecnologico de Monterrey Campus Queretaro, Mexico. Joy from Kansas State University, USA. Rio from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan. Joe from Lamar University, USA. Mateo from Université Jean Moulin Lyon, France. Mathieu from Université Jean Moulin Lyon, France. Chloé from Université Catholique de Lille, France. Tom from SciencesPo, France. Lila-Brune from Université Catholique de Lille, France. Mira from Reichman University, Israel. Evan from Butler University, USA. Preben from University of Bergen, Norway. Line from University of Southern Denmark, Denmark. Martina from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain (Basque).

Eduard, Max, Jonathan, Gabriel, Julia, Nicolas, Nelly, Marie, Steph, Ludwig, Lena, Linus, Marlon, Artur, Hannah, Lisi, Anna, Emma, Marie, Chriara, Maret and Wieland from Zeppelin University, Germany.

And many more too! Thank you, Zeppelin University for my Break from Brexit.