SNAU students completed a two-week training at the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden (University of Applied Sciences Amberg-Weiden) as part of the international project INTERADIS “Integration and Adaptation of Foreign Students”, implemented by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program for the development of higher education capacity.
Violetta ZHUK, a student of the Faculty of Food Technologies, and Polina YANUSH, a student of the Faculty of Economics and Management, were at the university’s campus in Weiden. Immediately upon arrival, the foreign students were given a tour of the premises and introduced to the administration and the president of the university, Prof. Dr. med. Clemens BULITTA. Since then, every day was filled with learning basic German and listening to lectures in English. Among the additional classes that INTERADIS students could participate in were Intercultural Competence, Social Media Marketing, Leadership Development and many others.
The evenings after classes were interesting and useful: walking around the city, attending workshops. Violetta ZHUK comments on participation in such events:
“We had the opportunity to communicate freely with international students on various topics, learn a lot of useful information from them and improve our knowledge of a foreign language, because daily communication with native speakers is the best way to master it at a high level.”
The students were offered an excursion to Amberg, where the university’s second campus is located. The trip to Regensburg made an unforgettable impression. We were pleasantly surprised by the level of preparation, because the city tour was developed in Ukrainian.
On weekends, the young people got to know the German city of Weiden and attended festivals together with an international group of students: “The Weiden Spring Festival and the Beer Festival.
Polina YANUSH shares her impressions:
“We tried local dishes and felt the atmosphere of celebrating traditional German holidays. This incredible experience helped us better understand and appreciate the cultural differences and similarities between Ukraine and Germany.”
At the end of their studies, the INTERADIS participants had to pass a basic German language exam and received certificates of participation in the student exchange.
After returning from their trip, SNAU students say that studying abroad opens up endless opportunities for personal growth and cultural exchange. For young people, it is an opportunity to see the world in a new way, to test themselves beyond the ordinary, to gain valuable experience and increase self-confidence.
Website of the INTERADIS project at SNAU: https://interadis.snau.edu.ua.
Website of Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden: https://www.oth-aw.de/.
