...abroad - gain international experience
Stays abroad and semesters abroad are also possible as part of the WBF/OE. Below you will find experience reports from students who have completed a semester or internship abroad as part of the Master's program:
Table of contents
Erasmus Learning Academy (SoSe24)
The student Julius Holling completed his compulsory internship as part of the WBF/OE as an internship abroad at the Erasmus Learning Academy in Palermo, Italy and reports the following:
© Holling
© Holling
© Holling
I was in Palermo for the WBF/OE internship at the Erasmus Learning Academy. The organization runs international training courses on various pedagogical and didactic topics for teachers from Europe.
My main task was to accompany the courses. This included supporting the trainers, helping the participants and documenting the learning process. From time to time, I was also able to lead my own course units. I also carried out the cultural activities, which meant taking the groups on guided tours of the sights of Palermo.
I came across the internship position via the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) internship platform. There were some interesting offers in Italy under the search term "education". The internships offered there have the advantage that the working language is usually English. I had already learned basic Italian in the language courses at TU Dresden, but this was not absolutely necessary for my internship.
Once I had been accepted for the internship, I was able to apply for Erasmus funding for internships abroad. The application process was not particularly difficult. There are no application deadlines for internship funding, but you shouldn't apply too late. I applied in November and for me the funding pot for the period was almost exhausted.
The internship fulfilled my expectations in several ways. Firstly, I was able to gain valuable practical experience as a trainer. Thanks to the weekly changes in course content, I received a lot of input and got to know new methods. Secondly, I was able to accompany a new international group every week and thus observe very different group dynamics. Of course, I also got to know a lot of interesting people as a result.
Not to be neglected is the fact that the internship gave me the opportunity to discover the lively city of Palermo, travel around Sicily, go hiking and experience a wonderfully warm spring.
Unfortunately, my expectations of improving my Italian were not fulfilled. During the internship, I only spoke English and I also had difficulties understanding the Sicilian dialect.
I found it difficult to make contact with local people outside of the internship. I got on very well with my colleagues and we also met up privately from time to time. However, I spent most of my free time alone, which was okay for the limited duration. Nevertheless, next time I would try to get to know other people right from the start through flatmates, a hobby or other events (at the university, in the theater or in the café next door).
Universidade de Combria in Portugal
Our student Jessica Gollman completed a semester abroad in Portugal and reports on her experiences at the Universidade de Combria. She was in the 4th semester of the Master's program through the Faculty of Education.
1. at which university did you complete your semester abroad and what factors played a role in your choice of institution?
I spent my semester abroad at the Universidade de Coimbra in Portugal. I didn't know at the time that we could also apply to other faculties for remaining places, which is why I only looked at the Faculty of Education for partner universities. The great thing about our degree program is that it is so interdisciplinary and opens doors to other departments. For example, students could go to Chile or France via Psychology or Business Administration and Economics. At the time, I was really only interested in Portugal as a destination, as I had always been interested in the country as a travel destination. I also knew from a girl in the WBF/OE year above me that she also wanted to go to Coimbra at the time. As I knew nothing about Portugal's education system (I had already gained experience in France and England), I was also interested in Portugal for this reason.
2. how did you organize your semester abroad and which steps were particularly important to ensure a smooth process?
The most important factor for me was financing. I only wanted to and could only go abroad with Erasmus funding. If I had had to apply for a scholarship (for non-European countries), which I didn't get in the end, the stay would not have been possible. Because I am a working-class child, I received additional funding and was also able to continue working remotely. I therefore had to clarify all the funding first. In addition to the entire application in the Mobility Portal, I then had to repeat (what felt like) all the steps in a portal of the Portuguese university. This also caused a lot of confusion at times. Although I didn't have any credits recognized, as I only had the MA and the internship report still open, the Learning Agreement took a long time and a lot of work. To ensure everything runs smoothly, you should deal with everything a little earlier and see what is needed. I also started a language course a year earlier. In principle, however, I also applied "at the last minute" and only had time to relax, as I was applying for the summer semester and therefore had more lead time.
3. how was your semester abroad? What expectations did you have and were they met? What seminars did you attend and what were your experiences like at the host university?
I hardly started with any expectations, except that I hope I won't regret my decision. Now I can say that I would make the decision again in a heartbeat. I made such great friends, grew as a person and got to know an impressive university. The Universidade de Coimbra has many old, interesting traditions. Many of these traditions create a colorful, lively student life, which you don't even begin to know here in Germany. The mentality is different in Portugal and so is the relationship with the professors. Maybe it was just my professors, but I experienced how open, helpful and informal they are. When one of my professors found out that an Erasmus student had been ill for a long time, she asked if he needed support or if she could recommend a doctor. Everyone offered to discuss anything they hadn't understood after class. The length of the lectures was unusual, 2-3 hours was usual. I attended the following seminars: Leadership and Motivation, Project management, Portuguese class, desafiliated citizens.
4. what advice would you give to other students who would like to spend a semester abroad?
Find out if there are any associations or groups (e.g. ESN) that organize events for Erasmus students. That's how I got to know most people at the beginning. There were WhatsApp groups in which old students sold things that were no longer needed after a semester, driving groups were formed (some went to Portugal by car) or the first activities were planned. You can feel alone at the beginning, in the end the experience is not the same for everyone, but once you have made a few friends it becomes a great experience. Try to immerse yourself in university life and not just be a long-term tourist, it makes the experience more authentic.