The United Kingdom evokes many things: quirky British humour and a stiff upper lip. Rugged Scottish Highlands, rustic cottages, and Western Europe's largest city, London. The royal family. And last but not least, the cultural influence of the United Kingdom is enormous - from Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes to J.R.R. Tolkien. A semester abroad at one of our partner universities in England, Northern Ireland or Scotland gives you plenty to experience and discover.

With the "Partner Country of the Month" campaign, we want to shine a spotlight on the wide diversity of countries, regions and partner universities of TU Dresden that our students can explore during a semester abroad.

© Franziska Friebel-Viebach

General facts and figures about the United Kingdom

Official name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Great Britain is the name of the island on which Wales, Scotland and England are located)
Capital: London
Population: 68 million (2023)
Official language: English; regionally also Cornish, Welsh, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Irish & Ulster Scots
Currency: Pound sterling (£ / GBP)

You can find further facts, figures and information on Wikipedia, on the website of the German Federal Foreign office, or on wikivoyage and visitbritain.com.

About the language

British English is often associated with what is known in the UK as Received Pronunciation - effectively the Queen's Standard English. Regionally, it originates from the south-east of England and is often associated with higher education. However, there are many local dialects in the UK - and their public reputation is on the rise.

A very special regional feature of British English is Cockney Rhyming Slang, invented by the old-timers in London. Here, a word (e.g. telephone) is rhymed with a phrase (dog and bone). In the next step, the second word can usually be omitted, and ‘I'm on the phone’ becomes ‘I'm on the dog.’ Rhyming slang may have been a real secret language in the past, but today it's more of a play on words. Fancy a few more examples?

• face = boat race = boat
• stairs = apples and pears = apples. „He’s gone down the apples.“
• feet = plates of meat = plates. „My plates hurt!“
• lies = porky pies = porkies „Don’t tell porkies!“
• money = bread and honey = bread
• head = loaf of bread = loaf. „Use yer loaf!“

To get back to more serious facts: If you add native and second language speakers together, English is the most widely spoken language in the world - with the proportion of people who have learnt English as a foreign language clearly outweighing the native speakers at around 75%. It is the lingua franca of international science and business, not to mention the internet. A semester abroad in the United Kingdom can therefore bring you many advantages.

Please check the language proficiency requirements of your partner university of choice before applying. If needed, you can join the preparation course for a period abroad at TUDIAS to brush up your English.

© Franziska Friebel-Viebach

Did you know that ....?

• fish and chip shops often have punny names, like hairdressing salons in Germany? How about a snack from ‘Frying Nemo’, ‘Oh my Cod’ or ‘Jack the Chipper’, for example?
• in Wales, a mischievous ghostly horse brings luck for the new year? Between Christmas and New Year, the Mari Lwyd – a horse skull with glowing eyes and a colourful mane of ribbons – goes from door to door. The Mari and her gang ask for admission in a battle of rhymes, and when the residents invariably run out of answers, they must be let in and provided with ale. Once inside, the Mari’s shenanigans are said to scare away the misfortunes of the old year.

• our partner city Coventry sponsored the tower cross for Dresden’s Frauenkirche? Both cities were heavily destroyed during the Second World War and, in the name of peace and reconciliation, established a partnership in the 1950s. The mutual exchange is still ongoing and includes an Erasmus+ exchange cooperation between TUD and Coventry’s University of Warwick.

• Oxford and Cambridge are among the world’s oldest universities in continuous operation, surpassed only by the University of Bologna? Moreover, for about 800 years (until 1832), no other universities existed in the UK – so it’s no surprise that Oxbridge can count the most prominent figures of science and literature among their alumni, such as Isaac Newton, Oscar Wilde and Charles Darwin. The long history of the prestigious universities is also reflected in splendid medieval architecture, and sometimes in old grudges. 

© Doro Breyer

• by royal decree, the Tower of London must always be inhabited by ravens? According to legend, the British Monarchy will fall when the ravens leave the castle. On hearing this, 17^th century King Charles II decided to take no chances. Since then, a minimum of six ravens have always lived on the castle grounds. They can stroll about at their leisure, delight on making mischief with tourists, and are taken care of by the Ravenmaster.

• a toasted slice of bread between two untoasted ones is a legitimate form of sandwich in the UK? To save the reputation of British food: The so-called toast sandwich was created as food for the sick. Other odd sarnies have managed to gain broader popularity, like the crisp sandwich, the fish finger sandwich, and the chip butty (whose perfect bread-to-chip ratio has been the subject of a scientific study).

• making faces is a competitive sport in the UK? The goal is to create the biggest possible facial transformation. Professional gurning is not for the faint of heart. The best gurners can even pull their lower lip up above their entire noses (easier to do without teeth). Another odd British competition is the famous Cheese Rolling of Gloucestershire, where participants chase a wheel of cheese down a steep hill (and often end up rolling themselves). The cheese reaches speeds of 110 kilometres per hour.

© Carolin Schneider

Cooperations with Universities in the United Kingdom

You can find all cooperations of TU Dresden in our database. Under Questionnaires, the experiences of previous exchange students can help you with impressions of our partner universities. Asking professors in your own faculty who might have direct contacts to your partner university of choice is also a good idea. Here you can find the contact persons and application deadlines for your faculty.

Cooperations via Erasmus+

• About Erasmus+
• University of Aberdeen in Scotland
  • Mechanical Engineering (faculty)
  • Aberdeen, Scotland’s third-largest city after Glasgow and Edinburgh, is located on the eastern coast. Our partner university played an important role in Scottish history and is one of the oldest universities in the anglophone world.
• Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland
  • International Relations             
  • Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland, is known for Irish music, the checkered history of The Troubles, and as the launch site of the Titanic. Former exchange students liked the teaching style and the focus in security policy offered by our partner university.  
• De Montfort University in Leicester, England
  • International Relations             
  • Leicester (pronounced Lester) lies in the East Midlands, close to Birmingham and Coventry, and can look back on an exceptionally long history. Today, it is diverse and multicultural. Our partner university is famous for art and design.
• Loughborough University in England
  • Physics
  • Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
  • Mechanical Engineering (faculty)  
  • Civil Engineering
  • Transport Engineering
  • Loughborough is an East Midlands town centred around its university and industry. Our partner university is known for excellence in engineering and sports. Former exchange students liked the the lively campus societies and the wide range of support offered by the university.

Cooperation via TUDworldwide

• The University of Warwick in Coventry, England
  • Interdisciplinary cooperation
  • After successfully completing your application process via TUDworldwide and gaining your spot, you can apply for funding via Erasmus+.
  • No other city lies as close to England’s geographical centre as Coventry, making it a perfect starting point for discovering the country. Former exchange students liked the excellent academic support, small courses, and vivacious campus life at our partner university.

Faculty Cooperation

• King’s College London in England
  • Medicine
  • As Western Europe‘s largest city and capital of the UK, London is a bustling hub of art, culture, science, and commerce. Our partner university is one of the largest and most financially well-endowed universities of the country, and known for excellent research and teaching in the health sciences.

Don't miss...

© Doro Breyer

London's fascinating museums. London is bursting with culture – not least with an extraordinary variety of first-class museums. Many of them are British national museums, all of whose permanent exhibitions are free of charge. These include the Victoria & Albert Museum, the world's largest museum of applied art and design (and the birthplace of the museum café concept - with a correspondingly lavish design, of course). Or the Science Museum, with topics as diverse as space exploration, energy production and the history of the Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the 18th century. The Natural History Museum, the British Library Treasures Gallery, ... there is something for every taste. And alongside the big museums, there are also small curiosities to discover.

© Doro Breyer

Hiking along the cliffs. There are many wonderful starting points for a cliff walk in the United Kingdom. Not far from London are the bright white chalk cliffs of the South Downs, which can be explored on a circular walk from the coastal town of Eastborne. Beachy Head, with its picture-book lighthouse, is particularly famous. Close to our Scottish partner city Aberdeen, the ruins of Dunnottar Castle stand picturesquely on rugged cliffs. They can be hiked from the small town of Stonehaven.

© Doro Breyer

Historic pubs. The specialty of British pubs (pub is short for ‘public house’, by the way) are rustic wooden furnishings, carpets and lots of cosiness. You can also get pies and other hearty pub food. Reason enough for a visit! The experience is even more impressive if you visit one of the pubs that still boast original furnishings from the Victorian era – for example the Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast with its mosaic floors and carvings, or The Champion in London, whose stained glass windows depict 19th century heroes.

© Doro Breyer

Shakespeare in the Globe Theatre. The original theatre, where Shakespeare was the resident poet, burnt down a long time ago, but the three-storey half-timbered building in London that now bears its name is as accurate a reconstruction as possible (and the only building with a thatched roof in London today – this time with modern safety regulations). First-class actors regularly perform the plays of the most important poet in the English language here. Shakespeare's influence was not only literary: he also contributed to the standardisation of English and is said to have invented thousands of words and phrases. You can find out about this and much more at the visitor centre.

Let's get cooking...

British cuisine doesn't have a particularly good reputation... but did you know that this used to be quite different? In the 19th century, cooking à l'anglaise (the English way) was synonymous with top-class cuisine. This was because the upper classes could afford skilled servants and ingredients from all over the world – but it came to an end when the British colonial empire collapsed. In the meantime, the internationalisation of the United Kingdom has once again contributed to a diverse food culture, and, in addition to fish'n'chips, British-Indian chicken tikka masala is one of the national dishes.

Although some foods like sandwiches are popular throughout the United Kingdom, the individual countries have their own food traditions and dishes. Scotland is known for haggis and buttery shortbread, England for Yorkshire pudding and Sunday roast, Wales for a very special cheese toast, and Ireland for savoury Irish stew. Pasties are the specialty of Cornwall. These dumplings used to be practical provisions for miners and were marked with their initials.

Afternoon Tea with Scones

© © Bildagentur PantherMedia  / Alex9500 (YAYMicro)

What could be more British than afternoon tea around 4 or 5 pm? By the way, when people talk about tea in the UK, they mean the real leaf. The standard is black tea, which is drunk with milk. The herbal and fruit teas that are popular in Germany are called infusions and are less common.

Snacks are served with afternoon tea. These can be sandwiches, but scones are even better. The small, preferably fresh sweet rolls are typically eaten with clotted cream and jam - although the order of the spreads is a hotly debated topic. You can find a recipe for scones here. Mix your own ‘self-raising’ flour by adding 1 teaspoon of baking powder per 100 g of flour, and replace clotted cream with mascarpone, for example.

Contact

Have you had a great time in the United Kingdom? Do you have tips for places and experiences that are not to be missed? We would be happy to share your experiences here, on social media or, if you want, in information events for other TUD students. Get in touch with us:

© Sven Ellger/TUD

Advice on studying abroad

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Ms Federica Serra

Infocenter/ Study abroad; TUDworldwide: America

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Contact Information

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International Office

International Office

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TUD Dresden University of Technology International Office

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Looking for first-hand information?

Would you like to know more about the United Kingdom? Ask our alumni ambassadors - TUD alumni who are active in many countries around the world and can give you information and advice for your stay abroad.

Getting in touch is very easy: On this interactive world map, markers indicate the cities where our alumni ambassadors live. There is a short profile with contact information for each ambassador.

Partner Countries Archive

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