University of Nebraska at Omaha

Tobias Burger '11

Nebraska? Where is that? … and what are you going to do there? Well, that’s how everyone was reacting (including me) when I got the offer to go to the University of Nebraska at Omaha. All I wanted was to visit an English speaking country; my preference was the United States. Sure the preparations for a visa and the application are a little challenging, but once you’re there it’s alright, because you’ve planned everything in advance. Thanks to IS:Link my overall preparing took only a little over half a year. But the Midwest? In case you don’t know: Nebraska is in the very middle of the USA. Whenever you hear about hillbilly’s with shotguns in their old rusty pickup trucks, you probably hear about one of the Midwest states. So I had my concerns when I stepped into my plane to Omaha for spending a whole semester overseas.

Once my feet touched Nebraskan ground my prejudices were blown away. By the way: if you have any concerns about accents: people from the Midwest are known to talk very clearly and slowly – all in all very easy to understand.

Poznań University of Economics

Sven M.

In the time from February 2010 till February 2011 I spent two very interesting semesters as an exchange student at the Poznan University of Economics. Poznan is a great place worth seeing. The city combines historic places with a modern life and therefore guarantees that you never feel bored. Next to a number of modern shopping centers and a colorful nightlife you will see plenty of old monuments. Poznan “never sleeps” because throughout the whole year there is a huge amount of events including concerts, galleries, markets, sport events and much more. In addition, the local ESN (Erasmus Student Network) group offered countless activities, trips, workshops and parties. The advantageous location of the city makes it easy to reach and also allows a number of travels through Poland by car, train or airplane.

Tel Aviv University

Nils Z.

„You are going to Israel? But what’s about the bombs over there?” I received this kind of reaction from many people after telling them about my intention to go Tel Aviv for studying abroad. Certainly, German news coverage about the Middle East mainly focuses on negative issues like terrorist attacks or the controversial settlement policy, and therefore makes it difficult to perceive the current state of affairs in Israel in a positive way- but Israel is so much more!

Tel Aviv University

Sven D.

Tel Aviv – the best time in my life! Legendary – this is probably the best description for my 7 month stay in Tel Aviv, Israel. I have never guessed that I would say that Israel is not just a beautiful country, but it is also very very rich of different cultures, interesting religions and very international people. And the best: It is not as dangerous as it seems! Honestly, in the streets I would even say I felt more save than in Germany. The people are all friendly and helpful and as a German citizen you are more than welcome. Because of all these aspects I highly recommend this place for studying abroad!

Tel Aviv University

Jonathan B.

Before going to Tel Aviv in July 2010 I had to deal with some considerable organisational issues. Firstly, I had to apply for the IS:link student exchange programme, which, at that time, had just been introduced as a student exchange network for Information Systems students by the chair of Prof. Ulrich Frank of my home university in Essen. Luckily, application and enrolment was rather uncomplicated and I could turn my attention to other important issues, like visa and finding an accommodation in Tel Aviv. As I said, IS:link was still in its founding phase at that time. Therefore, organisation was sometimes not that easy for me. However, due to being one of the pioneers in the IS:link program, many experiences were even more intensive. Furthermore, I was not the only student going from Essen to Tel Aviv in the summer of 2010 (see our group picture below).

Poznań University of Economics

Saskia C.

I spent the summer semester of 2010 at the Poznań University of Economics, taking part in the local Erasmus programme to which I was enrolled by IS:link. There were several convincing reasons that induced me to study abroad for one semester in Poland. First of all, I wanted to improve my English language skills and conveniently the Poznan University offers courses in English. Then, I always loved to see distant places and I wanted to try getting along on my own in a novel environment and make new friendships. Luckily, all of these wishes very completely fulfilled during my semester in Poznan. I met many great people, broadened my horizon, made many unique experiences, and last but not least had a lot of fun!

Concerning the Erasmus programme in Poznań, I especially liked the many excursions and weekend trips, leading us to Polish cities like Warsaw, Kraków and Gdynia, as well as to the famous region Masuria. Furthermore, we played paint ball, went canoeing, took part in a parade and partied on the tramway, which crossed the city for several hours while playing loud music.