Faculty of Science and Engineering - Germany, Munich
Datum: | 29 oktober 2020 |
Auteur: | Codrut-Andrei Diaconu |
![Hiking near Garmisch-Partenkirchen](/alumni/support-research-and-education/groninger-university-fund/blog/faculty-of-science-and-engineering-germany-munich-29-10-2020!attachment?c=images/blog-image-normal.jpg&id=240713090637)
My name is Codrut-Andrei Diaconu and I’m a Computing Science Master’s student, following the specialization Data Science and Systems Complexity. In September 2019 I started an Erasmus exchange at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. I’ve made this choice knowing that it's a very good university and also because they offer many Data Science related courses.
Munich is a great city with plenty of opportunities. But at the same time, it is also one of the most expensive cities in Germany (for example, the average price of a room in a shared apartment is around 550 euros), so the Erasmus scholarship covers less than a half of the living costs.
Fortunately, I’ve been accepted to receive a support from Groningen University Fund which helped me a lot during the first months. Finding an accommodation there was also very challenging and stressful.
![Neuschwanstein Castle view from Marys Bridge](/alumni/support-research-and-education/groninger-university-fund/blog/2019au264_diaconu-munchen_duitsland-2b.jpg)
In the first two weeks of October there were many introductory activities organized for international students, including a city tour that ended with a visit to the History of National Socialism museum, a tour in the BMW factory, a hike in the Partnach Gorge and a visit to the Neuschwanstein Castle. The Faculty of Informatics from TUM has also offered to each exchange student a personal mentor who in my case was a German guy who was doing his Bachelor’s there. We had very nice discussions and we stayed in touch even after the mentoring program ended.
During the first semester I followed 4 courses (with a total of 32 ECTS) related to Data Science. One of them was a practical course (10 ECTS) which consisted in a semester-long project under a close supervision. I was lucky to work with a local student, we had a very good time together and with his help I’ve discovered many interesting aspects about Munich, Bavaria and German people in general.
![View from Wank towards Garmish-Partenkirchen](/alumni/support-research-and-education/groninger-university-fund/blog/2019au264_diaconu-munchen_duitsland-3b.jpg)
I enjoyed the countryside from the south of Munich a lot. I cycled more than 1000 km in that area, around the lakes or close to the Bavarian Alps and I enjoyed the amazing landscapes. I also went hiking a few times near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a place surrounded by wonderful mountains.
Towards the end of the semester, in order to support my living costs, I started to work as a student assistant at the Institute of Computational Biology from Helmholtz Zentrum München. I had to face the annoying German bureaucracy a few times, for instance when I had to prepare the documents needed for the contract (at least 10). A funny situation that I won’t forget was when the company asked me to get a German statutory health insurance to be able to get the contract and then, when I made a request for this to an insurance company, they asked for a copy of the working contract. Nevertheless, I was very lucky with this job because some topics were related to my studies and the working schedule was very flexible.
![View from Olympic Hill towards Olympic Park Munich](/alumni/support-research-and-education/groninger-university-fund/blog/2019au264_diaconu-munchen_duitsland-4b.jpg)
Given that I enjoyed my time in Munich, a few months before the end of the semester I requested an extension of my exchange for the second semester too. I managed to do the necessary steps and this way I did my Master’s thesis there. As a topic, I chose something completely new for me (Genomics) so I had to put in a lot of effort. Fortunately I worked in a very nice group and with their help I managed to accumulate a minimum background. The restrictions imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic also affected me since I had to work online all the time for a few months. After 6 months of hard work, I managed to submit my thesis in September 2020.
Altogether, I am very satisfied with the choice I did regarding the host university and I think the entire experience helped to improve both my technical and personal skills.