[PDF] Stay Abroad during your Studies in Computer Science

26273_32021_Staying_Abroad_Computer_Science.pdf 1

Dirk Thißen

Study Center Computer Science

RWTH Aachen University

http://www.comsys.rwth-aachen.de/teaching/exchange (will bemovedtohttps://sc.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/en/auslandsaufenthalt/)

StayAbroad duringyourStudies in

Computer Science

2

Why studying abroad?

yMotivation fPersonal development through new environment/culture fImprovement of language skills fNew contacts fAdditional qualification for later profession fOther teaching style, different contents yIntegration into your studies at RWTH fTansferof credits achieved at guest university Note: check for possible recognitions in advance! fAdjustment of study plan might be necessary (for Bachelor students) fLeave of Absence possible fNo delay in finishing your studies (if everything works well) 3

ImportantAspects

yWhen and how long to stay abroad? yDestinations? Exchange programmes? yHow to transfer credits? yOrganization, financial aspects? yDeadlines? 4

Stay Abroad: Requirements and Guidelines

yGeneral aspects: fStay abroad only possible after completion of the fiestyear of study fSufficient knowledge of the language of instruction required (usually at least B1/B2) Sometimes in addition the national language fMinimum grade might be required (at a few universities) fStay abroad typically limited to one or two semsters yUp to 30 ECTS credits per semester should be taken abraod fBachelor: possibletotransferupto60 credits fMaster: possible to transfer up to 30 credits 5

Stay abroad in the Bachelor

yBachelor fYou should first finish your compulsory subjects Difficult to take compulsory subjects at another university Recommended: 5th(and maybe 6th)semester fDepending on host university, recognition of achievements possible: 3 elective subjects (18 Credits) Theoretical elective (6 Credits) Seminar (5 Credits) Software project lab (6 Credits) Non-technical elective (4 Credits) Bachelor thesis (15 Credits) Maybe application subject grün: typically no problem blau: often no problem, but not offered at all univeristies grau: more difficult, please clarify beforehand 6

Stay Abroad in the Master

yMaster fAnytime, since only/many electives Orat least severaloptions(Data Science) fAs early as possible fUsually large choice of courses at host university Note: many courses can be recognized, but maybe not all of them. Clarify possible recognitions in advance!

ŽAlso holds for Bachelor

7

One or two semsters?

yDuration of a stay abroad fOne semester: easy to embed into your studies But: not much times to learn about environment and culture fTwo semesters: more relaxed studies, more life experience But: loss of credits possible 8

Combines Stay Abroad Bachelor/Master

yCombined stay fStay abroad in 5th& 6thBachelor semesters fTransfer of about 30 credits in the Bachelor Duration of studies extended to 7 semesters fTransfer of about 30 credits to your future Master Time till finishing Master studies remains the same fWith Leave of Absence On paper you have 6 + 4 semesters of studies!

BachelorMaster

9 Problem with Application Subject for a one-semesterStay yExampleBusiness Administration fTwo lectures in the 5thsemester Can probably not be taken at the guest university fOnly possible to take them in the 7thsemester fBachelor's degree extended to 7 semesters ySolution fTake elective subjects/seminar/lab abroad (and maybe Master's subjects) f6thsemester: Bachelor's thesis, additional application subject and/or

1-2 Master's subjects

f7thsemester: application subject, 2-3 Master's subjects fSubsequent Master's degree shortened to 3 semesters 10

ExchangePrograms

yErasmus (Switzerland: SEMP, UK: somehow connected) fIntra-European, agreements with 25 30 universities fOrganization by our department and the International Office fNo tuition fees at the host university yBilateral agreements (wordwide) fBilateral agreements with individual universities worldwide fOrganization by International Office fNo common agreements (e.g., tuition fees?) yUNITECH fCombination of stay abroad and internship in industry yFreemover fOwn organization, more complex and maybe more expensive 11

Erasmus

yEU programme fSupports studentmobility fStays of one or two semesters at partneruniversities yAdministrative details clarified inadvance fAssured number of study places at partner universities fKnowncontactpersons, listsof availablecourses(often) fOften: housing placement through partneruniversity yNo tuitionfees yFinancial support(scholarship) fDependingon host countryandsomeadditional factors:

300 500 Euro per month

Maybegoodtoorientat 400 Euro 12

Partner Universities

Trondheim

Helsinki

Jyväskylä

Göteborg

Skövde

Lyon Paris

Birmingham

Mailand

Trento

Amsterdam

Krakau

Prag

Lausanne

Valencia

Murcia

Madrid

Tarragona

Gran

Canaria

25 30 partner universities

In 12 countries

Map: http://www.mygeo.info/landkarten_europa.html

Leuven

Stavanger

Brno

Tampere

Barcelona

Nijmegen

Granada

Bozen 13

Partner Universities

LandPartnerhochschulePlätzeMonate

pro Person

BEKatholiekeUniversiteitLeuven2 (M)10

FIAalto University Helsinki2 (B + M)10

FITampere University of Technology2 (B + M)10

FIUniversity of Jyväskylä2 (B + M)5

FREcoleNormale Supérieure de Paris-Saclay3 (M)12 FRInstitut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon2 (B + M)5

FRÉcolePolytechnique1 (M)10

FRUniversitéParis-Saclay(Paris-SudXI)1 (B + M)12

GBUniversity of Birmingham1 (B)10

ITPolitecnicodiMilano1 (B + M)9

ITUniversità degli studi di Trento2 (B+ M)10

ITUniversity of Bozen3 (B + M)6

14

Partner Universities

LandPartnerhochschulePlätzeMonate

pro Person

NLVrijeUniversiteitAmsterdam1 (B+ M)10

NLRadboudUniversity Nijmegen2 (B + M)10

NOUniversity of Stavanger2 (B + M)10

NONorwegian University of Sci. & Tech. Trondheim1 (M)6

PLAGH University Kraków1-2 (B+M)6

SEUniversity of Göteborg3 (B + M)5

CHÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne2 (B + M)10

CZCzech Technical University Prague2 (B + M)5

CZMasaryk University Brno2 (B + M)10

CZCharles University Prague2 (M)5

15

Partner Universities

LandPartnerhochschulePlätzeMonate

pro Person

ESUniversidad de Castilla-La Mancha1 (B) + 1 (M)5

ESUniversity of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria3 (B + M)9

ESUniversity of Granada2 (B + M)9

ESUniversitatPolitècnicade Catalunya2 (B + M)5

ESUniversidad Complutensede Madrid2 (B + M)10

ESUniversidad Politécnicade Madrid1-2 (B + M)12

ESUniversidad de Murcia1 (B + M)10

ESUniversitatRoviraiVirgili2 (M)5

ESUniversidad de Valencia3 (B)10

ESUniversidad Politécnicade Valencia (UPV)3 (B + M)10

ESUPV (spezielleMaster-Programme)3 (M)10

ESUniversidad del PaisVasco2 (B + M)5 + 10

Links to universities: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/brse 16

Application

yGetting started: fGather information about potential destinations Websites: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/brse Overview of exchange opportunities, reports of other students: https://rwthaachen.moveon4.de/publisher/1/deu Group counselling by International Office : http://www.rwth- aachen.de/cms/root/Die-RWTH/Profil/Internationalisierung/

Veranstaltungen/~cfmm/Gruppenberatung/

fConsultation hours: Make an appointment by e-mail to student-exchange@cs.rwth-aachen.de 17

Application Process / Documents

yApplication to up to three universities (priority 1 -3) possible yRequired documents fTabular resume (CV) fAcademic progress certificate fCurrent transcript of records (and the 1stsemester program) fProof of languageskills(teachinglanguage) fPreliminary courseselection fFurther voluntary documentation, such as awards, proof of volunteer work, involvement in the BeBuddyprogram et cetera fInstead of a letter of motivation: Answering four questions in the applicationportal https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-Studium/Internationales/ Outgoing/Studium-im-Ausland/Erasmus-/~bqzn/Bewerbungsablauf/?lidx=1 18

Application Process / Documents

yNo motivation letter fInstead, answer four questions about your professional and extracurricular motivation, extracurricular qualifications and voluntary work, and your suitability as a representative of RWTH Aachen

University

yResume/ CV fNofixedrequirements yLanguage certificate, e.g. fAbizeugnis/ school certificate attesting min. five years of English lessons fLanguage test of the Language Center: http://www.sz.rwth-aachen.de f 19

Application Process / Documents

yPreliminary course selection fShow that you have looked at the guest university and found interesting coursesthere After place assignment you have to set up an official learning agreement Concrete course selection can be chnagedat any time up to a few weeks after the start of the stayabroad fPreferably only computer sciencecourses Maybealso coursesfromapplicationsubject/ mathematics, but thishas tobeclarifiedin advance You will get feedback if/how the courses can berecognized 20

Assigmentof Places

ySubmission of Applications f1 31 January for WS 2022/23 and/or SS 2023 Or 1 15 April for SS 2023; only remaining places! fVia the application portal of International Office https://rwthaachen.moveon4.de/locallogin/56c6d17184fb969c51c1d171/deu yRanking done by us fPlaces are allocated in the order of the ranking, free place with highest priority is allocated fRanking based on (50% influenceeach): yAverage grade achieved in previous studies, weighted by study progress (full credits to actualcredits) Appearance of the application: letter of motivation, course selection, sufficient language skills, spelling/grammar, completeness,voluntary commitment (e.g. BeBuddy),... 21

Coming Steps

yNotification of place allocation by the end ofFebruary yConfirmation of place within one week yNomination of the selected participants at thehost university fInternational Office of RWTH provides participants with further information, e.g. about the Erasmusscholarship fHost university offers information on furtherapplication Further information after confirmation ofplace Next: Online application at hostuniversity ŽEveryone is responsible for the ownapplication! ŽNo acceptance by the host university without onlineapplication ŽOfficial language certificates may now berequired 22

Summary: Schedule

yNow: Identify potential hostuniversities fCountry/city, language, teaching offer,... fCheck whether further documents, e.g. official language certificates or letters of recommendation, are required at the universities ofinterest yNovember/December: on interest, meeting with advisor fE.g. clarify possiblecourses y31 January: Closing date forapplications yEnd February: Allocation of places yConfirmationone week later yMarch: further information from host university fOnline application, timetable varies depending on the hostuniversity 15.4. .... 15.7. 23

RWTHweltweit

yNon-European exchangeagreements fhttps://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/mdgfu/lidx/1 fPartner universities: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/dhce/lidx/1 fNo uniform regulation, e.g. on tuition fees fMostly university-wide agreements Places not only for computer science, but for RWTH students in general For each agreement, it is indicated which faculties may useit Computer science: filter by faculty1

ŽMaybealso 1.2

24

RWTHweltweit

yFurther information fRead descriptions of conditions for interesting universities fMaybe contact the respective contact person in International Office fGroup consulationsfor certain countries or continents (same link as for Erasmus) yApplication process fVia online portal of International Office https://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/bvpm/lidx/1 Application documents as for Erasmus Submission of application: 29 October 29 November (WS+SS) / about

28 May 28 June (SS, only remaining places)

May be different for single universities 25

FacultyAgreements

ySimilartouniversity-wideagreements, but onlyfor singlefaculties/departments fNII Tokyo https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-

Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/Studium-im-

Ausland/RWTHweltweit/Partnerhochschulen-weltweit/~mald/National-

Institute-of-Informatics/lidx/1/

For researchstays Further information: Prof. Torsten Kuhlen 26

UNITECH

ySpecial program: Combination of semester abroad and internship in a foreign company fhttps://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-

Studium/Stipendien-Foerderung/~bwyz/UNITECH-

International/?lidx=1

yRWTH is only German university within UNITECH fAlso selected universities in other countries fOnly a few places per year fVery good performance required ySubmission of application: 25 October ²30 November fFollowedbyassessmentcenteron 17 February2022

The UNITECH Year at a glance

Home university

ƒAcademic exchange ²

continue engineering studies, add business studies

ƒStudies in a second language

Host university

ƒInternational

internship

ƒWork in a second

language

ƒComplete

engineering degree

Corporate

Partner

Home

University

ƒPotential

employment with Corporate

Partner

Graduation

End of Year

Event

Start

Up Week Mid Term Week

Graduation

ƒCurrent

engineering studies

ƒAssessment

Centre

Credits

How UNITECH

develops distinctive talent for the world of engineering

Coaching: focus and philosophy

During the three modules we focus on:

ƒDevelop ability to have early professional impact

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ƒSpeed of adjustment to people and situations

ƒPersonal leadership skills

UNITECH Coaches work with this philosophy:

ƒSimple short activities offering multiple learning opportunities

ƒDevelopment through reflection

ƒConstructive feedback given with empathy

The Wide and Varied UNITECH Network

Copyright © UNITECH International Society 2011. All rights reserved.29

Students and Alumni

20 Corporate Partners

ƒ47 activestudents 2011/2012

ƒ80 students2012/2013

ƒMore than300 activeAlumni

7 Academic Partners

30

Freemover: Individual Stay Abroad

yStays are in principle possible at any university, outside of exchange agreements fIncreasedowninitiative required Application directly to the university Not all universities accept freemovers fTuitionfees fClarify the possibility of credit transfer beforehand fFunding? 31

General Organizational Aspects

ySemester times fWinter semester usually starts in September, sometimes even in

August (Australia: July!)

often starts in January or early February fCheck exam dates early Maybe possible (approval by lecturer required): early exam or distance exam taking a local exam under private supervision at the partner university (or maybe supervised via Zoom) yLeave of absence f https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-

Studium/~egx/Beurlaubung/?lidx=1

Semester fee reduced, semester counter is stopped ŽFor 30 credits transferred later, the semester counter is increased by 1 32

General Organizational Aspects

yFunding fAuslands-BaFöG fErasmus scholarship (300 fScholarships of other organizations (RWTH, DAAD) Partly only for certain countries, certain types of stay, good grades, ... fhttps://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/~ehq/Finanzierung-des-

Auslandsaufenthalts/lidx/1/

yAccomodation fOften organized by host university Often limited number of rooms in dormitories fOtherwise: organize by yourself, maybe supported by host university Costs! 33

General Organizational Aspects

yRegistration (International Office) fInternational Office needsinformationon staysabroad, e.g. for requiredstatisticsorfor rankings fStudents participatingin Erasmus oruniversity-widecooperation agreements, arerecordedautomatically fBut: International Office doesnot necessarilygetinformationabout students stayingabroadvia facultyagreements, andtheydo not get informationaboutfreemovers Ifyoustayabroadwithouthavingappliedvia International Office, please registeryourself: Žhttps://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/~nswt/Registrierung-Ihres-

Auslandsaufenthalts/?lidx=1

34

Transfer of Credits / Recognition

yIn general: achievements at host university recognized fBut: courseswhicharesimilartocoursesyouhavealreadydoneat

RWTH, cannotberecognized

fCourses needtofit intoyourstudyprogramme fCourses havetobeambitiousenough ySelection of courses must be agreed with thestudy abroad advisor before putting them to a learning agreement! fRecognition of not-agreed-on courses mybeis not possible 35

Typesof Recognition

yDependingon contentof coursesat host university fRecognition of onecourseat host universityasa certainRWTH course fBlockedrecognition Severalcoursesof host universityarerecognizedasoneon several coursesat RWTH

ŽIfcontentsoverallareverysimilar

Happens relativelyseldom fRecognition withoriginal title Courses at host universitycanberecognizedwithoriginal title iftheir contentisnot similartoanycourseat RWTH, but thematicallyfitsintoone areaof yourstudyprogramme ŽE.g. a courseon cybersecurityhasnocounterpartat RWTH, but can beaccepteddataandinformationmanagement

Bachelo/Master Infomatik, orSpecialization

Master Data Science

36

Typesof Recognition

yDependingon contentof coursesat host university fLanguage coursesasnon-technicalelective(Bachelor Informatik) fCourses of applicationsubject(Bachelor/Master Informatik) Oftenhost universityallowstoonlychoosesubjectsfromComputer Science ŽOrat least mostsubjectshavetobefromComputer Science Recognition of coursesfor applicationsubjecthastobecheckedwiththe studyadvisorsof applicationsubjects yIn general: fAlwayscheck for recognitionin advance! fNot alwaysitispossibletogiveconcreteinformationin advance E.g. missingortooshortcoursedescriptionsat host university ŽStatements onlypossibleafter submissionof moredetaileddescriptions 37

Transcript of Records and Recognition

yAt the end of stay the host university issues a Transcript of Records fCertificate of taken courses with credits and grades Oftenlocalgrades, sometimesECTS grades ECTS grades: relative marks

ŽA: best10%

ŽB: nextbest25%

ŽC: medium 30%

ŽD: nextworse25%

ŽE: worst10%

ŽF: not passed

Number of credits: calculationof ECTS creditsfromthecreditsystemof thehost university 38

Transcript of Records and Recognition

yAt the end of stay the host university issues a Transcript of Records fCalculationof creditsandgrades Credits: basingon workloadof onecreditat host university Grades: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-Studium/ Internationales/Outgoing/Anerkennung-Auslandsaufenthalt/ ~hzxh/Notenumrechnung-von-im-Ausland-erbrachte/?lidx=1 Ž ŽNAuswärtig: grade achieved in the pass range of the external grading system ŽNGesamt: Total number of grade levels in the pass range of the external gradingsystem

ŽNRWTH: converted grade atRWTH

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After the End of the StayAbroad

ySubmit a report fGuideline andtipsfor otherstudents yApplyfor credittransfer fInformation andtemplate: https://www.comsys.rwth- aachen.de/teaching/outgoings/ anerkennung/ yHand-in of documentsat International Office fTranscript of Records, final learning agreement, recognition letter, certificate of the partner university about theduration of the stay fConcretelistof documentsdependson type of stay(Erasmus, worldwide, freemover 40

Other Opportunity: Internships

yInternships or research stays at other universities yInformation available at International Office fhttps://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/~ehn/Auslandspraktika-

Forschungsaufenthalte/?lidx=1

fMaybe combination with thesis 41

Deadlines

yERASMUS/SEMP fApplication for 2022/23 until 31 January fhttps://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/Studium-im-Ausland/Erasmus- /~bqzn/Bewerbungsablauf/?lidx=1 yRWTHweltweit fApplication for 2022/23 until 29 November fhttps://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/bvpm/lidx/1 yUNITECH fApplication for 2022/23 until 30 November fhttps://unitech.app/application 42

Next Steps

yIdentify universities for a stay abroad fCountry/city, languages, courses, ... fRequired: Language proficiency of teaching language! Maybe take language courses fLook for interesting courses yGather information fWebsites, study abroad advisor, group consulting, reports of other yProduce/collectrequireddocuments 43

Ask for Information early!

yWeitereInformationen: fInternational Office: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-

Studium/~hqdb/Internationales/lidx/1/

Lists of partner universities, information on RWTHweltweit General information Funding Application portals fStudy abroad advisory Computer Science: https://www.comsys.rwth- aachen.de/teaching/exchange/(in German) Information on Erasmus General information Information on transfer of credits 44

Link Collection

fOverview: https://www.comsys.rwth-aachen.de/teaching/outgoings/ fGroup consultation: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Die-RWTH/Profil/Internationalisierung/

Veranstaltungen/~cfmm/Gruppenberatung/

fReports: https://rwthaachen.moveon4.de/publisher/1/deu fFunding: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/~ehq/Finanzierung-des-Auslandsaufenthalts/lidx/1/ fLeaveof absence: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-

Studium/~egx/Beurlaubung/?lidx=1

fErasmus: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/Studium-im-Ausland/~bqzd/Erasmus-/?lidx=1 fPartner universities Erasmus: http://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/brse fRWTHweltweit: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/mdgfu/lidx/1 fPartner universities RWTHweltweit: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/dhce/lidx/1 fUNITECH: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-Studium/Stipendien-

Foerderung/~bwyz/UNITECH-International/?lidx=1

fInternships and research stays: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/~ehn/Auslandspraktika-Forschungsaufenthalte/?lidx=1 fRegistration (freemover/ faculty agreements): https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im- Studium/Internationales/Outgoing/~nswt/Registrierung-Ihres-Auslandsaufenthalts/?lidx=1