Since school, I have dreamed of studying abroad and learning about the cultural characteristics of another country. When I became a student at the National Mining University, I was inspired by meetings with students from our university who were doing internships abroad. Such meetings in English were often held at the Language Training Centre. And now I am ready to share my own impressions, because my wishes have come true, but not without the help of my own efforts.

I am a 5th year student of the Faculty of Mining, Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection Technologies. Thanks to the cooperation of the International Office with the University of Koblenz-Landau and Irina Shalagina, I was able to participate in the competition led by Kateryna Zhabchyk from the international Erasmus+ programme and won it. I got the opportunity to study for six months in the Master's degree programme in Ecology at the German University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, a city in southern Germany. It's a quiet town with friendly houses, a green forest stretching from the student campuses to the university itself, and a large zoo nearby. I was greeted by a large university with colourful buildings and sculptures of coloured birds. The international office took care of my accommodation, insurance and other needs of an exchange student.

Навчатися у цьому університеті мені дуже сподобалось. Я зустріла багато українців з інших вищих навчальних закладів. Ми разом вибирали предмети, вчилися, відпочивали та знайомилися з німецькою культурою. Наш німецький координатор завжди була готова нам допомогти. Так як для мене це була перша закордонна поїздка і необхідно було підготувати велику купу документів, пані Джутта Бон стала моїм дзвіночком розуму та нагадуванням про сьогоденні справи.

I really enjoyed studying at this university. I met many Ukrainians from other universities. We chose our subjects together, studied, relaxed and got to know the German culture. Our German coordinator was always ready to help us. Since it was my first trip abroad and I had to prepare a lot of documents, Ms Jutta Bohn became my wake-up call and a reminder of the things to do.

Being at the University of Koblenz-Landau has broken some stereotypes about Germans. They are open and ready to help you. They are not very emotional, but they are happy and have a good heart. This has always inspired me during my internship. But now I want to build my country and make as many people happy as possible.

I made new friends not only from the country I was in, but also from my hometown of Dnipro! Our Ukrainian foursome has always been like ‘inseparable’. We studied, relaxed together, and learned all the privileges of being a foreign student in Germany. The pleasant moments with them will always remain in my life.

For those who still have a dream of travelling abroad and studying at a European university, do it now! Thanks to international organisations such as Erasmus+, you have a unique opportunity to make your dream come true! Don't hesitate, learn the language, engage in self-improvement! Everything is in your hands!