Going abroad

Erasmus+

The European exchange program Erasmus+ is particularly popular with students. It not only gives you the chance to get to know a university in another country, but also to meet students from many European countries. You learn together, improve your language skills and, of course, go partying together. It is not for nothing that the Erasmus program is called the lubricant of European integration. Sometimes friendships are made for life, and almost always a new understanding of other cultures and perspectives develops.

With the Erasmus program, you can study at the partner universities free of charge, i.e. there are no tuition fees for you. You can also receive an Erasmus grant. This is not enough to fully finance your stay, but it is a nice bit of pocket money.

Please note that only universities with which your Department has a partnership agreement are eligible for an Erasmus+ exchange. To get an overview, please have a look at the website of your respective Department.

Direct exchange

Many will also dream of a semester abroad in the USA. Well-equipped universities, a great student-to-staff ratio and a fascinating country make the United States a place of longing for many students. However, this comes at a price and high tuition fees are another deterrent.

The direct exchange programs of the International Office offer the opportunity to study at a US university for a semester or a year free of charge. In addition, our partners in Latin America and Asia are also great places to go for a stay abroad.

Internship abroad

If you would rather gain practical experience abroad, programs such as “Erasmus+-Praxisaufenthalt” or “DAAD-RISE weltweit” (very interesting for Bachelor students) can help you. Both offer you financial support for your stay abroad.

In addition, the student internship organization IAESTE LC Erlangen, based at the Faculty of Engineering, offers free paid internships abroad worldwide for students of the Faculty of Sciences, among others.

Student competitions

Auch im Rahmen von Wissenschaftswettbewerben kann man Auslandserfahrung sammeln. Regelmäßig nehmen Studierendengruppen der FAU an solchen Wettbewerben teil.

iGem

iGEM (=international Genetic Engineering Machine) is the biggest international competition for students in synthetic biology worldwide. Students plan and realize a project in the scope of synthetic biology within one year; with all that it entails: from lab work, human practices to financial aspects of a research project.

They are given a kit of biological parts at the beginning of the summer from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Working at their own schools over the summer, they use these parts and new parts of their own design to build biological systems and operate them in living cells. This project design and competition format is an exceptionally motivating and effective teaching method.

In the fall, teams will come together to present their summer projects and to compete for awards and prizes. Teams will first compete in Regional Jamborees in their region (Europe, Asia, Latin America, Americas-East, Americas-West). A percentage of teams advance to the World Championship Jamboree held on November.

For further information, please visit the facebook page of FAU’s iGem-Team.

FAUMUN

How does the UN work?

What does the work of a diplomat look like?

How do States resolve current conflicts of the world?

If you find these questions interesting, FAUMUN is the perfect project for you. FAUMUN is the Model United Nations (MUN) project of the FAU. Students take on the role of diplomats and develop solutions for current problems from the point of view of a specific country. The entire winter term consists of preparation for the biggest MUN conference worldwide, the NMUN in New York. NMUN is held at the end of march and attended by over 5000 students from all over the world. The preparation consists of training in rhetoric, negotiation and UN rules of procedure, as well as of three preparatory MUN conferences in Bavaria. A week in Berlin enables students to get an insight into the country represented in New York from practitioners.

The project takes place in English and is interdisciplinary. The only conditions of participation are good English skills, a matriculation at the FAU and an interest in international relations. Prior knowledge about the UN is not necessary.

Further info at www.faumun.fau.de

Summer Schools and Free Mover

In addition, you always have the option of organizing your stay abroad yourself. Summer schools are a popular option. These are usually 2-4 week courses at universities. As the name suggests, they usually take place during the summer break. These courses, which are often subject to a fee, are a great opportunity to study individual topics in depth and get to know other universities and countries at the same time.

Of course, you can also organize a longer stay abroad at a university with which we do not have a partnership agreement. Many universities accept so-called “free movers”. In this case, however, you will largely have to take care of the organization yourself and also pay any tuition fees.

Financial support

One possible point of contact is always the DAAD. FAU can support you with partial scholarships from the PROMOS program or with a travel grant from the International University Fund (“Fonds Hochschule International”). It is always worth applying here.

If you have any questions about financial support for your stay abroad, please contact Patrik Stör.

Planning and consulting

In general, a stay abroad requires a lot of planning. The Internationalization and Research Officer of the Faculty of Sciences and FAU’s International Office will be happy to support you and help you find suitable funding, for example through scholarships. The first point of contact for Erasmus+ is the contact person in the respective Department.