Study and research in Germany

Use the various services at your institution

New in town and no friends yet? No problem, just look around at uni. There are plenty of opportunities for getting to know other students, like uni sports, theatre or literature groups, the uni choir, campus radio or the editorial board for the student mag, the AStA Foreign Students Department or the various religious and faith groups. Just drop by one day. They're always pleased to see a new face.

The course catalogue (Vorlesungsverzeichnis) provide a general idea of what's offered, as does the uni website and the noticeboards located in the faculties and departments. And, of course, you can also ask the departmental student society or your student council.

When the semester starts, many student societies and student councils organise introductory events, like freshers fairs, for first-year students and undergraduates – a great chance to make your first contacts and to get some good tips on how best to start your studies.

The services and programmes offered by various student initiatives, like AIESEC (all disciplines), bonding (engineering and natural sciences), ELSA (law), IAESTE (engineering) or ISHA (history), are also interesting. These maintain contacts with companies, politicians, academics, researchers and scientists and also organise numerous – international – events. You can find an overview of the student initiatives and where they work on the Internet at:

• www.studis-online.de
  
• http://de.wikipedia.org

The Newcomer Service offered by many student services organisations (Studentenwerke) is specifically intended for international students. Special services for new arrivals are also offered by the International Offices and by the Protestant and Catholic student chaplaincies or other faith groups. They organise excursions, welcome parties, and evening get-togethers. When you get an invite, make sure you go!

Want to meet and exchange ideas and experiences with other international students? Then you should join one of the regional WUS (World University Service) groups. The WUS not only offers advice and assistance, but also tutorials, mentoring programmes and German courses. Check the website www.wusgermany.de to find the full addresses of the WUS groups.

Anyone with good contacts to fellow students and lecturers will find it easier to manage their studies. So, here are a few insider tips on how to make contacts easily:

1. You take the first step in talking to your fellow students: Don't wait until someone comes and talks to you. Others are often shy and don't dare talk to you. But if everyone waits, how will contacts ever be made?
   
2. Acquire a few basic non-verbal communication rules: Eye contact and a smile help you show somebody that you are interested in them. If they don't react or look away, then ok, it's not the right moment. But remember that it's usual in Germany to look directly in each other's eyes when chatting. But that is by no means an agreement to meet up.
   
3. Practise the art of small talk: Those who manage to chat in an amusing and lively manner about everyday topics will easily catch the attention of others. So don't spend your time thinking hard about impressing somebody with some profound topic.
   
4. Choose an appropriate entry strategy for a chat: We've given you three options to choose from, for example
   
   • The situation that you both find yourselves in at the moment: Talk about it. Look around you and pick up on something that either interests or irritates you both. For example: "Been to this pub often?" or  "Any idea how we can get some cheap tickets for the next concert by ….?".
     
   • Your counterpart: Most people like talking about themselves and will be pleased to answer your questions. But before you start, you should watch what the other person is just doing, wearing, saying or reading. Then think about what you would like to find out more. For example: "I've seen you here at the library several times. What are you working on?"
     
   • About yourself: This entry strategy only rarely succeeds. A German proverb says that it's rude to put yourself first: "Der Esel nennt sich immer selbst zuerst". This means that if you want to find out about and make friends with someone else, you have to talk to and about them and not focus the conversation on yourself.
     
5. Keep the conversation going by simply asking questions: These include the question words: How? Why? When? Your counterpart can hardly answer with a brief "Yes" or "No". This gives you more information that you can use to continue the conversation.
   
6. Cultivate your newly acquired contacts: Social contacts do not thrive all by themselves. You (and your new contact) are responsible for ensuring how well the new relationship develops. It's easy in the Internet Age to keep contact by simply sending an email every now and then.