Read an interesting report written by Louis Schäfer, INDUSTRONIC student in the dual study program “Industrial Engineering”, who spent a couple of months at the University of California in Riverside (UCR).
Hello, my name is Louis Schäfer and I´m a student in the dual study program “Industrial Engineering” at the DHBW Mosbach. During my education, I´m gaining both theoretical and practical experience by switching between studying at my university in Bad Mergentheim and working at INDUSTRONIC in Wertheim. At the end of our second academic year our home university gives us the possibility to go abroad for one semester.
We could choose between a couple of partner universities all over the world. In agreement with my trainers at INDUSTRONIC I decided to go to the UCR in California. I chose that school because I wanted to improve my English skills, get to know the American culture and travel the country.
After many weeks of organization – visa, accommodation and courses took a lot of time – and an exhausting trip from Frankfurt to Riverside I finally arrived at the “Sterling Highlander”, a student housing complex, where I lived in during my stay in the United States. Many other American and international students lived there too. This helped me a lot to get in contact with new people from all over the world.
My first week in Riverside was the orientation week at the university. Every new international student received a lot of information about the enrollment system, the campus, living in Riverside and everything else. I enrolled for two courses in engineering, two in economics and one in logistics. It was a very interesting mix and met the requirements of my home university which was one of the prerequisites for going on a semester abroad. I had lectures, discussions and excursions as well as homework, presentations and quizzes to do. With those different forms of learning it was very easy for me to gain a lot of knowledge, because it never got boring.
Besides the university life, me and my new friends had enough time to explore Riverside, the west coast and all of California. We went to almost every city between San Francisco and San Diego as well as to the famous national parks in the Western U.S., e.g. Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Park. I also had the chance to get to know some American friends through my participation in the UCR Tennis Team with whom I´m still in contact. This was a very special time for me, because I made some true friends there.
My semester at the UCR was probably the best time of my life so far. I improved my English skills, learned a lot about the American culture, travelled through California and made a bunch of new friends. I had the very rare chance to experience American college life by myself which I´ll never forget. It also helped me a lot for my future tasks in the INDUSTRONIC project management team, which I´ll join after my graduation next year. I had to deal with people from different countries, with various cultures and of course different mentalities.
Last but not least, I want to say a big THANK YOU to my company INDUSTRONIC, who enabled this unique experience. Without their support it wouldn´t have been possible for me to go on my semester abroad at the UCR. And I wouldn´t want to miss that time.
One thought to “Studying in the Golden State – A Rewarding Experience”
Hi Louis,
Nice and encouraging write-up.
I will tell you a secret buzz word — “Join Industronic and see the world”
After you have seen one of the largest democracy of the world, you can plan to see the another largest democracy of this world – India. Anytime, if you have a chance, we would welcome you to India. good luck for your studies and career forward.