STUDYING IN GERMANY: TIPS FOR NIGERIAN STUDENTS

The German Flag

Germany is situated in Western Europe and is called the Deutschland in German. The seventh-largest country in Europe, it is the world's third biggest car producer in the world, after Japan and the US. Famous brands include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen. Germany is the European Union's largest economy, and shares borders with nine other countries: Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Berlin, Germany

The largest city in Germany is Berlin (which is also its capital city). Other major cities include Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and Frankfurt. With 83 million people, Germany is Europe's second most populous country behind Russia.

Germans are well known for their long tradition of baking bread, and its taste and way of cooking changes from one part of Germany to the other. The country has over 300 varieties of bread. Sausages, called Wurst in Germany, are also a very important part of the German Cuisine, made of pork, beef or veal and flavored in different ways, depending on the region. The staple food in Germany is potatoes, and each region has a way of preparing theirs'.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the 100-years anniversary celebration of prosthesis maker Ottobock SE in Duderstadt, Germany, February 18, 2019. Photo credit: Ralph Orlowski | Reuters

Germany ranks 17th in the world by nominal GDP per capita (US$44,769). The top 10 countries by GDP (nominal) per capita are Luxembourg, Switzerland, Macau, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Qatar, United States, Singapore, Denmark, Australia. With a total of 114 billionaires, the country has the 4th highest number of the world's richest people, behind of India, China and the United States.

With regards to education, in 2014, Germany's 16 states abolished tuition fees for undergraduate students at all public German universities. Most postgraduate programs have free tuition too. This means that currently, both domestic and international students at public universities in Germany can study for free, with just a small fee to cover administration and other costs per semester. However, for international students, they have to show proof that they can cater for their living expenses before they can be issued a visa to go to Germany for their studies. See a list of Germany's public universities here. The German education system has an excellent reputation, and a significant number of foreigners study at German universities (mostly postgraduate studies). While most undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Germany's highly-ranked universities are taught in German, there are also a significant number of courses that are taught in English too (especially postgraduate programs). As well as offering a range of English-language master's programs, Universität Freiburg is one of few German universities to offer a bachelor-level degree program taught in English, allowing international students to study for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc), depending on their major. 

Nigerians rank 5th on the list of international students from Africa currently studying in Germany.  Many more are currently weighing their options and trying to decide whether Germany is the right place for them to go for their masters or PhD. Some Nigerians like Kester Audu have gone, successfully completed their programs, and now share their experience. In this article, I wish to share below the experience of Sosoho-Abasi Udongwo, one of Nigeria's brightest and young academics who is currently studying for a masters degree in Germany. He writes, 

Sosoho-Abasi Udongwo

First of all, I will try to compare and contrast between studying in Germany and Nigeria. However, please note that there are several differences between schools in Germany, and even within any one school there, mode of study still varies from faculty to faculty, and from department to department. Hence, most of what I write here may be particularly applicable to the University of Rostock, with a fair amount of generalization. 

Study mainly depends on the set of lecturers and professors you meet at the time. That being said, from my experience studying in Germany so far, I could say that education is the same globally in many respects, with a couple of differences that could be great or small depending on the type of academic that you are.

Generally, while studying here, I came to realise that the education system and that of Nigeria which I came from are similar in many respects. For example, I came here expecting some sort of over-night imbuement with knowledge such that I would be able to get a theory attached to my name as quickly as possible. I was disappointed to find that it isn't really as I had imagined it. I still needed to undertake several hours of personal study after finding that I was totally void of knowledge despite several classes that I took at the beginning of the semester (though, it may just be that the course I’m doing is quite rigorous. I wouldn’t know if everyone feels the same about their courses). In Nigeria, one could be in a department where he/she just understands a certain lecturer or several lecturers although others may not. So, there are several variables to it. Some exams might seem easy and others may not. Some lecturers/professors might be generally understandable, others may not, and some may be boring, while others may not. For some courses, one might need to put in a great deal of effort; in others, one may not. It’s the exact same thing here. What I’m trying to say in general is that, just like in Nigeria, it still takes a whole lot of personal effort here too. This then begs the question, why study in Germany or any other place abroad and not Nigeria? My answers are as follows.

1.   Constant Internet
As trivial as this may sound, a constant and unlimited access to the internet is a whole huge deal. Nowadays, a whole lot can be learnt from videos on the internet. Was a topic taught in class not clear enough? You simply go to the internet where there would be at least one video tutorial that elaborates better on it. In Nigeria, the amount alone that you’ll need to spend on this is heartbreaking, not to talk of actually getting a good network signal for starters.

2. Motivation
This is, I would say, is a key distinguishing factor between the doctors and professors here at my school and those at my undergrad school in Nigeria (having in mind that some other schools in Nigeria may also have quite a number of this caliber of lecturers also). Over here, they are motivational and quite approachable. They like it when they see that you are putting in effort to succeed in your studies, and they try to encourage and support you to be the best that you can be. One particular thing that I find inspiring is that my lecturers they are all quite well-versed in the various courses they teach, and most importantly are up to date with current trends in such fields. These, for me, are huge motivations to study and understand as much as I can in order to catch up with current technologies and information.

3. Job Prospects
Now I know many would be interested in this. Yes, I would say that the pasture is really greener this way and there are a lot of opportunities for work. Working while studying here is not much of a task and no matter what you do, you get a good amount of money as pay is per hour. In fact, if you’re an academic like myself, you can get a good number of offers from lecturers for student assistant postions. Again from my experience, you could do a lot as a student assistant because most likely you’ll be working on a research area with a professor or doctor which can be quite interesting. 

On working after studies, I will only be able to speak from personal research and information that I found online. It is a fact that professionals are paid huge sums of money here. However, for one to not face any limitations in getting a job, such a person needs to have a good (not perfect) command of the German language. So, in order to not fall short in this area, you should spend a good part of your program period learning the language. Last I checked, there is a minimum amount to be paid to people with certain educational qualifications in each industry. The mimimum amount for a PhD holder is higher than that for master’s degree holders. 

After your studies, you will be given an extra 18 months to get something doing. As long as you earn enough to keep renewing your visa, have a good financial record, and are contributing to the economy, you will be welcome to stay back.

SOME TIPS FOR APPLYING

1.   When applying, apply for courses that you are qualified for. The course should be related to what you studied as an undergraduate.

2.   When applying, do so wisely. Look for courses with no restriction on admission if your grades are not that good, and also even if your grades are very good. Most schools indicate if there's a restricted admission for the program or not with “NC” (numerus clausus) meaning restricted. Some just spell it out clearly. 'Restricted' just means they take only a limited number of students each year; so they receive all the applications and then take only the best according to their own metrics. One could apply to a couple of schools and because of the above reasons not get any admission. With regards to applying for a student visa, having an admission equally important as having funding.

3.   Try to brush up on your undergrad courses before coming to Germany if your course is very technical, else you may struggle in the first semester. This is especially if you’ve been out of practice for a while.

4.   You are advised to search for and join a WhatsApp group where you'll get more information about the application process from others who have experienced it, and some others like you who are currently going through the process too.