1. How was your experience as an international exchange student at Bucerius and in Hamburg? What did you surprise, what was different to your home school / home city?
Michael’s experience at Bucerius was interesting because it presented an excellent opportunity to meet other students from around the world and to learn about how laws work in different jurisdictions. Hamburg also presented many interesting activities to take part in, such as ice skating at Planten und Blomen and visiting a chocolate museum.
For Evelyn, coming from the University of Amsterdam, which has a big law faculty, a big difference was the approachability of all professors and the cozier atmosphere at the law school.
One of the biggest differences was the student discount on the S-Bahn and U-Bahn. In Australia, students get a half price discount but having the student travel card in Hamburg made visiting new locations and meeting up with people very easy and convenient.
2. You both have been serving as student representatives for the international exchange students group for the last months. What were the most important and / or surprising issues you had to deal with?
The most important issue to deal with was ensuring as many international students engaged with the program, with other international students and with the German students.
The existence of the Quiddy buddy program was very useful to encourage this, as well as events throughout the semester such as Karneval organized by the German students or the Christmas Bakery organized by the International Office.
3. In November, you organized an International Games Night for the exchange and German students. Tell us more about this idea!
The International Games Night was a successful idea in two main ways: The first is that it provides an opportunity for international and German students to interact over fun board and card games. Playing games helped to overcome some of the initial hesitation between the two groups. The second is that it helped to create connections between students for future social events or friendships.
