The beginning of my studies here in Stuttgart have been exiting and interesting. I study bioproduct engineering at TAMK and during my exchange I´m taking the Print and Packaging minor studies at Stuttgart Media University. The Print Media Technologies faculty is entirely in English taught program which means that the majority of the students are international.
I have noticed a lot of differences in the academic culture between Stuttgart and Finland. The professors here in Stuttgart are very proud of their titles and are very formal. The professors expect you to address them formally and they also dress formally, many of the male professors wear a suit. In Germany people are even more punctual than in Finland and at least in the academic world they have a lot of rules. Despite all that, everyone I have met is extremely nice and friendly.
There are also many similarities to studying in Finland. One thing I was quite surprised about when I first saw my timetable was that many of the courses I attend are practical and quite independent. For some reason I thought in Germany there would be a lot of theory-based learning but I was wrong and now I luckily have only a few traditional lectures in a week. In Finland I’m used to learning by doing more than by reading so this was a pleasant surprise. I attend a large and demanding project course for a company, so I here learn more by working than by traditional reading.
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