I have always admired Germany as one of the most developed countries in Europe. However, I could never even think of the opportunity to study there. But I was fortunate enough to participate in a special student exchange program between the Ukrainian National Forestry University and the Rottenburg University of Applied Forest Sciences.

I lived in Germany for three months. My three-month stay at a guest university was covered by the program and funded by the Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM Scholarship Fund. The University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg has prepared everything necessary for my stay in Germany.

It was my first trip to Germany, a country I was not familiar with and a language I did not speak. However, almost everyone at the university spoke English, so there were no communication problems. My first impression of Germany was very good, everything seemed very tidy and surrounded by beautiful nature.

My accommodation was a 50-minute walk from the university and a 10-minute walk from the city center. The distance between my residence and the university was quite significant, but I could use a public bus or bike provided by the university. Several people lived with me in the house. Most of them were Germans, but there were also representatives of other countries.

The University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg is a university that offers students the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. The University is very interested in students’ development and organizes various interesting excursions to enterprises whose activities are relevant to the training of future specialists. I was able to join a tour of several enterprises organized for freshmen to get them acquainted with the potential prospects for their further development as professionals. I was also pleasantly surprised by the warm and close relationship between students and academic staff of the university. The university has two lecture rooms, a technical and chemical laboratory and a campus. The campus of the university has many green areas where students have the opportunity to enjoy some time outdoors with friends. There is also a cafeteria on the territory of campus, with a wide range of dishes at affordable prices.

I spent most of my time in the university's technical laboratory, working on the experimental part of my master's work. The purpose of my work was to study the effect of different polymer films (SoRET, SoPa and LDPE) on the properties of plywood. For me, it was a great opportunity to work with new equipment and gain experience from competent specialists.