Scott Jobson (Auckland, New Zealand)

I decided to come to Göttingen as an exchange student in 2008 as I had heard about its reputation as one of the best universities and student towns in Germany. Seeing as Australia's best universities are in big cities and places where the University is the heart of the town don’t really exist, the way of life in Göttingen is something I really wanted to experience. I haven't been disappointed. The University offers excellent programs for international students, in which it takes no time to meet other likeminded people. Furthermore, the German language courses offered are very good and the city has an excellent mix of both international and German students, so that learning German and meeting Germans is not a problem either. The numerous bars, student parties and nightlife in the town facilitate this process even more.

As for the University, I enjoyed my exchange year so much that I came back in 2010 to do my master's degree in international economics. This has also been a great experience. The courses, whether in German in English, were for the most part very interesting and contemporary, and the facilities provided for economics students are also of a high level. I mostly chose to take seminars, which involved writing an academic paper of around 15 pages and doing a 20-30 min presentation, but subjects which were exam-based were also worthwhile, and the flexibility of having two different exam dates to choose from was something I really liked.

Overall, my experience in Göttingen has been a very enriching one. I now feel very at home in this town and have met a lot of great people along the way, as well as learning more than I could have possibly imagined! For students wanting to experience a proper German student town and study at a top university, as well as enjoy the vibrant mix of German and international students, I cannot recommend Göttingen highly enough!

Educational background: Bachelor Degree from the University of Technology, Sydney; Master student in International Economics at the University of Göttingen