Twelve students from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce visit South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences in Meschede
Twelve students from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce are currently spending two months as guests at South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences in Meschede. Invited by the Faculty of Engineering and Economic Sciences, they are taking part in an Erasmus exchange programme between the two universities to discover Germany.
The group of students is studying various Bachelor's and Master's programmes at the university in Bangkok and also comes from different countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. They heard about the opportunity to come to Meschede through a call for applications from their home university. "We wanted to learn more about the cultural differences between Asia and Europe, so we applied for the exchange programme," says Aung Kyaw Ksent. The young man was also curious to find out what makes the German education system so special.
"In Thailand, for example, we are given research assignments and write seminar papers," explains Aung. "We do that here too, but the support in class is more intensive and we feel more pressure." Overall, teaching is more systematic and organised. The young man also observes cultural differences in everyday life outside the university that might not be obvious to locals: "A lot of people here drive cars with manual transmissions, that doesn't happen here, everyone drives automatic."
Everyday life in Meschede is completely unfamiliar to the group. They live in Rangoon or Bangkok, cities with more than five million inhabitants. "Here in this small town, it's a completely different environment, quiet and beautiful, I like it, but it's completely different," says Chaw Su Nendar. Another culture shock: the food. "A lot of the food here is cooked with cream or cheese, we're not used to that, we tend to eat sour or spicy food," says the visiting student. "We are trying to get used to the food in the canteen, but we also prepare our own food more often".
As well as attending seminars with German students, the programme also includes excursions. A highlight for the group was a visit to Cologne. At weekends and during a free week at the end of the semester, there is also time to visit other places. The students then plan to visit larger European cities such as Amsterdam, Paris or Munich.
Cooperation with the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
The cooperation between South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences and the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) was initiated in 2015 by Prof Dr Elmar Holschbach and Dr Jörg Thiemann. Both have many years of professional experience in Asia. Dr Thiemann lived in Thailand for more than seven years and provides intensive support to the UTCC students in Germany. Excursions to Thailand take place every year and staff and students from both universities visit each other. South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences is currently working on a dual degree programme at both universities for all campuses. UTCC is the oldest private university in Thailand and is part of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.