Leipzig, located in the former GDR*, has developed a multicultural scene - a great place to be for a student
Leipzig is not one the main destinations of tourists. Still, its diversity of hip & traditional, modern & historical offers a great variety of interesting places to explore, like the Museum of Fine Arts, the 'Völkerschlachtdenkmal' or the 'Markt' (main square). In Leipzig Sustainable Development students get the possibility to choose from two different tracks, which combine envirnomental and economic topic areas. The short Q&A below tells you all you need to know about your mobility semester.
* German Democratic Republic
* German Democratic Republic
Which specialization tracks exist? And how is the workload and grading system?
We had to subscribe online to our chosen classes in Almaweb for which we received help from our advisors. As this was a mandatory mobility, I had the specification to choose three modules out of six. Each module would contain two lectures and a seminar. As I am part of the Joint program, all classes where taught in English. The workload varied depending on the module. The module “Water Resources Management” had a rather high workload and taught quite specific knowledge. It was sometimes very technical and the insights we gained concerning the life cycle analysis were too specific in my opinion. The module in “Energy Engineering and Management” was the best one offered as the professors would always upload their lectures on time, they were interesting, understandable, and the workload was fair. And in the end, the exam was fair as well. With the module “Land Management” I had the worst experience. The main professor decided not to upload an audio comment to his lecture and instead only uploaded his slides which is not helpful at all. As I was highly interested in his lecture, I asked him multiple times if he could improve his lecture. At some point he became offensive and unfortunately, not even the coordinators could really help me. Instead, we had to deal with the fact that we would not learn anything in this class. We had to write a paper and hold a presentation (we just uploaded our slides with an audio comment). The other class of that module would have been interesting as well, but the professor used very old data and therefore, I did not find it helpful either. The last class was a planning class which was fun, but we did only receive little to no background information. But at least I know that all my courses are going to be recognized as it is a mandatory mobility semester.
What should I prepare before the stay?
Obviously your housing situation, since you can start looking for a shared flat 1 or 2 months before your stay. Websites like www.wg-gesucht.de are the best source for shared private flats. If you are a non-EU citizen, perhaps also check your health insurance situation. Other than that, a stay in Leipzig is not that much different than moving to any other new place I’d say.
How did you find housing?
As I speak German, it was rather easy for me to find an apartment. I searched for a room to sublease via wg-gesucht.de. The rent in Leipzig is rather low (you can get an apartment for 200€). Most students live in the south or the east of Leipzig and I would recommend moving there as well. I was very happy with my flat mates, the location, and the apartment itself, but that always depends on you and the apartment you find. I decided to register myself in the city of Leipzig as I am planning to live here for a longer time.
How do I get around in the city?
By bike! This should be one of your first investments or if you are lucky enough and can bring one with you than do it. The semester fee for the Uni also contains a public transport ticket, so you can use this option, but I strongly recommend you discover the city by bike. It is faster, you are more independent and the bike infrastructure in Leipzig is decent enough to move swiftly and safe through the city. The rule of thumb is that you can reach every point from the city center in less than 20minutes by bike and especially in the summer you want to have your own bike when you are riding to the nearby lakes.
How do I meet people when I arrive?
Ask your flat or dorm mates where to go and if you are keen on discovering things by yourself, check out the event page on facebook, for example or go to any local café. Leipzig is very much a student city, so it shouldn’t be a problem to make friends.
How are the living expenses?
Life in Leipzig is rather cheap and when you are in the middle of a pandemic and all shops and cafés are closed, it is even cheaper. The rent is between 200 – 300 €, groceries have the same price as in Austria or are even a bit cheaper. You pay 200€ semester fee where the public transportation is already included. Generally, I would recommend having a bike in Leipzig as there is a lot to explore: there are many parks, lakes in the south, and museums in the city. There are many libraries (much more than in Graz) and there are also many cafés in which one could study. For me it was good that many of my fellow colleagues from Graz also went to Leipzig. Hence, I already knew some people here as it was difficult to get to know people during the pandemic.
Which cafés, bars, sports centers can you recommend?
Leipzig has tons of good cafes and bars and it depends where you end up living. My personal favourite is Café Bubu is the east. Other than that you can easily use Google Maps to find places near you with good reviews. If you come during the summer, you should spend most of your time in one of the many parks or lakes, instead of a café.
What is your ultimate tip to having a good time in the city?
Get a bike! Trust me, it is the most important thing to get around the city and having a great time. Being able to cycle home at 05:30am from a local rave in the middle of a forest is something you can’t do without having a trusty steel horse.
We had to subscribe online to our chosen classes in Almaweb for which we received help from our advisors. As this was a mandatory mobility, I had the specification to choose three modules out of six. Each module would contain two lectures and a seminar. As I am part of the Joint program, all classes where taught in English. The workload varied depending on the module. The module “Water Resources Management” had a rather high workload and taught quite specific knowledge. It was sometimes very technical and the insights we gained concerning the life cycle analysis were too specific in my opinion. The module in “Energy Engineering and Management” was the best one offered as the professors would always upload their lectures on time, they were interesting, understandable, and the workload was fair. And in the end, the exam was fair as well. With the module “Land Management” I had the worst experience. The main professor decided not to upload an audio comment to his lecture and instead only uploaded his slides which is not helpful at all. As I was highly interested in his lecture, I asked him multiple times if he could improve his lecture. At some point he became offensive and unfortunately, not even the coordinators could really help me. Instead, we had to deal with the fact that we would not learn anything in this class. We had to write a paper and hold a presentation (we just uploaded our slides with an audio comment). The other class of that module would have been interesting as well, but the professor used very old data and therefore, I did not find it helpful either. The last class was a planning class which was fun, but we did only receive little to no background information. But at least I know that all my courses are going to be recognized as it is a mandatory mobility semester.
What should I prepare before the stay?
Obviously your housing situation, since you can start looking for a shared flat 1 or 2 months before your stay. Websites like www.wg-gesucht.de are the best source for shared private flats. If you are a non-EU citizen, perhaps also check your health insurance situation. Other than that, a stay in Leipzig is not that much different than moving to any other new place I’d say.
How did you find housing?
As I speak German, it was rather easy for me to find an apartment. I searched for a room to sublease via wg-gesucht.de. The rent in Leipzig is rather low (you can get an apartment for 200€). Most students live in the south or the east of Leipzig and I would recommend moving there as well. I was very happy with my flat mates, the location, and the apartment itself, but that always depends on you and the apartment you find. I decided to register myself in the city of Leipzig as I am planning to live here for a longer time.
How do I get around in the city?
By bike! This should be one of your first investments or if you are lucky enough and can bring one with you than do it. The semester fee for the Uni also contains a public transport ticket, so you can use this option, but I strongly recommend you discover the city by bike. It is faster, you are more independent and the bike infrastructure in Leipzig is decent enough to move swiftly and safe through the city. The rule of thumb is that you can reach every point from the city center in less than 20minutes by bike and especially in the summer you want to have your own bike when you are riding to the nearby lakes.
How do I meet people when I arrive?
Ask your flat or dorm mates where to go and if you are keen on discovering things by yourself, check out the event page on facebook, for example or go to any local café. Leipzig is very much a student city, so it shouldn’t be a problem to make friends.
How are the living expenses?
Life in Leipzig is rather cheap and when you are in the middle of a pandemic and all shops and cafés are closed, it is even cheaper. The rent is between 200 – 300 €, groceries have the same price as in Austria or are even a bit cheaper. You pay 200€ semester fee where the public transportation is already included. Generally, I would recommend having a bike in Leipzig as there is a lot to explore: there are many parks, lakes in the south, and museums in the city. There are many libraries (much more than in Graz) and there are also many cafés in which one could study. For me it was good that many of my fellow colleagues from Graz also went to Leipzig. Hence, I already knew some people here as it was difficult to get to know people during the pandemic.
Which cafés, bars, sports centers can you recommend?
Leipzig has tons of good cafes and bars and it depends where you end up living. My personal favourite is Café Bubu is the east. Other than that you can easily use Google Maps to find places near you with good reviews. If you come during the summer, you should spend most of your time in one of the many parks or lakes, instead of a café.
What is your ultimate tip to having a good time in the city?
Get a bike! Trust me, it is the most important thing to get around the city and having a great time. Being able to cycle home at 05:30am from a local rave in the middle of a forest is something you can’t do without having a trusty steel horse.
(C) 3 photos David Baldauf
cover photo Nick Tweel
cover photo Nick Tweel