Abid Faheem, India

Hello, my name is Abid Faheem, currently doing my PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi - India. I took the course Think Global, Act Local: Finding Solutions for Sustainability Challenges which was really helpful in deepening my understanding of contemporary global sustainability challenges.
The course provided me with a thorough insight into the global sustainability issues and how we can address them. As I come from the field of the development sector, the course proved to be quite beneficial for me in acquiring new perspectives and learning. Exciting and enlightening interactions with colleagues, course experts, and the course facilitator enriched the learning experience.

Bertrand Collins Ngong, USA

Before attending this course, Academic Writing in German was rather intuitive and not very clear to me. This course fulfilled all my expectations by covering a wide range of topics: scientific vocabulary, correct citation, writing an abstract, the grammar of a scientific text, writing a thesis paper, tips for a successful oral presentation, creating a bibliography and much more.

It was a very nice experience. This is the first course of my life where I have learned interesting things without feeling the usual pressure and stress of teaching. Dr. Marita Meyer is a highly competent, very professional, very patient and particularly methodical teacher. This course has helped me to write my term papers in German better and will help me all my life. Thank you!

Cristina Saura, Spain

I’m Cristina and I have worked in corporate Communication for more than 25 years. For the last couple of years, I have been working in an intercultural environment, as a member of an international team, interacting professionally with people from many different countries and backgrounds. That's why I enrolled in the course Switching Perspectives: Intercultural Communication and (Digital) Cross-Cultural Collaboration.

I was looking for insights and tactics that would help me to work in the best possible way in such diverse teams, and I certainly got them. The course mixes studies and scientific background on the subject with the analysis of real situations and case studies - to better understand, for example, conflicts based on different expectations or assumptions, as well as the concepts of culture and cultural dimensions. This training gives you a new vision of intercultural relations and helps you to take a practical approach to improve them and to achieve more effective and respectful communication.

Francesca Valente, Italy

The course Problem-Solving Skills for Multi-Stakeholder Challenges helped me a lot in gaining fruitful insights on problem-solving, providing interesting new theoretical perspectives about the field. During the course I had the chance to reflect about some challenges that I had to face in the past and to analyse the solutions identified. The multi-dimensional perspective, the opportunity to learn more about crisis and organisational change management have been the added value of the course for my future professional life. Last but not least, the opportunity to discuss with peers constituted the best way to learn, especially if you are, like me, a senior professional.

Frédérick Deschênes, Canada

Hello, my name is Frédérick and I live in Canada, Montréal, where I study philosophy. I took the course Academic Writing in German which was very helpful for me as I intend to do my PhD in Germany.

This course was very valuable for me because it familiarized us with the German academic style and its peculiarities. It also helped me to gain more confidence in my oral and written skills. I liked that my fellow students and I came from different disciplines, which always led to exciting and enriching discussions. Our lecturer took this diversity of backgrounds into account and always tried to adapt the content of the course to our interests.

Karen Hemphill, USA

My name is Karen and I have participated in the Academic Writing in German class twice. I have enjoyed the class very much, and I have learned a great deal about the differences between academic papers written in various parts of the world. It highlights so many aspects of the stylistic elements needed to write a strong academic text in German. The opportunity to interact with others, do presentations and learn from the instructor is fantastic. The instructor is engaging, knowledgeable, supportive and friendly.  It has been a great confidence builder and for those who are passionate about the German language, regardless of your age, I would encourage you to enroll in this course.  

Mathias Foit, Germany

I'm Mathias and I'm doing a PhD in queer history at the Freie Universität Berlin. Despite the German first name, I'm not a native speaker of German, but, since I study German history, I would like to start publishing in that language. The course Academic Writing in German offers a unique space to discuss the intricacies of German academic writing. The group was encouraging and respectful, and the instructor was very helpful. The course has given me confidence that, although I might not have a near-native command of the German language, I have all the tools it takes to write a good academic text in German.

Natalia Stręk, Poland

My name is Natalia, I'm a PhD candidate at Jagiellonian University in Krakow and I had the chance to participate in the course Problem Solving Skills for Multi-Stakeholder Challenges. At first, I thought that maybe I won't be the best fit for this course because I am not a business-person, but it turned out that the topic and the different methods can also be adopted to academia. I learned a lot about different tools and approaches on how we can deal with challenges in organizational development. I really liked the fact that the instructor was very open-minded and well prepared for this course.

Vincent Machado, France

I'm Vincent, a Master’s student in European Studies at Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University. Taking the course Switching Perspectives: Intercultural Communication and (Digital) Cross-Cultural Collaboration has been a great opportunity to learn about communication among different cultures. 

I enjoyed the diversity of the topics addressed in the sessions, mixing theories and practical exercises. Besides, the way the online sessions took place was in itself a way of practicing intercultural communication because the focus was put on exchanging with other international participants. This course has given me some useful tools: I feel more comfortable when collaborating with culturally different individuals, a great asset as I intend to evolve within an international workplace.

Vincent Valenteyn, Poland

An exceptional learning experience! The course Diversity Management in International Context brought together motivated enthusiasts, top experts, a highly knowledgeable instructor, and flawless course coordination. A must for those seeking deep insights into diversity dynamics on a global scale.

Under the guidance of the remarkable specialist Amanda Wichert, this course excelled. The key to its success lay in the vibrant interactions among a group of enthusiastic, motivated students eager to share experiences and elevate their understanding of diverse topics.

From registration to completion, course coordinator Maria Heckmann orchestrated a seamless journey for this course. Overall, it was a great experience from start to finish, leaving participants free to focus on absorbing valuable insights without any logistical and administrative worries.

Yushu Soon, Malaysia

In some courses you get the feeling that the end is approaching too fast, that a nice experience is already becoming a thing of the past. I had this feeling in the course Academic Writing in German with Dr. Marita Meyer and the other nice and dedicated fellow students who speak different first languages.

The curriculum was structured so effectively that my knowledge of linguistic and stylistic aspects of academic writing was deepened through interesting reading and goal-oriented writing assignments in a short period of time. I now feel more confident to write academic texts in German. In addition, Dr. Meyer taught the course with great dedication and sensitivity. Her constructive and encouraging feedback helped me a lot.

I particularly enjoyed the stimulating discussions and especially the round of presentations in the last sessions; for me, they not only seemed like oral exercises, but were also inspiring occasions in which I could experience my fellow students' motivation and passion for their own topics and for the German language.