A semester abroad in Estonia

Luca Beran, student in the Bachelor Industrial Engineering spent his semester abroad at the Tallinn University of Technology and sends us his impressions from the Estonian capital

Luca: "The time here since August has been a very exciting time with many highs and of course a few lows. The first two or three weeks after my arrival in Tallinn were definitely the most intense. It was a matter of getting an overview of the campus, finding an apartment, dealing with authorities and finding my way around the city. At the same time, I met so many new people in such a short time than ever before - after all, all international students arrive in Tallinn at the same time.

I was - and still am - positively surprised by the university. It offers students the very best conditions and is state-of-the-art in all respects. Unlike at MCI, I had to put together my own course schedule here. Due to changes, it was necessary to study the course offerings over and over again and to attend as many lectures as possible in the first few weeks to see which courses would really be relevant for me. However, after a short time everything had settled down and I reached a certain daily routine. During the week, I always had to attend many lectures and to study. After three online semesters, I now really enjoyed and still enjoy the face-to-face lectures and seminars - luckily the Covid situation in Estonia allows that*.

On the weekends I have experienced a lot of travel and got to know the people and cultures in the Baltic region. So I can really say a lot of positive things and also despite the current lack of sunlight here in the north, I am doing very well.

For me, I can definitely say that I have once again developed a lot, especially personally. I now see much more clearly what I want to achieve for myself in the future and where my values lie. I have noticeably improved in my collaboration with international students and teachers, and I will take a lot from this for my professional life. In a lot of group work I was challenged to cooperate with always different people and to work on a solution. In a new country, a new city and a new university, you have to approach people. If you can't do that, you'll have to learn it sooner or later.

I am glad that I was able to get to know another university from the inside. There will always be things that other universities do in a different way than ours in Austria. The same goes for the economic conditions and ways of thinking in Estonia, which are simply different from Austria. That was very good for me to see. I can recommend a semester abroad to everyone, if only to change one's own perspective on different things for once. And, of course, the English skills are also strengthened and improved.

My semester abroad in three words: Digitalization - Entrepreneurship - Cultures.

*Tallinn, Dezember 2021