Ebba Mölle: Albert-Ludwigs Universität, Freiburg, Germany

Why did you want to do an exchange?

My main goal was to experience something new and to learn about forestry outside of Sweden. But also to meet new people and get to know another culture. I think an exchange year is a perfect opportunity to travel and see the world without taking a break from your studies. For me Germany was an obvious choice. Germany has a long tradition of forestry, and is a pioneer in many industries. Additionally, I have German relatives and have visited the country many times. The University in Freiburg has a good reputation and it hosts many international students, providing me with good opportunities to meet people from around the world. Furthermore I believe Freiburg is an excellent choice if you love nature. The city is located next to the Black forest, known for its large forested mountains and the long history of forestry.

Which courses did you take?

The university in Freiburg did not have a block schedule, instead you take 5 to 6 courses at the same time for the entire semester. All courses were examined at the end of the semester during exam week. For the most part I took courses from the core module “International Forestry” but I could choose to take courses from all modules. This is all the six courses I took in Freiburg:

Forest and global change 21102 (Exam)
In this course, we discussed the effects of climate change on forestry and also talked about policies in a global forest context. The course content was somewhat repetitive compared to what I had learned previously, but I particularly enjoyed the policy aspect and learned a lot about forestry outside of Sweden.

Applied Environmental Statistics 21101 (No exam only homework each week)
This was one of the tougher courses, with a considerable amount of new information to learn. It's perfect if you want to improve your skills in R studio. Each week, we had statistical Homework to complete in R studio and then submit it to the professor. If you passed 60% of the homeworks you also passed the course. I would say I spent the most hours on this course, but I also learned the most from it.

Multi-Disciplinary Perspective on Environmental Sciences 11101 (Written essay) To be honest, I did not particularly enjoy this course. It was not well-organized, and the lectures were a bit messy. Each week, a new researcher would come and talk to us students about their work, as well as discuss the scientific methods used in their research field. Personally, I found the course to be too philosophical, with questions like 'What is science?', 'What is knowledge?', and 'What is it that we can know?

Forest Inventory and Information Systems 22303 (Exam)
In this course, we learned about different inventory methods and used QGIS in various workshops. While the lectures largely consisted of repetition from my bachelor's program, I found the tasks in QGIS to be quite beneficial. I believe the course lacked an international perspective, as most discussions centered around Germany. Despite this, I still enjoyed the course.

Plantation Forestry 22304 (Exam)
This was a very nice and informative course, with discussions and examples about plantation forestry in various parts of the world. We had a great professor and each lecture provided plenty of information to take in.

Biodiversity and Conservation Biology 12502 (Written essay)
This was my favorite course of the year, featuring plenty of discussions and group activities. The main focus was on biodiversity research and the utilization of various conservation methods to enhance biodiversity and sustain healthy ecosystems. I particularly appreciated the smaller class size, with more active student participation.

Overall, I had a positive experience with education in Germany. I found Germans to be well organized, with clear schedules and education plans. However, I found the lectures to be a bit too long (4 hours) and certain courses lacked engagement. I would enjoy more group work and perhaps more discussions, as opposed to passive listening for extended periods.

What was the student life like outside of your courses?

Freiburg is known to be a city with an active student life. Every week, the student organization organized a variety of activities and parties. There truly is something for everyone. You could go to cooking class, or language cafes or participate in hikes and travel to different locations outside the city. There are several beautiful places in the black forest that you can reach by bus or train. For example, you can visit Titisee, a famous lake in the Black forest. Additionally, you can visit both Colmar and Strasbourg in France, famous for
their christmas markets. I also enjoyed skiing in the Alps which is easy to reach by train from Freiburg. You could also participate in ESN (Erasmus Student Network) activities as an erasmus student and they have activities planned every weekend. There are also plenty of sports you could take part in. Albert-Ludwigs Universität offers something called “Hochschulsport” which you apply for at the beginning of the semester. It is quite difficult to get a spot in one of the groups but you can choose to do more or less any sport. I attempted to join the mountainbike group and my friend started playing Rugby.

What was your best experience during your exchange?

One of the highlights of the exchange was when all first year masters students traveled to a small cabin in the Black forest known as “die Erstihütte”. We spent the weekend in this cabin and had a great time together. We did everything from hiking in the mountains and swimming in a frozen lake to eating local cheese, playing board games and drinking beer. This excursion provided a wonderful opportunity to bond with fellow students, and I made many new friends after the trip.

What was the biggest challenge during your exchange?

The biggest challenge for me was to make the German wintersemester fit with the spring and autumn semester in Sweden. The semesters overlap so either you take double courses or you need to take a course in the summer to get your credits. For me it worked to start the autumn semester in Sweden and then travel to Germany and start the Winter semester. A few weeks overlapped between the semesters but I had very helpful teachers so I was able to manage.

Advice for future exchange students

My biggest advice is to apply for a scholarship before your exchange year. Having that extra income abroad can be incredibly helpful. Additionally, I highly recommend participating in as many activities as possible and seizing every opportunity to travel and experience new things.