The Central University of Technology (CUT) and its German partner of 20 years, Aalen University of Applied Sciences, have exchanged more than just research, they have also gifted their students with priceless intercultural experiences that have prepared them to become global citizens.
Speaking at the institutions’ joint 20th anniversary celebrations, some of these students regarded travelling to either South Africa or Germany as an opportunity to learn about themselves.
It was in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic when Rebecca Eisele found herself in the southernmost part of the world for the first time in her life, and in spite of the social limitations that came with the pandemic, she says she still felt the vibrant soul of South Africa.
Even though she struggled to adapt to the country’s dry air and weather conditions, Rebecca believes that Germany can learn a lot from South Africa’s diversity. “Despite how far SA is actually away from home here in Germany, people made me feel at home so quickly.”
For Jan Poehler, the best thing to happen to him in South Africa is the quality of the friendships he made. “I have really learnt a lot about myself and other cultures. For me it wasn’t only about the new environment and new culture, but all the friendships,” he narrates, adding that the CUT community went the extra mile to make him feel at home.
Jan treasures the rugby exposure he got in Bloemfontein, which is the home of The Cheetahs as well as CUT’s Ixias rugby team and the University of the Free State’s Shimlas.
“Without doubt, the world is changing tremendously in terms of connectedness,” states Pearl, a CUT Welkom campus outbound mobility student who spent six months in Germany.
Socio-culturally, cultural differences, being in a totally different society and a different language were some of the challenges she had to navigate.
Pearl was an M-Tech student in marketing when she was selected for the exchange programme and flew to Germany. There, she took up undergraduate marketing modules despite being a post-grad student back home. Nonetheless, this didn’t set her back by any inch as it gave her an international industry exposure of a lifetime.
Rebecca and Jan joined the Bloemfontein proceedings live from Germany, while Pearl presented via a live link from Welkom.
Another student who holds Aalen University dear to his heart is electrical engineering student Siphiwe Mkhwanazi. One thing about being in Germany, reports Siphiwe, “you get to miss the sun. But once you move back home, you miss the life-changing networks, cross-cultural relationships and technological innovations.”
One of the highlights of Siphiwe’s stay was when it was the turn of South African students to organise an event in which they shared the story of their country, the food and people. “It was a great success because most of the people after the event said their next vacation was going to be in South Africa.”
For Siphiwe, going abroad was an opportunity to be an ambassador and change the perceptions people have about his country. “On my presentation, I spoke about getting hold of our own narrative, because not everything that is online is as is when they get here. So, that is why most people, when they get to Africa or South Africa, are surprised because the perception is that it’s just a jungle, you know. There are no cities and things like that. So, you get that opportunity when you travel, to sort of change the narrative,” he tells Sunday World.
The 28-year-old from Soweto, Gauteng, says he didn’t have any fears when he left CUT for Aalen. Instead, what he experienced was overwhelming excitement for the opportunity to broaden his worldview and increase his international exposure. He says he wouldn’t think twice should another opportunity for travel open up. All this positivity is because of how thoroughly CUT’s international office prepares its students for life away from home.
“It organises information sessions first, so before you even apply, you know exactly what you are applying for and what are your responsibilities and all those things. And also travelling for people whom it’s their first time taking a flight; how to read the screens in the airport so that you don’t miss your flight. I know it’s things that are simple, but for someone who is doing the flying for the first time, it’s not as simple as it sounds,” he applauds CUT.
To date, a total of 135 students have participated in the exchange programme, benefiting from the two countries’ unique cultures, diverse people, food and institutional heritages.
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