Nearby yet so different

One meter high and one meter wide, made of shiny steel, decorated with the flags of Germany, France and Switzerland, and packed with everything you need to know about studying in the triangular area where three borders meet – plus a handful of gifts. With the new mobile information stand, a kind of luxury bicycle trailer, Florence Dancoisne from the International Office at the University of Freiburg provides students – from undergrads to PhDs – with information about the possibilities of studying at Eucor – The European Campus. There is a choice of five universities in three countries – and anyone who is matriculated at one of the universities can take part. Rimma Gerenstein talked to Dancoisne about why she is undertaking this information tour of Freiburg’s faculties.

Photos, graphic design: Aaron Amat and rea_molko/stock.adobe.com/Sandra Meyndt

Ms Dancoisne, what made you think  of turning a bicycle trailer into a mobile information stand?

Florence Dancoisne: I wanted to make students at all levels aware of the fact that Eucor studies are easy and individual. It’s not the classical foreign study trip, but a concise form of mobility – for one or two lectures a week you go to another university that is close to Freiburg. There’s no stress about moving, no costs. For instance, the International Office reimburses train tickets. So I thought a mobile information stand was just the right idea. And a bicycle trailer also fits in well with the concept of Eucor: local, fast, uncomplicated.

Why would you need a mobile information stand?

We want people at the university to know more about the mobility of Eucor. If you don’t know about it, you can’t make use of it. When you’re studying you soon become overloaded with information, so you don’t really feel like clicking through websites and looking for the right type of foreign study visit. We bring the information to the undergraduates and postgraduates, practically to their door – from the Rempartstraße Mensa canteen in the city center to the Faculty of Biology to the Faculty of Engineering campus. It’s a quick and easy way to let people know about something.

No costs, no stress about moving: Florence Dancoisne (left) explains to students about studying abroad under the umbrella of the European Campus. Photo: Harald Neumann

What questions are you asked most often?

Above all specialist subject-related questions: what course can I take, what’s particularly suited to my discipline, how are the grades I earn recognized in Freiburg? And the most crucial question: who can actually take part in Eucor mobility?

Please tell!

Everyone! Eucor is designed for undergraduates and postgraduates in any semester and from any discipline – they just have to be matriculated at one of the five universities that belong to the Eucor association.

So did you make use of Eucor when you were studying?

Sadly I didn’t. I studied for a long time in the USA, and when I came to Freiburg at the end of my degree little was known about it, so I missed out. But you don’t have to travel that far to gain the experience of studying abroad. Most people think France and Switzerland are like us, because they are so close to Germany – but I promise you: it’s quite different studying there, the university cultures are entirely different, and in the end you gain a different view of your neighbors.

Mobile information stand at the university

Studying with Eucor