Semester Exchange?
There must be a reason for everything you do in life and the reasons for undertaking a semester exchange can vary from person to person. Some want to be an element of innovation in their field, some are looking for the right stepping stone to pursue his/her dreams and achieve their career goals, some just want a taste of the international curriculum and culture and explore. I belonged to the latter category. It is important to understand that although this whole idea of staying away from comfort zone in a totally different corner of the world seems quite fascinating and adventurous but there must be a better and more solid reason for you to go for it as grass always seems to be greener on the other side. Not everyone can easily cope up to the new environment or may find it difficult to make new friends for deriving inspiration and motivation in the that time of difficulties and loneliness.
Application Process
Basic Criteria:
- CPI greater than or equal to 7
- No semester exchange in the final year (as per the new rules of our department).
Timeline: I started the process a bit late, somewhere in the last week of September for an exchange in my 6th Semester which starts in February as per the DTU timetable. The process of exchange programme can be time consuming because it includes a number of steps which have been explained in detail later and the deadline for application should be confirmed from the Dean IR office as soon as possible. Generally, the process should be started 4-5 months before your semester begins in the exchange university if you want a scholarship from the sponsors at the Technical University of Denmark as they have limited funds for each semester. I was lucky as well as fast enough to get everything sorted out quickly. The seniors who have already been on a semester exchange can be the key resources for all the information you need, from scratch until packing up your bags and even later and I have tried to do the same in this article.
Course Matching: The first step is to mail the International Officer of DTU, letting him/her know that you are interested followed by long process of matching the courses. The DUGC should be convinced that even after undertaking a semester exchange you will be able to complete your graduation in 4 years which is possible only if you could match the courses running at DTU with the courses you will be taking at IIT Bombay in the following semesters. It sounds easy but it gets really time consuming specially if you want to avail the scholarship due to some conditions like at least 3 courses you take must be from the field of industrial biotechnology (not even pharmaceutical biotechnology). This is verified by the International Officer at DTU first, followed by your Faculty Advisor and DUGC and then finally sent to Dean IR. My application got rejected twice. The course mapping gets easier if you have already completed a few extra courses like 1 or 2 institute/department electives in your second year. The whole process reduces to zero if you could convince a senior to handover his/her course map to you. PS: No one ever says no to treats ?.
Figure: This is just an example how the course map can be prepared. The total number of credits remains same or more with other constraints like core courses and electives to be done within 4/5 years of your study. The details of the courses should be included as well.
SoP and LoR: Next thing you need is the statement of purpose to convince the sponsors describing about your motive, your past projects if they are related to biotechnology and if you don’t have anything, write the best you can about BB101. The last and final thing is a letter of recommendation from a professor. PS: DO NOT offer treats to the sponsors or professors ?.
Visa: Once everything gets approved, you apply for a visa. The process will be started by the International Officer at DTU and you just need to visit VFS Mumbai twice.
The time it takes is completely variable. Mine took around 15 days but some students had to wait for 2 months.
Starting New Year with a Bang!
I began my journey on 1st January giving my new year the best start as possible. Adding to it, the complimentary tour around Qatar, Doha was an icing on the cake specially for an architecture and automobile lover like me. The beautiful sight of its never ending skyscrapers and the world’s most expensive cars was itself a treat to eyes.3-week course and settling downAs mentioned earlier, I received my visa quite early in December and hence had 2 options, either take up an internship during January or a 3-week course at DTU. I decided to opt for the later and undertook a lab course at DTU. I reached Denmark on 1st January and it could not be a better start for the year. Due to miscommunication, I could not register for the lab course as it was already full and hence had to take up a random course which was equally good as I could actually go around and adjust myself better to the new place.
Introductory Week: DTU, Copenhagen (Denmark)An amazing introduction week was held for exchange students as well as the new entrants in the last week for January to prepare therefor the new semester beginning in February. Wasn’t really fruitful for me quantitatively as I had been there for 1 month and was experienced enough bur qualitatively, it helped to grow my limited social circle, meeting some interesting people and finding new friends and of course getting used to the immensely popular drinking culture of Denmark or Europe at large.
The first solo trip to Italy
Living under a temperature of -8 degrees for 25 days, the only thing my eyes wanted to see was sun and feel it’s warmth. The need was pretty urgent but difficult to fulfil as the whole of Europe is freaking cold during January. So, I decided to go forward with my best bet to find sun which was the southernmost country of Europe - Italy. So, the very next day of introductory week, I was off to Italy for a quick, refreshing and the first solo trip of my life. Travelling through the night, sleeping in the bus and visiting around the cities in the day, I covered or more appropriately conquered Italy in all the 4 directions covering Milan, Venice, Rome within 4 days. It was a pretty hectic trip but one of the most enriching experience I will ever encounter in my life. While Milan enthrals you with its shopping streets, Venice stuns you with its floating buildings and Rome with its historical beauty. Lovely escape from cold!
Semester and the non-stop expeditionIt is usually easier for Indian students to cope up with any type of curriculum due to our the intense amount of training given to us during the high school and the under graduation period. So, all thanks to the education system in India that none of us found any type of difficulty to fetch some good grades even after just sailing around Europe for the first 3 months of the semester. The expedition then continued in all four directions from Spain to Budapest and London to Italy covering 14 countries. It is beyond words to express those feelings but I have tried my best to pen it down and have added some pictures giving a glimpse of the unforgettable moments.
Celebrating Holi with the “goras” because you can never take India out of an Indian.
The customary Institute Election DP in front of Madame Tussauds,
Amsterdam. (Might use got the campaign in the next elections :p )
Brussels, Belgium: Not being a keen chocolate lover myself, I was least interested in the history and kingdom of chocolates but those waffles are <3 .
PS: The delirium bar in Brussels hold the Guinness Book Record for maximum types of beers. Malmo, a small Swedish town which is about 25 km from Copenhagen worked as a perfect weekend getaway with friends as well as add one more country to your list (haha). Do not forget to visit the one of the most expensive sky bars in the world located in the heart of the town. You can easily spot these amazingly talented street artists throughout Europe.
Canary Islands (Spain): Being a north Indian, even Italy wasn’t warm enough for me as I packed my bags again pretty determined to find the sun in Tenerife and Gran Canaria islands (80 km from northern Africa), Spain. Almost everything was happening to me for the first time: being on an island and trekking a volcano (the unearthly rocks look like craters on moon) with a german picnic made this trip filled with adrenaline rush which was soothed by deep sea diving (the most peaceful feeling) and riding on a cruise cutting through the vast ocean on all the four sides. Scuba diving takes you closer to peace, slowing things down, filling you with positivity and making you realise the importance of life. If the great ocean can calm itself in its innermost parts, so can you!
A night in London (UK):
I have always been lucky enough to get visa on arrival but this time, I had to go through a strict immigration check due to the London Parliament terrorist attack just 2 days ago and the authorities finally issued a visa for 24 hours. It was a night stopover with not much to do but I couldn’t afford to waste the opportunity of being in London. Stepping on the British’s native territory gave me a sense of pride as if I wanted to scream: “Bharat Mata ki Jai” but that would have been too mellow dramatic!
An Expedition to Eastern Europe:
The last long trip while rolling up my sleeves up to fight for the end semester exams once again. Eastern Europe can be easily said to have the most beautiful women and places, starting from
Prague (Czech Republic) which I was lucky enough to see from a height of 12,000 feet (4km) while jumping out of an airplane. Yes! I am talking about skydiving.
Amazing fact is both scuba diving and skydiving being adventurous sports, teaches you and makes you feel totally different. One compels you to let it all go while the other gives everything to you.
Followed by
Vienna (Austria), which in short is a combination of Prague and Venice mixed with some music or better known as the “Mozart’s Opera” (below).
Bratislava (Slovakia): Prices go skydiving here XD (believe it or not, most of the things were cheaper than India). There is not much to see around and hence, going all out on a shopping spree would be your best bet.
Budapest (Hungary): A lot of things to do in this happening city filled with joy and beauty. Going to the famous natural thermal hot springs and spa after caving upto a depth of almost 100 meters inside the Earth work like a universal healer as if filling the tired human bodies with new spirit and enthusiasm.
The last adventure: DTU AerosportIt is so cool when your university has its own flying club with gliders and motor planes available for the students to fly!!! Done with my exams and last 10 days in Denmark, I decided to learn the tired human bodies with new spirit and enthusiasm.
flying. It could not end in a better way.Undertaking this semester exchange to DTU has been the best decision of my life and I believe, the experience has evolved me not just intellectually but also into a better human being widening my perspectives and making me more understanding and open to accept differences. After 5 months, I finally came back home travelling across half of the world and can proudly say, there is nothing greater than India that I have encountered during my journey. Everything in my motherland is common but still unique, everyone is an individual but still together. I agree there are some serious problems which we need to fight but who doesn’t and we will eventually come over it and as the
saying goes “Home Sweet Home but the journey will never stop!”Finally, I would like to thank Laksh Agarwal, Ankit Patil, Mathili Patel, Ekansh Garg, Ashwin Dravid and Yash for being amazing travel buddies and Arnav Dewan, the current ChEA Editor for giving me an opportunity to pen down my thoughts and experiences. PS: I am not a travel blogger or a writer and this being my first attempt at writing something like this is completely open for constructive criticism.
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