As a student at the Technical University of Berlin I had the luck of hearing about the Nordic Water Network while taking courses in fluid mechanics and got the opportunity to participate at a number of NWN events. Subsequently I learned about the possibility of writing a thesis at one of the partner universities. The application process to write my master thesis aboard was fairly simple, once I talked to some possible supervisors and found a well suiting thesis at the Aalborg University (AAU) under the supervision of Professor Sørensen. Despite the pandemic, my work could take place and was only postponed for a few months, so that I could move to Denmark at the beginning of September.

When I arrived at the university, I was warmly welcomed by Professor Sørensen, who introduced me to all the current health regulations and gave me a campus tour and all the other necessary information. I was immediately taken aback by how direct the interaction was and, sometimes, I was almost laughed at when I addressed someone as “professor” instead of their first name. Although this was extremely pleasant, it took some time to get used to it. The entire supervision of Professor Sørensen and Professor Hærvig stayed just as casual and pleasant as it was at the beginning. They took a lot of time and were always available for questions as my office was only a few meters away from theirs and I was always welcome.

My thesis was regarding Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) of natural convection along enhanced surfaces.  As I specialized in fluid dynamics in my previous studies, the part of heat transfer in  natural convection phenomena were fairly new for me. Therefore, the first month was based mainly on obtaining theoretical knowledge and getting familiar with the experimental setup and its automation. Once I was able to get the results that needed to be discussed, we had weekly meetings that led to great supervision and where I learned a lot not only about my subject but also about the differences in the functionality of universities in Germany and Denmark. Even though there was a lot to be learned and the project was a full-time job, I was free to decide when to work as I had my own key card to the lab, buildings, and my office. Thanks to this I also had a great time outside the university life.

Denmark in general is not a lot more expensive than Germany, except for alcohol in bars. Denmark has a great social system. This includes great parks with free golf and disc-golf courses, but in the case of Aalborg also a housing guarantee for students. There is a nice website (aku-aalborg.dk) to apply for rooms and apartments, which also includes the option of a housing guarantee which means you will definitely get an accommodation, but it might be one that you did not apply for. In general, these accommodations are priced very reasonably and are located all around the city, making it possible to live fairly close to the university too. However, private accommodations which can also be contacted via AKU, should be viewed with caution as they might have lower standards.

Due to the pandemic, I traveled relatively little in Denmark, but the measures were quite relaxed compared to the German rules. Therefore, the sports facilities were also open, which are very cheap and well equipped due to government subvention. Shortly after my arrival I discovered the “Cable Park” on a city tour, which I can highly recommend. This is a wakeboard facility of a non-profit association. Of course, I immediately spoke with a present member, joined the club, and went wakeboarding the next morning at 6am for sunrise. As many long-term members had a key and always posted on Facebook when they are going, until mid-November there was almost daily wakeboarding before or after work or university hours, followed by a sauna session with an impressive view. Since everyone in the club was always in a good mood, it was also possible to make good friends very quickly. Here I also learned about “Streetmekka”, which is a gym not far from the university where you can do all sorts of sports besides my favorites basketball and bouldering for a monthly fee of 100 Krones (13€). Most of the time there were the same people and the atmosphere was always great. Since new hygiene measures from mid-November forbade the visit

of the sauna and showers while wakeboarding and at air and water temperatures below 8 °C, the hard-boiled members became rare, I spent a large part of my free time in Streetmekka from there on.

All in all, I have to say that I had a very exciting and interesting time and was able to learn an incredible amount in a very short time. For this great experience I am highly grateful to all who made it possible, especially to the Nordic Water Network, Markus Fischer and Professor Sørensen.

Hei, my name is Ludwig Kuhn, and I’ve been student at the Technical University of Berlin.

 

My subject during the Bachelor as well as the Master studies was Engineering Science, with a special focus on fluid flow mechanics and technical acoustics. During my Master’s, I took a lot of courses regarding analysis and design of wind energy turbines. Since I never got to the point of doing exchange, I pictured the Master’s Thesis as last chance to go abroad during the studies.

I remembered Prof. Thamsen from the Department of Fluid System Dynamics talking about the opportunity to write a Thesis abroad, that’s why I contacted him and was directed to Markus Fischer and the Nordic Water Network. This contact was established around fall 2017, with my intention to do the exchange after the summer term 2018. It was good to start planning everything early. Markus gave me the possibility to choose a supervisor at one out of five partner universities, and I decided to go the furthest north possible, to Norges teknisknaturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU) in Trondheim.

 

Master’s thesis at NTNU

I was lucky to get in touch with my supervisor, Lars Roar Sætran, in March 2018. He just did a sabbatical and had an office at TU Berlin. He offered me several projects to choose from, and we talked a lot about living and studying in Trondheim and Norway. I told him, that I would like to do experimental work, which was fine with him.

The contract was set up in June, and the final confirmation from NTNU came in July. That was a bit late, since the autumn term at NTNU starts mid-August. The most difficult thing was getting an apartment, since I was told that I wouldn’t be eligible for the SiT (Students in Trondheim) housing. Later, I found out that I could have applied for a spot anyways. Most of the private rented apartments I found on www.hybel.no and www.finn.no were for one-year rent only. Therefore, I was grateful to get a room in a shared apartment in Bakklandet, very close to both the city center and the NTNU Gløshaugen campus. I lived there together with three Norwegian students.

Photo © Ludwig Kuhn

The work at the master’s thesis started right away. I got a great introduction to the wind tunnel, the measurement equipment and the wind turbine model by Jan Bartl and Franz Mühle, two former PhD students of Lars. I was able to have a couple of days in the wind tunnel to do initial measurements and think about the experiments I had to conduct. For the final experiments, I got 8 days of wind tunnel time at the end of October. I was able to work very independently. The processing of the measurement data took the rest of the year, and the writing process last into spring 2019.

Besides the Master’s Thesis, I took a course called “Introduction to Norwegian History”, to experience the university system. It is quite different from the German system, and involves a lot of taking the students by the hand. Most of the courses are held in English, and both lecturers and students are very fluent in speaking it. Communication with Norwegians was never a problem, not even with seniors.

 

Personal experience

 

The Norwegian culture is very nice. I was lucky enough to have a friend driving me up to Trondheim, and along the way we were really amazed by the relaxed traffic situation. Basically no one tailgates or blows his horn, and with the maximum speed of 90 km/h (120 km/h at some parts next to Oslo), everything is forced to slow down and take some time. The next thing was the pure size of the country. The trip from Oslo to Trondheim took us way longer than expected, since we were taking the road over the Dovre mountains, Norwegians famous E6.
The main cliché about Norwegians is, that they are very introverted. I experienced them to be very open and friendly. Probably, being on first-name base with everyone pushes that as well. I had very nice talks with my supervisor about our weekend plans, such as hiking and skiing. I never experienced that in Germany.

Photo © Ludwig Kuhn

Trondheim itself is the third largest city of Norway with about 190000 inhabitants. With about 20% of them being students, I found myself in a perfect student city. Basically, everywhere you go and everything you do involves students. The universities sports club (NTNU) is Norway’s biggest sports club. You can join basically every sport you want, and there are lots of different music groups and student associations as well. Every year, there is either the worlds biggest student festival (ISFiT) or a big cultural event (UKA). Both of them involve a lot of student volunteering.
The big plus of Norway is the nature, which can be explored by hiking and sleeping in cabins. Most of the Norwegian families have a private cabin in the mountains, and NTNU has more than 20. They are mostly placed in the areas surrounding Trondheim and are reached by bus, train or ferry, with hikes of different length afterwards. The more touristy areas of Norway however are far away, and have to be reached by car (multiple day rides) or plain.

Some of the downsides are the ridiculously high prices for alcohol and sweets, as well as the lack of a proper food and party culture.

Both fall and spring term have their upsides. During fall, a lot of international students are in Trondheim. The term lasts not that long, so most of them are here for 4-5 month only. The fall is very rainy, but it’s also the best season for Northern lights. The spring term includes the proper winter, which can last to April, and then the awakening of the nature as well as the long days in summer. There are also more festivities going on, including the National holiday at May 17th. Personally, I liked the spring term more.

Norwegians (at least in the cities) are very open to foreigners, and therefore it’s also easy to get a job here (if it’s not mandatory to talk Norwegian). I am currently working as a research assistant at the Hydropower Laboratory at NTNU in Trondheim. Many of my co-workers are foreign. That helps creating a very international atmosphere.

 

In the end, I am very grateful for the chance I got to do this exchange, for all the people from all over the world I got to know and for the unforgetful experiences I had and still have here in Trondheim.

I first heard about the Nordic Water Network (NWN) when I was taking the course “Stromungsmaschinen – Auslegung” at the TU Berlin. Thanks to the Nordic Water Network, I had the possibility of participating in the course “Advanced measurement techniques for different flow fields” offered at the Cracow University of Technology with lectures from the cooperating universities in the NWN. I really liked the topics from that course and, for that reason, I decided to pursue my master’s thesis within the NWT. This led me to the Dublin City University in Ireland, where I completed my master’s thesis with the topic “Experimental characterisation of flexible membrane dynamics due to fluid structure interaction”.

The Dublin City University (DCU) is a young university located in the north of Dublin. DCU is a small university in comparison with TU Berlin with a vibrant student live and excellent facilities. During my stay, I was working with measurement equipment, such as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) or Digital Image Correlation (DIC), which is a great opportunity for a master’s student. My supervisor, Dr. Yan Delauré, was always available for any questions about the project, which is really helpful for the development of a good master’s thesis.

Dublin is a beautiful city with welcoming people, which makes anyone living there feel comfortable. Before going there, I was told that the weather in Dublin was really bad. This was, however, not my experience. It is true that it is sometimes windy and that it can spontaneously rain but, during the day, it is usually sunny, and temperature is pleasant. Irish people have a rich culture that is reflected in the amount of pubs, live music or live sport events that are all around Dublin. Regarding Ireland and its landscapes, I must say that it is impressive and that everyone should come here once in their live. I will never forget my time there.

There are some drawbacks about Dublin, though. Rent prices in Dublin are extremely high, making it one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Finding accommodation in Dublin is not easy and it should be planned in advance. The best way to do this is to fly to Dublin some weeks before starting at DCU and visit several accommodations before choosing one. The best webpage for accommodation in Ireland is, in my opinion, daft.ie. In contrast to Germany, public transport is not for free for students in Ireland, which can also be really expensive if living far away from DCU. Although the scholarship provided by the NWN is high, it may not be enough to cover all the expenses of the stay.

I would like to thank the Nordic Water Network and the Dublin City University, and specifically Markus Fischer and Dr. Yan Delauré, for this opportunity. I am grateful to have been involved in this European project and hope that more student take part in such projects to increase cooperation among European universities.

During an Erasmus semester in Norway, I met someone who was also student at TU Berlin and currently writing his Master thesis in Trondheim. He told me about the opportunity to spend another semester abroad, financed with a scholarship by the Nordic Water Network. I had a very interesting and exciting Erasmus semester. Therefore, I was looking on the website of the NWN for a possible thesis at a partner university.

In the beginning, I found it hard to find an appropriate topic, because my course of studies was slightly different to the offered topics. I studied geotechnology with specification in hydrogeology. But with the help of Markus Fischer I finally found an interesting thesis at the Cracow University of Technology. The supervisor of my thesis was Ph.D. Krzysztof Radzicki, scientific director of the Institute of Water Engineering and Water Management at Cracow University of Technology.

The organisation was quickly done. As the thesis was proposed by Ph.D. Radzicki, I only had to tell him when I would start to work in Cracow. The registration process in Cracow was also very smooth and quickly done. Due to the scholarship from the Nordic Water Network, I was able to rent a small but nice flat close to the city centre of Cracow. The cost of living in Poland are less than in Germany. Therefore I could afford a good standard of living in Cracow with the scholarship.

For the next participant, I would recommend to live in a shared flat, especially if you are writing a graduation work, because it is easier to get in touch with other people. However, Cracow is easy reachable from Berlin, so friends are able to visit you there. The city has also a very beautiful city centre and many historic buildings. If you haven`t been there yet, you definitely should go there someday.

I would like to thank the Nordic-Water Network for this opportunity and the support in the beginning and the end of my stay abroad. I think this is a perfect possibility to gain working experience abroad and also learn how other countries or organisations work scientifically.

My name is Artur Klingbeil and I would like to present my experiences as a master’s student in Norway. I have learned of the Nordic Water Network and the opportunity to visit Norway when I discovered the Water Week after finishing my courses in fluid water dynamics (Strömungslehre I +II). This was a chance that I could not pass on. After a successful application I went to Trondheim for a week in October 2016 and experienced lectures and organized excursions as well as the opportunity to see the city of Trondheim and a student cabin in the woods. In addition, we would listen to several presentations from professors and PhD candidates at NTNU. One of these presentations left a lasting impression, as it dealt with an intriguing sociological topic and was performed in an entertaining way. Markus Fischer told me that it would be possible to work on a thesis during a DAAD-funded stay abroad. Therefore, a few weeks after my return to Germany I decided to contact Manuel Franco Torres, the PhD candidate responsible for this presentation, in order to ask him whether he could imagine supervising a master’s student. For the next few months we kept mailing each other trying to find a suitable topic for the thesis. As Manuel was working on his PhD from his office in Oslo, we decided that I would come to Oslo after visiting Trondheim first.

In the summer of 2017 I finally came to Trondheim, where I enrolled as a student of NTNU. I received a room at the NTNU dormitory in Moholt and spent the following weeks mostly reading papers on different sociological topics. I decided that a hiking trip throughout Trondelag would be a welcome change. The NTNU offers several cabins (koiene in Norwegian) that can be booked by students and employees. These cabins are incredibly cheap, and we booked four of them planning a 5-day hike from cabin to cabin. In the end I stayed in Trondheim for a month before moving to Oslo. Although I received student accommodation in Trondheim, this was not possible in Oslo, as I was an NTNU student and therefore not eligible for student dorms in Oslo. Therefore, I tried to find a room on my own while I was still in Germany, using Facebook groups and FINN.no – a Norwegian advertisement website similar to ebay Kleinanzeigen with sections for jobs, housing, cars and various items for sale. When I stumbled upon an interesting ad for a room in a shared flat, my supervisor proposed to represent me and visit the residents. Eventually, I got the room and lived there for the rest of my stay. Not only did I find my accommodation through FINN.no, but I also bought several items and sold my bike. This website is very helpful.

In Oslo I received a desk and a notebook from Multiconsult, the company where my supervisor was working. Therefore, I would go to the office every weekday focusing on my thesis and relax on the weekends. The work environment at Multiconsult was great and my research for the thesis was both challenging and fun. In the course of the following months I gained greater insight into the topic and developed more confidence working in a field that was completely new to me. As I was speaking English on a daily basis and read papers that were almost exclusively in English, I experienced no barrier to writing the thesis in English.

However, research is not the only exciting activity in Norway. The country is famous for its breathtaking nature and one particular chain of islands called Lofoten offers arguably the most astonishing scenery of the country. Hence, a trip to Lofoten perfected my stay in Norway and I would recommend it to every nature lover that has the chance of travelling to these islands. In addition to several hikes through beautiful landscape we also managed to take a remarkable albeit short cruise with the iconic Hurtigruten – the Norwegian Coastal Express – seeing the Lofoten fjords.

All in all, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to visit memorable places in Norway, get to know the Norwegian culture, improve my English skills, work on a topic that was previously unknown to me and have thought-provoking and amusing conversations with many people. I would like to thank both the TU Berlin, NTNU and Multiconsult as well as the Nordic Water Network and DAAD for making this stay possible. I would like to offer my special thanks to my mentor from TU Berlin, Markus Fischer, who inspired me to conduct my thesis in Norway and to my mentor from NTNU, Manuel Franco Torres who kept a sense of humor when I was lost in the complexity of governance. To sum up, I would definitely recommend this opportunity to have an unforgettable experience.

Two years ago, I had an opportunity to visit Trondheim by participating at the Autumn School “Water Week”. The quality of the lectures and of the whole program were remarkable, and the town with its nature all around was so beautiful, that I have wished to come back again and ideally write my thesis at NTNU. With the help of Markus Fischer, I was able to find an interesting topic and a supervisor for the master theses. Thanks to DAAD, I have obtained a scholarship which was a huge help due to the high costs of living in Norway. Given that my studies are in “Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering”, department of Marine Technology at NTNU was the best choice. NTNU is considered one of the best universities in the world in the field of marine technology. The topic was about offshore wind turbines and the title was “Validation of Load Models and Calculations of Response for a Monopile in Steep Water Waves”. My supervisor at NTNU was highly competent Prof. Erin Bachynski and at TU Berlin Prof. Andrés Cura Hochbaum of the department of dynamics of maritime systems. A supervision at NTNU differs strongly from TU Berlin which is one of the biggest advantages to write a thesis there. Due to regular weekly meetings with the supervisor I was able to discuss the results or challenges that were occurring. This resulted in a high-quality thesis that I am proud of. Because I am not an EU-citizen I assumed that I will need a visa for the six-months period in Norway. It turned out that the Schengen-visa I was holding for Germany was suitable according to UDI (The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration), since I didn’t need to work there. This saved me the visa costs of € 500+. Also luckily, I took an advice from the previous experience reports and stayed at Moholt student village in one of the new buildings with a shared kitchen and an own bathroom. This enabled me to get plenty of new friends, mostly Norwegians. Since these apartments are very modern and for Norwegian standards rather affordable, I can also highly recommend them. Visiting Norway for six months should not be without exploring the nature this country offers. There are many interesting destinations near Trondheim, including the Fjords around Ålesund. The highlight of my stay in Norway was a trip to Lofoten, which I can describe as the most beautiful place that I have ever seen (and I have visited a lot of places and countries). If you have a chance to visit this piece of paradise, do not hesitate! Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has supporting me in this final step of my studies, professors at TU Berlin, NTNU, the DAAD and Markus Fischer!

At the beginning there was only one thought: writing my master thesis abroad – that would be something!

Just get out of the national environment and into an international adventure, into another country with a different academic status. I was interested in how certain questions are approached abroad, what opportunities companies and universities offer and what approaches they pursue – maybe they are similar to ours but maybe you can still learn something from them and take it back to Germany. Furthermore, it was important to me not only to complete my master thesis, but also to learn a lot – which does not depend on the academic composition of the work – and to face new challenges that I would not have here in Berlin. For example, I wanted to test and improve my English skills. Of course, you can also write your work in English at your own university but in discussions and in everyday life you would always have the temptation to change to German out of convenience. In English speaking countries you are forced to communicate in the corresponding language and to use it.

Thanks to the Department of Fluid System Dynamics at the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) I have already been able to participate in several events of the Nordic Water Network. Thus, I became attentive to the NTNU in Trondheim. Especially due to visits to Trondheim and meetings with professors from NTNU here in Berlin my interest in a thesis in Norway had intensified. Through my childhood in Norway, language, country and people were not alien to me.

The decision was made: I would write my master thesis at the NTNU in Trondheim! But how am I supposed to finance it? Norway, one of the most expensive countries in the world, is not so easy to afford for a student from Germany, especially when he spends half a year there. Consequently, I became aware of a program of the Nordic Water Network in cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) supporting student exchange between NTNU and TUB. I immediately prepared all the required documents and submitted my application for this program. When I eventually received a confirmation I was extremely happy and excited to be given this unique opportunity in my studies!

Through my previous contacts with the professors I quickly found an exciting topic and a period in which I could tackle it. The organization of the department was excellent and any questions that emerged were answered directly and helpful. The flight and a room in the dormitory were already booked. But please note that during the semester the dormitories are relatively full and you are not guaranteed to get a student flat right away. If necessary, you have to look for private accommodation which is rarely available in Trondheim. I was lucky when I arrived in Trondheim on 22nd February 2018 and could move directly into a newly completed building of the student dormitory Moholt. I shared the accommodation, a generous floor on the 3rd floor of a nine-story wooden building, with 14 other students. The kitchen was big, three people shared a fridge, had their own small cupboard and a drawer in the kitchen and could use the two stoves and ovens as well as the microwave at any time. The open kitchen was integrated into the common room, which consisted of a sofa set, tables and chairs. Furthermore, there was a public toilet on the floor, which could apparently be used by potential guests. Every room had its own small bathroom with shower. A table, a large cupboard, storage facilities and a bed with wooden slatted frame were also provided in the room. The tenant had to bring the rest of the interior (e.g. mattress, blanket, pillow, bed linen, towels, toilet paper, toilet brush, soap, table lamps, chair, etc.). Furthermore, a connection cable had to be brought along for the Internet since there was no WLAN available. Many students who wanted to live there longer have bought their own router for the time. Important! SIT bolig’s accommodation contracts are usually for whole semesters. This means that they are only valid for fixed periods of time which might not meet everyone’s needs. Apart from that, the time in Moholt was very pleasant, you could always have contact with the flat mates but you could also withdraw in the acoustically well shielded room if required. There was also a separate washhouse, a fitness studio within walking distance, two shopping centers (Bunnpris, Rema1000) near the student residence and a few sports facilities such as beach volleyball or trim park. It took me about 25 minutes walking from my accommodation to my workplace at NTNU near the Lerkendal Stadion and there is also a good bus service.

After the first meeting with my professor I drove to Ørsta, the place where the company Artic Nutrition is located, where I was allowed to record measurement data for my master thesis using a test facility and work in the laboratory. On site I had a supervisor who was a PhD student at NTNU and an employee of the company. The support was outstanding and the company’s employees were very friendly. Through the connection of NTNU, Artic Nutrition and the project I was able to learn a lot and put it into practice. An accommodation was provided by NTNU as long as I had my accommodation in Moholt. An exit from the tenancy with SIT bolig would have meant the loss of the room for the time back in Trondheim. So, I worked on the plant until the beginning of June and regularly exchanged views with my professor on further procedures and discussed the structures of the master thesis. After this fantastic time – I can only warmly recommend the landscape at this place – I went back to the NTNU in Trondheim to work with my professor on the paper. Moreover, I was in contact with my supervisor from Ørsta. The cooperation was extremely productive and educational.

At the end of August I landed in Berlin with two suitcases and a huge repertoire of experiences, knowledge growth and many, many beautiful photos and new contacts.

In summary
The decision to go to Norway and write my master thesis there was absolutely right! Not only the successful progress of my thesis and the routine in speaking and writing English, as well as the contacts I made during this time were more than rewarding. But also the unique and breathtaking landscapes of Norway, the people and the view from “outside” on life in Germany have had a positive influence on my own life and gave me many interesting thoughts.
At this point I would like to thank NTNU, Artic Nutrition and TUB and last not least the DAAD for making this stay abroad possible. I would particularly like to thank Markus Fischer for his untiring organizational engagement.

My name is Felix Polster. I am a Renewable Energy Engineering student at Technical University of Berlin (TUB). From February to August I spent half a year at the NTNU in Trondheim, Norway writing my master thesis.

SteinmaennchenSince I have never been abroad for studying purposes during my bachelor’s or master’s, drawing up my master thesis at another university was the last chance. Unfortunately, organizing a thesis abroad is not that easy since one must find a topic instead of just choosing some courses. Therefore, I started to contact some Professors at foreign universities who were doing research in the field of renewable energies. Unfortunately, without any success. Subsequently, I asked the TUB professors if they had any research relations to other universities. Luckily, through the chair of fluid system dynamics run by Professor Thamsen I got in touch with Lars Sætran from NTNU. He is the head of the experimental fluid dynamics group at NTNU. After a skype meeting with him and his two PhD students Jan and Franz we could already agree on a rough topic for my thesis. The thesis should contain the comparison of wind tunnel wake measurements with analytical wake models.

The overall organizational effort was held to a minimum due to the easy registration procedure at NTNU. After registration for the spring semester on the NTNU webpage I only had to apply for housing. Furthermore, I had to apply for the Nordic Water Network scholarship. In my case a scholarship was crucial since Norway is significantly more expensive than Germany.

HaeuserI chose to live in the student village Moholt which is quite famous among exchange students. For a single room (14 m²) with own bathroom in a brand-new building with a very well-equipped kitchen I paid around 530€ per month. Other rooms with shared bathroom were slightly cheaper but in significantly worse conditions. Therefore, I can highly recommend an own bathroom. Furthermore, Moholt was only a 5-minute bus ride away from the university campus in Gløshaugen, which was convenient.

Already on my first day in Trondheim I had a group meeting with my supervising Professor Lars Saetran, his PhD students and the other master students. From the very beginning the atmosphere in this group was nothing short of remarkable. Everyone was exceptional friendly and welcoming. Over the next six month I was doing wind tunnel measurements and simulations. All my questions or request were quickly answered by Lars, Jan or Franz. The product was a great thesis which was graded as very good. Acknowledgement of the thesis at TUB was conducted without any problems.

NordlichterBeside the thesis there was a vast variety of leisure time activities. The sport organization of NTNU, the NTNUi offered dozens of sports like football, volleyball and badminton. There were five gyms spread around Trondheim. Gym membership including the NTNUi membership costs around 200€ per semester. The NTNUi offered a free rental for different sport equipment like skiing, snowboarding, tents or hiking gear. Besides that, the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) organized several multiday trips to different famous destinations in Norway, like Lofoten or Geiranger Fjord. Furthermore, they organized parties or other socializing events. The best experience during my stay in Norway was a 4-day backcountry skiing trip to an area called Sunnmøre alps. The area contains several mountains located directly at the awesome Hjorundfjord which were suitable for all levels from beginner to professional. Moreover, snow and weather conditions were great.

1. Introduction

My name is Malek Sahnoun. With this report I would like to convince you to take part in the Ocean Week Conference and to discover a wonderful country: Norway. A good friend of mine, Anna Madlener, told me about her great experience on a previous session of the Ocean Week (see Report NTNU Ocean Week 2016 ). The Ocean Week is an annual conference hosted by the NTNU and SINTEF, where experts from a variety of institutions meet and present the latest developments in marine and maritime science and innovation. As a sailor, diver and a great admirer of marine technology I decided to apply for a participation in the “Ocean Week 2017 – Unravelling the unmanned”. The application procedure was simple and easily accessible on the website of Nordic Water Network. Leonie Inderfurth, Morten Droas and I have been fortunate to join the journey to Trondheim. I made use of the opportunity and went some days before the conference began to discover the beauty of Oslo and the stunning landscapes of the western fjords.

On that account I would like to give you first briefly my impressions on the trip and afterwards on the Ocean Week by itself.

2. Discovering Norway

The temperatures in Norway on the beginning of May were still around 0 °C. But I didn’t regret travelling there at all. When I arrived at Oslo airport I directly got emerged in the beautiful Scandinavian flair. Despite the fact of being one of the most expensive cities of the world Oslo has some interesting and affordable activities. Other than visiting the Oslo Opera House (for free) I would definitely recommend the Fram Museum containing the strongest wooden ship ever built which still holds the records for sailing farthest north and farthest south. I discovered additionally how many great explorers Norway has been producing since the Viking Age.

Ocean Week 17

Afterwards I headed to the western part of the country in a place named “Flåm”. On the long train journey I don’t remember taking my eyes off from the surrounding snowy landscapes. The line between Myrdal and Flåm, known as “Flåmsbana”, leads you through deep gorges, waterfalls running from snow-covered mountains as well as mountain farms. It is no coincidence that Lonely planet named it in 2014 the world’s most beautiful train journey. After I arrived there, I spent some time hitchhiking and discovering the Aurlandsfjord. The beauty of the nature left me thunderstruck.

It was time to head up north to the technological capital of Norway, Trondheim for the Ocean Week 2017 which I couldn’t wait to take part in.

3. Ocean Week 2017 – Personal Experience

As mentioned above the theme of this year was “Unravelling The Unmanned” and was sectioned in 3 days with different sessions:

DAY 1 – After an Introduction to the conference we got to choose between two parallel sessions: “Maritime Transport” and “Into the Deep Ocean”. Hard decision to make, but I finally decided to enter the last one. In this session the center of Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems (AMOS) at NTNU presented a range of research projects. In accordance with the theme of this years many autonomous marine robotics and ships were presented, for instance Underwater Snake Robots presented by a Professor & Key Scientist at NTNU. We also got some perspectives from DNV GL and Statoil future research projects. After the sessions we got transported to the Testsite Trondheimsfjorden for the demonstration of the world’s first test area for autonomous ships.

Ocean Week 17

DAY 2 – The second day was mostly about discussing political ambitions & social impacts with politicians and representatives from academia (professors and students). The party leader of the Norwegian Labour Party, the Canadian ambassador in Norway and the former secretary of state of the sea in Portugal were present. It was really interesting to learn about the political views for the future of the ocean space. A quote of the Canadian Ambassador happened to be inspiring and significant with reference to current crises: “There may be an ocean between us, but it is also the ocean that binds our peoples together”- Artur Wilczynski.

 

DAY 3 – Last but not least two parallel sessions “Marine Minerals” and “Aquaculture”. The aquaculture session presented new opportunities and possibilities for the aquaculture sector. In that field autonomous and unmanned controlling systems could increase safety and ensure a higher efficiency.

All in all the conference was full of brilliant ideas and innovations with the purpose of developing the blue growth. The exchange of knowledge between researchers, industry and government is therefore primordial. For us as students it is a great opportunity to establish contact with industry and the NTNU. Nevertheless I was surprised about the omnipresence of the oil industry in most projects. Above all the chief researcher of Statoil was happy to present new oil exploitation projects in the Arctic Ocean. Some may call me naïve but in times where fighting global change is becoming vital it is unacceptable to continue on old paths. The lack or absence of renewable energies projects during the Ocean Week took me by surprise. In the Aquaculture session I was also surprised about the lack of the animal well-being consideration, especially during the fish slaughter process.

4. Conclusion

In conclusion, the Ocean Week is an incredible source of motivation and inspiration. It is not only highly interesting and instructive but also a great meeting point, which opens doors for future experiences in the various Ocean fields. If you happen to go there (you should!), than visit Norway. It is such a beautiful country!

Helpful Links

Ocean Week Conference

Touristic Information on the region Flåm

Introduction and Background

My name is Jan Göing and with this report I would like to illustrate and share my experience and life in Trondheim, Norway.

I studied engineering science at the Technical University Berlin (TUB) and wrote my master thesis at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). This report includes some of my work experiences in Trondheim and my daily life in this beautiful city.

The first time that I travelled to Trondheim was in November 2015, thanks to a student project with some fellow students. We designed and built a model wind turbine and went to the NTNU to validate the turbine in the large wind tunnel of the university. Based on this project, I met the very friendly professor Lars Satraen and his really helpful PhD student Jan Bartl.

One year later, I was looking for a topic for my master thesis in the field of wind turbines and fluid dynamics and asked Markus Fischer about some information of the current topics at the NTNU. Thus I got in touch with Jan Bartl and the possibility arose to choose of a great variety of topics in the field of offshore wind turbines at the NTNU.

My modified topic of the master thesis was the simulation of the wake flow behind a wind turbine and the validation with a measurement to investigate the behaviour of the wake.

The application for the scholarship and the registration at the university of Trondheim was very simple and without a big effort or a lot of paperwork. Afterwards I could start my journey to Norway and organise my stay in Norway. I was looking for a private housing to live close to the city center. Jan Bartl helped me and told me to look at the homepage called www.hybel.no, where I found a flat in one of the main streets inside of the city centre and close to the university. I lived with an employee of the NTNU together for five months. My roommate was originally from Vietnam and really great, I found a good friend. I paid 4000 NOK each month, that is about 450 euros, for the rent including electricity.

I travelled by car form Berlin to Trondheim, to take my mountain bike with me and to travel around in Norway, which is an interesting experiment in the wintertime. It took around three days and a lot of toll.

After the first week I got my student licence, an office and a computer. Every week the master students at the department had a colloquium and got a good support from the supervisors. Thanks to the great support I could finish my master thesis on time and got the time to travel to the southwest of Norway afterwards and then headed back to Berlin. Furthermore, I even got an invitation for a conference in Trondheim after my master thesis.

 

Personal Experience

Trondheim became one of my favourite cities in the world. The city is situated between the amazing Trondheim – Fjord and some beautiful hills called Bimarker. For travelling around Trondheim I took a ferry to see the fjord and to reach the island Kristiansund. From this city I took a bus back to Trondheim and saw the very famous Atlantic road with extreme curve shapes and the beautiful nature of this part in Norway.

The mountains in this area are perfect for skiing, small hiking tours and camping tours for more than one day. As a member of the NTNU, the sport and activity club of the NTNU, it is possible to rent cabins on top of the mountains. Together with a few friends we did some hiking tours to the top of the mountains and slept in the cabins overnight. Many cabins are well isolated and warm but some cabins can be so cold that the water gets frozen. A good equipment is definitely necessary for this kind of hiking experience. On one day we even reached a temperature of under minus 16 degree.

In my opinion, one of the best areas for hiking is Oppdal, which is two hours away from Trondheim.

This was just a small overview of my trips around Trondheim. Furthermore, a lot of different sightseeing possibilities are in the city as well. There are great opportunities to go to a top of a building for an amazing view of the city. Trondheim has the typical art of Nouveau architecture, where beautiful wood houses are standing next to the river and the people are super friendly. In the winter time the daylight hours are shorter than in Germany but it is not that bad as it sounds like. Also the temperature is not that bad as expected, it is quite equal to Berlin and the possibility to see the northern light lets you forget the cold.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, I had a great time with many unforgettable experiences in Norway. Firstly, it was a great experience to travel and hike in Norway, with its unbelievable nature and people. Moreover, I got a very interesting topic for my master thesis and a good support to finish it. Through this I could increase my knowledge in this field and earn great working experiences for my future life. I found great friends with still lasting friendships and an insight on the way people live in Norway. The scholarship and the time at the NTNU was uncomplicated and very helpful to enable the amazing time in Norway.

Experience Report by Maryam Alihosseini

I am working  as research assistant and doing my PhD at the Department of Fluid System Dynamics at TU Berlin since February 2015. My PhD project deals with simulation and experimental investigations of sediment transport in sewer systems.

A PhD student from the Aalborg University, Anna Jensen, suggested me the simulation tool EDEM during her research stay at our department. After some months working with the software, I decided to visit Anna in Aalborg to work with her on some problems regarding the software. I visited the Department of Energy Technology in Aalborg University from March 16th 2017 to March 27th 2017. Anna helped me a lot to get to know Aalborg during my stay there. I got a desk in her office together with two other PhD students. They were very kind to me and I felt like home and welcomed. Her supervisor helped me as well, which I really appreciate.

Anna and me in Skagen

Anna and me in Skagen

During my stay, I have learned many things from Anna and her colleagues that will be useful for the rest of my PhD work.

I booked my flight by KLM from Berlin to Aalborg through Amsterdam. It took me about four hours to get Aalborg. On airbnb.com, I booked a fully furnished apartment for my whole stay. However, because of some problems in the apartment such as a weak internet connection, cigarette smoke etc., I changed my mind, and booked a hotel room in the Aalborg Hotel for the last five nights of my stay. I would recommend the hotel for short stays, since it is in a good part of the city, near the sea, between the city centre and the university. There is also a big sport facility in front of the hotel, which is free of charge for hotel guests. You could do some sports in your free time! You can take the bus number 12 or 2 to the university and back. The bus number 12 can you take also to the airport and from the airport.

Aalborg is compared to Berlin a small city but lovely and nice.

I would like to thank the Nordic Water Network for giving me the chance to go to Aalborg and for the financial support. The contact between universities and students from different countries is an important aspect in my academic career.

Experience Report by Leon Podehl

I was studying Engineering and Management at Technical University IMG_0286Berlin when I got the chance to go on a semester abroad with Nordic Water Network. The NWN and the chair of Fluid System Dynamics at TU Berlin gave me the opportunity to exchange to NTNU Trondheim to do research on tidal turbines for my graduation work. During my 4-month-stay in Trondheim, NWN and DAAD supported me with a scholarship. The monetary support enabled me to focus on my studies and was further very helpful to have a great time making many new friends, learning about a new society and hiking through Norway‘s impressive landscape.

Before I flew over to Norway I needed to set up only a few things. I have been put into contact with NTNU to activate the obligatory accounts and get some information concerning the first weeks at the new university. The administration was made quite simple but to participate in a Norwegian class I was unfortunately too late. Consequently I needed to learn some basics of the Norwegian language on my own. With the help of some app I already learned some easy vocabulary. The Norwegian people appreciate this striving quite much which helped me to find a housing on the private market in Trondheim. I was still quite lucky finding a flatshare in Norway since me and the potential roommates were only having a skype-interview to get to know each other. However, I found a nice flatshare on „hybel.no“, which seems to be a frequently used website for this purpose. My flat was quite cosy and even equipped with a sauna, but the best thing about the little room of mine, were the native Norwegian roommates who would make my stay a proper Norwegian experience.

On the first days, contact was mainly made with other exchange students who also joined the highly recommended Orientation Week. We all had been invited to go hiking in the near-by mountains, do a city rally, play viking chess and visit a match of the local soccer team called Rosenborg. The activities helped a lot to get started in Trondheim and at NTNU and beside that, the organizers of Orientation Week and staff of International House used the different events to provide us with important information about studying at NTNU. They taught us everything to know about the applications which students use to sign into courses and exams, how to get your student-ID about two more registration surveys we needed to take, one at the police station and another one at the post office. Last but not least, I recognized I should buy myself a bicycle since the bus tickets are quite expensive and the distances you have in Trondheim are just fine for biking. I bought a ride on student market Trondheim, a group on facebook, on which exchange students basically trade everything. Finally, I was ready to start my semester at NTNU.

During the four months of my stay, my main objective was to conduct experiments and do the analysis for my bachelor thesis. My subject was the influence of surface waves on horizontal axis tidal turbines.
I got access to a small towing tank at the campus of marine technology. I frequently discussed my plans and my achievements with my professor at NTNU, prof. Bjornar Pettersen. He supported me finding the thesis and gave me a lot of freedom and motivation. I have been working together with Torgeir Wahl, an employee of NTNU, who helped me a lot to get all the equipment I needed and he moreover often provided me with helpful feedback. Beside that, I communicated quite a lot with various students either working on the same facility, working on related subjects or using some applications I would need later. I definitely had a lot fun and gained very valuable theoretical and practical experience in the field of technical experiments and tidal turbines.

 

Parallel to my graduation work I wanted to participate in a regular class at NTNU too. I found an interesting course called „Sustainable Utilization of Marine Resources“ which dealt with fishery technology, maritime biology and especially with acquaculuture, Norway’s second largest industry after oil exploration. To get 7,5ETCS-Points I needed to pass an oral exam about the lecture’s content and deliver a group work. Me and my group worked on the topic „Environmental Benefits of Polyculture“. We gave a presentation and wrote a scientific paper. I enjoyed the class a lot because I learned about a new subject and I got to work together with other exchange students from Spain and Mauritius. On top of that, we even went on a trip around the fjord with a research vessel boat on which they showed us how they do trawling  and we actually caught fish.

In my free time it never got boring either. First of all, I chose from NTNU‘s great sports offer and decided to play soccer with „NTNU-Exchange-Team“ and try „Lindy Hop Dancing“. With the soccer team, I had fun practices twice a week and even supported the pack with their matches at the weekend. The dancing classes were not less exciting and the members even met Friday afternoon to have a social gathering. Second of all, my roommates gave me the hint to apply with Samfundet. Samfundet is a huge social club from students for students. They run a restaurant, several bars, theatre events, a café, political and fun talks, concerts, clubbing and even more. I have been voluntarily working at Samfundet as a bartender and waiter and had a great time. The Norwegian students at Samfundet organize many fun internal events and stand together as a family. I would say I got an inside view into a very unique Norwegian student initiative which was a very valuable experience.

One thing I must not forget to talk about that is the Norwegian landscape.
The mountains and the ocean are probably most important to the Norwegian culture. Its nature made Norway loved by everybody appreciating outdoor activities with picturesque views in a breathtaking wild. Nearly every Norwegian family owns a little cabin in the mountains to go hiking, skiing, fishing or hunting and spent some calm days. Luckily the university owns some of these cabins situated around Trondheim too. It is a beautiful activity and special to Norway to go on a trip with your friends, taking cross country skis to one of these cabins and getting warm again at the bonfire.

All these different experiences I have made during my stay in Norway are very important to me. I was able to follow my interests in engineering deeper than ever before. I have been responsible for every step in my experiments‘ progress and dealt with many different problems, but I improved while taking on this challenge. I have made many new friends and learned a lot from all these interesting people along my path. I experienced life in a way different city and people with a different mind set. Consequently I learned a lot about my preferences and myself in general too. I clearly do not want to miss this time. I am very happy for the chance Nordic Water Network and the Chair of Fluid System Dynamics gave me.

Links:

Student market Trondheim

Finding a flatshare

Introduction and Background

My name is Mike and I originate from Malaysia. Since summer semester 2015, I am enrolled at Technical University Berlin (TU Berlin) to study Master in Mechanical engineering. Through the brief introduction in my first lecture from Prof. Thamsen, I am acknowledged about the close partnership between TU Berlin and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Since then, it has been my goal to utilize this opportunity to write my master thesis at NTNU. I, personally, am interested in the power technology and Norway itself has been famous for its waterpower. Therefore, it is a perfect opportunity for me to widen my experience in this field. My very first contact person was Max Mühlefeldt and he was helpful when I told him about my desire to write my master thesis at NTNU. With his help, my details were passed on to Markus Fischer, who is the main coordinator of the Nordic Water Network (NWN) at TU Berlin. Through NWN, I was given the contact of the professor at NTNU to discuss about the topic of my thesis and that was the first and important task for the whole process. Markus Fischer has helped me a lot during the whole process. It is advisable to have the agreement from the professor at NTNU as soon as possible. This is because there is a deadline for applying as an exchange student or free mover at NTNU, especially for non-EU student like myself. This is because the deadline for non-EU student is usually a month earlier than EU students due to Visa application requirement. With the agreement from the professor, one can start to apply at the international office of NTNU. An invitation letter from NTNU is very crucial for the application of visa and accommodation for non-EU student at Sit. The application of Visa has taken up the most time during the whole process and thus, it is important to fulfill all the requirements for non-EU students during application to avoid any delay. In total, my stay at Trondheim was five months from September 2016 till January 2017.

Personal Experience

Waterpower Laboratory at NTNU

It was indeed a very rewarding and priceless experience to write my thesis in Waterpower laboratory at NTNU, Norway. I am very lucky to have Prof. Dahlhaug as my supervisor during my work at the laboratory. My preparation and registration at NTNU was smooth and easy as the international office has prepared a checklist and guidebook for every exchange student. Special arrangements with the UDI (Foreigners Registration Office) are organized by the international office. Tuberculosis check for non-EU students are arranged by international office as well. As for my accommodation, I got the room at the Moholt student village due to the requirements for Visa application. Moholt is the very strategic and happening student village for exchange student. Even though if you are not entitled to have an accommodation with the Sit (Student accommodation Organization), it is also possible to find the accommodation through Facebook group “Students’ market Trondheim”. From this group, it is also very easy to get cheap stuffs as they are many exchange students move in and out every semester. Living cost at Norway, unfortunately, can be challenging. However, it is manageable with a good planning. For example, there are free buses for students to travel to Storlien, Sweden for grocery shopping as it is usually cheaper there. It was a nice experience even though the journey can be long. As for the transportation in Trondheim, the buses operate under the company AtB. I choose to cycle to the campus. In winter, it can be a bit challenging due to icy road surface. Apart from that, it can be a good option to exercise as the terrain in Trondheim is pretty hilly. During my thesis at the waterpower laboratory, I have met a lot very friendly and welcoming Norwegians. The student community in the laboratory is one of the things that I appreciate most during my stay in Norway. It will be definitely better if one can speak Norwegian language. From time to time, there will be gatherings or events organised for all the students in the laboratory to socialise. It was really memorable.

Hiking Trail at TrondheimLofoten island

Not forgetting to mention the beauty of nature in Norway, it clears all the doubt and hesitation for choosing Norway as destination country to do the exchange program. Trondheim is particularly strategic as it locates in the middle of Norway. One can visit the famous Lofoten islands at the north and Geiranger or Bergen at the south. If one prefers not to travel far, there are plenty of interesting places near Trondheim for hiking or day trip like Bymarka or Lade. The semester period in NTNU is different than Germany and therefore, it should be chosen wisely depending on your study plan. There will be more exchange students during autumn semester than the spring semester, which starts in January. In my opinion, there are more advantages to stay during spring semester as the daytime will be longer and you can explore Norway more after the end of semester in June. And one can also have the opportunity to catch the northern light and get a taste of the wonderful snow during the beginning of spring semester. The only challenge will be finishing the course and organise the exams in Germany before January if one choose to stay during spring semester.

Conclusion

During my stay in Norway, it has granted me another totally different perspective of life through Scandinavian lifestyle and teaches me to enjoy nature more than before. I can only highly recommend students to grab this golden opportunity through NWN to make one’s exchange program in Norway a reality. We, as student from TU Berlin, are really lucky to have NWN as coordinator for the exchange program. I can guarantee that you will not regret your stay in Norway. I am thankful to NWN for making the whole process of writing my thesis at NTNU easier.

ex_madlender_2   ex_madlender_3

 

WHAT IS THE OCEAN WEEK

Every year, the Norwegian University of Technology in Trondheim hosts the Ocean Week. It is organized by NTNU Oceans, one of the four strategic research areas declared by the university in 2014. The conference aims to offer insight into anything related to the ocean: research, technology, politics and economy. Professors, representatives of the industry, researchers of well-known institutes and students participate in the conference by talking about current innovations, ideas and future challenges. The goal is to gather and connect interested parties to work on a sustainable future of the oceans.

 

WHY I WANTED TO ATTEND THE OCEAN WEEK

As a mechanical engineering student it is not the most obvious decision to go attend a conference in a very small city in upper Norway where it is cold while Berlin is reigned by all the serotonin dancing around in the beautiful month of May. But as a mechanical engineering student it is also known that we do not get much practical insight and are restrained to our theories unless we step out of our square construction box and reach for opportunities. After having read The Swarm by Frank Schätzing years ago—a very recommendable book for anyone who is into the absurd and scary but actually kind of logical future of our planet— I was not able to stop thinking about how we can shape the future of our oceans. One thing that was mentioned at the conference later is the 70-80-90 principle: 70% of our planet is covered by ocean, 80% of it is deeper than a few hundred meters, 90% of it is completely undiscovered.
Mechanical engineering with its multiple specializations, for example ocean engineering or robotics, allows to prepare for this daunting confrontation with a complete unknown universe that we live with right below us. I came to know about the Ocean Week while hunting for possible Master programs in Marine Technology. When I read about it, I immediately knew I had to go and use this opportunity to see whether this field which I think is my passion is indeed what I imagine it to be. When confronting Professor Thamsen, who I knew had close ties to the NTNU, he offered me to undertake this trip and participate in the conference through the Nordic Water Network. So off I went to Trondheim!

 

WHAT WAS TALKED ABOUT

The conference was organized into five main areas on four days: Eco-intensive Aquaculture, Marine Minerals, Maritime Transport, Ocean Innovation and Ocean Opportunities. Due to parallel sessions I was not able to attend all single presentations but thanks to general plenary sessions in the mornings a general overview and impression of all topics could well be obtained. Generally, the conference’s scope ranged from biological and geological to technical all the way to economical and political aspects while aspiring to answer these pressing questions:

How can we feed a rapidly growing world?
How can we provide clean energy?
How can we develop environmentally friendly and sustainable transportation?

I am a PhD student in the Department of Energy Technology in Aalborg University. I started my PhD in September 2014 and will finish around September 2017. From the 19th of April to the 29th of July 2016 I visited the Department of Fluid System Dynamics in Technische Universität Berlin with support from the Nordic Water Network.

On the 19th of April 2016 I took a plane in Aalborg bound for Berlin. In Tegel Airport I was welcomed by Markus from the Nordic Water Network and a PhD student from the Department of Fluid System Dynamics. They gave me a lift to the TU guesthouse, where it had been arranged that I could stay for the first month. I was happy not to worry about accommodation during my first days in Berlin and Nordic Water Network was very helpful trying to find accommodation for the last part of my stay.

My PhD project deals with simulation of clogging effects in waste water pumps caused by textile materials such as wet wipes. In that connection I need experimental results to validate the simulations and to identify realistic initial- and boundary conditions for the textiles, since this type of simulation has not previously been made, and the knowledge about the motion of textiles causing clogging is very limited. I chose to visit Technische Universität Berlin to get an opportunity to use the test facilities for waste water pumps located in the Department of Fluid System Dynamics. Additionally, I wanted to learn and get inputs from a research group working with topics related to waste water. The test facilities in the Department of Fluid System Dynamics already enabled visual access to the pumping system with test stands incorporating parts in acrylic glass. I used two of the existing test stands to investigate the motion of textiles near the inlet of both wet- and dry installed pumps. Using these test stands was a great possibility in connection with my PhD, since construction of similar test stands in my home department would not be possible.

Through conferences and meetings I had already met the Department Head Professor Thamsen and several of the PhD students working in the department. This made it very easy for me to settle in as I already had some contacts, and all were very welcoming. On my first day in the university my table was ready in an office where with PhD students working on topics similar to mine. Everyone were ready to help with everything from valuable advice and inputs to my PhD project, to finding accommodation, buying a monthly ticket for the u-bahn and s-bahn, and figuring out the best things for me to experience in Berlin. I felt like a part of the group from the beginning of my stay. The first part of my stay, I used to plan my experiments and to design a new inlet pipe for one of the test stands to increase the quality of visual access to the pipe. All of this with the help of the other PhD students, who were experienced in experimental work. Furthermore, through the Department of Fluid System Dynamics I also got in touch with HTW Berlin, where they have expertise within textiles. I went to visit HTW several times during my stay in Berlin to do measurements on the properties of wet textiles to be able to model textiles in water.

 

Anna Jensen_My NWN Experience_Bild2 Anna Jensen_My NWN Experience_Bild3

 

After a month staying in the TU guesthouse I had to move out and find new accommodation. After some difficulties I managed to find a fully furnished apartment through City-wohnen. I signed up on the webpage of City-wohnen and I was offered an apartment very shortly after that. The price was 750 Euro/month which is above the normal price for accommodation in Berlin. But since it was the only place I found and since it was only for two months, I accepted the offer. With the financial support from the Nordic Water Network it was possible, and I was able to cover all my expenses like accommodation, food and transportation.

In my free time I had visits from both friends and family and we explored Berlin together. Among other things we experienced Sunday afternoons in Mauerpark, shopping in Kurfürstendamm, and visiting sights like Brandenburger Tor, the area around Friedrichstraße and Treptower Park. Apart from experiencing the city of Berlin, I have some of my best memories during late afternoons and evenings, having a beer with colleagues after work. This could be in a biergarten nearby, or in the hall with experimental facilities which turned out to be the perfect place for a beer and a talk after working hours.

The experiments I did during my stay in Fluid System Dynamics will be an important part of my PhD. In December 2016 I presented a paper “Experimental Investigation of the Motion and Shape of Flexible Objects near Pump Inlet” based on the results of the experiments I did during the summer, in Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. Furthermore, an abstract based on the experiments I did during my stay in November has been accepted for ASME’s Fluids Engineering Division Summer Conference 2017.

I already returned to Berlin in November 2016 for 3 weeks to do further experiments. I very was happy to be back, and I would recommend to anyone who has the chance, to go abroad through the Nordic Water Network and explore a new part of the world and experience to be a part of another research environment. I see it as a clear advantage that Nordic Water Network has already established the contact between a group of universities making an exchange to another university in the network easier to accomplish.

Useful links:

City-wohnen

BVG