Packing my bags for a study visit to Germany
For the last 3 years, I’ve been working with Prof. Volker Wulf‘s group at the University of Siegen, Germany on various projects related to Global Software Development.
It all started at the ICGSE’07 conference in Munich, where I met Alexander Boden, one of Volker’s PhD students, and we realised we were sharing a common interest in the social, organisational and cultural aspects of remote collaboration.
Since then, we authored a couple of papers together, organised a workshop co-located with ICGSE’08 in Bangalore, India, and we are putting the finishing touches on a special issue of the Information and Software Technology Journal.
This spring, I found out about a DAAD scheme supporting foreign scientists and academics to spend time working in German institutions. I sent in an application, and two weeks ago I found out that my funding was approved!
Lucky me! I’ll spend the following 4 weeks working with my colleagues in Siegen, refreshing my German and visiting nice places (if I can only find a cheap bike:)!
And here I am, packing my bags and hoping to get my HTC Desire today, so that I can download Leo and brush mein Deutsch;)
July 02 2010 08:08 am | Life and Research and travel
GirlFromM4rs on 02 Jul 2010 at 10:10 pm #
I guess with your cheap bike you won’t be able to make it to the “nice place” where I am studying (about 421 km away from Siegen – if you take the right Autobahn ;)). We have the world’s largest Karl Marx Head. What more could one want? 😉
Anyway, don’t bring too many thick sweaters and leave your rubber boots at home! All indications are that it continues to be a hot summer in Germany for the next weeks. 🙂
Gabriela Avram on 04 Jul 2010 at 7:35 am #
Thanks a million for the advice!Sorry I won’t be around when you come over – it’d been nice to meet for coffee!
About cycling from Siegen to Chemnitz – I escaped a fine back in 2003 when walking on the left side of the Autobahn with my brand-new bike, and I promised the German police I won’t be caught doing this again – ever!
Unfortunately, I won’t get anywhere close to Chemnitz this time! But next time, who knows?!
cezar on 17 Aug 2010 at 9:59 am #
m ar bucura sa mai aflu cite ceva despre o anume… gabriele avram.
ginduri bune!
se inclina,
o umbra veche (since 2004)