ASSOCIATION

OF INDIAN

IN AACHEN (AISA)

STUDENTS

InternshipFAQs

HelloFriends,

Aftergettingqueriesfromlotofjuniors,finallyIhavedecidedtowritethefollowing
document for students who want to apply for internship abroad and who wish to
come specially for internship in Germany. Everyone must make a note of this that
much of the information from this document is purely based upon my personal
opinions and experiencees. So please make sure that you modify few guidelines
according to your own requirement and as the situation demands. With further
doubts,youcancontactmeatamit.maidasra@gmail.com

Thisdocumentismainlydividedintwoparts

1. ApplyingforInternship
2. AfterFinancebackup

AmitKawle,
B.Tech.ProductionEnginering(Batchof2010)
NationalInstituteofTechnology,Trichy.
SummerInternshipinRWTHAachen(throughDAAD)
(5thMay2008to31stJuly2008).
CurrentlystudyinginRWTHAachen
M.Sc.(ProductionSystemsEngineering).

Association
of Indian Students in Aachen (AISA)
[Typetext]
[Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

ApplyingforInternship

Mostimportnatthingaccordingtomeis,writemailsincerelyandcarefully.Write
specificmailstoprofessorinsteadofspammingtoallprofessorsrandomly.Writing
specificmailcertainlyincreasestheprobabalityofgettingapositiveresponsefrom
aProfessor.

1. One should start applying from September since later on many good colleges
would have already taken interns and also scholarships such as DAAD have
theirdeadlinearoundendofNovember.

2. Prepare your cover letter and resume by yourself first and also get reviews
fromseniorsandthenproceed.

a. Keepyourcoverletterconcise.(1015lines)
b. Mentionyourfieldofinterestandprojectsorexperienceyouhaveinthatfield
includingwhatyouhavelearntinclassesandpracticals.
c. Writebrieflyaboutinternshipi.e.itscompulsorypartofyourcurriculum,itis
of23monthsandyouwouldliketoworkintheirlabundertheirguidance.
d. Inresume,highlighttheCGPA,projectsdoneand technicalskills.Restkeep it
shortandtrytofitin2pages,strictlytwopages.
e. Try to relate, how your areaofinterest matchesthe workofprofessorin the
mailitself,injust12lines.
f. Also, if youhave really likedone of hisrecent papers, you canwritethat you
have gone through the paper and you can write that yo have found them
impressive(inproperwords.)

3. Get the list of top100 or 200 universities in the world. (You can get it from
yourseniorsorfrominternet.)

4. Chooseacountrytostartfrom.(ItsbestyoustartwithGermanysincefunding
couldbearrangedthroughDAADwhosedeadlineisinNovember.Accordingto
me,Germanyisthebestlocationforsuchshortinternship.AfterthatFranceis
good option as they have many vacancies and also have some scholarship
programwhosedeadlineisinMarch.)Youcantryinmanyeuropeancountries
likeGreese,Portugal.MymanyfriendsfromIITshavedone
insuchcountries.

5. Fromyourlistofcolleges,findcollegesofchosencountryandapplyinorderof
theirinternationalrank.

Association
of Indian Students in Aachen (AISA)
[Typetext]
[Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

6. For each college, google their website and find the faculty of your stream or
area of interest. Try spending more time reading and understanding the
professorsinterest.Trytofindlatestresearchpapersfield.

7. Youcanapplytomaximum2professorsofsamedepartmentinsamecollege
simultaneously.You can mail other professor of same department after a
coupleofdays.

8. Mysuggestionistomailthemlatenightsothatwhentheycometooffice,your
mailwillbefirstintheirinbox.

9. Send one mail to one professor only. Dont put any names in Cc or Bcc. It is
better to send 10 personalized mails in a day (as mentioned below) than
sending200mails.Ineachmail:

a.Changeyourareaofinterestaccordingtointerestsofprofessor.Itdepends
uponhownarrowyourareaofinterestis.
b.Dontmentionanythingaboutmoneyorfundinginfirstmail,askthemforit
onlyoncetheyreplypositively.

10.Repeattheprocessforeachcountryandforeachcollege.

AfterFinancebackup

1.Getyourflighttickets.TicketsgetveryexpensivefromMarchsobuythemat
theearliest.AlthoughEtihadairways,Turkishairwaysetcarethecheapest.
2.Arrangeaccommodation:
Requestyourprofessortoarrangeanaccommodationforyou.Ifheisreadyto
payforit,nothingbetterbutotherwisetrytogetaroomin200250europer
month.StudentenwerkisaGermanorganisationthatprovideshostelfacilities
tostudentsofuniversities.Askyourprofessortotrythereaswell.Roomshould
be inside universities or at walking distance otherwise you will be spending a
lotontravellingfromroomtolabandback.

3.GetSchengenVisa:
SchengenvisaallowsyoutogonotonlytoGermanybutalsotomanynearby
countries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_area). Generally DAAD asks
youtosubmitthe documentsforVisaandtheycarry out theformalitiesand
giveyouthevisa.EvenifDAADdoesntaskfordocumentsyoucanyourselfget
yourvisamade.Detailsanddocumentsrequiredaregiven

Association
of Indian Students in Aachen (AISA)
[Typetext]
[Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

athttp://www.vfsgermany.co.in/index1.aspx.Yourequireaworkpermit(ZAV)
forinternshipvisawhichisgivenbyDAADabitlaterasittakessometimein
gettingZAVmade.

4.Finances:
DAADwillprovideyouthemoneyonlyonceyoureachGermany;soyoushould
take some money from home itself, up to 600Euros. You will have to open a
bankaccount in Germany and send the information of youraccount to the
address/faxnumbergivenbyDAAD.OpeningabankaccountfromIndiaisofno
use. Open a bank account after reaching Germany. It is very easy. DAAD
suggestsDresnerbankbutonecanopenhis/heraccountinanynationalbank
such as Deutsche bank etc. Just go to the nearest bank and ask them the
procedure. InDeutschebank,theyfilledtheformanddidallformalitiesforme
and opened a student account which was absolutely free. They even give
ATMcumdebitcardandcreditcard(notalways)freeofcost.
First instalment of 650 euro from DAAD will then arrive in your account in
about7days.SoyoumustcarrysufficientamountfromIndiatostaytherefor
1015daysonyourown.Generally200300eurowillbeenoughbutincaseyou
needtogivesecuritydepositorfirstmonthrenttoyouraccommodation,take
thatintoaccount.Inanycase800900euroshouldbemorethanenough.
Togetthecurrencyconverted,youcancontactanybankorprivatevendor.But
remember to check the rates of conversion. Generally, banks here give the
worstpossiblerates.So,consultyourparentsiftheyknowplacestogetgood
rates.
5.Phone:
Youmaybuyacellphonefor30eurothatincludesbothhandsetand sim
with5eurobalance.Butcallratesareveryhighupto1euro/minforIndiaand
20 cents/min for even local calls. Instead buy a Skype account for 10 euro
balance(costsaround11.5euros)andheadsetwithmicrophoneforcomputer.
CallratesforSkypearearound7cents/minforIndiaand2cents/minforcalls
withinEurope.Ifyoufamilydoesnthaveskypefacility,formethebestoption
wasactionvoip.Youcanbuythevoucherforactionvoipfrompetrolpumpin
Germanyorinternetserviceprovidingstores.

6.Foodandvessels:
In most oftheplacesin Germanyvessels are providedinStudent Hoestels or
eveninprivatehouses.ThatshowitworksinGermany;somystrongadviceis
totakeonlypressurecookersothatyoucansavesomeluggagespacefor

Association
of Indian Students in Aachen (AISA)
[Typetext]
[Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

someothernecessarythings.
Ifyoucaneatporkorfish,foodisnoproblematall.Evenpeoplewhocaneat
egg and meat can work fine. For others, there are very few things you can
normallygetbutifyoucouldcooksomevegetablesandrice,itwillbehelpful
You can find mess or cafeteria in the university or nearby. It is called Menza.
Youcangetcompletelunchovertherein23euro.Eggandfisharecountedin
vegetarianfoodinEurope,soitisbettertocrosscheck every time. Food they
eatistasteless.Sobettertake100200geach ofpepper,chillietcwithyou.
Theyarereallyexpensivethere.Saltandsugar will be cheaply available
there.MostcitieshaveIndianstores.Youcanaskany Indian you meet there.
expensive.
Few
Youwillgetfamiliarthingstherebutmightbelittle
vegetarianthings,onecouldgetthereare:
a.Bestofallisbread.TherearetensofvarietiesofbreadinGermany.
b.Milkandcornflakes.Easilyavailableeverywhere.
c.Severalfruitsandvegetablesareavailableeasily.
d.Frozenpackofmixedvegetablepreparedincheeseorbutter
e.Pasta.Learntomakepasta.Itisbestasachangeandveryeasytomake.
f. Veg. Pizza.Youcanfind veg.Pizza in a fewstores. Youmay evenfind Pizza
HutatsomeplaceswhereyoucangetMargaretaPizza.
g.Fruitjuices.Nicevarietiesofjuicesavailable.
h.Potatofries.Theycanbegoodassupplement.Obviously,youcannotfillyour
stomachwiththem.
Youcanbrowseseveralgeneralstorestofindsomemorenewvegetarianfood
stuff.ForcookinginEurope,flatheatingplatesareusedinsteadofflamesasin
India.So, take vessels with flat bottoms for cooking. Other than spoons and
plate, a frying pan was enough for me. You may take small cooker with flat
bottom if you think it will be very useful but keep in mind that you will have
limitedspacewhilepackingyourluggage.
7.Language:Atyourworkplace,languagewillbemostlyEnglish.Mostofyouth

especially students know decent English but older people such as staff at
hostels,generalstoresandotherpeoplegenerallyknowlittleornoEnglish.For
restofpurposeslikeunderstandingnotices,youcanrelyonGoogletranslator
(http://www.google.co.in/language_tools?hl=en). For example, you want to
enquire or inform your hostel warden about something. Write it in English in
Googletranslator,translateitintheirlanguageandwriteitonslipasitis

Association
of Indian Students in Aachen (AISA)
[Typetext]
[Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

(remembereach.and,matters)andgiveittohim.
8. Travelling places: This is the best opportunity to visit places in Europe.
Europeis abeautifulplaceandiguessyouwontgetbettertimeinfutureto
exploreplacesfreely.PlacesonemustgoareRome,Venice,Amsterdam,Paris,
BerlinandSwitzerland.
a.Youmustkeepyourpassportwithyouallthetimewhetheryouareinyour
cityorvisitingotherplaces.Youcanbecheckedarbitrarilyanytimeanywhere.
Your passport is compulsorily checked when you travel by train or cross
borders.

b.TravelinEuropeinthemostexpensivething.Hence,foranyonewhowants
toseeEurope,Eurailpassischeapestandbestoption.Eurailpassallowsyouto
sitinanytraininEuropefromanyplacetoanyplaceundertheconditionthat
thetrainmustbetravellingwithinthecountriesforwhichyouhavetheEurail
pass.Butyouwillneedtomakereservationsfortrainsifitiscompulsory.One
journeyreservationismostly4euro.YoucancheckthedetailsofEurailpassat
http://www.eurail.com/. To understand its worth lets say you travel from
MunichtoParisandback,youwillbespendingminimum270eurowhereas
with 350 euro of Eurail global pass you can make visit to minimum 5 places.
AnotherimportantpointisthatyoushouldbuyEurailpassbeforeleavingIndia.
Eurailpasscostsnearly50euroextrainEurope.

c.Planyourjourneywell.Exploredetailsaboutplaceontheinternetliketravel
cards, bus/train daypasses, tourist spots, highlights, eating places, cheap
accommodation etc. (wikitravel.org is good option to know specific details).
Prepareanexactscheduleoftravelbeforeleavingyourhostel.Youcanfindthe
train numbers and timings on the website http://www.bahn.de/. Trains in
Europedonotgetlate,soyoucanplanprecisely.

d.AlthoughpeoplearereallyhelpfulinEurope,alwayskeepaprintoutofmap
ofplaceyouarevisitingwithclearstreetnamesorelseyouwillbelost.(Thisis
reallyserious.)

e. Another big problem is that there are no water taps in Europe(except at

some places in Italy). You wont get water at railway station, bus stops or
touristspots.Theydontevenservewaterinrestaurants!Youcanalwaysbuy
mineralwaterincaseofemergencybutitcosts23euronormally!Soalways
keepabottleofwaterwheneveryoustartyourjourneyandfillupthebottleat

Association
of Indian Students in Aachen (AISA)
[Typetext]
[Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]

anyluckypoint.

9. International Student Identity Card (ISIC) and International Youth Travel

Card(IYTC).(http://www.isicweb.net/identity.htm) Get these two cards made
They cost Rs. 250 each. ISIC will get you discount at many museums, tourist
places, city visiting cards etc. IYTC will make you eligible to stay in any youth
hostelinEurope.Althoughavailabilityinyouthhostelisnotsureuntilyoubook
and also youwillhave to pay for it (generally about812euro per night with
mostly free breakfast). Accommodation while visiting places is a big trouble
otherwise.

10.SocketConvertor:ElectricsocketinEuropeisdifferentthanIndiansockets.
So buy a convertor to make your laptop and camera chargers work. You can
findtheminanysimpleelectricalshop..Theywillbehardtofindandexpensive
inEurope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets#Type_C

11.Expenses:Hereareapproximatefigurestogiveideaofexpenditureifyou
spendcarefully.Ifspentarbitrarily,expensesmayevendouble.

12. Luggage: Seat down and start sriting list of items according to your need.
Keep adding items daily which you can think about. My advice to bring LAN
wire.Packasmuchfoodaspossiblelikespices,Haldirampackets,readytocook
food from MTR, pickle, may be washing powder, salt is pretty cheap in
Germany. Balance your luggage with food items, dont bring extra and
unnecessaryclothes.

Finally,Iwishbestluckandenjoyyourinternship.

Association
of Indian Students in Aachen (AISA)
[Typetext]
[Registrierter Studentenverien an der RWTH Aachen]