Memories from the 2022 Heidelberg exchange programme
Monday 20 February 2023
St Catharine’s is pleased to be able to offer students the opportunity to enhance their studies through exchange programmes run in partnership with universities around the world. One of these partnerships is with Heidelberg University in Germany, which enables St Catharine’s to send one of our students to study at Heidelberg for a full year or up to two students to Heidelberg’s international summer school.
Ahead of the next application deadline (9 April 2023), we caught up with the two St Catharine’s students who spent last summer in Heidelberg through the exchange programme: Jiacheng Lin, a PhD candidate in Chemistry, and Livia Wilod Versprille, a PhD candidate in Behavioural Neuroscience.
Both students explained how they originally applied in 2022 to deepen their understanding of the German language and culture.
Jiacheng said, “I saw it as a valuable opportunity to experience life at another of the world’s oldest universities – Heidelberg was founded in 1386 – and the cultural differences between Germany and the UK. Having German friends in Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, I was excited to improve my language skills over the summer.”
Livia added, “Heidelberg is a beautiful city and has an excellent university, but my reasons for applying were quite practical: I am hoping my PhD will enable me to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical field and working in Germany was one of the options I was considering this time last year. As the end of my PhD approaches, a move to Germany is looking increasingly likely and I’m glad I was able to improve my German language skills thanks to the exchange programme.”
One of the classes that Jiacheng took during the summer school in Heidelberg
St Catharine’s students are not alone when they join the exchange programme. Heidelberg has similar partnerships with other universities and the summer school attracts roughly 200 students from around the world. The summer school is purposefully designed for this international cohort of students and to help them make the most of their time in a new city and their new connections.
Livia commented, “The summer school itinerary was cleverly designed with classes in the morning, workshops in the afternoon and social events where you could speak German in the evening, such as a choir, hiking or a boat tour on the river.”
Schloss Heidelberg at sunset by Jiacheng Lin
As part of the exchange partnership, St Catharine’s students do not pay tuition fees and summer school participants receive €550 in cash on arrival to support their living costs during their time in Heidelberg. Some students may also be eligible for additional support from the College if associated costs are likely to cause financial hardship.
Jiacheng explained, “I was fortunate to receive financial support from St Catharine’s Travel and Research Fund to cover my visa application fee and flights to Germany, without which I would not have been able to take up my place at the summer school.”
