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posted by n1 on Wednesday June 10 2015, @05:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the mmrpg dept.

BBC reports that Germany has abandoned tuition fees altogether for German and international students alike and more than 4,600 US students are fully enrolled at Germany universities, an increase of 20% over three years. "When I found out that just like Germans I'm studying for free, it was sort of mind blowing," says Katherine Burlingame who decided to get her Master's degree at a university in the East German town of Cottbus. "I realised how easy the admission process was and how there was no tuition fee. This was a wow moment for me." When Katherine came to Germany in 2012 she spoke two words of German: 'hallo' and 'danke'. She arrived in an East German town which had, since the 1950s, taught the majority of its residents Russian rather than English. "At first I was just doing hand gestures and a lot of people had compassion because they saw that I was trying and that I cared." She did not need German, however, in her Master's program, which was filled with students from 50 different countries but taught entirely in English. In fact, German universities have drastically increased all-English classes to more than 1,150 programs across many fields.

So how can Germany afford to educate foreign students for free? Think about it this way: it's a global game of collecting talent. All of these students are the trading cards, and the collectors are countries. If a country collects more talent, they'll have an influx of new ideas, new businesses and a better economy. For a society with a demographic problem - a growing retired population and fewer young people entering college and the workforce - qualified immigration is seen as a resolution to the problem as research shows that 50% of foreign students stay in Germany. "Keeping international students who have studied in the country is the ideal way of immigration," says Sebastian Fohrbeck."They have the needed certificates, they don't have a language problem at the end of their stay and they know the culture."


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  • (Score: 1) by jpkunst on Wednesday June 10 2015, @07:45AM

    by jpkunst (2310) on Wednesday June 10 2015, @07:45AM (#194432)

    "Keeping international students who have studied in the country is the ideal way of immigration," says Sebastian Fohrbeck."They have the needed certificates, they don't have a language problem at the end of their stay and they know the culture."

    I doubt it. As far as I can see, in my country (which isn't Germany) international students live in an English-only expat bubble, don't learn a word of the language of their host country, and they usually leave after finishing their studies.

  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:22AM

    by Immerman (3985) on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:22AM (#194438)

    Ah, but does your country offer one of the strongest economies in the world to entice students to remain? Not to mention some of the best beer?

    • (Score: 1) by anubi on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:57AM

      by anubi (2828) on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:57AM (#194444) Journal

      I had one of the sharpest mathematicians ( and computer programmer to boot ) I have known go back to Germany. He had been here about 12 years. He had finally had enough "American Bullshit".

      He emailed me not too long ago, telling me the wonderful little town he found, and how he is finally enjoying whats left of his life, and how great the beer is.

      Genetically ( and by surname as well ), he is true German.

      If I wasn't so old, I would love to jump ship and join him.

      He tells me they really appreciate the skills he brings to the table over there.

      While over here, he was just a beggar. Never at peace. Knowing management was always looking for a cheaper replacement.

      I get the strong idea that for a STEM education and employment, Germany is the place to be.

      Financial services, Litigation, and Compliance assistance: USA!

      --
      "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:30AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:30AM (#194441)

    they usually leave after finishing their studies

    research shows that 50% of foreign students stay in Germany

  • (Score: 2) by Jerry Smith on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:39AM

    by Jerry Smith (379) on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:39AM (#194442) Journal

    I doubt it. As far as I can see, in my country (which isn't Germany) international students live in an English-only expat bubble, don't learn a word of the language of their host country, and they usually leave after finishing their studies.

    In your country, students that want to study for instance Nordic languages and culture choose to do so in their own country, and not in those Nordic countries. Which is quite strange.

    --
    All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by sudo rm -rf on Wednesday June 10 2015, @09:16AM

    by sudo rm -rf (2357) on Wednesday June 10 2015, @09:16AM (#194448) Journal

    From my experience (in Germany) most foreign students that do stay after university come from eastern and southern Europe. But that's of course only anecdotal*.
    Also, the summary states:

    She arrived in an East German town which had, since the 1950s, taught the majority of its residents Russian rather than English.

    That's true, but only until 1990, when Eastern Germany ceased to exist and became part of the BRD, a NATO member state. So most people under 30 years have at least basic knowledge of English.

    * a little research later on gave me following numbers for the East German town of Cottbus (Census 2011):

    Out of 5000 Students, 290 come from abroad, about half of them from Russia and Poland. English speaking countries are not even in the list and fall in the category "others"

    • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:42PM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Wednesday June 10 2015, @08:42PM (#194666) Journal

      That's true, but only until 1990, when Eastern Germany ceased to exist

      The GDR (DDR) ceased to exist. East Germany didn't cease to exist. There's even a radio station having it in its name ("Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg").

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @11:59AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 10 2015, @11:59AM (#194477)

    international students live in an English-only expat bubble, don't learn a word of the language of their host country

    As someone in Asia, I can attest that this not only applies to students, it applies to all kinds of English speaking expats working here. You can easily find expats that have worked in Asia for 10-20 years, and still never learned a word of the local language, and unable to speak the simplest sentences even if their live depended on it.