Yudai Imura, a master’s student from the Graduate School of Sport Sciences went on an exchange program at the German Sport University Cologne from October 2021 to March 2022. This program was based on a bilateral collaboration agreement between the two institutions and was sponsored by the Top Global University (TGU) Program.
Please read about his experience below!
1．About the Program
German Sport University Cologne is located in the North Rhine-Westphalia state in Germany, and it is one of the biggest sports related universities. The program I attended was designed for master’s students from Waseda University, but due to it being connected with the Erasmus program, there are many students from all over Europe who attend.
2．Classes
The university is a practical and academic university. Students need to pass a physical exam, so it’s a good chance for students to build up both their academic physical skills. (However, master’s students do not need to take a physical exam.) You can choose from international student classes, bachelor student classes, and master’s student classes, and you can find these courses from the Moodle function. I took four classes, two international and two master’s. I was extremely satisfied with my courses.
It was a great opportunity to understand each other’s culture. The biggest experience was that I could make many friends who are interested in the same academic areas, so we sometimes discussed the topics that I am currently researching.
Regarding the Covid-19 situation, we could take face-to-face classes from the beginning of the semester to the middle of December. After that the state made some regulations, so we had to take courses online. In my opinion, I think the quality of the courses were better face-to-face. But I feel for the professors who had to manage online education.
The most impressive class was cycling. We used both mountain bikes and city bikes, and we went around the forest near the university and did timed races. It was really difficult to use these bicycles because when you use left hand stopper, the bike stops suddenly. There are many hills in the area, but it was still fun. We also went around the city and rode around 50 km in 3 hours, which was really challenging, but the final view from top of the mountain was amazing.
3．Life in Koln
Events
There are many events during winter. I experienced Halloween, carnivals and Christmas markets. The carnival is a crazy event, we went to the city center dressed up in costume. Everyone dresses up, so the city center becomes a super colorful place. This event starts from November 11, at 11:11. Everyone is drinking, dancing and singing songs, the atmosphere is amazing. We also experienced the Christmas markets from the end of November. There were about 4 different markets in the center. I tried some of the brewed wine there, and afterwards you can keep the glass if you want. The design of each glass is different from each market, so you can find original glasses depending on each market.
Travel opportunities
Koln has an airport which is about 30 minutes from the city center, so it is easy to access. They have great routes to all of Europe. I went to Italy, Greece, Spain, and Malta. I did not have enough time to visit all the cities, but they also have routes both to eastern and northern Europe, and tickets are quite cheap. For example, I bought roundtrip tickets to Rome for about 15 euros by Ryanair. It was my dream to visit Florence in Italy, so I really enjoyed staying there.
All in all, I was so happy that I could make some super close friends. I think I have the opportunity to go back to Germany and Europe in the future. We went to many countries, experienced many events and also took many classes together. We also lived in the same dormitory, so it was easy to communicate with each other. It’s normal to rely on your friends, and with Covid-19 there were many regulations, and it was sometimes difficult to go out, but we really enjoyed dormitory life together.
