Recently, the 11 USTB students who participated in the International Exchange Program for Graduate Students with Innovative Talents have completed the first semester. After New Year's holiday, they will move on to the next phase of scientific research. On November 27^th, the International Affairs Center of Montanuniversität Leoben held a welcoming ceremony for them. Mr. Johannes Caliskan, Operations Supervisor of the International Affairs Center, Ms. Karina Michelini-Rodríguez, Commissioner of the International Affairs Center, and Ms. ZHOU Jie, the Chinese Consultant, attended the welcoming ceremony.

At the welcome ceremony

Johannes took a detailed look at the student's schedule. Meanwhile, he was willing to provide support and assistance at any time and encouraged to utilize the platform of Montanuniversität Leoben to communicate with their international counterparts to exchange academic views, share research results, and promote friendships. Karina introduced academic resources, learning places, gymnasiums, and efficient Studienzentrum Montanuniversität. Ms. ZHOU Jie shared the history and current development of the city and Montanuniversität Leoben to help students quickly adapt to the new environment.

Group photo

Schedule of exchange students

Students took courses in Mining, Metallurgy, Materials, Mechanical, and Energy based on their subject specialties. Fundamentals of Rhetoric is a compulsory course for every international student. In this course, they will exchange and debate with international students from all over the world. Through the course, they not only improved their English-speaking skills but also experienced the clash of different cultures and ideas.

Student dormitory

Students are just a 10-minute walk from the school to the Greenbox Youth Residence. The Residence is equipped with two and three-bedroom suites, where students can enjoy the fairytale winter snowy Austrian landscape in front of their bedroom windows or exchange local experiences with their roommates in the living room. Purchasing ingredients from the nearby supermarket and cooking for themselves are also unforgettable moments for students during their stay, full of surprises and expectations.

USTB exchange students with local supervisors

During their stay in Austria, the students regularly attend group meetings of their supervisors' groups on campus and report on their studies and research progress. WANG Yuhang, a student from the School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, has completed the dissertation proposal in early December. CHEN Zhen, a student in the School of Civil and Resources Engineering, has successfully joined the Safety and Disaster Management Research Team of the Institute of Thermal Engineering with the help of his mentor, and the advanced equipment and simulation programs in the laboratory will help him to complete his thesis. SONG Yuwei, a student from the School of Mechanical Engineering, with the help of Prof. Gamsjäger of the Institute of Physics, has made new research progress in the field of thermodynamics and dynamics of materials with the help of computational platforms and simulation environments.

Local environment

As the New Year is approaching, the International Affairs Center of Montanuniversität Leoben has prepared a cultural exchange program on the topic of Chinese customs for our students, who will present the traditional culture of the Chinese people to international students from all over the world.

Draft: YANG Lindi

Revision: CHENG Mingyuan