These are exchange students from Germany, Spain, the United States, Mexico and Colombia.

Male and female students from various countries, who are participating in the academic exchange program of the University of La Serena (2nd Semester 2014), had the opportunity to share their experiences, customs and culture with ULS students and the university community in general. in the second version of the International Fair, organized by the International Relations Office of the institution.

With great enthusiasm, the students from Germany, Spain, the United States, Mexico and Colombia, set up and attended the different stands arranged in the Hall of the Ignacio Domeyko Campus, becoming an opportunity for them to publicize relevant information about their houses of study. , along with the traditions and typical foods of their countries.

Lukas Ladig, who comes from Germany (TU Dresden) and attends Commercial Engineering courses, pointed out that this activity allowed the Chilean students to “get to know our country, ask us questions; Maybe someone will be interested in going to Germany or other countries.” 

It was also the opportunity for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to provide information about the exchange programs that students at the University of La Serena can opt for.

Precisely, since the DAAD began to work closely with the University of La Serena, the number of German students who decide on an academic semester at the ULS has increased considerably. In this second semester, for example, there are seventeen exchange students belonging to the prestigious German universities: Technique Dresden, Friedrich-Alexander Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Hochschule München and RWTH Aachen Higher School of Technology of Rhineland-Westphalia.

This is the case of Susanne Wagner, who studies Tourism at Hochschule München. “We have seven different classes that we must pass, to also spend our semester in Germany (…). We are three girls from Germany in our class and we always get together with the other students to talk more and learn (...). They are all super friendly,” commented the student, who added that she chose South America as a destination to be able to practice her Spanish and Chile because it is recognized as the safest country on the continent. 

The young people from Germany were joined by students from the universities of Valencia (Spain), the Autonomous University of Baja California (Mexico) and Antioquia (Colombia), and the American colleges of Middleburry and St. Norbert, who were very happy for participating in this fair and having the possibility of studying at the state institution of the Coquimbo Region. 

Orientation Program

Prior to this International Fair, during the first days of August, exchange students actively participated in the Orientation Program, promoted by the International Relations Office, coordinated by Mg. Dietmut Graeff. These induction days for foreign students included visits to different university facilities. Among these, the Department of Physical Education and Sports (for details of the sports course offering), the Bicentennial Monumental Clock, the Mineralogical Museum, the El Brillador Mine School, the General Directorate of Student Affairs (for information on the extracurricular courses and the National Student Card) and the Irma Salas Library.

They also visited some tourist and heritage sites in the city of La Serena, such as the Japonés Park and the Presidente Gabriel González Videla Archaeological and Regional History museums, among others. 

During the development of this Program, in addition, the students chose and enrolled the subjects to be taken, they carried out group work on personalities who gave their names to the different ULS Campuses (Ignacio Domeyko, Isabel Bongard, Enrique Molina Garmendia and Andrés Bello) and They watched Chilean cinema.

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