Magdeburg – In the heart of Germany

Located in the heart of Germany, just 1 ½ hours from Berlin, Magdeburg is a university town situated on the river Elbe. Numerous parks make it an attractive place to live and the historic nature of the 1,200-year-old city means that it has plenty of character. Stroll around the city and you will find many historical buildings including the 11th century Monastery of Our Lady and the Cathedral of Magdeburg, the highest church building in eastern Germany.

Magdeburg, flickr (cc) Martin Zeile Photograhy

City profile

Magdeburg, with 230,000 citizens, is the second-largest city in Saxony-Anhalt and its political capital. Historically, city is famous as the home and burial place of Otto I, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. A beautiful city on the Elbe River, today Magdeburg’s economy tilts toward services and nearly 20,000 students attending its two internationally oriented universities. The city is also home to an array of research centers and scores with its proximity to Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig.

Overview of universities

Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
http://www.ovgu.de/en/home-p-1.html

Magdeburg, unlike other cities in Germany, does not have a long university tradition. That, however, does not have to be a disadvantage — on the contrary: Founded in 1993, the Otto-von-Guericke University is one of the most modern institutions for higher learning in Germany. It was one of the first universities in Germany to switch from diploma to bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and now focuses on natural sciences and engineering, as well as social sciences, economics, management and medicine. The university’s hospital is prominent in the region, with several cutting-edge research and treatment programs.

One of the school’s strengths is its interdisciplinary cooperation: A team of the university’s IT specialists and computer visualists is currently developing a virtual training system for Germany’s leading liver surgeons. Dubbed LiverSurgeryTrainers, the program allows surgeons to simulate difficult surgeries on a digital 3-D model of the actual patient. The doctors can thus carefully plan and simulate a surgery to increase the success rate of the real operation.

Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences
http://www.hs-magdeburg.de/

If you want to attend a truly international university, then the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences is your school of choice. The university nurtures contacts with over 100 universities worldwide, offers an international degree and has over 60 exchange programs. Moreover, it currently oversees and runs Germany’s largest education export project: the German-Jordanian University (GJU). Located in Jordan’s capital, Amman, the GJU mimics the concept of a German university of applied sciences, providing practice-oriented education to prepare its students for the working world. Of course the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences’ main focus remains in Germany: At its two campuses in Magdeburg and nearby Stendal, its roughly 6,400 students can choose from 30 programs leading to a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

What it’s like

It’s quite a journey from Togo to Magdeburg, but that’s exactly the path taken by Yaovi Godfried Degbe, a 34-year-old student who just completed his master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Otto-von-Guericke University. Degbe’s dream was to study in Germany and expand his realm to politics. While still in Togo, he had already received degrees in German Literature and Pedagogy and worked in the German Embassy there. After securing a scholarship from the Hanns-Seidel Stiftung, in September 2005 he chose Magdeburg over Muenster as his new home.

Degbe says when he arrived in Magdeburg his teachers and fellow students were always of tremendous help; and to make some money on the side, he quickly found work at the university’s center for foreign languages, where he taught conversational French. In his spare time, Degbe enjoyed Magdeburg’s many parks and traveled all over Germany. A classmate even invited him to experience a “German Easter” near Stuttgart.

Degbe found many friends in Magdeburg and says that leaving them will be hard. “I will miss them,” he smiles. Still, he is looking forward to return to Africa to see his wife and two children. As for his professional future: Degbe plans to work with NGOs in Togo to help the country with its transition from dictatorship to democracy. He considers his time in Magdeburg to have been great preparation for that next career step.

Did you know?

The teen rock band Tokio Hotel, which took Europe by storm, was founded in 2001 in Magdeburg. Martin Luther lived in Magdeburg as a schoolboy and came back in 1524 to preach the ideals of the Protestant Reformation. The euro is not the only currency in Magdeburg — you can also pay with the Urstromtaler, a currency issued at a rate of 1:1 against the euro. It may sound like a joke, but it’s a very real way to help local businesses, the money’s supporters say: “It's quite simple,” Gerfired Kliems, who owns a jewelry shop in Magdeburg, told BBC News. “The money you spend stays in the region. When I accept Urstromtaler in my shop, I then have to see how I can spend the local banknotes. You get to know everyone who’s participating in this project, and at the end of the day, you have a good feeling about life.”

While you’re there

Magdeburg has an active bar and club scene, but overall it’s quiet. It has several beautiful parks to offer and you can take a relaxing stroll next to the Elbe River. The city center is lovely for anyone — but especially if you’re a fan of architecture: It’s lined with medieval churches (the most impressive being the Protestant Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice, which at 104 meters is eastern Germany’s tallest church), several neo-classicist buildings from the Communist era, and modern-day buildings constructed in the late 1990s.
 
What’s happening?

Besides the nightlife, Magdeburg is known for its athletic tradition. SC Magdeburg is one of Germany’s most successful handball teams and in 2002 became the first German team to win the EHF Champions League. 1.FC Magdeburg, one of eastern Germany’s longest-standing soccer clubs, calls the city its home; the club in 1974 won the European Cup Winner’s Cup, beating AC Milan 2:0. Today, 1.FC Magdeburg plays in the Regionalliga, Germany’s forth division, hosting its home matches in a brand-new soccer arena built in 2006 for 27,250 fans.

Useful links:
http://magdeburg.unihelp.de/home
This is Magdeburg’s largest independent student community webpage, where you can find answers to any and all questions that come to mind (in German only).

http://www.uni-magdeburg.de/ikus/
The home page of the Intercultural Students of Magdeburg helps you with your start in town.

http://www.magdeburg.de/index.phtml?sNavID=1.100&La=2
The city’s home page, with lots of useful information.

Photo 2: Flickr (cc) Matin Zeile Photography

Photo 3: Yaovi Godfried Degbe

Photo 4: Flickr (cc) rishon-lezion