Appy Journey in Germany

Source: link

DB- Deutsche Bahn is known for its railway connectivity and innovative services. One of those extra perks DB provides for its customers is a full developed app, which can be downloaded from app stores of all the mobile operating systems. Just type in the destination and it will show you all means of transport that are available from your current location.

With a valid IBAN and BIC one can buy a ticket directly from this app. Apart from the typical one way tickets, DB also offers many day tickets for a specific region/ state or whole country. All such tickets can also be bought for a group of maximum 5 persons. Children below age 13 can travel for free with a Parents/guardian escorting them.

Validity for group tickets:
weekdays: valid from 9 am till 3 am next day, Weekends: complete day

Travelling from Stuttgart airport to HS Aalen
From: Flughafen messe/ Stuttgart        To: Aalen ZOB
VVS Metropolis ticket: 20€ + 5 euros for each add on (max 5 persons)

Other group tickets:
State tickets :23 euros + 5 euros for each additional person (max 5 persons)
Schöneswochenende tickets : (Happy weekend tickets) 40 euros+ 5 euros for each addon (valid for entire Germany for one day/ on weekends, max. 5 persons)
Land durchquer tickets: (Cross borders ticket) These tickets are similar to weekend tickets but valid on any day, 40 euros+ 8 euros for add on (valid for entire Germany for one day)
There are also many other regional tickets especially in metropolitan regions like Berlin, Frankfurt, Münich, Stuttgart etc.,

This app can definitely guarantee you a hazel free journey

-Rajesh Nelapati   

Decoding Deutsch

Source: Pinterest

Reading Listening speaking and then writing

If one observes the learning process of a new language, especially when you are learning it in an all round method. Reading would be the first effective weapon that one would acquire to champion the remaining sectors of a language. So its essential to concentrate on reading and should lay their foundation well in order to acquire good orating and writing skills in later stages.

If you don't trust my point, just think about your experience that you are watching a Hollywood movie for the first time, it is very difficult for a non American English speakers to understand the dialect. But all of a sudden you will find it easy once you enable the subtitles and the secret here is you are  improving your listening skills based on your reading comprehension.

So, have a look at these websites which offers German learning programs that rely on the afore mentioned paradigm of learning,
5 most looked upon contemporary authors to learn German by reading
Live German channels Deutsche welle, ARD-Daserste

Of course FM radio is all always there to improve the listening skills

Also taking a membership in city library will open up many language learning resources, most of the cities offer free membership for registered citizens.

Types and Costs of Accommodation available for students in Germany

Image source

There are lot of possibilities for the student accommodations in Germany. Out of them the Studentenwohnheim is the price worthy option with monthly rent ranging from € 180 to € 280. Studentenwohnheims are more than just an accommodation, they provide an opportunity to meet students from all over the world. But most of the times there would be longer waiting list for getting a room. So hurry up and apply at the nearest facility to your university.

The other options were shared appartments, these would be a bit costlier ranging from € 220- € 320. One should ensure the total costs of the apartment before renting.  Many house owners would demand for additional maintenance costs (Nebenkosten).

For temporary accommodation one can book a place in youth hostel (Jungenherberger). The prices would range from €18- €30 per day. 

Some of the famous websites for searching accommodation

http://www.wg-gesucht.de/

http://www.immonet.de/

For further info these pages would be very helpful

terms and conditions 

DAAD helper

Look before you fly- which type of master's course are you joining in

Various master's courses offered by the German universities- is there any real difference apart from their names. Ya, of course, it is better to be well informed before choosing a course to avoid any future inconveniences. 

  

Conventional master's

 It is structured  to provide students a detailed knowledge in the course, along with the introduction, normally it is  4 semesters long.  Students doesn't necessarily need prior knowledge in the field of education. It would be sufficient if he complete his bachelors degree in the related field.

Consecutive master's

Are often structured on a same-named bachelor's program. Many universities offer consecutive master's program to augment the knowledge acquired during the undergraduate program. Some master's programs are not structured on a specific bachelor's program. Instead, they can be pursued by students who hold various bachelor's degrees. While these programs require certain fundamental knowledge, it can be acquired through different bachelor's programs.

For example, graduates with a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering can pursue a Master's in Industrial Design, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics | Cognition | Intelligence or Industrial Engineering to name a few.

Research master's

This master program is completely different from the others. As the name signifies it concentrates mainly on research in the field of study. There would not be many lectures or class room discussions. Students are asked to choose a topics of their interest either from running projects or from any contemporary research tasks. 

Continuing education master's 

As a rule, it require that candidates have at least one year of work experience. In some cases the courses can be taken while working, which results in different class schedules. Special tuition fees may also apply.


Source: TU Munich 

First four things to do after reaching your destination in Germany

Image source: drj

Follow this order for easy processing

1. Enroll in university and International office

Carry all the stipulated documents by the university for student enrollment. In some universities students are asked to register in International office separately. In many German universities a buddy program is offered for international students to get accustomed with the local culture and traditions. Inquire for any such options in your Uni and don't miss the opportunity to interact with the local students. 

Many universities will ask for the health insurance subscription certificate, you can get this from your insurance service provider. It can be submitted on the later dates. 

2. Bank account activation

Visit the nearest Deutsche Bank branch with your bank details and admission letter. You will be guided through the activation procedure by the bank officials. It wouldn't cost you much of the time. It would take at least a week for the account activation. So be sure that you bring some cash with you for the initial costs like paying the caution deposit for the house and daily needs (roughly 300-500 Euros). 

3. Health Insurance subscription (mandatory)

Bank details and student enrollment form should be submitted for initiating the subscription.

AOK is a state run insurance service, it offers cash less service for all its users. They charge roughly 80€ per month for a student health insurance. AOK pays only for certain limited general medicines, so users have to bear their medicines cost. Though there are also some private insurance players providing the services much cheaper than AOK, they have no cashless option. So user have to pay the bill first and then should claim for the money. Many of them will even pay for certain medicines. 

Generally one's subscribed, its not possible to change your service provider till the completion of your education. As a student you won't have lot of money with you in case of emergency, so its safe to subscribe for a cashless option. 

4. City Registration

Many cities will fix certain time frame for registration after arriving in the city, for example in Münich it is 2 weeks in Stuttgart 3 weeks etc., So in order to avoid fines, make sure that you register within first or in second week after your arrival.

But in some cases students wont have an accommodation at their arrival, then they can enroll with in 4-5 weeks after the arrival. (Consult local authorities or senior students for further information)  

- Rajesh Nelapati

How to open a blocked account ?

Source: DB

Apply for the blocked account well in advance (i.e.,once you start applying for the universities), if you wait till you receive an admission, then it would be some times very delayed to receive your account details because of the huge number of application flowing in just before the beginning of the semester. 

Required documents:

• Electronically filled and printed application form (2 copies), The form should be signed in the presence of consulate official.
• Passport original and 2 Xerox copies
• Admission letter if available (*not mandatory),

if you provide your admission letter then your account will be opened directly in the university city, or else it will be processed with the head office. Once you reach Germany you can go to the nearest Deutsche bank to transfer your account to that branch. It will be done free of cost and in a period of one week.

Procedure 1 

The Deutsche bank blocked account application form is a editable PDF, fill it completely on any PDF readable device and print it out. Make this document attested by the German consulate (appointment is required, contact nearest German embassy)  and post it to the bank address (in Germany) mentioned in the document. Within four weeks you will receive an email with your bank account details. This document should be submitted during the visa interview.

Note: It is not compulsory to transfer the amount to your account before going to the visa interview. After receiving the visa conformation you can deposit the money. (this will no way hamper your chances of getting the visa)

Once after depositing the required amount (8040 euros)  into your account, you will receive a auto generated statement through email. This document is required for getting the visa stamped.

click here for more info

Procedure 2

To avoid long waiting times for an appointment with German consulate to make the application form attested one can also visit the nearest Deutsche Bank branch in India to open a blocked account in Germany. 

Locate your nearest Deutsche Bank in India

Source: Deutsche Bank

Formerly GEZ- Renamed as Rundfunk Beitrag (ARD, ZDF, Deutschlandradio)

source- link

What is this?

In many countries its a big problem that the news are being broadcasted according to the will of channel owners. They try to tamper the news in favor of a group or a political party. In order to prevent that so called 'Yellow journalism' and to provide its citizens with actual news and correct institutional analysis, German public broadcasting services got organised. In order to support their institutional costs, public law allowed them to collect some amount from each household. 

My Story
Like every new foreign student in Germany, I doesn't even have any clue about what this **** bill is.

As some of my neighbors suggested. I neglected it for a long time. For every two months I used to get a new bill stating my unpaid due and the fine for it. Eventually after one year it amounts to 160 euros including fine. Then I was little skeptical about it and inquired my acquaintances and senior students. To my surprise many of them got a legal notice from a local advocate, to clear their bills, which were ranging from 300-700. Finally all the students, who were staying in the same shared flat decided to pay off the highest bill till that date and registered as one user. (Irrespective of no. of devices and users, this bill is same for a single shared flat),

Studentenwohnheim
For studenten wohnheims its little different, if the floor has a public space which could be accessed by any one, then each room is considered as an apartment (each room is entitled for individual bill), irrespective of attached or shared toilets and kitchen. If the access to the common space is restricted to the floor members, for only  those who have keys, then those rooms were considered as a WG (i.e, a common bill is accepted). Read For students. Students who are receiving Bafög or DAAD scholarship are exempted from paying these bills. 

What if I don't respond to the legal notice

There is a common credit system, to determine the trustworthiness of a citizen, regarding his financial commitments (like regular payment of electricity bills, recycling bills, telephone and bank loans). This system is called 'SCHUFA'. If you neglect the notices then your SCHUFA credit would get effected, leading to the financial incredibility. So that you can no more get mobile contracts, internet connection, bank loans etc., Moreover there could also be some legal action against the individual, for evading the bills.

Why is there so much of mess

This new rule of mandatory registration came into existence only from 2013. So many of the seniors students had no experience of paying such bills. So they just suggested to ignore them. Unlike like GOA bills, where Rathhaus employees will demand for new registration or details of an existing payer for the house, will not inform/ask you about Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcast charges), So no one really knew perfectly about this.

Don't neglect these bills. If your are staying in WG then share the bill with your flatmates
If your owner is paying for it, you can register under his account.

Please refer the following links for payment details and further information
For students
For citizens

Source - www.rundfunkbeitrag.de, Schufa

Salary deductions an overview

The above mentioned statement is for parent with one kid.

Without kids

Source: Agentur für Arbeit, ZAV, Internationaler Personalservice

Best Money transfer services from Germany to India - A comparison

Source: RBI, EB

Complete comparison between different service providers for transferring money from Germany to India. Download the document and validate between the rates and decide yourself, for the best and convenient service.

Click here to redirect to a world bank certified company for the comparison of money transfers from different countries.

Source-Geldtransfair.

German social security system

The German social security system has a long history. First steps were taken in 1883. Back then there was a need to give the working people, especially industrial workers more security against accidents and illness. 

The German social security system is based on 5 sectors:

• -          Unemployment insurance: Arbeitslosenversicherung 
• -          Pension insurance: Rentenversicherung 
• -          Health insurance: Krankenversicherung
• -          Nursing care insurance: Pflegeversicherung 
• -          Accident insurance: Unfallversicherung

The social security system in Germany is funded through contributions paid by employees and employers. The contributions are paid on all direct wages as well as indirect wages up to a ceiling.

Type of insurance	Total (% of gross remueration)	Employee (% of gross remueration)	Employer(% of gross remueration)
Unemployment	3	1.5	1.5
Pension	18.9	9.45	9.45
Health	15.5	8.2	7.3
Nursing care	1.95-2.2	1-1.2	0.95-1
Accident	Depends on sector	nothing	full

Note: please refer here for updated values from time to time

There are some other benefits from the system like child support (Kindergeld)

Souce: deutsche-sozialversicherung

-Manfred

Indians and their cultural barriers in Germany

Image: employeemobility

Caution! may be the following analysis is overly simplified to draw some conclusion, it would be different on individual basis. Thanks for the author for his comments,  a P.hd. doctor and senior manager in a MNC, who requested his anonymity. 

I think, the biggest problem is not the lack of German speaking skills, at least not in high tech MNC’s, because here English can be the language of communication. May be it's more due to the different worldviews or different mentalities.

Recently I read an interesting article about intercultural teamwork. It examined various topics, for example: decisiveness. The result was, that the Germans' decisiveness is higher than the Indians'. The reason might be, that in lot of Indian families the father is the head, he takes the decisions for the family, making them completely dependent on him. In some cases even the children educational decisions are influenced by the parents. So, they go to the university, where they have to complete the course without really trying to get to the bottom of the issues. But in Germany it is very common that students change their courses in the midway if they find its not of their interest anymore, but this situation is very rare in India. This example is mentioned here to show case the difference between decisiveness of Indian and German students. Some may argue that Indian students are more clear and capable of deciding their interests, but if it is so there would have not been so many student suicides in the recent past. No offense, I am trying to put forth the actual scenario. 

India and Germany are two completely different societies, it’s not a question of good or bad, but all about understanding the differences and coping up with them.  Also the societal influence can be clearly seen on Indians, where contradicting or questioning are treated as arrogance or disobedience. This making the young people incapable of understanding an information completely and hindering their decision making capabilities. On the contrary own decisions and personal opinions are required in German companies.

Another topic was the obedience to authority. In the article I read an anecdote: In a company the project manager and some employees - one Indian among them - had a tough discussion. The Indian thought that it was not necessary to take the colleague’s name, who contradicted the boss heavily, several times. He was sure, the colleague would be fired in the next days. But to his surprise, exactly this colleague was highly esteemed and became the team leader.

The next point was the inclination to say uncritically 'yes' - sometimes because of the obedience to authority, as someone doesn't want to admit that he didn't understand. So when he was asked, if he understood (no matter, whether language or a technical problem), he answered 'yes' and made mistakes as a result of this. 

Many of the German multinational companies is working closely with Indian service sector firms, whether it may be IT, electronics or engineering sectors. So it’s a growing trend that such Indian companies are sending their employees to customer location for training or deputation purposes. Now there are two problems. First: the Indians don't really belong to the German company. Second: the German employees are afraid that their jobs would be outsourced, that these guys are here to learn and will then go back to India and take the jobs with them. These are two points, which make a good teamwork and an integration harder. It is completely different, when there are individual Indian colleagues.

So my conclusion is that it's necessary not only to learn the language but also the culture. Intercultural competence on both sides is an urgent need!