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I did my master's from HAW Hamburg in German taught the course in Automobile engineering. Master Fahrzeugbau to be specific.
I started my study in March 2017 and was able to complete it successfully including a 1-year internship in August 2019. Before starting my study at HAW Hamburg, I had done the German language course till the C1 level and also appeared for TestDaF, DSH, and Telc C1 Hochschule exam, from which I cleared two of them, to secure my admission at HAW Hamburg. The first semester was not that good, due to being the only non-German in the whole batch. I consider myself an extrovert, but I need some time to make connections. German classmates are happy to help, but you have to ask. It was normally about understanding the process and making a few connections, with whom you can share and work in groups. I had the advantage of getting a buddy from my batch, who helped with this stuff, with my timetable and so on stuff, also took me to some cool parties on the campus. Once my social circle was established, I was more confident with the course, I cleared 7 subjects in the first two semesters, at the end of the third semester, I started with my internship in a different city, from there I only came to Hamburg for giving my remaining exams, as in Germany you don’t have to be present in the class to give the exam. I cleared all the practical subjects plus project work in the beginning. So I was doing my internship and also gave exams for 2 subjects in the 4th semester and the 5th semester, I gave the last remaining module and also submitted my thesis to clear my master.  Let’s go through all the expenses you have to pay for and during the study in Germany.
University application: At first, you will apply to a university for getting admission from India via Uni-Assist (Start) which costs 75€ for the first application and 30€ for each extra university where you are applying. On average you will apply to 5–6 universities, to increase your chances, which makes the total around 225€ plus the courier charges to send your document to Germany. Here you might need to submit the language certificate depending upon your course selection, English or German taught course.
Here you might not need to give IELTS if you are going to study in German taught course, or the opposite for English taught course. For German taught course fees would be more as you would be learning till B2/C1 level from Goethe Institute in India which can be more expensive. If you are planning to learn the language in Germany then the fees would be further expensive 900+€ for an intensive German course for each level. So you can count what is applicable to you.  I feel my self, eligible to answer this question as I am about to finish my Master soon in German taught Program. Currently writing my thesis in a reputed German firm. Trust me it’s not at all Hard to do Master in German taught Course if you are ready to take language as the medium of education rather than taking it as a hurdle between you and the master’s content. I did my bachelor study in India, in English taught course though being in Gujarat, we were using Hindi or Gujarati to make concepts of engineering clear, though all Exams need to be in English orally or Written. My schooling was done in my mother tongue Gujarati. Now from such a background, it seems difficult to study in a German taught-course, as we have never tried it before, so we try to avoid it. I started basic A1 classes in India and get A1 Certificate so it can help me getting visa acceptance easier. Then I did an intensive German language Course in Berlin. At that time my focus was only to get the required language certificate, so it was kind of full time only for the German language. In that way, I was able to get the Telc C1 and TestDaf in around 8–9 Months. ( You need only one of these, Goethe C2, Telc C1 Hochschule, TestDaF (4*4) or DSH 2) So as I began my study at HAW Hamburg being only Indian or you can say the only Foreigner, it was difficult to understand what’s going on around me. It’s not because of language it was the method of teaching which is a little bit difficult as an Indian to digest. Classes are having a duration of 1 hour 30 minutes and there will be 2 sessions per subject on its day. That means you learn at very rapid speed, so many things need to be done by yourself at home. Being at Hochschule you have to submit reports, perform experiments, and present the content of your work. No written exams for many subjects. This way you don’t need to mug up all the content if you can explain it in your broken German, that’s enough. No Negative markings if you make some grammatical mistakes. Grades will be based on your performance for those subjects, not your language skills. One thing one needs to work on technical words but if you take those technical terms as new words, rather than translating it to English. You understand the meaning in the German language itself would be better. Similarly, I have done it in my Bachelors, similar migration from mother-tongue schooling to English engineering universities. This will make things easier than all-time using unreliable translation apps or sites. HAW HAMBURG Erstsemester Begrüßung | International Students | HAW HAMBURG | Ankit Sheladiya | Now I didn’t find it hard presenting in German or also writing exams in German as I invested 9 months before and also language can be improved along the semester, so it will always improve assuming being in Germany. The benefits of studying in German-taught courses can be seen while finding internships and jobs. As most of the management level or HR head are native and they require at least a basic understanding of the German language. Here you will get the advantage of all other applicants as your fluency level will be higher and you can express your skills better. Summary: It’s not hard at all but needs to work on language. It will also open a big rich job market for you in Germany as well as in the world. For Master 3 semester is not that Hard, I have seen many who did their bachelors also in German taught, so it’s doable from every aspect if you are open to a widely growing language without being afraid of its difficulty level. All the best #Edit1 I finished my master degree in automotive engineering (M.Sc Fahrzeugbau) in August 2019 and started working from 1st November 2019 with a leading engineering services provider in Germany. If I can finish a course in German taught program, I don't think it's impossible for others.  Student doing Part-time jobs in Germany Is it possible? Yes is it easy? No According to German laws, Students can work 20 hours per week and 120 full or 240 half days in a year. So the average basic salary is around 9 to 11 Euro per hour. The minimum salary is somewhere between 9 & 10 € (In 2020 it’s 9.35€) per hour, you can not get below this amount if you are working legally. This is the general criteria you will have to follow during your part-time work. Per day maximum working hour is 8, it can go till 10 but more than that is not allowed for anyone not even for German employee. Two extra hours is also complex, some say it will be counted as extra day so you may lose 1 day from your 120 days by working 2 hours extra, but I am not sure on this topic. Not following these rules might get you a penalty from German authorities, only in the extreme conditions like working more than 150 Full days or more.
Now reality is it’s impossible to utilize those 120 days if your primary goal is education and also you want to score well in your exams, but you can start with the initial blocked amount in your bank account and try to maintain this balance around 4–5000 €, here you can work during semester break full time and earn some good money and during semester just earn to fulfil major expense such as rent and insurance, you can do a mini job (450 €). This will be the optimum approach as per my advice. Getting a good job without good german skills is not an easy task, you will end up doing a labour job where language skills are not required. Another factor is the city where you live, bigger cities offer more job opportunities. Some people can also find the job at the university itself, but not everyone can find it, as the numbers of such jobs are also limited. Another thing I would like to explain is the greediness of earning money. As once you become greedy, you will do more and more part-time job, as once you start with any kind of job, the job provider will always have a shortage of people, and you are the cheapest manpower for them, they will always send you for work, and per day on an average you get around 70–80 Euro for full shift, and some students work kind of full time by not going to universities and spending more time to earn more and more money at the cost of education and grades. If one calculates this whole thing with the vision you are just sending your full-time salary one or two-semester away. As early as you finish your study there is a high chance of getting the amount of money you earned by doing the part-time job for one-two semester in just two months. So keep your vision and priority in your mind. Just don’t look at the short benefits of earning 80 Euro in a day. I have managed successfully my finance with this strategy, I had advantages of living in Big cities like Berlin, Hamburg and now Hannover so things worked out for me very well. As I did my Course in German taught Programme so language was never a barrier for me, as I was able to work without any limitations. So if you are good at communications (English and German) and not a lazy person you will most probably survive with student job during your study. Other factors have influences but it can be overcome by efforts and little bit discomfort and optimum level of luxury. Good luck! You can also watch the animated explainer video for this question in this video. Thanks.  I like to answer this kind of questions as the person who asked it want a binary answer either yes or no. But in reality, it’s not always like that, it depends on so many factors including the person itself. I will try to break down the thinking scenario to make it easier for readers to prepare them self for their adventure in Germany. The first thing to clear: What is a student job?
The second thing: the German language?
Conclusion: it’s possible for sure, but it won’t be always easy to find. As Germany seems small on the map but you will be in different cities where different industries would be situated and they will have different requirements for their student employees. So you can’t get the binary answer in yes or no. It depends on factors such as:
Knowing German in Germany makes things easier for you. As you will be in a position to discuss and argue in case of any conflict situation. There are many students who are in their learning phase with the German language, but they still managed to get part-time student jobs in their respective localities. In the end, your inner Jugaadu soul will lead you in case of trouble to find student jobs.  Short Answer: No, It’s not enough. Long Answer: Not enough at all, even if you are going to study in English taught course, the thing which you will learn on Duolingo will help you to know the basic grammar and basic day to day conversations. By basic, it’s really pretty basic. Like I am eating an apple and he is eating an apple kind of stuff, so if you won't do any other thing to learn the language and only use Duolingo, you can say only these kind of basic sentences which according to CEFR would fall under A1 and in some advanced Duolingo levels A2, more than that Duolingo can not offer at the moment. I am Duolingo Global ambassador for 2 years, there are some promising features like Duolingo Stories, Duolingo Podcast and Duolingo events which can be used to fulfill the gap. You can connect with me and learn a language for free over Duolingo.  I have completed the complete 5 levels/ checkpoints offered on Duolingo when I was learning the language, they have updated them now. I was also attending the physical class, Duolingo for me was kind of addition to my language learning, but it was never a substitute for a full-time teaching or former teaching options. Even to communicate with a native person would need a proper environment and a little bit of practice, which is not possible at the moment with Duolingo. You can find a Duolingo Event group where you can practice with other Duolingo users. Listen to some podcast to get familiar with the german culture and some common practices by the natives, which are also important aspects of learning any language. Use Duolingo as a tool to enhance your learning experience, but it won’t be enough on its own to use it in real-world out there, for that, you need some more resources like books, online materials, etc for your MS in Germany for English teaching course. For German taught courses there is no substitute other than learning professionally up to C1 level and appear for the required exams to get the proof of your required language proficiency. Thanks. Ankit Sheladiya What is XING?  I am pretty sure you know already about LinkedIn, which is professional networking site. Main purpose of LinkedIn is to connect with like-minded professionals and make your network strong in any particular field. You can also use it find new jobs and share your field knowledge and insights with your network or learn something new about interest using groups. Coming back to Xing. It does the same work as Linkedin and it's more popular in German speaking countries or in other words under DACH region. DACH consist of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. LinkedIn is the international networking tool, which allows you to make global connections around the world. On the other hand XING is more limited in DACH region basically German speaking countries. Xing is still popular business platform in Germany, but Linkedin ist getting popular day by day. In Austria and Switzerland is Linkedin is slowly taking over Xing. How to make most out of Xing?You are reading this, that means you are in DACH region. Either working professionally or looking for some opportunities here. That's why you are interested in knowing about Xing. Xing has majority of experienced professionals with higher positions in their firms. As it's German equivalent to LinkedIn, it also works same as LinkedIn, you can create your profile on Xing, follow the businesses of your Interest. Take part in any group discussions, post your ideas and content for other people and businesses to make your presence in this professional network. As of now there are more than 18M registered professional in DACH region over XING.  As you know about LinkedIn premium, you can also get some insights and statistics about your profile with Xing premium. You can update your profile with your skills and language,etc with your work and education to be visible to the recruiters. It's all about showing off your skills over such professional networking platform. By keeping your profile updated can bring you new opportunities as most of the recruiters depends on Xing and LinkedIn for their recruiting and it is also nice to have someone experienced in your network, so you can learn from them.
Main thing to observe that Xing or LinkedIn is not Facebook, so you shouldn't use it like it. It's professional networking platform, so you have to use it wisely. Use proper profile photos, don't pose rubbish internet junk on your profile, put your details responsibly. Make suitable connections, follow companies you admire, rest your network will work for you, and it will bring some new opportunities for you. All the best. Happy Networking. -Ankit Sheladiya
Are you looking for tips and methods to improve your speaking in German language? Normally speaking can be improved over the period of time being in the environment where the language is being spoken. It is a fact one can learn speaking by hearing the sound...as we all know that deaf born baby is not able to speak anything even though his speaking organs are fine. There are number of other factors which can help you to reach fluency in the speaking in German. Your background and your practice and method are the biggest one.
Here I will share the learning tips which helped me during my journey until now. Follow if something you can try for yourself if it helps you in your fluency. 1. Play DAMSHARAS
I know it sounds weird, but it's impossible at the beginning of your learning a new language phase that you know every single word, so in that crucial time you can use gestures and body language to convey your message. Sometimes you have a hint of the word, but not able to remember it completely, associating it with the gestures you will be able to use the purest form of communication. In another way, during this communication method, the receiver can give you the word for the thing you were trying to say with the gestures and body language.
I will share my experience of being alone in Russia for the first time in my life at the age of 18, I had no clue about the Russian language. I was waiting at Saratov train station for someone to pick me up, but after waiting for 2-3 hours, I was so tired due to travelling since 3 days from Surat to Saratov via Delhi and Moscow. I decided to book a room so I can rest until this miscommunication can be solved. I went to the stations guest house, I could only say Hello and the lady over there could not speak any English. I was showing with my hand 1 room for me. I showed her my ticket from Moscow to Saratov. She was replying back with her hand one or two, I insisted one again and again. But later she showed me the room one was private and two was for sharing and she showed the price on her phone (Nokia Phone) for both rooms. This way I was able to find myself a room for that night without speaking Russian language and no chance of having internet on my phone in 2013 on my first day in Russia. After that, I got the WIFI and contacted the responsible person about my stay and the problem was solved. That was my AIESEC Exchange Programm in Saratov. 2. Get the environment
The best way to grab the fluency is by being in the environment of that particular language. That would be by moving into a German-speaking country like Germany, if possible or else making some native friends of that language. Even I have seen many people from foreign students are always in their country groups, even after staying in Germany for many years. It's good to be with your countrymen but if you have goals of speaking the language fluently you should also have more native friends, it helps not only in learning the language but also you get familiar with the culture.
I have been living in German-speaking houses since my first day in Germany, In Berlin, I was living with a German guest family where I had my full time talking session all day from breakfast to evening tea, which made me or forced me to speak in the German language. Even after that, I have always found a WG(Shared Apartments) with German speakers throughout my journey in Germany since December 2015, excluding a few months where I was living in non-German WGs. Sometimes it is not possible for people with a family to have experiences like me, they can find some Facebook Groups for German speakers or some useful sites Like Meetup Duolingo Events and other for language exchange meetups near you. You can find some tandem partner to practice your language, there are many such apps available on play stores. Italki is one of them. Even I am also offering speaking sessions due to this lockdown situation. You can get information on M4dspeaks Facebook page. Being positive is good, but looking at a decision from all points of view is even better. This method tells you to act against your Instincts, for example, if you are too positive you can take big risks without considering any backup plan to fall back. The same works for the very cautious people who may not focus on the rewarding side of the opportunity you are looking at. By wearing these 6 different hats having unique thinking Patterns you force yourself to look at the different viewpoints, it can help you to look at problems from different perspectives, one at a time, to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings.  This tried and tested six thinking hats method can be applicable in any business professional cases or even in personal matters such as deciding about your career. I have been writing on Quora regularly since 2 years as if now, mostly about the topics related to education in Germany and around the German language issues faced by aspiring or existing students in Germany. I myself have studied my MS in master taught course from HAW Hamburg in field of Automotive engineering. Before it was easy to write answers or help people one to one by video/audio calls, now due to full time job I am not able to write much and also it's hard allotting my time for one to one counselling. Though I prefer one to one sessions on weekend which can save student's tons of money by not consulting any inefficient and not needed agents in market who charges lots of money for their services. I always says that there is no need of any Consultant, every information you need is available online, one just to need to look for it. In extreme case I am offering my weekend hours for the paid sessions, there may be some other people as well, who can help you out. So be proactive and use this 6 thinking hats method for your case and find out some extremely surprising information and things you haven't thought of. Thanks for reading and don't forget to watch the video and subscribe to my channel. I have started this as a beta project to create digital content of my expertise and life, mostly around my experiences and learning having travelled a lot and successfully studied abroad here in Germany. As mentioned in the video, I have original Powerpoint presentation to help you getting started with 6 thinking hats, and live your dreams. Keep Exploring. 
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