1. My experience in general in Ingolstadt
My experience in Ingolstadt was very enriching and unique. The city is excellent. Many parks, many places to enjoy nature, every place easily accessible with great streets and many cycle paths.
In Ingolstadt, there are more bike paths, and many people ride bicycles, compared to Joinville. All the places are easily accessible, but I believe this is since Ingolstadt is not a very big city.
In Ingolstadt, there are supermarkets and restaurants everywhere. There are several food restaurants from all over the world, in addition to German food, of course.
The enrollment and the registration process at THI are not difficult, and videos and documents well explain by the university. There are a lot of formalities, but everything is described and there is no mistake if you follow all steps. Any questions you have, university staff, and THI Buddies will answer you with kindness.
Regarding accommodation, finding a great place, well located and with a low rental price is a challenging task and one that requires a very large search. Despite having several ads for various accommodations, the difficulties I encountered are related to price/location and response from advertisers. Living near the center, like in every city, is almost impossible to pay less if you don't stay in a student dormitory. However, when you find a great place and good price, sometimes there is no response from the advertiser. The advice I give is to send a message to several advertisers and do not worry about living a little far from THI, as transportation to the university or walking to it is very easy.
The main difference that I noticed in comparison with Brazil is the people. Brazilians are easy-going and like to talk to everyone. Germans are sincere and direct and do not like small talk with strangers. However, everybody is super polite and wants to help. Another compliment for the Germans is that there is no prejudice against foreign people at all, as there is a variety of people from all over the world in Ingolstadt. Everyone is welcome in Ingolstadt!
I recommend that everyone who wants to go to Ingolstadt learns at least German language basics, as it is not everywhere that people speak English like in big German cities.
2. My research / work at THI on "CFD simulations of wind farm configurations for layout optimization"
Read more on my research at THI here.
Arthur stayed at THI from March until September 2020. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Talita Sauter Possamai (UFSC Joinville), Prof. Dr. Sabine Bschorer (THI)