Work and Study Experience in Europe

I am a graduate of MAE – Master of Automotive Engineering (2011-13), born and brought up in New Delhi (India). I hold a double master’s degree in Automotive Engineering from CTU in Prague and ENSTA Bretagne. During the study program, I completed my internship (master thesis) at Continental Mechanical Components Germany GmbH in Roding (Germany).

I came to Prague with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and 3 years of work experience, both in India. This work experience bolstered me a lot in adapting to the result, time and quality oriented work-culture in Europe.

Even before landing in Europe, I planned to make the best of my student life here by not just fulfilling the requirements of the study program, but also by exploring the diversity and depths of European culture. I believe that I fulfilled my goals at the time and I am still going further with the numberless possibilities in Europe.

CTU in Prague: The legacies of 150 year old Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and 300 year old University speak for themselves through their architecture, their education system and their coherence with the latest trends in technology and research. The industrial excursions, laboratory sessions and the project/assignment tasks are the main sources of generating a steep and intensive learning rate within this program. I have also observed through the students in the batches after year 2011 that EMAE course curriculum and methodology has been improving tremendously every year.

Furthermore, Prague is a beautiful place to live in. The facilities and public transport system corresponds to that of other major cities in Europe. There are always numerous activities one can engage in to kill monotony. Having earned in India and spending in Europe, it was less of a financial burden living in Prague than it could have been anywhere else in the EU with a comparable standard of living.

ENSTA Bretagne: Fall semester was not the best time to study in Brest due to its weather, especially after getting the expectations raised by the life in Prague. But the hospitality of International Student’s Office at ENSTA Bretagne was always there to cheer up the spirits. I also genuinely thank them for providing me with various scholarship options for financial support.

Possessing limited French language skills, I faced a difficult time while communicating with some of the teachers, in daily-life situations, studying subjects and even getting amalgamated with the local crowd, both within and external to the school. I believe that by having a better hold of the language I could have gained much more knowledge from the experienced professors at ENSTA Bretagne and might have been happier about choosing ENSTA Bretagne for the second year of studies in EMAE.

Internship at Continental: The internship with one of the biggest automotive supplier in the world was the best thing that happened to me during this study program. It took a very long time to find an internship in Germany, but it was well worth the effort. Working in Germany with the values of Continental AG taught me the highest levels of rational thinking, time management and professionalism at workplace. I had the chance to perceive the reasons behind non-compromised perfectionism in German technology.

Even though it has been a bulk of learning experiences throughout my journey in Europe during the past three years, I have learnt that for non-European students, it’s not a piece of cake when it comes to Visa related procedures, searching and moving accommodation every now and then, encountering staff even in foreigner’s administrative departments not knowing English, hoping for and securing an internship/job within the desired domain, etc.. Therefore, prospective students must search extensively about the tough realities that accompany the fruits of studying abroad, especially in a joint-university program, and be mentally prepared to take the challenges.

I completed my studies in France in September 2013 and in Prague in January 2014. Presently, I am working with Porsche Engineering Services s.r.o. as a Development Engineer and also continuing with doctoral studies at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at CTU in Prague.

I chose MAE because of the unique and intriguing structure of the program. I can confidently say that I am proud of my decision. It has been and is still being a highly enriching experience for me while living in Europe.

Nikhil Dhavan

12/02/2014