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LOCAL 8' NATIONAL ADVERTISERS To place an ad, contact us via email at business@technewsiit.com. opinion@technewsiit.com TechNews | Tuesday,Apri12, 2013 An amazing summer studying abroad IIT COA sponsors summer trip to Germany, for class credit Dan Zweig STAFF WRITER Typically, students are encouraged to study abroad their third year of college; but everyone at IIT knows that when students have rigorous and strict schedules for graduating with a degree in engineering, it is hard to find time to take classes abroad that may not fulfill graduation requirements If a semester abroad doesn’t seem to fit into your schedule, I recommend participating in a summer study abroad program It’s too late now to start planning on studying abroad this summer, but it’s actually just about the right time to start planning your trip for next summer University scholarships apply to many summer programs abroad, and classes you take can be transferred back to IIT for credits towards graduation, making you need fewer classes the following semestersl I recommend students intern their final summer before their graduation year, different for engineers, architects, and each major, and so the perfect summer to go abroad is your penultimate summerl Last summer I had the opportunity to go abroad with a program through IIT’s architecture department that offered two architectural electives over six weeks; a freehand drawing course, and a course in advanced architectural technologies A group of about 15 students met in Berlin where we shared an apartment and met every day to explore the city and beyond Each week we would find a new area in Berlinto sketch and study, and each weekend we would depart Berlin for an adventure in another city in Germany or Europe We were lucky enough to explore Dresden, Dessau, Cologne, Bonn, Munich and Potsdam in Germany by train as well Copenhagen in Denmark and Amsterdam in the Netherlands by plane In each city our professors would take us to keylocations, famous buildings, and explain other key components or concepts for the area, teaching us about the history, architecture, urban planning, and culture of each city We would do “quick" sketches, long sketch compositions, “throw downs", and detailed investigations at different buildings throughout each area The entire trip was extremely well organized, with all of our sleeping and travel arrangements perfected beforehand, leaving us with time to study and enjoy each area together, as well as explore the neighborhoods and countries on our own in the evenings This six week program culminated in final drawings of excellent quality and a technical project report that investigated a single building we visited Berlin is especially interestng due to its rebuilding and redefining identity after the wall came down in 1990, allowing young architects, such as our two professors, to come to Berlin from the US, England, and around the world to contribute to this developing identity Many who came to Berlin did not even speak German, and would simply knock on an architect’s door, explain that they wanted to work, and were invited in to start their careers To top off a trip of this caliber, after the ofiicial culmination of the program, and while still in Europe, I took the opportunity to visit France for a week with a friend by train, seeing most of Paris and even a part of the Tour de France From there I traveled alone to Spain for a week, spending several days in Barcelona and a few days in Madrid, wandering the streets, sketching the architecture, and meeting other traveling students at youth hostels From Madrid I flew back to Chicago, ending my excursionto Europe with a nine hour flight and talking about European travels with other young students and graduates I would like to add that I learned more about myself during this trip than during any other time in my life; from traveling with groups of strangers to traveling completely alone in a foreign country I also learned more about the world than ever before; I have studied the architecture of different parts of the world for many years, and have beento other continents and countries before, but have never studied so many societies in person and I have never been accompanied by a professor who can teach you how to study culture and architecture so well I recommend that everyone take a summer study abroad program; get as much as you can from the program and the professor, and make the trip your own Photos & images courtesy ofDan Zweig