01.06.2005
Study-Story: Neil from UK

As I was planning to do my doctorate in biology (developmental genetics) I considered my options carefully. I finally decided on coming to Baden-Württemberg for one main reason, this being the international reputation of the Max-Planck Institute and particularly the one in Tübingen as the Director, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, won the Nobel prize for medicine & physiology in 1995. The internationality at the Institute is also mirrored in the fact that English is used as first language here.
Before I came to Tübingen I wasn’t  aware that the region of Baden-Würrtemberg even existed, however I was incredibly impressed by the landscape and surroundings – one simply cannot fail to be impressed.
I also knew very little about contemporary German culture. At school, we had learnt about the Ruhrgebiet as a project comparing industrial decline there with Northern England; but it is another world here: The old part of Tübingen and the high-tech companies of the surrounding area that I am in contact with, are just about as different from post-industrial decay as it’s possible to be. And as far as the people here are concerned, for the most part I have found so many people who are almost overwhelmingly friendly.

I also feel that I am achieving more than just research. Firstly, I’ve shown that I’m capable of not just completing a doctorate, but of doing so in a foreign country, which has added a few difficulties and surprises along the way. Secondly, I’ve learnt the German language, as well as gained an under-standing and love for German culture and cuisine.

There are many benefits of living in a foreign country, and an attractive and wealthy part of Germany where France and Switzerland are also nearby, skiing, for example, is just a day-trip.
I certainly feel I have profited both from studying and living here, and whilst I could have carried out the equivalent work at any other world-class institute, the personal skills I have gained from living in a foreign country I would not have got at Cambridge.