Ashoka University

Study Abroad Report In general, I can recommend contacting your university or faculty early on about a semester abroad. I had already spoken to the RUB's Student Advisory Service and International Office in spring 2023 about spending a semester abroad in India. They weren't able to help me much, but in the end, a professor of mine helped me. He put me in touch with a professor friend at Ashoka University. This wouldn't have been necessary, but since Ashoka University is very new, I wouldn't have applied there without the contact and the experience. I also applied to IIT Delhi, but they didn't seem particularly interested in international students. In addition, I believe there were other reasons that spoke against IIT Delhi. Since I had serious reservations about both universities, I flew to Delhi in March 2024 and visited both Ashoka University and IIT Delhi. I then applied to Ashoka University as a visiting student. My visa application was very complex, and I think it can be helpful to re-register within Germany to apply for the visa at a different consulate. Theoretically, the process should be the same for all consulates, but this doesn't match the consulates' own statements and my experience. In general, the earlier you apply, the better. However, there are absolutely no guarantees, and it's entirely possible that you won't be allowed to enter or leave the country in time. With a tourist visa, however, you can enter the country very easily and, in my experience, get a visa quickly. Since I paid all the fees within one calendar year, which amounted to over €10,000 within one calendar year, I had to report this payment to the Deutsche Bundesbank. I only had to call once. It was very easy. I completed three modules in the monsoon semester: In the Probabilities and Statistics module, I attended slightly less than half of the lectures and discussion sessions, which definitely put me among the more engaged students. My impression is that at Ashoka University, few students generally voluntarily attend classes that start before 10:10 a.m., as was usually the case with the Probabilities and Statistics lectures. Nevertheless, I was shocked at how many mistakes most students made and how easy it was to pass with just a little work. In the Introduction to Comparative Politics module, I was taught the basics of comparative politics. It essentially focuses on how different forms of government (e.g., autocracy/democracy) and their resulting consequences for the population interact. The Introduction to Political Theory lecture focused on selected influential theories in political theory, with the topics of state theory, Marxism, feminism, and racism taking up the most space. Since there were only about 40 students in the lecture, there were many lively discussions, which I enjoyed. The people also came from extremely different countries and backgrounds, which I think enriched the discussion. In the spring semester, it was significantly more difficult to find suitable courses. As a result, I only took the Nature and Nation and Social and Political Thought in Modern South Asia courses. In the Nature and Nation course, almost all of the work involved reading texts and writing essays. I found it striking that, compared to my experience at Ruhr University, neither the lecturers nor the students adhered to deadlines. Since I had already attended school in Amritsar Punjab for a year during my high school years, many things that are different in India already seemed familiar to me. I lived on campus, and all students shared rooms. The dorms are segregated by gender. However, members of the opposite sex are allowed to enter the dorms until 1:30 a.m. after registering. I rarely left campus during the semester. Most students who didn't have family in the area did the same. While there was a kitchen and two refrigerators, which I shared with 25 people, for these reasons, among others, it made more sense to eat three meals a day in the cafeteria. While the food there was cheaper than in Germany, there was also much less choice and very often the same food. I ate mostly bread, rice, cucumbers, and carrots. There are very few proper supermarkets, but food delivery services are much more common and cheaper than in Germany. In general, I I didn't spend much money during that time, spending about €250 a month on food, drink, and accommodation. It was also difficult to spend much more than that, as shopping and going out involved considerable effort. Since not many houses have been built yet in the new development where the university is located, there aren't as fast delivery services as is usual in India. Tuition fees for six months of lectures were approximately €13,000. That's a lot in the Indian context. However, considering that many professors hold degrees from Ivy League colleges or German universities, it's relatively inexpensive. One should be aware that an extremely high number of people are emigrating or have emigrated from some parts of India, and the other people there are also very likely to be directly or indirectly dependent on remittances. This is especially true in the big cities, but also throughout Punjab and Kerala. For many of my fellow students, in particular, it was a conscious decision not to emigrate. What I personally find very impressive is the speed with which India is changing. I can only really speak for the last five years, but based on reports from my host father, I assume it's been this way for about 20 years. Even though I don't have the impression that most people are earning more for their work or that there are fewer poor people, it is striking how quickly the big cities are growing, how much more crowded and larger the streets and trains are, and how much higher the quality of life is in the centers of the big cities. What I personally found challenging was that many of the students came from wealthy families. They generally also expected that they could still achieve a good degree with very little effort. Organizing the stay abroad was very exhausting, and I also believe that I wouldn't have been sick as often in Germany during the same amount of time. Nevertheless, I believe the stay was worthwhile. There are simply so many people living in northern India and Bangladesh that the experience can be profitably applied in so many places. I also believe there are very few places where you can learn so easily in an interdisciplinary way.

I spent the monsoon semester 2022 at Ashoka University and even now 3 years later, I can't think back without a big smile on my face! Applying to Ashoka was an emotional process of hope and the fear of living this dream, so when I landed in Delhi, I was more than ready for what was ahead. The university was a great support with travel planning and arrival and made sure that I was picked up from the airport and brought to campus. The room allocation was a bit chaotic but after a week of moving back and forth I had my room and roommate for the term! The first couple of days were busy with understanding campus dynamics, finding food places and course elections. However, they were also a bit lonely so I was happy once the classes started and I finally got to meet people. As we were only 6 or 7 internationals, we became a group that especially in the beginning did a lot together, still at some points I had wished for more guidance and support from the university when it comes to settling in and planning weekend and free-time activities. With the help of some local friends I soon made sure to not miss any of the amazing things that Delhi has to offer! The campus life was vibrant and many student organizations make sure that there is no boring afternoon or weekend! We had Halloween parties, movie events, dance groups, fashion shows and many many more! Besides that, the university offers a variety of sports classes and additional clubs that students can pick up. The student mess offers four meals a day and many restaurants on campus offer additional options, like food from different parts of India, Pizza, Subway, Ice Cream, Coffee and so on. The classes are quite demanding timewise but definitely doable regarding the standards that are set. The teaching style is more similar to school compared to German universities that I was used to. That means classes were mostly only 20-30 people, there were group works and creative projects and mid-term and finals were mostly based on in-class exams or take-home essays. The international community offered day-trip and weekend-trips so I got the chance to have a guided tour to Delhi and visit Mahmudabad, which was definitely one of the highlights of my time at Ashoka! At the end of the semester, I had many new friends, countless memories and a heart full of love! I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to study at Ashoka and learn from and alongside many inspiring people. When I left, many questions on the personal and academic level got answered. However, I also lived and studied in a new context and surrounding. Especially as a European student, many things I took for granted in academics were challenged and I learned to see things from a non-Eurocentric perspective. I studied Indian political thought and basically every class opened up a new window that I did not realize before. So when I left, I also left with a lot of new questions, partly on things that I thought answered for a long time. I am grateful for that as well! Overall, my time at Ashoka was challenging in the best of ways because I never had to meet a challenge alone. I made friends for a lifetime and just this summer shed some tears watching my batch mated graduate in the live stream on youtube. Ashoka changed me and all the experiences and people became a part of who I am. So I would recommend everyone to take the courage and apply! But don't just take evrything in. Stay critical, stay open, stay reflective! Meet people, go on the adventure, learn, teach and grow. If that sounds like you, Ashoka is your place to be!

Note: when you visit in the summer, a large portion of students return home so the campus can be a little empty (e.g. no student clubs are operational). Nonetheless, the staff and remaining students tried their best to make us feel comfortable and launched a bunch of fun activities for us. Campus facilities are great and I felt very safe. The academic workload is also quite manageable so it’s quite easy to travel (e.g. long weekend trips)