Pengajian Universiti di Negara Jerman Bagi Lepasan SPM

Tulisan ini adalah pelengkap untuk satu thread yang telah saya tulis di Twitter pada 2 April 2020. Di sini saya ingin berkongsi sedikit sebanyak pengalaman dan pengetahuan saya tentang pengajian peringkat ijazah di negara Jerman ini, terutamanya tentang persediaan (pra-universiti) di Malaysia.

Ketika itu thread berkenaan ditujukan kepada lepasan SPM 2019 dan bakal-bakal calon SPM 2020. Oleh sebab COVID-19 telah melanda satu dunia, nampaknya SPM 2020 semakin tidak realistik. Maka saya tujukan juga perkongsian ini untuk calon-calon SPM 2021 pula. (Thread itu ada di penghujung artikel ini di bawah sekali)

Latar belakang penulis

Penulis di Berlin.

Akademik:

• Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, MRSM Jasin (kini MRSM Tun Ghafar Baba)
  
• German A-Level Preparatory Program, German-Malaysian Institute (GMI), Kuala Lumpur
  
• Diplom-Ingenieur (FH) Mechatronics Engineering, Uni. of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen (Campus Friedberg)
  
• M. Sc. Computer Vision and Photonics, Darmstadt Uni. of Applied Sciences

Cocurricular:

• Ketua pelajar A-Levels GMI, batch 2003/2005
• Ahli Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar GMI, 2003/2004
  
• Setiausaha Agung MARA Kumpel (majlis pelajar MARA di Jerman), 2008

Bidang pekerjaan:

• robotics
• industrial computer vision 
• financial services (dari pertengahan 2017 hingga kini)

Langkah pertama selepas SPM

Selepas tamat SPM, bakal pelajar harus menyelidik apakah program-program yang ditawarkan oleh MARA dan JPA. Bagi mereka yang tidak memerlukan biasiswa yakni bakal pelajar persendirian, bolehlah merujuk terus kepada program A-Level di http://gmi.edu.my.

Persediaan di Malaysia dijangka mengambil masa setahun setengah, dengan intake setahun sekali, pada bulan Julai.

German-Malaysian Institute, kini di Bangi.

Program A-Level di GMI kebiasaannya disertai oleh pelajar tajaan MARA, JPA, yayasan tertentu dan persendirian. Majoriti pelajar JPA selalunya menjalani program persediaan di INTEC UiTM dan First City Universiy College (dahulunya dikenali sebagai KBU). Saya juga telah dimaklumkan bahawa sudah pun ada pelajar-pelajar MARA yang juga mengikuti persediaan di INTEC.

Penulis bersama rakan-rakan sekelas di GMI Kuala Lumpur.

 

Dari program persediaan di GMI ke negara Jerman

Laluan ke Jerman melalui GMI dapat dirumuskan seperti berikut:

1. A-Levels (Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry) + bahasa Jerman hingga tahap pertengahan + latihan asas industri - di Malaysia (22 bulan)
2. Kursus persediaan akhir bahasa Jerman intensif + ujian terakhir bahasa Jerman tahap universiti - di Jerman (6 bulan).
• di sini, pelajar-pelajar akan dibahagikan kepada kumpulan yang akan menjalani kursus intensif bahasa Jerman di institut yang berbeza.
  
3. Universiti: pengajian bermula dari semester pertama

Kursus-kursus kejuruteraan di negara Jerman

Contoh-contoh kursus teknikal yang boleh dipilih:

• Mechatronics engineering
  
• Technical computer science
• Physikalische Technik (susah untuk diterjemahkan)
• Optical engineering and industrial computer vision
• Plastics engineering
• Chemical engineering, etc. 

Kenapa belajar di negara Jerman

• Kos pengajian universiti dan kos hidup pelajar yang rendah
• Kelengkapan universiti awam yang sangat baik
• Accessibility untuk bahan-bahan ilmiah (perpustakaan dan akses percuma untuk scientific research articles)

Penulis semasa mengulangkaji subjek Robotik untuk peperiksaan semester.

• Teknologi tinggi di industri - tidak perlu dipertikaikan lagi.

 

Penulis semasa bekerja dalam bidang robotik di Jerman, tahun 2016.

• Lokasi Jerman yang strategik untuk mengembara ke negara-negara Eropah yang lain. 

Penulis dan rakan-rakan di Camp Nou - stadium rumah FC Barcelona

Penulis dan rakan-rakan di Istanbul

Penulis dan rakan-rakan di Saint Peter's Square.

• Reputasi universiti-universiti awam Jerman: kelulusan dari Jerman akan memudahkan anda untuk mencari pekerjaan di dalam Jerman.

Fachhochschule, Hochschule dan Universität

Majoriti pelajar Malaysia akan mengaji di Fachhochschule atau Hochschule (university of applied sciences). Ada juga yang memilih Universität. Kedua-dua sistem universiti tersebut berbeza.

Di Fachhochschule (FH) atau Hochschule (HS), pengajian lebih menekankan sistem praktikal: lebih sesi makmal & latihan industri.

Manakala di Universität pula terdapat sistem klasik yang lebih mengutamakan pengetahuan teori. Universität juga menawarkan pengajian sehingga peringkat PhD.

Kedua-dua universiti menawarkan ijazah Bachelor dan Master.

Kelebihan di Fachhochschule/Hochschule:

• Nisbah bilangan pelajar kepada pensyarah lebih rendah berbanding di Universität.
• Saiz kuliah atau kelas lebih kecil - maka mudah untuk mendapatkan perhatian atau pertolongan daripada pensyarah.

Pesanan kepada pelajar-pelajar Malaysia di Jerman oleh MEC

Malaysia Engineering Community atau MEC - ialah satu pertubuhan baru yang ditubuhkan oleh sekumpulan jurutera Malaysia di Jerman, yang majoritinya terdiri daripada graduan universiti-universiti Jerman. Satu soal selidik telah diadakan pada bulan Julai 2020 tentang nasihat-nasihat yang ingin dikongsikan dengan bakal-bakal pelajar di negara Jerman. Graf di bawah merumuskan nasihat-nasihat tersebut, mengikut undian:

Tips oleh MEC untuk pelajar-pelajar Malaysia di Jerman.

 

Disclaimer dan akhir kata

Ada kemungkinan maklumat-maklumat di atas telah berubah mengikut keadaan semasa.

 

Banyak cabaran yang akan dihadapi oleh pelajar-pelajar Malaysia di perantauan. Saya memilih untuk tidak menghuraikan pengalaman milik diri sendiri mahupun rakan-rakan lain di blogpost ini. Hanya off the record sahaja.

 

Akhir kata, jika anda memilih untuk ke Jerman, saya ucapkan Viel Erfolg - selamat berjaya.

Penulis di Burg Eltz (Eltz Castle).

Follow @HafizVonPJ

 

Ada lepasan #SPM2019 atau calon #SPM2020 yang bercita-cita untuk belajar di negara Jerman tak?

Mungkin saya akan berkongsi sedikit sebanyak maklumat yang dapat membantu.

— der Hafız 🇲🇾 (@HafizVonPJ) April 2, 2020

Studying at the Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany

A brief introduction to Hochschule Darmstadt

Starting from Summer Semester 2012, I am pursuing a Master's degree in Optical Engineering and Image Processing at the Hochschule Darmstadt (another Hessian public university of applied sciences).

HS Darmstadt [1]

HS Darmstadt, or 'h_da' as the college uses it commercially, is situated in the city Darmstadt, just south of the metropolis Frankfurt am Main.

As usual, students here are entitled to use the transportations of the RMV within its region. From Darmstadt in the south, up to Marburg in the north of Hesse, as well as from Hanau in the east to Mainz (in the state Rheinland-Pfalz) in the west. In other words, just like the rest of the students in Hesse, mobility is easy for them.

Malaysian students at the h_da

Currently there are 3 Malaysian students at this college, including me myself. The other 2 (ladies) are students under the scholarship of Yayasan Telekom Malaysia, a foundation of Malaysian telecommunication consortium. Both are studying electrical engineering.

So far there has been only 1 known Malaysian graduate from this college, who has studied mechanical engineering and was a scholar of the JPA/PSD.

Courses available at the h_da


Under this adress one can find the whole list of courses taught at the h_da:
Studienangebot der HS Darmstadt

Optotechnik und Bildverarbeitung at the h_da

Here I would like to highlight the course which I am currently taking. Firstly I will tell you, how I jumped into this field due to my experiences during my undergraduate studies.

I am a graduate of mechatronics engineering and during the last phases of my studies in mechatronics, I took an elective subject - Industrialle Bildverarbeitung (industrial image processing). From that subject I took a keen interest in this field, hence agreed to take a project (Projektarbeit), which was compulsory and of which the theme was a simple image analysis (Bilderkennung). From this project I looked further to search a theme with digital image processing for my final thesis (Diplomarbeit), which landed me an attachment at the German firm Werth Messtechnik GmbH in Giessen. At the end of my thesis I had realized that I need proper trainings, lessons or courses in image processing, if this field is what I want to do for my professional job, hence the master course in the h_da.

This course is an engineering discipline in the industrial and research field in optical technologies. The Optotechnik (optical engineering) covers optical metrology, laser technology and classical technical optics including its modern elements such as microoptics, illuminations and fiber optics. Meanwhile, Bildverarbeitung (image processing), also known as machine vision, combines illuminations, image acquisition and the processing of image datas for technical and scientifical applications. [2]

I can name a few examples of the application of image processing, used in scenes in 2 Hollywood films:

1) letters/pattern recognition which was featured in the recently released film Mission Impossible IV (Ghost Protocol): the early scene involved face recognition.

2) length/height measurement - featured in the film The Italian Job (2003): from the traffic camera at the streets, the tyres of the security trucks with the gold are measured from the captured images.

Applying for a placement

Generally among the uni. of applied sciences in Germany, for the intake Summer Semester (SS) every year, usually the closing date of applications is July 15, whereas for Winter Semester (WS) it is January 15.

Those closing dates may seem to cause a predicament for applicants who will get their test results (A-Levels, Test DaF, DSH etc.) AFTER the dates. Nevertheless, to my knowledge, applicants CAN still send their forms for courses, which are NOT classified as Numerus Clausus (NC). NC-courses, such as medicine, are considered critical for Germany and applications for them are strictly limited.

Should you prefer to apply ahead of the deadline, I would recommend you to prepare your documents with some support/statement letter(s), which states that your test result (e.g. German language test) is pending. I would say, your applications might be accepted and you get your placement, but eventually you MUST show your original test result/certificate upon immatriculation/registration day. Immatriculation or registration day does NOT mean the first day of the lectures.

At this link, you can find your way to apply online for a placement at h_da:

Hochschule Darmstadt - Studieninteressierte (open in a new window)

Online application for Hochschule Darmstadt

Follow @HafizVonPJ




Sources/Quellen:


[1] Brigitte Zypries [SPD], Darmstadt - Studieren in Darmstadt
[2] Optotechnik und Bildverarbeitung, Fachbereich MN, HS Darmstadt

Studying at the TH Mittelhessen

Follow @HafizVonPJ


Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (Uni. of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen)


Having been among the earliest MARA students to enroll in and to graduate from the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen or THM (formerly known as Fachhochschule Giessen-Friedberg), I feel obliged to promote this college to other fellow MARA as well as others (JPA, YTM etc.) to study here.


THM with campuses in Giessen (main campus), Friedberg and Wetzlar, is the largest public university of applied sciences in the state Hesse.


For the undergraduate courses - the courses which are taken by us MARA students are mechatronics and mechanical engineering.

THM's website

However many more courses are available, such as E&E, EIT, ICT etc.


THM's official website is http://www.thm.de/site/ .

Under 'Fachbereiche', one can find the list of the faculties of THM.


The mechanical engineering courses - with different majors, are divided into both campuses Giessen and Friedberg.


Mechatronics engineering course falls under the latter faculty 'FB 12'.


As of now, in the Summer Semester 2012, there are three JPA students who are undergoing Master's course in THM Campus Friedberg. Certain Master courses like their's are conducted in English.


Malaysian graduates from TH Mittelhessen


Until now, as of Summer Semester 2012:-

• Mechanical engineering (Friedberg): 2 MARA students (Diplom)
• Mechatronics engineering (Friedberg): 1 MARA student (Diplom)
• Medical engineering (Giessen): 1 MARA student (Diplom)
• Biotech/Biomedical (Giessen): 1 private student (Diplom)
• Information and Communication engineering (Friedberg): 1 private student (Master)

The town Friedberg


Friedberg is situated between Germany's financial hub city Frankfurt am Main and Giessen.
Both cities are easily reachable via railway transports.


Enrolled students in the state Hesse usually have the 'RMV-Semesterticket' - which is also counted in the semester fees, and allows students to freely ride public transports like buses, trams, regional and subway trains within the region covered by the consortium RMV. So the question of mobility for students in Hesse is hardly a big issue here.


To be able to reach the large and hectic Frankfurt for shoppings, weekend hangouts etc while living peacefully, with relatively low living costs in Friedberg - is what the town Friedberg does have to offer to us students.


Applying for a placement?


Simply go to the section 'Bewerbung + Immatrikulation' at the website.


On behalf of the students in Friedberg, I would like to urge Malaysian students, who are aiming to study in Hesse especially in the town Friedberg or Giessen, to approach us, if our asssistance is needed.


- Vivat academia, vivant professores -