Sunday, January 24, 2016

Funded opportunities & how to get your studies funded:

This article address how you fund your education abroad. There are so many scholarships around the globe which you can join, even if you have low CGPA all you need to have a will to apply and passion to get foreign degree.


1) To search for a scholarship (undergrad., MS, PhD) or a position (researcher, post-doc., administration) with respect to a specific research topic in a field, and in your country of interest.
(This is the most useful encyclopedia as per my knowledge and experience. You may also subscribe to this website for a periodic e-mail information on your field of interest.)

2) To search for a scholarship country wise at all levels of study (Government or university funded)
(This website is still under process of improvement)

3) European scholarships/fellowships and grants (Official Web of Europe)

4) Big Database about Jobs and Academic around the Globe

5) To find an opportunity at any level of study, in any subject, and in a given country

6) Another link to find an opportunity at any level of study, in any subject, and in a given country


7) For Post-Doctoral Positions (only)

8) You may also like some of the most informative pages on facebook, named, "Scholarship Network", and "Scholarization".

9) SAATFASE Yahoo Group (Very good source of Scholarships)

10) Pakgrid Yahoo Group

11) A search engine to search for Scholarships in Australia


12) Pk Students

13) DAAD Schoalrship facebook page (very useful)

14) PhD in France

15) A good website to search for PhD and Research Positions

16) For people related to animal stock or Veterinary sciences 

17) Opportunities in Germany
https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminstudygermany/

18) One of good search engines to find grants for MS and PhD in France and also in other places

19)Jobs, PhD Positions in Austria in Biology field
Translate it with translator

20)Jobs, PhD positions Database in Germany

21)Another database to search positions in Europe

22) A good website for searching PhD positions in Netherlands specially

23) Chinese Universities Scholarships for MS and PhD
They announce new scholarships on this website. So keep checking this website always

24) People who want to study in Netherlands and want to search for grants for MS, PhD or BSthen do use this tool effectively

25) Groups Related to Research Papers, Books and Articles


26) How to apply for Max Plank PhD positions, very useful video

27) A search engine to search for Scholarships in Australia 

28)MARIe Curie As you all know that Erasmus Mundus Joint doctorates have been finished. A few programs will keep on continuing giving grants for few more years. But now the doctorate grants will be offered by Marie curie. So save this page and keep on checking both tabs on page "Job Vacancies" and "Fellowship Programs" 

29) People save this website for PhD and Lecturers Positions and check them 

30)For people on Twitter,they can use and update at any time, the #scholarship in search to find scholarships posted

31) For jobs and PhD psoitions in UK

32)PhD positions

33) Find Scholarships and Study grants in Europe
Related Portals:

34) Foreign Funded Scholarships HEC

35)Did you know that you can search close to 150 scholarships on our website, specifically for International Students at New Zealand? Pop over and take a look at 

36)Another scholarship website for interested people.

38) PhD Positions

39) PhD, Lectureres, Scientists Jobs, Europe 

40) PhD funding

41) Careers and research positions in UK

42) MS, PhD search

43)Postgraduate positions search

44) Scholarships database

45) Postgraduate studentships in UK 

46)  A Database of Taught & Research Masters Courses (Must Try)

- MSc MA MBA MPhil MEd MRes LLM - etc


47)A good website to search for different scholarships

With best regards, and warm wishes

48)A useful websites containing a list of working abroad opportunities


49) Study Guide for Japan for Bachelors, Masters, PhD


50)Another good website to search for PhD, post doc positions in Europe

51)Biotechnology related jobs (researcher, PhD, Post-doc) at Czech republic, Europe

52) Academic jobs everywhere

52) Pakistani Scholars in the World

53) Search scholarships in/from Austria


55) Webinars

58)  conferences, visits, internships short trainings, courses, scholarships abroad, fully funded



Article data taken from: Muhammad Salman Maqbool
Melburne Australia


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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Uni Assist, How to apply?

Uni Assist is a portal to apply for admission in Germany. Some universities take direct application while other need Uni Assist to apply. This article explains Uni Assist application steps and other related issues.

 What is Uni-assist?:  
Uni-Assist is a third party company which helps universities to evaluate documents of applicants. 

 Most universities in Germany have their own admission offices, however some use Uni Assist for this purpose. Uni Assist receive application at the behalf of universities , check their completeness and if they meet a certain criteria. Finally send set of applications in complied form to universities. 

Steps to apply in Uni-assist: 
Here are the steps :
1-Filled application form on uni assist website
2- Printout of application form which is signed on last page
3- Post documents (document+uni assist form) to uni assist address
uni-assist eV
Helmholtzstraße 2-9
10587 Berlin Germany

4- Submit dues (submit through western union and name MARION SCHNEIDER as the recipient of your payment!).
5- Email the scanned copy of payment slip to westernunion@uni-assist.de
email should indicate:
  • The full name of the person who transfers  money
  •  the code number of your money transfer (MTCN)
  •  the amount transferred
  •  the applicant's name
  •  your country of citizenship
  •  your date of birth
  •  and your uni-assist applicant number (if you already have one)
6- upload the documents and payment slip on uni assist website.


Applying in Multiple Universities 
You can apply in multiple universities via same uni assist account. For this purpose you need same set of documents, different application form for each application, and different set of LORs and SOP for each university.  

Paying the fee: 
Uni assist charge students for application handling you need to pay , It is 75 euros for first application and 15 euros for other application. This page defines structure of fee for Uni Assist


The fee can be submitted via different methods as defined here: 

For Pakistani students you can also pay your application fee through Credit Card.If you don't have credit card then get  UBL Wiz Internet card from any UBL branch(Its almost free of cost).It's a prepaid card.You can load amount in to this card through any UBL branch.and then you can pay your application fee by using this card(as credit card).This process is almost free of cost.No need to pay extra charges.For details visit UBL website or visit any branch of UBL. 
Remember you can't use money gram in case of uni assist. 

You can find complete information about any of your question here: 
http://www.uni-assist.de/FAQ-en.html


Author: 
Hassan Bhatti
hassan.nazeerch@hotmail.com
Or post on our forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminstudygermany/

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Health & Travel Insurance for German Visa application and Studies

 It is mandatory for every one to get compulsory heath insurance during stay of Germany and travel insurance when intend to travel to Germany for any purpose.  Travel insurance (one you need during visa application) and health insurance (which you buy after reaching in Germany).This article covers details of getting health  and travel insurance. 

1-Travel insurance: Required by embassy/consulate as mandatory visa application document. The insurance should be valid for 1 to 3 months, around the dates in which you intend to fly . It should provide a cover of 30,000 Euros. Most of time the difference between travel insurance of 1 month and 3 month is very less, so I recommend you to buy 3 months travel insurance. It gives you some edge to plan the intended travel dates. Generally it costs around 6000 to 7000 PKRS.
Mostly travel insurance covers your air trip and couple of week period after you acquire health insurance in Germany.

You can find more information here:
Adam Gee: 021 - 3241 2623 / 3241 4162
021 - 3241 5335
Internet:
www.adamjeeinsurance.com

 Atlas Insurance
021 - 3536 9471-4
www.atlasinsurance.com.pk
2-Health insurance: It is compulsory for every citizen and animal in Germany to acquire health insurance. You will not get enrollment in university or any legal status in Auslanderbehorde without acquiring valid health insurance. Generally there are public sector and private sector health insurance options in Germany. The following section will help to understand between both types.

Public vs Private Insurance
There are two types of Insurances in Germany:  Public health insurance like TK or AOK & private ones like mawista & many others. Following are differences between both: 

Payment Method:
The public Health insurance has wide acceptability in term of doctor panels throughout Germany. Mostly they have cards through which  fee of the doctor is directly paid . While in the case of Private health insurance you have to pay first & then the bills are reimbursed. Also you can visit the selected doctors as recommended by the private health insurance. 

Insurance cover & Monthly Beitrag:
Besides this fact there is difference between possible cover of insurance. Public health insurance covers spectra more broad than the private one.
  The disadvantage of public insurance is that it is expensive. normally it is around 80 Euros if you are less then age of 30 & 150 euros if you are more elder. The private health Insurances are cheap , typical cost is between 28 euros to 35 euros per month. 
However this is just introductory cost after one year this cost will be increased & you have to switch your insurance to another private company. But you can get the same introductory cost if you resign the contract with the insurance company.

Leaving Insurance:
Once you acquire the public Health insurance and you leave public health insurance you can't switch back to public till you change your VISA status. However visaversa is possible. So if you start with public health insurance , think well before leaving it. 

Acceptance of Insurance:
Sometimes there are issues of acceptance of insurance in AAA of your university. TK & AOK are accepted by every university, some selected brands of private insurance may not be accepted by your AAA. For further information please visit the insurance policies of particular companies.

Single versus Married Prospect:
Public Health Insurance automatically covers your whole family. It does not matter if you are single or with family you have to pay same for Public Health insurance while in Private health insurance the cover is for single person & for family you need separate policy.

Summary
If you are single and intend to remain single while living in Germany and on top of that if you rarely visit a doctor then private insurance is a cheaper option. But as mentioned above you have to pay doctors personally before getting refund from insurance company. These payments can be quite high so be prepared to have lot of money available on demand in your account for the situation when you get severely ill or other expensive treatment like with dentists. Public insurance is good if you frequently visit doctor or if you intend to keep your family in Germany. Public insurance cover your whole family while private covers individuals. Last but not least advice, never save on the risk of health & safety.



Author: 
Hassan Bhatti
hassan.nazeerch@hotmail.com
Or post on our forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminstudygermany/

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Tuesday, January 5, 2016

First Steps in Germany for International Students

First of all congratulations on clearing the difficult admission and visa processes for Germany. You might think that the difficulties are all behind you now but that’s not entirely true. You are going to start a completely new and different life now and it’s better to prepare for it.
The most important thing is to get in touch with senior Pakistani students at your future university or the city. Some cities have organized Pakistani Students Associations (PSAs) while others may have no such organized group. There are as many as 30 PSAs in Germany look for facebook groups having PSA in your city. 
The key to understand here is that the seniors are helping you voluntarily and are not paid to do so. So be respectful and grateful in your conversations. Also, everyone here is quite busy. Try to figure out some things on your own rather than asking seniors for every small step. This might annoy some people and they might stop responding! The important information you can get from seniors is about accommodation and city/uni specific information. In some cities, PSAs arrange airport pickup and temporary accommodation for new students.

Accommodation
There are 58 Studentenwerk organizations in Germany. These offer the best accommodation possibility for a student in terms of price and facilities. However, since the number of rooms is far less than the number of students, not all students can get a room there - most of them have a waiting list. It’s best to register at the Studentenwerk in your city and then visit their offices on arrival. Many students get a room this way.
To find the website of the Studentenwerk in your city, use the following map:
http://www.studentenwerke.de/en

Other than Studentenwerk, one can look for a room in a shared apartment (called Wohngemeinschaft or WG) or a single room private apartment. These are generally more expensive and difficult to get for international students. The idea of renting a 2-3 room flat and sharing it among new students is very unlikely to realize (especially in big cities). Nobody wants to give away their apartment to a group of new students who have no steady source of income. So it’s recommended to try more for individual rooms/apartments. Be careful while searching on websites for private accommodations; there are also fraudsters out there. Use the following links to search:
http://www.wg-gesucht.de/
http://www.immobilienscout24.de
Read my detailed blogs on getting accomodation in Germany

Arrival at airport (Flughafen) and reaching your accommodation
Although everything is marked clearly in Germany, it can still be confusing for new students to understand the transportation system here if they have never seen a well-developed one before. If some senior student agrees to pick you up from the airport and drop you at your accommodation, that can help you a lot. If this isn’t possible, then you have to find your own way.
Each city has its own transportation network. For example, a student is coming to Munich, he/she can search for “public transport Munich” and one of the first links in the results is:

www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/homepage/index.html
Similarly, websites for other cities’ transportation companies can be found. From these websites, you can plan your route by entering origin and destination and also check for ticket prices, network maps etc. Depending on the city, there will be an underground (U) or suburban (S) train or tram (Tram) or bus (Bus) connection from the airport towards the city center. The symbols in brackets are what you should look out for at the airport. Somewhere nearby, you will also find ticket machines. Keep some cash with you. In most cities, tickets need to be validated/stamped before entering the platform for trains or inside buses and trams. If you don’t understand something or are unable to find something/someplace, ask people around you. Many people (specially young ones) do understand some English and even if they don’t, they try to help out. There are also information centers at airports marked with a small “i” symbol.
If you need to travel to some other city, then you will have to use Deutsche Bahn. Use their website:
https://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml
Deutsche Bahn tickets are available from the red ticket machines at airports or railway stations. You will probably need to reach the central station (Hauptbahnhof) first from the airport in order to continue your journey to your final destination.

City Registration
Within the first few days of your arrival in Germany, you should register yourself at the local city authorities. For this, you will need your passport and may also need to show proof of accommodation (rental contract). This step is called Anmeldung and you will be issued a document called the Meldebescheinigung. Whenever you change your address in Germany, you have to repeat this procedure. This document is very important and is needed for everything else.

Bank Account Activation
Next, find a Deutsche Bank branch near your accommodation or university. Deutsche Bank is the bank having the largest number of branches in Germany and to find one near you shouldn’t be so difficult. To activate your account, you will need your passport and Anmeldung/Meldebescheinigung. You can withdraw cash from your account at the bank but for using ATM, you have to wait till you receive your EC Card by post and its PIN. PIN for online banking and a TAN list for online transactions will also be sent to your postal address within the next few weeks.

Health Insurance
Health insurance is a requirement for enrollment. For this, you will need Anmeldung, university admission letter and bank details. They will issue you a letter at the same time which can be used for enrollment. The insurance card will follow within a couple of weeks via post.



Enrollment
If you have already paid your semester fees/semester contribution, you can go to the Enrollment (Immatrikulation) Office of your university; if not, then pay your fees first. There you need to show proof of insurance and your original documents. You will then be issued enrollment documents. These are required for example, by Studentenwerk after each semester and may also be required for issuance of a semester ticket (for transportation).

Applying for a residence permit
The student visa issued from Pakistan is for 90 days and it is recommended to apply for a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) as soon as you can. For this, you will need enrollment, bank statement, health insurance, Anmeldung, photo etc. Residence permit is also required for any work you might want to do.
Important Notes: All offices are closed on weekends (Sat and Sun). Stores and shops are open till 8:00 pm only (except some near central station) and mostly everything is closed on Sunday. So if you are arriving on a weekend and don’t have any contacts, take care about shopping limitations. It is good to bring some passport photos with you from Pakistan for the above procedures but even if your forgot them, you can get new ones using Fotoautomats at some train stations etc.

Adjusting to your new environment
Now you have taken care of all important things. The first few days are usually quite hectic; running around the city for taking care of the above mentioned steps. After completing them, you can relax a little and observe your environment better, make some new friends and get used to your university and surrounding areas. If you made it so far, it’s quite certain you can deal with all this too and then get started with your new study life.

International Office and Student Groups
All universities have a student office or international office to help out students. If you have any problems regarding the above procedures or other matters, contact them. Some student groups also arrange for groups to do the above activities guided by a tutor. Make yourself aware of these possibilities and benefit yourself from them.




Author: 
Farish Kagalwala
Post on our forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminstudygermany/

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Getting admitted to bachelor study Programs in Germany





Germany offers Bachelor, or BSc. degree of 3 years and there are programs in almost every discipline of studies . This article explains how you can secure your admission in BSc. in Germany. 

 Requirements of Graduate(BSc. Admission in Germany:
The minimum requirement is 13 years of Education. 
  1.      The student who have done A levels from Pakistan are directly eligible for admission.
  2.      However students with FSc. degree will have to go through an extra year of education in Germany before they are eligible for applying.
  3.      Please note although DAE is 13 years of education in Pakistan but it is treated as 12 years of qualification in all German institutes , therefore the students with DAE must follow same procedure as for FSc. Students. 
Below is the summary: 



Students with FSc. & DAE Degrees: 

All students with 12 years of education must study one extra foundation year in Germany. The institution which will offer you one extra year is called Studienkollege in Germany. Following are the steps if you want to apply for German Bachelor after doing FSc. or DAE. 
For studying in Germany minimum 13 years of education is required and since you have passed your intermediate only, which is equal to 12 years of education that is why you can not apply in International Bachelor Programs.Following are the steps you have to go through:

1- Complete B-1 German level from Goethe Institute , details provided below. 
2- Apply for Studienkollege and complete one year foundation course, details given in next section. 
3- After you complete one year in Studienkollege you will be eligible for Bachelors in Germany. 


Admission for A level Students(with 13 years of education)
First select your desired program from following websites:
•         https://www.study-in.de/en/
•         www.hochschulkompass.de/en.html
Since you have 13 years of education you don't need any Studienkolleg you can directly apply into university. You need Ielts with minimum 6.0 Band for English taught BSc. programs. 
In some cases when you apply for German taught programs they require you to secure B-1 German level of proficiency. In some cases they may also ask you to go for studienkollege, but in this case there will be more classes on technical German so you can complete you degree in smooth way. 


Studienkollege
 One  year preparatory course allows candidates to fulfil gap of one year education. Please visit following for more information. 


The basic requirement of Studienkolleg is German language because in Studienkolleg lectures are given totally in German language. 
You must learn German till level B1 in order to get admission in  Studienkolleg.




B1 German language , Requirement of StudienKollege , Where to learn it? 

B1 is the third level from six levels of German language with respect to the European language Framework. This means you have to do three levels A1,A2 and B1 in order to get admission in Studienkolleg.You can learn German from Goethe Institute Pakistan. Goethe Institute is most authentic organization to learn German all over the world. In Pakistan Goethe institutes are working in Karachi and in Lahore. Following are the links of Goethe Institute Karachi and relatively, you can visit them for more information.

•         http://www.goethe.de/ins/pk/kar/enindex.htm
•         http://www.goethe.de/ins/pk/lah/enindex.htm?wt_sc=lahore

If you don't have Goethe institutes at your home town you must go to Lahore or Karachi to attain B-1 level.   If you really want yourself to pass B1 exam then you should learn German from Goethe. It is most recommended institutes for learning German. You require minimum 7 months to learn German till B1. As per now the fees till B1 is round about 63,000 PKR in 2015 but it is subjected to change.




Procedure to Apply in Studienkollege

First select your desired program from following websites:
•         https://www.study-in.de/en/
•         www.hochschulkompass.de/en.html
For getting admission in Studienkolleg you should apply to the university and they will automatically send your application to their Studienkolleg. Most of the universities take direct application and some give you the option of Uniassist (Please read my other blog for understanding Uniassist).
The admissions in Studienkolleg remain open throughout the year but there are still some deadlines, these are as follow:


You need following documents to apply: 
The documents are following: 
1. Matric Certificate (with mark sheet)
2. Intermediate Certificate (with mark sheet)
3. Language Certificate (till B1)
4. CV
5. SOP(Statement of purpose)
6. Admission Application
Please remember you don't need IELTS for Studienkollege. Once you get admission you have to take entry test called Aufnahmeprufung before you are admitted in Studienkollege. 

Admission test for Studienkollege A.k.a. Aufnahmeprüfung 
Aufnahme is a entry test of Studienkolleg, in which your German is tested along with your other related subjects. Aufnahme is a very important test this will decide your admission in the Studienkolleg.
 Some times you may not be able to succeed in first attempt. But you will not be first one, many students fail in Aufnahme in first attempt. The main reason is this that in Aufnahme the level of German is high near B2. So it is recommended that you should do atleast B2 in Pakistan. Anyways if you still  fail in Aufnahme then don’t worry you will not sent back to Pakistan, you can join German classes or you can also join these institutes which prepare you for the Aufnahme.
After clearing Aufnahme you will be admitted in Studienkolleg and you will study there for 2 semesters and studying 2 semesters you will give your final test which is called Festellungsprüfung or placement test. After passing Festellungsprüfung you can take admission in any University of the Germany you want. Just like AufNahme is entry test for Studienkollege, Festellungsprüfung is entry test for university. But keep in mind that students of studienkolleg are not allowed to do job . However during semester break they are allowed to do job.


Financing your studies

Education is free in Germany , so you will have to pay no or little tuition fee. Mostly there is little contribution which you have to pay to your university one time in every semester. This is called semester ticket. It is round about between 50 and 250 Euros depending on your uni. This allows you get free transport facility in your city  on buses and trams. But you have to afford your daily living expenses by yourself. For this you need to show a bank statement. 

The bank statement is basically the statement of your Deutsch banks block account. In order to study in Germany ofcourse you need money for your daily life needs. So embassy demands that you have to show some proof of that money so Bank statement is a proof that you can afford your needs in Germany.
Right now it is 8,240 Euros which is around 10 lakhs in 2015 but it is subjected to change. 
Uunfortunately German Govt isn't offering scholarships at Bachelor level. So self financing is the only option, although you can use sponsorship letter for this purpose, but never the less visa chances on sponsorship letter are much lower then on blocked account. 


Working with your studies: 

Yes you can, you are allowed to work for 120 full days and 240 half days. You can do mostly odd jobs, which require some knowledge of German but don't worry you will be able to manage that. You can easily earn round about 450 Euros in a month which is enough for your monthly expenses. Remember you are doing job only for fulfilling your daily life needs not for sending Euros to your home. so don’t be greedy because this will affect your studies a lot.


Author: 
Hassan Bhatti
hassan.nazeerch@hotmail.com
Or post on our forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminstudygermany/


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