Category Archives: Exchange and Travel

My Exchange Experience in Denmark – Part 1

Nyhavn, a popular canal street in Copenhagen. Photo by Max Böhme on Unsplash.

Last term, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go on exchange through CIE (Coordinated International Experience), which is the APSC customized exchange program at UBC that connects students with partner universities. I spent one 5 month term abroad at the Technical University of Denmark, one of UBC CIE’s partner institutions. By going abroad through CIE, I was able to take advantage of premapped courses for transfer credits and use the term as a co-op work term.

This was something I had always wanted to do even prior to starting university, I was super excited to gain experience living away from home in a new place! This is Part 1 of 2 where I’ll be sharing what my life on exchange looked like, in this post I will be covering the first two points:

Danish culture
learning at DTU (Technical University of Denmark)
travelling and exploring
my professional and personal growth from this experience

I hope through this series you can learn more about international opportunities for study through UBC!

Danish Culture

Other than considering the university, it’s important to think about the city where you will be living for the next couple months. Experiencing a different culture was a priority for me, and definitely helped me grow even more as a person.

The concept of hygge is at the core of the Danish soul. Hygge is described as “cozy, content, and warm” – but it’s a feeling that can’t be put in exact words. Hygge for me was hosting brunch in my dorm in the early morning, having a warm kanelsnegle (cinnamon bun) in a funky cafe, or laying in the sun when the weather is just warm enough. Walking around the city, I had never seen so many cute cafes, restaurants, and even just nooks and crannies in the streets.

The Danish essential.

Spring in Copenhagen.

Cute cafes are a must.

Both the city and community felt grounded. With the focus on organic and seasonal food, and biking or walking normalized, I felt like my healthiest self while living there. During my term, I got to witness the change of seasons, and with it the change in energy of the community. The winter was cold, windy, and dark. Days were spent bundled up drinking hot drinks and indoors, and the streets were quiet. When the weather shifted to even the slightest bit warmer and sunnier, it was like the city came to life. People were outside at all times, sitting on patios and on the grass lining the canals in the middle of the day. I was shocked, wondering where all these people came from! With most of the year being cold, you could tell that the people here appreciated the nice weather so much, reminding me of summers in Vancouver.

At the beginning of my term, I regretted coming to Copenhagen in the winter. But seeing both sides of the city was so valuable – I would recommend anyone to experience Danish hygge any time of the year.

Learning at DTU

During my four month term, I took 4 classes, with one being an online course:

At the top of the wind turbine!

Introduction to Wind Energy
Since Denmark is one of the world leaders in this technology, I was excited to take this course. It provides a base understanding of how wind turbines work, what calculations go into designing one, and its role in Danish energy supply and economy. This was my most involved course, where we went on field trips and built our own turbine blade. My favourite part was the opportunity to climb up a ~200m turbine, a worthwhile challenge for someone afraid of heights.

Robot Autonomy
This course teaches the analysis, design, and evaluation of robotic/automated systems using ROS2! It was definitely my mostly challenging course since it was at the Master’s level. As a general MECH student, I was happy to try something exploring the MECHA and software side of things.

Introduction to Programmable Logic Controllers
After learning about what PLCs were in my co-ops, I wanted to explore building and using these systems in this course. Although it was online, every assignment was a lab requiring coding and testing programs with industrial PLCs. In this course, I investigated different PLC programs and was able to create, test, and troubleshoot these automation tasks.

Economics for Engineers
This was a credit for MECH 431 and has very similar content. We analyzed financial accounts, developed business cases, and did a case study presentation for our final project. It was interesting to learn about economics at DTU since we were able to learn more about Danish/European companies and listen to guest speakers from these companies.

In general, the learning style at DTU was quite different compared to UBC. Each class is once a week for four hours, which makes it easy to plan travel and studying. The Danes also have a culture of flat hierarchy in the workplace, meaning that coworkers view each other as equals regardless of position or job title. This reflects to university as well, where students are encouraged to address their professors casually by first name and prioritize independence in learning. Since the way courses are taught have similar principles to how the workplace environment will be, I really enjoyed learning differently than at home, and working towards discovering what kind of workplace is ideal for me.

This is the end of Part 1 of my experience, please stick around for Part 2 where I discuss travelling and my learning through this experience!

5 Perfect Long Weekend Escapes in Vancouver: Unwind from Midterms and Recharge for School

As midterms loom on the horizon, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the mountain of assignments, deadlines, and labs. But hey, before Vancouver turns back into “Raincouver” and we’re buried in our textbooks (or laptops), there’s no harm in hitting pause to soak in the last bits of sunshine! For those of us who aren’t from Vancouver (like I was, once upon a time), there’s so much to explore. Over the past five years, I’ve had the chance to experience the city like a Vancouverite. Here are my top 5 (sober!!) must-dos if you’re looking to unwind this long weekend!

1. Chill at One of Vancouver’s Stunning Beaches

I know, I know, it sounds basic, but how many cities can offer both mountain and ocean views at the same time? Vancouver’s beaches are a magical combination of golden sands, volleyball games, and that calming sea breeze. Whether you hit up Kitsilano Beach for a casual day out or paddleboard at Jericho, the beach is the place to unwind. If you’re lucky, you might even spot an orca playing in the distance. Not a bad way to hit pause before exams, right?

2. Hike the Sea-to-Sky Highway

If you’re a nature lover (or even just someone looking to disconnect from all things tech), there’s no better cure for midterm stress than a hike along the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The drive alone is breathtaking, but the real gems are the trails that wind up into the mountains. Garibaldi Lake, Stawamus Chief, and Joffre Lakes are just a few iconic hikes that will reward you with turquoise-blue lakes, towering waterfalls, and views that feel straight out of a screensaver. Bonus: Being out of Wi-Fi range gives you the perfect excuse to ditch your phone and just breathe.

3. Gastown: Where History Meets Hipster Vibes

Gastown has that old-European charm, with cobblestone streets and architecture that takes you back in time. My personal favorite? The iconic steam clock that whistles every 15 minutes—no matter how many times I see it, it never gets old. And hey, while you’re wandering, grab a coffee at one of the quaint cafes. Just remember, stay away from East Hastings if you’re not looking for any “surprises” (trust me on this one).

4. Feel the Need for Speed: Go Karting

Okay, this one might seem random, but there’s nothing like the thrill of racing around a track at high speeds to clear your head. Whether you’re a speed demon or just someone looking to blow off some steam (pun intended), go-karting is the perfect adrenaline rush. Plus, it’s a solid way to take your mind off the fact that you haven’t started studying for that midterm yet…

5. Explore Nature at Bloedel Conservatory and Stanley Park

If fast cars aren’t your thing, maybe a more tranquil escape is calling your name. Stanley Park and the Bloedel Conservatory offer lush green spaces where you can walk, bike, or just sit and people-watch. Wander through the tropical rainforest under the Bloedel dome or bike along the seawall for a full nature detox. Don’t forget to check out the Aquarium, where you’ll find mesmerizing sea creatures and get a break from reality.

Honorable Mention: Sleep (My Personal Favorite)

If you’re more of a homebody, a long weekend is also the perfect time to catch up on sleep. Waking up without an alarm for even just one day is pure bliss. Throw in a TV binge session (you earned it!) and maybe some snacks, and you’ve got yourself the perfect recharge. Forget your stress, calorie count, assignments, and your upcoming deadlines—just for a little while—and you’ll be ready to tackle the next round of school madness with fresh energy.

So, there you have it—five solid ways to unwind and make the most of a long weekend in Vancouver. Whether you’re an adventurer, a beach lover, or someone who enjoys a quiet day in, there’s always something to help you reset before the academic grind kicks in again. Enjoy it, because before you know it, we’ll be in Raincouver mode! ⛈️

Exchange and extending your degree

So. I’m planning on taking a 6 year undergrad. That’s a lot. Basically, with this post, I’m going to talk about why I’m extending my degree, a bit about my exchange, and… yeah. Maybe you’ll find some of this useful and relevant to you, or maybe not.

Essentially, I’m planning my degree outline to look like this:

	Term 1	Term 2	Summer
Year 1	Study	Study	Off
Year 2	Study	Study	Co-op
Year 3	Co-op	Study	Work Learn
Year 4	Exchange	Exchange	Co-op
Year 5	Study	Study	Co-op
Year 6	Study	Study	Graduate!

which you can compare to what your MECH degree is supposed to look like here.

The main reason for changing my degree to six years, is because of my exchange. I’ll be going on exchange in Germany, where their term is October-March. Because of the timing, I have to take both winter terms off to do the exchange. At least I can knock off some upper year courses though, right? Hahaha… since I don’t speak German (at least very well), I have to take Masters courses, as most of their undergraduate courses are in German. I couldn’t find any Masters courses that fulfilled my UBC course requirements, so I will be counting all of my exchange courses as technical electives. In Mechatronics, we get something like one technical elective. So essentially, I’m taking an entire year of my degree to get a single elective course.

Why am I doing this then? Mainly, to explore my interests. I’m currently interested in medical applications of robotics, which as you can imagine, you don’t get much exposure to in an undergraduate Mechatronics degree. Through my exchange, I’ll get to take specialized Masters courses in that field. The hope is that when I return to UBC, I’ll have a better idea of exactly what I want to do with my degree (unless of course, I end up hating medical robotics), and can potentially get involved with research, and find co-ops in that field.

In addition, I’m planning to drop a Jan-Apr co-op term, and replace it with a study term. This will allow me to take a reduced course load, which I want to do for multiple reasons. Mainly, I want more free time. MECH is a demanding program, and it can be difficult to pursue hobbies and passions while taking a full course load. In addition, you are able to focus on the courses you have a lot more. Even taking one less course this previous term, I found that I understood the content in my other courses much more, and my grades improved. If you’re thinking about pursuing grad school, it can be beneficial to take time to focus on classes, in addition to extra curriculars.

So, there you have it. A little bit about my degree outline, and my reasons for changing it up. Many people come into MECH with the idea that they’ll have a straight forward degree that they can plan from day 1. However, there are a large amount of people who diverge from the standard time table, for many different reasons. Whether it’s for personal or academic reasons, extending your degree says nothing about your abilities. Don’t be discouraged if you find that your degree is progressing differently than planned, you’re not alone!

Student Team Competitions: ISR 15 Part 2

Hello again,

In this post I will be continuing to talk about my trip to the International Submarine Races(ISR) this past June. If you are interested to hear about the run up to competition and the journey over there, you are welcome to check out my previous post here. To recap, I am part of SUBC, UBC’s submarine design team and we road tripped across the country to Maryland to race other collegiate teams at ISR.

The Base

Because submarines need to be underwater, and salt water is very corrosive, submarine races take place in ocean basins. These are indoor large freshwater bodies that are maintained in military bases, often used for naval experiments or testing. In essence, I would describe the ocean basin at ISR as an airstrip underwater. However, because of the military nature of location there are some security measures that you have to be careful of such as staying in the area of the competition and not wandering elsewhere. As well, you need to submit paperwork ahead of the time for security clearance to enter the base, especially if you are not a Canadian or American citizen.

Checks

In order to be qualified to race, we had to pass the dry and wet check. The dry check consists of the entire submarine being assembled and demonstrated above water to ensure that all safety regulations are met. The wet check demonstrates in the water that safety systems are working. It’s not uncommon for issues to arise in assembly or between checks. Some issues that came up for us included misalignment of the hatch locking mechanism as well as the gearbox. These problems require quick fixes with limited tools and materials. You learn a lot trying to fix systems that you did not originally make under pressure with the small group of people available. It also tests and strengthens your communication and team working abilities, as they are needed constantly.

Racing

Racing consisted of the divers suiting up in full scuba gear and bringing the submarine to the lift which lowered into the basin. The divers brought the submarine to the basin floor in order to make buoyancy adjustments. These adjustments were done by attaching small weights and pieces of foam to the inside of the submarine. Once we were confident our submarine was neutrally buoyant, we entered the race queue to wait for our turn. The race coordinator warned us when we were next and the support divers moved our submarine to the start line, while the secondary diver brought the pilot underwater to meet the submarine and load the pilot inside. Once the pilot was loaded, the divers signaled for the race to start. After a count down over the underwater speakers, the pilot took off down the course towards the finish line!

Conclusion

Submarine racing is a complicated business to an outsider but its a very rewarding one for an engineering student. Through my time competing at submarine races the last couple of years I have gained serious team-working, communication as well as technical and interpersonal skills that have been honestly very useful in finding co-op jobs and my confidence in my abilities. I would encourage anyone given the opportunity to go to a student team competition to make the most of it and dive in head first!

Later,

Allysia

Student Team Competitions: Takeways from SUBC’s Trip to the International Submarine Races

Introduction

Engineering Student Design Teams can be a big part of student life here within Mechanical Engineering, including my own. Since joining in my second year, SUBC has become a big part of my life and my identity within Mech so I thought it would be an interesting read to see what its like to go to a student team competition.

The goal of most student team projects is to eventually compete in a intercollegiate competition. For UBC Thunderbots, they compete at Robocup (the world cup of soccer for robots), or UBC Baja competes at the Baja SAE competition annually with their off-road vehicle. My team, SUBC builds a human powered submarine to compete at two separate biannual competitions. In effect, we compete annually but each competition runs biannually. At the end of June, I had the awesome opportunity to road trip across the US to Bethesda, Maryland to compete in the International Submarine Races with our sub, Skookumchuck Mk. V.

Pre-Competition Madness

The run up to competition is always very turbulent. There are administrative and technical deadlines that need to be met in order to compete. Of course, we want our submarine to be fully functional and as optimized as possible but there is a fine balance between working until the deadline and stopping to pack away our tools to take with us as well as surfacing and painting the submarine. In addition, we had a technical design report on our submarine due a month before we left and a technical presentation a week before we left.

It seems to be common that students leave their design teams for summer once classes and finals end for the term. However, many design teams including SUBC have competitions are around the end of June and beginning of July, and I have found that the best way to learn and get the most out of the student team experience is to work during the pre-competition rush starting in May. Those who are not on co-op have the opportunity to spend hours in the machine shop gaining practical skills with almost constant projects available for them to work on. And those who are on co-op can come in after work or on the weekends to lend a hand. The most happens during this time in terms of problem solving, machining and systems integration which provides an optimal opportunity for someone working on one area of the project to expand and get a good grip on other systems. I would encourage anyone who craves more knowledge and technical skills to take advantage of amount of work available during the run up to competition.

The Journey – The Eye of the Storm

One of the best parts of getting to go on one of these trips is the travel there. Those who could get the time off work road tripped with the sub across the US and those who could only get time for the competition itself flew in. We drove around 12 hours a day between the three drivers and two pick-up trucks, staying at motels, AirBNBs and camping along the way.

I was worried the first time I went to a competition about whether I would get along with the people I traveled with especially because it seemed like everybody knew each other better than I did. I can only speak about my own experience, but I found that everybody was very welcoming and interested to bring me into the fold. Similarly, during the trip to Maryland I was excited to become better friends with the newer members who were joining us. I would encourage anybody on the fence about going to competition about making friends and knowing other people on the trip to just go anyways. The more the merrier!

Being on the road trip is a great way to bond anyways. You learn everybody’s music preferences, what food they like and have lots of time to talk and get to know each other. Plus there is the additional bonding experience of dealing with road trip troubles such as getting lost or having small car troubles. During our trip a couple of notable ones included when the key fob for one of the cars stopped working spontaneously, or when we thought we were in a ghost town while finding an AirBnB in Indiana in the very early hours of the morning. We traveled with two pickup trucks with a walkie talkie in each to help keep our caravan together. A personal highlight for my trip was playing 20 questions across cars in the middle of Wisconsin.

That’s how I ended up across the country in Rockville, Maryland. I’ll be posting another post shortly related to my experiances during the actual competition itself. Check back soon to read up on that! Or check out my co-blogger’s post about his student team competition experiences heading to California to race his team’s E-Bike.

Later,

Allysia

Design Team Competition: Lost Sierra E-bike Festival (pt2)

Welcome back reader,

I the last post I discussed the preparation leading up to our first competition and the journey we took to get there. In this one, I’d like to recount the details of the festival itself, including the weather, the camping, the food, the people and most importantly, the race.

Firstly, I wanted to talk a bit more about my team’s purpose and electric bike as a whole. ThunderBikes was founded by my friend and classmate, Bhargav, last year with the goal of promoting the use of e-bike as a mode of transportation. The team is doing this through high performance bike projects as well as encouraging and helping their own members to do their own electric conversion. Less than 5 percent of Vancouver residents commute to work by bike. This is often largely due to the extended range of most commutes, as housing in the city or on campus is very expensive. Electric bikes is a fantastic method of transportation and significantly increase the range of an average commute. This push towards e-bikes will also help lower the congestion of commuting by car or public transit to campus, improve student health through exercise, and create eco-friendly transportation methods around vancouver.

Camping

Camping outdoors means exposing yourself to the elements, both hot and cold. And California in July is both hot and sunny in the day and quite chilly during the night. Fortunately for us, it did not rain. If you plan on camping this season, remember to check the weather forecast (highest and lowest temperature) and bring sufficient layers to dress up or down depending on the time of day. There was a lot of bugs at night, as they seek sources of light, so bring along bug spray. At night, the temperature dipped below 10°C, so invest in a warm sleeping bag and a comfy pad before heading out.

One Friday, we delegated one member to go grocery shopping while the other two stayed at camp to set-up. We had bought a butane stove, a saucepan and some camping dining ware at a nearby walmart. For dinner we boiled pasta and had it with canned chilli. We brought along soda and water in a cooler, which was great to keep everything cold. On Saturday breakfast, we boiled water to cook oatmeal, to which we added strawberries and peanut butter. For lunch, we grilled some corn on the cob right on top of our stove. Dinner was a western bbq provided by EcoBikes which included dishes including baked beans and beef brisket.

Race Day

We woke up early Saturday morning to prepare for our race. We signed up for only one race out of many (we qualified for the throttle assist class, but there were also pedal class, adaptive class, and super class). Bhargav, our rider for the race, went on a test run of the trail. Courtesy of EcoBike, I was able to borrow a pedal-assist bike and followed after him. The trail was a 10 km loop up into the mountains, consisting of big inclines and declines, countless turns, jumps and different rough surfaces (rocks, mounds, streams). It took me half an hour to complete the course, and I finished with sore hands and a very dirty bike. After our test ride, we did an overall inspection of the bike, and performed last minute adjustments to the suspensions, the pressure tires and secured all loose wires. We then left the bike to charge.

The race started at 2:30 P.M. One by one the racers stepped up to the start line and rode off; they were timed individually. As Bhargav rode off towards the mountain, we cheered him on and then waited anxiously for him to come back. 20 minutes later, we saw him slowly approaching the finish line. After he crossed, we slowly made our way towards the barn, and I noticed the flat tire. It turned out that our bike got a flat tire on the rear about 1 km into the trail, but the rider did not notice. He then crashed on a steep decline and was unable to keep going. Unfortunately, we could not finish the trail, and the bike suffered some damage to the rear wheel. We were disappointed with the result, but admitted it was down to track experience and unlucky failure, rather than a design flaw.

Other teams

Besides competing, this festival was a great chance to network with other teams. Some prominent e-bike designers attended, including Stealth and HPC. HPC sponsored some of the events and brought their own riders to compete using their bikes. Stealth had some of their models for us to test ride, and merch to give out. We also met some individuals who were just e-bike enthusiasts there to enjoy the atmosphere. Among them was Cutis, our camp neighbor who we shared some beers with; he’s a seasoned mountain biker who recently transitioned into e-mountain biking as he got older, and Daniel, a professor at Sonoma State University who built his own battery. Everyone there were very friendly and open to talk about their e-bike knowledge and experiences. We definitely took some inspiration from them that we could use for our future builds.

Conclusion

The Lost Sierra E-bike Festival was a great experience and a fun trip. Although the result was not what we wanted, we took a lot of positives from our design; we also learned a lot about other designs and have ideas for next year’s build. I would highly recommend going to competition with your design team if you have the chance, as you would definitely not regret it in hindsight.

Design Team Competition: Lost Sierra E-Bike Festival (pt1)

Hello reader,

In July I traveled with my team, ThunderBikes, to Northern California to participate in the Lost Sierra Electric Bike Festival, hosted by EcoBike Adventures. It was a 3 day event consisting of various races and e-bike competitions and showcases. Design competitions are big events that teams work towards every year. At UBC, there are many design teams that compete in competitions annually, many of which are organized by SAE. This is the first competition our team have ever attended, and it was a great chance to establish our reputation as one of the newest design team within the engineering department. In this post I will tell you all about our preparation the week prior to the trip as well as the journey to California.

The week before competition is always the busiest and most chaotic period during the year. Everything for the trip had to be arrange and final repairs and adjustments were made to our bike. Like most road trips, we had to plan our transportation, lodging, food options and what to pack. Transportation was complicated by the fact that we had to store our e-bike, which was over 100 lbs inside the car. With the help of Modo, we managed to rent a Toyota Sienna, which comfortably fit all three people coming to competition, all our bags and the bike.

Lodging was also difficult to find, since the festival was being held near a forest and an hour away from the nearest city. Fortunately, our host, Eco Bike, offered camping accommodation including running water and toilets. They were generous enough to offered us free tickets to the festival and free camping. All that was left was to collect camping gear, tools to work on the bike while on the road and we were ready. On a side note for all international students, be sure to get your US Visa early. Applications usually take a couple of days, and after that you need to arrange for an interview. The whole process takes about 5 weeks, so be mindful of that if your competition takes place in the US.

We planned our route to get to California; since all of us had either classes or work, we could only take a few days off. We planned to leave on Thursday afternoon and get back by Monday, which meant a lot of driving each day. Our destination in California was the Sierra County, about 1600 km from Vancouver; we planned on driving to Seattle (4 hours) and spending the night there, then driving 12 hours on Friday to Sierra.

We headed out on Thursday at 5 pm. it took us 1.5 hours to get to the border and about half an hour to get through. After having dinner in Bellingham, we drove to Sammamish, a suburban town outside of Seattle. Our night was a short one, and we left at 3 A.M to continue our journey; we arrived at Salem, just outside of Portland at 8 A.M and had a breakfast break. We then continued through Umpqua National Forest to Klamath Falls, where we stopped for lunch and bought some extra camping accessories at the local Walmart. Finally, we arrived at our campsite off the road in the Sierra County, California around 6 P.M. We spent the rest of that day setting up our campsite, cooking dinner and doing some small checks on our bike.

Stay tuned for part 2, where I discuss the events of the Festival!

Take Care,

Huy

Classes at ETH vs UBC

Portraits of famous scientists and engineers greet you from the west wall of ETH. The stone causeways and massive wood doors instil a sense of magnitude and significance to the university. Their mechanical engineering courses follow suit. Never have I studied so hard for such mediocre grades.

Part of the challenge came from class format. There is a distinct lack of hand-holding in these courses, which is a good thing. Engineering students at ETH learn very early on to take full control of their own schooling, as all course material is available early on in the semester and most tutorials or quizzes are non-mandatory. Four of my five course grades were entirely dependent on final exam performance. (this seems less common in other engineering departments).

Think that’s nuts? Many of the exams were formatted as a 20-25 minute oral interview, one on one across from a stoic witness and the professor that remembers every nap you took in class. It takes one forgotten concept or wrong answer to drop a letter grade. Questions ramp up in difficulty and any time spent thinking of responses means less time to show A-grade knowledge in the latter material. This explains why I saw students studying full time all summer for the 7-8 courses (some Spring semester exams happen in August). There’s a re-examination option for oral exams but mobility students (you) don’t get that luxury.

Aside from these terrifying details, the course experience is fantastic — if you’re prepared to put in the work. Many professors are current leaders in their fields, showing off new material from the cutting-edge of applied science. Software exercises utilized modern and industry-relevant applications (though I had a couple concepts explained succinctly via FORTRAN code).

FYI, the exchange structure in 2018 included a flat-rate fee from UBC and waived fees at ETH so you could take as many courses as you were eligible for. Use this to your advantage. Many engineers took things like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and other out of scope topics for the sake of interest. Your exam registration happens later in the semester and you had no obligation to take the exam for these courses (i.e. to get recognition of them on your transcript). This may change down the road so just check these rules before your trip.

Here is the course list that I took with a brief review of each:

151-0361-00 An Introduction to the Finite-Element Method

The introduction lecture was comically-terrifying, as the professor skimmed through each course topic with key mathematical concepts. So much material was packed into the two hour lecture that I honestly thought I was expected to read half the textbook before classes begun. Speaking of which, it took a month of review and Googling to figure out the first 24 pages, which introduced the underlying principles and derivations.

I think this course is so important to modern day mechanical design. While you may not encounter FEM analysis in every job, the concepts you learn through the course can be applied to a variety of complex engineering problems. Computation time is expensive in professional settings, so knowing how to optimize your simulations for both time and accuracy improves your value to any company.

Despite the niche topic, I think this course made the most impact during my time at ETH.

151-0548-00 Manufacturing of Polymer Composites

The professor for this course regularly consults for the big aerospace and automotive companies while acting as head of the composites department. The 400-page textbook he wrote is a litany of relevant information in the analysis and production of various composites. This course felt like the final boss fight for mechanical engineering students, integrating topics from literally every fundamental course I’ve taken at UBC, as well as some material from my previous life science degree (brush up on your organic chemistry folks).

The material is incredibly useful for those getting into high-performance industries but this was also the toughest exam I took at ETH – an open-book, two-hour written monstrosity with 35 pages of questions and background information. I don’t think anyone finished writing it in the time given. However, the textbook is so good that I will be referencing it for all my future carbon projects (looking at you, Formula UBC).

151-0316-00 Methods in the Innovation Process

I took this course to see how design differed in Europe. The creativity components were a welcome change of pace from the theory overload of my other classes. As expected, a number of design methods and concepts carried over from our excellent offerings at UBC. The course was structured as a miniature design project; each team was expected to complete rounds of proposals and prototypes while exercising different methods of decision-making. I learned that ETH doesn’t require a major design course every year in their MECH program, but a number of these smaller project courses exist as options. It certainly seems ETH weighs undergrad towards the mathematics and fundamentals while UBC perhaps leans the other way.

The course instructors are professionals in their respective fields so the networking and coffee breaks are very worthwhile; consider the experience an opportunity to flex your design muscles and work with different engineering backgrounds. It’s a great way to meet local students too, as you spend many hours together during each workshop.

151-0280-00 Advanced Techniques for the Risk Analysis of Technical Systems

A refresher on stochastics, with emphasis on characterizing complex networks like transportation and energy grids. However, the material carries over to any system with multiple, independent parts. This is highly useful material for design and production engineering. I sometimes wish we were provided a stronger stats background at UBC, but I suppose fitting every “nice-to-have” into the program would keep us there forever.

151-0358-00 Structural Optimization

This course is an excellent complement to FEM (and conveniently, taught by the same professor during my stay). While you learn to solve particular load cases in FEM, Optimization teaches you how to automate the design process to find best-fit solutions. You learn enough in this course to write basic optimization scripts for small scale optimization problems (minimum mass design with target stiffness, for example). More importantly, the courses teach you what is going on behind the scenes in ANSYS or Inspire, so that you know exactly which configurations and how to interpret your results.

Second steps in Switzerland: Living Expenses, Establishing Routines

Living Expenses

Spend time shopping around for necessities: groceries, toiletries, etc can vary wildly in price from different shops. The quality spectrum seems much broader than in Canada, with organic (“Bio”), import, and many other options. Fortunately, I’ve found that most budget brands still tend to be high quality, often times better than the Canadian equivalent. Local dairy products and in-season produce are all excellent.

If you haven’t developed the habit yet, it’d be a good time to track your expenses and learn where your money goes every month. It’s tough to incorporate into daily routines as a stressed student, but ETH courses seem to happen in 2-3 hour blocks, minimizing time spent commuting to multiple hour-long sessions a week. Set up your own spreadsheet or use software like Mint or YNAB. You’ll be shocked at how quickly those frappes and/or gipfelis add up. I never budgeted during my first degree and by the end of first year I discovered $500 evaporated into bubble tea…

A good metric is to imagine the cost of a trip or experience you really enjoy, whether that’s travel, gastronomy, etc. Travel is absurdly affordable here, so it’s easier to put time into making coffee every morning when you’re saving 0.5 “Transit to Italy” every week.

ETH recommends setting aside 1750 CHF per month as typical cost of living, including rent, bills, etc. If you secure WOKO housing, this figure may be quite high. Here are a few ranges I saw during my exchange for monthly expenses:

- 450 – 600 CHF rent
- 65 – 100 CHF Swiss healthcare
- 70 – 90 CHF monthly transit pass
- 10 – 40 CHF phone plan
- 150 – 400 CHF food (yikes)
- 100 – 500 CHF leisure
- 100 – 300 CHF irregular expenses (new clothes, one-time fees, whatever)

If you figure out batch-cooking at home, cycle or walk most places to save the monthly transit pass, and plan your weekend trips in advance (Check out SBB Supersaver tickets) you can get away with 1000 to 1200 CHF per month in total expenses. Most students seemed to be in the range of 1200 to 1500.

Fun fact: the last survey indicated a median monthly salary of 7500 CHF per month for technical positions in Switzerland.

With regards to leisure and travel, that 100-500 range depends a lot on transportation options. Switzerland’s domestic train system offers a bunch of Student perks to cut their relatively-high ticket prices. I took advantage of two key discounts during local travel while other students added a third:

Halbtax (Half-fare) Subscription
Supersaver tickets
Gleissieben (Gate Seven) Subscription

1 and 3 are both upfront payments for 12 months (with a possible 6 month refund point to get some money back I believe). The halbtax offers half price 2nd-class fares on almost every train any time of the day. Gleisseiben provides free travel to students (<25 years old) between 19:00 and 5:00. Almost everyone bought the halbtax, but do the math to see if Gleissieben would be worth it. I found most students traveled in groups and if only a few people had gleissieben they were usually outvoted regarding travel times.

Supersaver tickets are discounts for specific trains at specific times that you can find listed on the sbb website when you’re browsing potential trips. While normal train tickets allow travel on any line heading in your direction within a specific period of time, the Supersaver tickets limit you to one particular departure. These are nonrefundable so make sure you’re not late if you take advantage of this. Supersaver can be stacked with Halbtax which can be super useful, especially as they tend to be off-hour departure times which students can usually take advantage of.

I know it sounds complicated at first. It stays complicated once you get used to it.

Establishing Routines

After sorting out your favourite spots, it’s important to find a groove early-on. Jet lag, new people, weird class schedules, and the plethora of student activities/events will be super distracting. It was March by the time I had cracked open my course PDFs and printed them like all the local students had already done (P.S. your ETH card comes preloaded with more than enough print credit for you to print these all out on campus!). This groove can (and should) include adventuring time. Wander the dense city streets or hundreds of nature trails. Take the train to an unfamiliar place. It’s easy to get lost in Switzerland, but you’re always close to a railway, bus, or restaurant and they’ve never even heard of ghettos.

While it might feel like ETH classes provide a lot more free time than anticipated, fit some studying/reading of the lecture material in every week. It’s tough to do if you have classes with no weekly assignments and new travel propositions every weekend. Find an hour or two every day if possible, as the material stacks up very quickly. For example, my Finite Element class covered a month of material by North American standards within the first two lectures. Oral exam preparation is a different beast to written tests; more on this in later posts.

Set up calendar reminders or e-banking payments for monthly expenses. Many students forget about rent, phone bills, etc as they get used to their new bank accounts. New habits might include transferring funds from Canada to Switzerland, or converting Euros before trips abroad. You may have to make payments in person at the local post office so account for processing times. Late fees aren’t cheap here.

More about courses and examinations in the next post!

First Steps 2 – Electric Boogaloo: Student Visa, Residence Permit, Health Insurance, Banking

First Steps 2 – Electric Boogaloo: Visa, Residence Permit, Health Insurance, Bank Account

Part of the initial Mobility application to ETH includes the processing of a Visa Authorization form, which the Swiss Consulate needs to issue your official student visa. However, the fee for this authorization form wasn’t required until you get to ETH Zurich. It’s payable at the school, so don’t forget to pay this; supposedly many students do.

Residence Permit is listed in the ETH Zurich pre-trip documents package as obtainable after a certain number of weeks in Zurich. Try to beat the rush by getting your student documents as soon as possible from ETH. Importantly, the city will want your Matriculation paperwork that comes in this document package. Then, find your local city office and they can process the permit as long as you have everything exactly as described in the permit requirements list. Passport sized photos are used for a number of ID cards during your stay (off the top of my head, residence permit, transit pass, Erasmus Student Network card, International Driver’s License) and you can get them done at many automated photo booths around the city. Don’t be afraid to get the strip of 4 or 5 photos, as you’ll definitely make use of them.

Fun fact: In 2018, Zurich still had two operational automated dark-room photo booths that performed the same functions electromechanically as the modern digital ones — super cool to operate as aspiring mechanical engineers. I met the gentleman responsible for refilling the exposing chemicals and had a lovely chat. Try to find them on Google Maps if they’re still around!

Non-EU students pay a higher fee for the Residence Permit so make sure to bring a couple hundred Francs or set up a local bank account quickly.

Speaking of bank accounts, make sure to open one as soon as possible (if you require it). Some banks have been known to deny students if they are staying for less than 3-4 months. Single semester exchanges just barely satisfy this requirement! You’ll end up saving a bit of money going this route as the accounts are typically free for students and you avoid the fees that local Canadian credit and debit cards typically charge for usage in foreign currencies. Reward programs exist too that netted me about 100 francs by the end of my exchange. In addition, reputable, online services exist to transfer currencies between your CAD and Swiss accounts without having to go to pricy local currency places. Some of these services even have bright green international debit cards you can use to get cash from nearly any European ATM. Look for these 😉

German Classes

UZH, a sister university to ETH, offers an intensive German class that occurs before the start of semester and has limited seating. The language center or “Sprachenzentrum” will post the start and registration dates fairly early. I’d recommend doing the intensive course if you can; not only is it better timing as you’ll have a beginner’s grasp of German before school starts, but you’ll remember more of it since you’re immersed full time for two weeks. Semester courses only happen once or twice a week, with teachers reporting most students forget more of the beginning material by the middle or end of the semester.

Note: This will seem obvious to some, but dates are listed as DD.MM.YYYY which may be different than you’re used to; double check registration time zones and dates! People were still booking incorrect train tickets and accommodations halfway through semester because of these minor differences.

The intensive German class is also a great way to meet people outside of whichever residence you’re in. The class is typically other exchange students and you spend every day with them, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to connect with people for alpine trips and other adventures before the semester really gets going. The teachers included a surprise session on tips and tricks around Switzerland. There were quite a few useful reminders in there, including various student discounts to take advantage of outside campus, travel discounts, and services such as bike and car shares that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. My class ended with a day trip to the local zoo and final “apero” with the teachers. Apero is another great opportunity to meet local and international students alike; don’t be afraid to exchange contact info after a short exchange. Sprachenzentrum supports all ETH and UZH programs so you may not get another chance!