The end of the semester abroad is getting closer
Down the home stretch
At Dundalk Institute of Technology, the winter semester officially ends in mid-December. Jonas has two weeks off now before the exam phase begins and with it the intense period of his studies.
"I still haven't realized that my semester abroad is coming to an end. The time went by incredibly fast," says the student, "as if I had just left Germany last week!"
Jonas is not feeling nervous yet. He is pretty relaxed about the time ahead. "My brother and a friend are coming to visit me first. We’ll go to Dublin, Galway and the Cliffs of Moher – the must-sees of every Ireland visit!" the 21-year-old says happily.
“I will miss the Irish pub culture and living in the student dormitory most, as well as my many new friends. Only about 200 people are studying in Bad Hersfeld, while at DkIT there are around 5,000. Life is more exciting here.”
Expanding your horizon. Linking theory and practice.
Renewable Energies
Jonas realized once again in his numerous student projects, how closely theoretical knowledge and practical application are connected. "In the lecture 'Renewable Energy', we went into the functional principle and technology of a photovoltaic system," Jonas explains. "Afterward, we had to apply this knowledge by working on a practical case in an assignment." The student designed a PV system with all components for a building of his choice and calculated the construction’s power consumption. Jonas is excited: "The calculation and design of a plant are also extremely important in our day-to-day work at Grenzebach because we plan custom-fit and demand-oriented plants for our customers – without unnecessary overcapacities and cost drivers."
Photovoltaic engineering was also included in another subject: Computing for Engineering. Jonas could draw on the calculations he had already made. Based on this, he wrote a program that calculates the energy generated by PV plants, considering the location of the plant and the nominal power, because the sun's radiation varies depending on the country where the plant is located. "In Grenzebach's customer projects, it is also essential to take into account customer-specific conditions, such as throughput or the size of the customer's building, when planning the plant," he says. "Writing the programs that we use for this on a large scale at Grenzebach myself has once again deepened my understanding of our processes. On the other hand, I could follow the subject very easily because I already had some practical experience.”