An Erasmus in Noth Rhine-Wesphalia - The Guide
Posted on July 03, 2025
Posted on July 03, 2025
Figure 1: Gehry Buildings in Düsseldorf Harbor (top left), Rheinturm (top right), View of German Corner (Deutsches Eck) in Koblenz (Bottom Left), Münster St Martin Church (Bottom Right).
Dear reader, let me introduce myself. My name is Daniel Jakab, a 3rd year PhD student at the University of Limerick. I want to dedicate this article to any students or researchers who are considering an Erasmus abroad. I will share my experience in the hopes that it will help you understand how to approach such a trip. From the sites I’ve visited in Germany, I will share my recommendations as well. The following sections are broken up into the following: Background, Trip Objectives, Things to Look Out For & Closing Remarks. Finally, I have added an optional section entitled: Places of Interest for a summary of North Rhine-Westphalia.
There can be a lot of good reasons why you would like to do an Erasmus. It could be to improve your future career prospects, travel the world, meet new people, make new relationships, and discover new things. Indeed, it could be all the above. The reasons are quite broad. For me, it was all of this, and my interest in cameras and computer simulation. Indeed, we have come a long way since the invention of the camera in the 19th century by French inventor Nicephore Niepce (read more here), where in 2025 we now have a live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon. Yes, cinematic movies are one such application of cameras, and no doubt, Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) with the help of cameras makes imagining a dragon against the backdrop of Northern Ireland possible. We also see cameras being placed on passenger vehicles and transportation getting a full surround-view of the environment. Here’s where the research starts for all of us. Our research interests lie in linking automotive perception with cameras. Here’s a question we need to answer: how good does a camera have to be for a computer to understand the environment it is in? To this day, a research gap exists in understanding how a camera influences the decisions a car makes on the road. We still have a long way to go before we can teach a computer to interpret a picture to the same level as a human does without requiring any intervention that is. The IEEE P2020 Automotive White Paper represents a major step forward in the world of automotive cameras, defining a standardized suite of objective and subjective test methods for measuring automotive camera image quality. And let’s not forget that timing is very important here. A computer must interpret a picture in frames per second and decide in a split second what to do to prevent a fatal road accident from happening.
Figure 2: Research Group at University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf. From left to right: Christian Sieberichs, Jan Honsbrok, Simon Geerkens, Daniel Jakab.
On the 16th of March, I set off on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend 3 months at the University of Applied Sciences, Düsseldorf, in Germany. I was introduced to a wonderful research team (pictured in Figure 2) under the guidance of Professor Alexander Braun, an expert in automotive image quality. Over these past few months, I have had an incredible time working directly with Jan Honsbrok, from whom I have learned essential software skills, and his consistent input has helped me gain experience in both teamwork and collaboration. Alongside him, Christian Sieberichs and Simon Geerkens both gave me crucial research guidance throughout my stay, which no doubt has shaped the progress I was able to make, and I would like to sincerely thank you all for this. I would also like to thank Julian Barthel, Orouji Haniyeh (Tolou), and Maximilan Dornik, with whom I also had the pleasure to meet and work with during these past few months. The research team made me feel at home as they introduced me to Düsseldorf and its culture. It is thanks to them that I was able to have a memorable experience, and I learned a lot from them. They also introduced me to the culture and history of Germany, not to mention the advice and tips on how to live there. The major objectives were to further the knowledge of optical simulations to test systems in detecting objects on the road, even with different optical cameras. This trip has rewarded me with important career skills working in a Research and Development (R&D) environment, which is invaluable when it comes to career development and has no doubt pushed the research project forward.
This section specifies a few things that you should know before you choose to do an Erasmus in Germany:
· Most places are very welcoming, especially in Düsseldorf, with English being the second language used. A bit of language preparation is recommended, though, whether you intend to use Duolingo, take up a German language course, read the German newspaper, or listen to the radio, you will be able to pick up the language relatively quickly.
· Registration is very important in Germany. When you arrive, please make sure to register your address at the Registration office of the city you are staying in within two weeks after arriving. For example, the Düsseldorf Registration Office has a website from which you can register (see the link here). Deregistration is also needed, and it is recommended to do this a week before you leave. Note: Please make sure to check in before each appointment at least 15 minutes before the appointment time you receive. There is a 5-minute window to complete registration.
· Once you register, the broadcasting fee is legally required in Germany, and you will receive a letter from the Deutschlandradio service asking you to register your residency to pay the fee. The fee is typically calculated from the date you arrive until the next scheduled payment every three months and is currently 18.36 euros per month.
· The public transport system in Germany is highly recommended as the train service is well-connected to all cities and towns in North Rhine-Westphalia. If you plan to stay for more than a month, please download the DB Navigator App on your phone or device from which you can purchase the monthly Deutschland Ticket for 58 euros per month. You will be able to easily show the QR code of the ticket to the train conductor. Note: Please make sure to cancel your ticket’s subscription before the 10th of the month you plan to leave.
· The Uber taxi is the cheapest option to consider if you have a lot of luggage to carry, especially when arriving and leaving the country. The fare will vary depending on your location. If you are travelling from one side of Düsseldorf to the other, the price can be around 25 to 30 euros.
· Germany is a very social place to live, especially in the populated cities of North Rhine-Westphalia, and chances are you will most likely find something to do every weekend or Bank Holiday. It is encouraged to go out and meet new people while you are there whether it is on the train or at a concert in Düsseldorf or Cologne. Typically, most Bank Holidays occur annually around May to June and December.
· I highly recommend getting the book from DK Eyewitness Germany Travel Guide for your stay in Germany available on Amazon: DK Germany (Travel Guide): Amazon.co.uk: DK Travel: 9780241612804: Books. This guide is good investment, especially if you are travelling to other parts of Germany. The following section will illustrate an example map from this book of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Hopefully, these points have helped you get an informed perspective on planning an Erasmus abroad. I wish you the very best for your trip wherever you go to study abroad. In short, an Erasmus is worth considering as you will gain so much experience from studying in another country. You will also find that you will become more socially active, whether it is going to social events or to explore new places, it is an experience worth having, and I am certainly glad that I was able to have this as a student. I would like to thank the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, Lero, D2iCE Research Centre, and the University of Limerick for making this trip possible. In German I will sign off with: “Viel Glück und Erfolg!”
Figure 3: Map of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland (Original map from the book by publisher DK Travel, ISBN-10: 0241612802, 1st Edition, publication date: 2 Mar. 2023).
This additional section details all the highlights of the Erasmus trip in North Rhine-Westphalia and is an optional read. As can be seen from the map in Figure 3, Düsseldorf is situated in a very densely populated area with many cities surrounding it that are also worth visiting if you get the chance.
Düsseldorf, with a population of more than 600,000 people, is a wonderful city and was the main destination of the Erasmus trip. There are various sites worth visiting here, including the Rhine Tower (Rheinturm) located beside the Gehry buildings at Düsseldorf Harbor, pictured in Figure 1, the Little Tokyo Quarter in the city centre that is home to traditional Japanese cuisine and art, the main garden (Hofgarten) which is the city’s largest park situated near Schadowstraße, a major shopping district for the area and the AquaZoo Löbbecke Museum near Düsseldorf’s football stadium, the Merkul Spiel Arena. Every year, the city celebrates the Day of Japan (Japan Tag), where many people gather to see the fireworks on the city’s beach beside the Rhine River and celebrate the Japanese culture. The city is famous for its traditional Altbier and Adam Bernhard Bergrath mustard, first produced in 1726. A notable spot to visit if you have a car would be the Lookout Jackerath Garzweiler Skywalk just outside Düsseldorf on the motorway between Düsseldorf and Aachen. This place offers a panoramic view of the giant coal pits in Germany.
This city has a population of 300,000 people and is home to 58,000 students, making this one of the largest student densities in Germany. This city is famous for its Town Hall (Rathaus), a place in which the Westphalian Peace Treaty was signed in 1648, ending the Thirty Years’ War in Europe between several countries. St Lambert’s Church (Lambertikirche) located on the same street as the Town Hall, was built between 1375 and 1450, and is a must-see. The botanical garden located in the star-shaped park behind Münster University’s Palace (Schloss) has a large variety of exotic plant species from around the world. The St Paulus Cathedral (Dom) built between 1225 and 1265, represents a transition between the Romanesque and Gothic style of architecture.
Xanten is a town of 20,000 people from the Middle Ages and is situated right next to the LVR Archeological Site of an ancient Roman Town called Colonia Ulpia Traiana. This is the largest open-air museum in Germany. The town also has St Viktor’s Cathedral (Dom), a Gothic Cathedral built between 1263 and 1517 located near the town’s square.
This city of 574,000 people was developed by the Krupp family in the mid-19th century. This city has a UNESCO World Heritage Site of a Coal Mine Industrial Complex called Zollverein, with its large machinery and buildings still intact to this day since it closed in 1986. The Ruhr Museum is a must-see on this site, as well as the Coking Plants surrounding the museum.
Home to around 500,000 people, this city is situated right next to Düsseldorf, which has the Wilhelm-Lehmbruck Museum with lots of sculptures from Salvador Dali, Henry Moore, and Max Ernst, as well as Lehmbruck himself, a sculptor born in Duisburg.
Wuppertal, with more than 350,000 people, is made up of six towns that combined together in 1929 along the Wupper river. This town is best known for its monorail built above the Wupper river that links one end of the city to the other. The Von Der Heydt Museum has a collection of 19th and 20th century German art that is worth visiting. Notable sites that might also be of interest are the Wuppertal Zoo built on a slope of a hill, the city’s Lego Bridge (Brücke) and the Neanderthal Museum located just outside Wuppertal Vohwinkel providing an in-depth experience of the origins of the ancient Neanderthal man.
A city home to approximately 600,000 people and is best known for its football stadium and BVB Dortmund football club, in the first league of German football the Bundesliga. Every year a miniature model festival is held in Dortmund called the Intermodelbau and is hosted in the city’s large hall (Messe) beside the stadium, which provides an unmissable spectacle.
Otherwise known as Cologne is home to about 1 million people and has the greatest Gothic cathedral in Germany, the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom). This cathedral was gradually built until 1520 and was finally completed between 1842 and 1880. This cathedral has 533 steps to the top of the South Tower from which a splendid panoramic view of the city is possible. Other notable churches can be found surrounding the cathedral, such as the handsome St Martin’s church located in the Fish Market (FischMarkt) of the AltStadt (Old Town). The Ludwig Museum houses the best collection of modern art in Europe.
This is a town of 45,000 people and is best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Baroque Palace of Augustusburg, built between 1725 and 1728. A kilometre east of the palace is another castle called Falkenlust, built between 1729 and 1740. The palace’s well-kept garden leads the way between the two residences.
A city of 320,000 people, Bonn is one of the most elegant cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. As shown in Figure 1, Münster St Martin church is an iconic building for Bonn. Once a year, around May and early April, there is an entire avenue filled with cherry blossom trees in bloom. Bonn was home to the famous composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven of which a statue can be found in the city’s main square.
Koblenz is home to almost 120,000 people and is located far South in the neighbouring region of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is approximately 2 hours by train and is worth the trip. The city is situated directly on the point at which the Moselle River joins together with the Rhine River. The panoramic view from the city’s fortress of the German Corner (Deutsches Eck) is depicted in Figure 1 provides spectacular views of the city itself.
Aachen, home to about 260,000 people, is situated at the border of both Belgium and the Netherlands. This is about 1 hours by train from Düsseldorf. The iconic Octagonal Cathedral (Dom) and the city’s Town Hall (Rathaus) are situated in the city centre and are unmissable. This city is very important both historically and strategically, where the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne was crowned Emperor in 800. For a short period, the city became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. The city is also well known for its Nobis Printen Christmas treats that are sold there throughout the year.