Jun 2, 2012

German University Ranking

Results on global university ranking, this time on the world’s best young universities, have just been released. The University of Konstanz (near Lake Constance) has been ranked # 14, which is an excellent result.

The Times Higher Education-Ranking THE 100 under 50,  published on 31 May, 2012, listed Universität Konstanz to be the best young university within Germany.

Another global ranking, QS Top 50 under 50, placed the same university in 35th place.

First place went to Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech, South Korea), followed by ETH Lausanne (Switzerland) and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST, China). Next to Universität Konstanz, there are only three more German universities which made it into the list of the best 100, but none of the others made it into the top twenty.

In Germany, only 39 of its public universities are younger than 50 years. This new list, so the publishers of The Times Higher Education-Rankings assert, is meant to bring forth a new class of global universities which could be representative of any future Harvard and Cambridge universities.

30 countries are represented in this ranking. Leading the top is United Kingdom with 20 universities, followed by Australia and the USA. In regards to the number of modern German universities included in the ranking, Germany was placed sixth with four universities to be in the top 100. The sixth place was shared with Canada and France.

The complete list is available at THE 100 under 50 2012 as well as the publication of The Times Higher Education Ranking. To see the Top 50 under 50, click on QS Top 50 under 50

 

Mar 31, 2012

The Joys of Teaching

For our forthcoming trip to Korea and Japan, I’ve gotten a lot us useful advice from my Korean students in regards to our two-day stay in Seoul.

1) Do not take the subway. So I have asked some of my former students to have our reunion at the hotel we are staying. Seoul has many eating and drinking places everywhere, so we plan on doing everything from there in walking distance.

2) Take sunglasses. As of now, the Yellow Dust (HwangSa) from China is sweeping over the peninsula, so we need to protect our eyes and we might have to buy some surgical masks as well.

3) Beware of pickpockets. Sounds like any big city in Europe, where we also need to travel with caution.

4) Beware of counterfeit. In order to learn to recognize counterfeit, I was given a lesson by a fourth-grader. He brought all kinds of Korean bills with him, pointing out the watermarks, the silver stripe in some of them, raised textures on some, and more details almost too tiny to see with one’s eyes.

Last, but not least, my local bank had told me I could not buy Korean currency in Germany. This I will have to do with euro cash at the Incheon Airport bank.

That same fourth-grader was also concerned I might go hungry, when I arrive in Seoul without Korean money in my wallet. So he gave me this bill below, so I could buy myself two lunches in Seoul.

Korean Won currency

His concern for me was the nicest present I have ever been given by a student. I offered him euro in exchange, but he wouldn’t have it. All I had to do in return was my promise to him to have a good time.

Feb 15, 2012

Quotation Marks in Advertisements

There seems to be a new trend – adding quotation marks to rather simple items such as in “cheese” burger. This would imply that the burger is made with something else than real cheese on top.

Well, some Germans like to add apostrophes to ads, e.g. steak’s, T-shirt’s, etc.

See the cheese burger ad for yourself on The Guardian.

For now, Guten Appetit!, and all the while wondering, what kind of topping this could be…

Dec 11, 2011

The Copper Sign – A Medieval Story

Starting 6 Dec 2011, Katia Fox’s book The Copper Sign has become available in English.

I read the German version about a year ago and was immediately captured by Katia’s writing style. In the end, I read all three books, with the first two The Copper Sign and The Silver Falcon being my favorites.

The second book also got me interested in falconry, which prompted a visit to the same falconry, where Katia had done her research on the topic.

The Copper Sign is a historical novel, set in the 13th century in medieval England. Ellenweore, the main character, is a young girl aspiring to become a sword smith. She manages to enter an apprenticeship and dreams of forging the perfect sword for the King someday.

She has to overcome many obstacles on her journey, all the while depicted as a strong protagonist. This historical fiction, with interesting tidbits along the way, makes for a very good read. The writing is so good that I am contemplating reading the same book once more – in English, this time.

Dec 9, 2011

The Copper Sign – on Kindle

Special offer:

Only today, 09 December 2012, Kindle readers can download The Copper Sign, written by Katia Fox, from Amazon.co.uk for only 99 pence including VAT & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet.

This offer is only valid today (source: Katia Fox on facebook).

Note: Not available to buyers in Germany.

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