Katrin Fuchshofer and Lisa Heiler

Grüezi from Switzerland

We, Katrin and Lisa, completed our 5th semester in Switzerland at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) in Biel. With around 55,000 inhabitants, Biel is a bilingual city on the “Röstigraben”. That’s the reason why we were addressed either with “Grüessech” or “Bonjour” on the street. But don’t worry, the studies were entirely in German. The “Medical Informatics” degree programme at BFH is located in the old “Rolex building” above Biel’s old town. Biel is located directly on Lake Biel, which offered us a good balance to the stressful daily study routine. We felt welcome right from the start and were able to meet many new people and make new friends.

In our free time, we explored almost all of Switzerland and visited larger cities as well as smaller towns. The classic cheese fondue was also not to be missed. In addition, the Swiss truly managed to get us excited about climbing and bouldering.

Despite the difficult situation with Covid-19, most of the studies took place in presence, which we appreciated very much. We are glad that we decided to spend this semester abroad in Switzerland, because this study programme complements our study programme in Health Informatics / eHealth very well. We were able to follow the course content right from the start and are grateful that we have had the chance to gain a lot of new knowledge, experience and impressions abroad.