NewsFH Upper Austria, Linz Campus

My Semester Abroad in Dublin

A report by Nina Öhlinger, Bachelor's student in Social Work at the Linz Campus


The last few months have been an incredibly exciting and enriching time for me. I decided to spend my 5th semester abroad at the TU Dublin in Ireland, which is a partner university of the FH Upper Austria.The TU Dublin offers many different fields of study and accepts numerous Erasmus students from all over Europe every semester. I was able to make new friends quickly and overcome the initial challenges during the settling-in phase. I also felt at home in the Applied Social Care programme right from the start. The Irish students were very helpful and professors integrated us exchange students well into the class.

In everyday study life, there were some similarities but also many differences to the FH Linz. I especially liked the fact that the timetable was the same every week. This allowed me to plan my time very well, and I managed to complete all my seminar papers during the week so that I could use the weekends to explore the country.

There is a lot to discover in Dublin - shopping streets, museums, parks and not to forget many cosy pubs with live music. The city is surrounded by beautiful beaches and cliffs and the Wicklow Mountains National Park which is great for hiking. The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) offered affordable weekend excursions and enabled us to visit the most beautiful places in Ireland. We visited the cities of Galway, Cork, Belfast and Derry, numerous historical sites such as the Brú na Bóinne tombs which are older than the Egyptian pyramids, the Titanic Museum, various castle ruins and beautiful natural landscapes such as the famous Cliffs of Moher. 

During my semester abroad, I not only gained exciting insights into everyday study and social work in Ireland, but also got to know the country's history and culture. In my opinion, a stay abroad is always a step out of the comfort zone and at the same time a valuable enrichment for life!