Judith Schulz

A trip to New Zealand as a tourist in 1997 opened Judith’s mind to the attractions of studying here, so she soon returned to further her tertiary education.

Now Judith has recently completed her Master of Engineering in Fire Engineering degree, in which she investigated and measured the flow of hot gases through door openings. Previously she was an engineering student at the Technische Universitaet of Karlsruhe.

“I really wanted to study engineering in New Zealand and I liked the surroundings of the South Island best. I might come back to do my PhD here too. I’ve picked up a lot of new interests, as well as my running and rowing, and it’s great that there are so many things to do and places to visit within an hour and a-half of Christchurch.

“There’s a lot more contact here between lecturers and students than I’m used to. There’s also internal assessment that spreads the workload through the year, which I didn’t have in Germany.”

While Judith had missed her family, she kept in touch frequently by phone and e-mail, and her mother and brother visited in April 2001. “I’ve had lots of different new challenges. I’ve done a degree in a different language, met a lot of really nice people, made new friends and had a lot of support along the way. It’s been great.”