Kevin Marcel Zahn, a sixth-semester student of Environmental Engineering, is completing a five-month internship abroad at the University of Venda (UNIVEN) in the Limpopo region in the far northeast of South Africa.
"While my fellow students are gaining experience at German sewage treatment plants or engineering firms, I am here measuring one of the region's major rivers with a floating drone," he reports, "using GPS tracking and various echo sounder systems."
The aim of the measurements is to record the flow of the nearly 200-kilometer-long waterway in relation to water level and flow velocity. The data will serve as the basis for hydrological modeling – an important contribution to the fight against the consequences of climate change, which is also affecting this region with periods of drought, heavy rain, and irregular precipitation.
"The whole thing sounds like high-tech (and it is), but it takes place in an environment that functions completely differently from what we are used to in Germany: challenging, exciting, educational – and sometimes a little surreal," Kevin describes his impressions.
Away from his research, the student experiences a number of peculiarities – from driving on the left to different hygiene standards: "Waste separation is rare, plastic waste is omnipresent, and open fires for waste disposal are part of everyday life. Especially in the evening, a gray haze of smoke often hangs over the city. For me as a budding environmental engineer, this is difficult to watch – but it is also a valuable insight into a reality that shows how important environmental education and infrastructure development are worldwide," he says.
He is impressed by the hospitality in Thohoyandou – almost 8,560 kilometers away from Höxter as the crow flies, or 12,938 kilometers by car – and at UNIVEN. "What I encounter here every day is an incredibly open, warm, and life-affirming culture."
And the experiences of nature also leave their mark on Kevin: in Kruger National Park, he has already encountered herds of elephants, zebras, and crocodiles. Mountain tours, paragliding, and even diving with sharks are also planned.
The preparations for this stay abroad were extensive, as Kevon describes: "Visas, international driver's license, travel insurance, vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis, research on culture and language – all important points that I organized early on. Without this good preparation, many things here would have been much more difficult."
His conclusion after the first few weeks: "A practical semester in South Africa is no walk in the park – but it's an incredible learning experience. Professionally, I am working on real hydrological challenges, and culturally, I am broadening my horizons every day. I can only advise everyone to take the courage to look beyond their own horizons – or, as in my case, beyond the edge of the rubber dinghy while the drone flies overhead. If you have any questions or are interested in a semester abroad, feel free to contact me!"
Finally, Kevin would like to express his special thanks to Professor Dr. Klaus Maas, Mathias Rohdemeier, Volker Pick, and Dr. Rejune Mundalamo from UNIVEN.
