Program Logistics
Travel
Participants will travel together as a cohort to and from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) Airport.
Departure Date: May 21, 2025
Return Date: July 30, 2025
About Dresden, Germany
Dresden is a city with a population of 550,000 and is the capital of the state of Saxony, in the former East Germany. Dresden lies on the Elbe River and is near the Ore Mountains, which include “Saxon Switzerland,” a popular area for hiking and rock climbing. Dresden is famous for its baroque architecture, and the surrounding area is well known for porcelain and wine growing. Dresden has a dynamic research environment that has received massive investment since German reunification in 1990 Dresden is at the heart of “Silicon Saxony,” because several semiconductor fabs are located in Dresden. Dresden is a vibrant city with many young people and a relatively low cost of living.
Accommodations
During the IRES program, participants will stay in single apartments at the TUD International Guest House. Apartments are fully furnished, have private kitchens and bathrooms, and wifi is included. The Guest House is in a prime location with easy access to TUD, shopping, the city center, and the central train and bus station.
Summers in Germany are milder than in North Carolina. As is typical for Germany, the apartments and most of the office spaces at TUD+ do not have air conditioning. The rooms have large windows that can be propped open, and fans greatly help, but participants should be prepared to experience some hot days.
Daily Transportation
Getting from the apartments to the research site can involve a combination of public transportation (bus, tram, train) and walking up to 20 minutes one-way. Excellent public transportation is available, and no car or bicycle is needed, but participants will generally need to walk more than in North Carolina.
Activities & Excursions
- The IRES cohort will be accompanied by one of the NC State / Duke / UNC campus contacts for the first 2-3 weeks of the program. Additional support for the IRES cohort will be provided by staff from the Center For Advancing Electronics Dresden (CFAED): https://cfaed.tu-dresden.de/
- Extensive opportunities to meet and interact with other PhD students within the research groups, institutes, and centers, including the Research Training Group for Supracolloidal Structures: https://grk2767.tu-dresden.de/
- Weekly IRES cohort meetings will take place on Monday afternoons with coffee/tea and cake (a German tradition).
- Group visits to research institutes and sites of scientific and cultural interest in Dresden and Berlin
- Present talks at IRES Research Symposium at the end of the summer
Spring 2025: Preparing for Your Experience
- Participants who have no prior experience with the German language will be required to take a first-semester German language course for S/U grading.
- Beginning in January, there will be monthly pre-departure meetings as a cohort.