"Need for Speed" Documentary of the Postdoc Working Group "Rethinking Accelerated Learning"
Abstract
- Abstract
- The Postdoc Working Group's workshop in February was accompanied by a film screening of documentary "Need for Speed: African and Asian Students on Accelerated Learning at University of Bayreuth". The film explores the experiences of African and Asian students navigating accelerated learning programmes at University of Bayreuth, highlighting both challenges and opportunities. The film examines how accelerated learning impacts students' academic adaptation, career preparedness, and cultural integration. The screening provided a platform for discussions on inclusivity and the future of higher education in a rapidly evolvling global landscape.
Origins & context
- Title
- "Need for Speed" Documentary of the Postdoc Working Group "Rethinking Accelerated Learning"
- Language
- English
- YouTube playlist
- Postdoc Working Group Accelerated Learning
- Date
- March 5, 2025
Identifiers & sources
Full text
- Transcript
- [Music] [Music] I think it has a good piece I would I wouldn't describe it as f space probably when I started in my first year I had to speed it up a bit because I had a goal and so because I had a lot of courses to take I decided to to jam it up which will consider it fastpaced then but right now it's calm cuz I'm just doing my thesis I think a lot of uh uh a lots of thing impacts on how vitam uh study lifestyle is faster first thing I have to say about the exam orent culture uh vietnames student always have to overcome a lot of uh exam and they have to try to have the guest score to come to uh previous University to with hope a lot of uh the Beautiful Life in the future and uh when I study in Vietnam I always to study a lot and try to get high score because if I don't do that I think I don't have the better life in the future but when I come to Germany for study B I find people not care not much about their high score they very enjoy with um study Journey they have and I think it help them can just focus on your life private life don't look around people do so I think that's uh help me another time to just focus on myself on my goals and my dreams so I I think I like the way I have in Germany biochemistry is really hard uh there are a lot of um exercises you you need to do there are um a lot of things you need to to to know in order to pass the exams for example physics we had physics one week ago and uh yeah it was all about uh doing exercise you know doing a lot of UB um yeah understanding what is uh for example impulse uh mechanic uh you need a lot of time and if you are not really in it you cannot I believe succeed and uh also for example the uh chemistry anr chemistry everyone knows it's really art so so yeah it's fastpaced you know you you need to put the time in it you have no time to to party for example uh you know I'm in the group for example for at the University for organizing the events and I can tell you that uh from the beginning I was planning to to go to some events but uh after I have seen what uh the professors expected from from us I didn't have the time to focus on it and also I wanted to to go in a football club for example and I didn't even have the time to to do that because I cannot put in my mind that there is something I don't understand you you feel me I don't understand and I'm going to to play instead of learning about this things so so it's really fast-paced yeah you don't have time for yourself there's a lot of things to do it's very there's a lot of information to learn I mean it can sometimes it can be a bit hard to catch up with everything there lectures every week new informations to learn new a lot of um yeah assignments to do so sometimes it can be pretty hard to catch up and can be a bit fastpaced but it requires a lot of time management to be able to do everything I came here by Indian 2021 when still in like it just came for a month in the campus and then Corona burst out again and they have a whole lockdown Christmas was party end up and I stay it was like staying in the Ice Age when everything is everyone come back I study I stay in a German D mainly German student they said all came home and came back home and then I was just along and then the next semester everything come back normal I was again a push to the university studying like I what to say it took me quite why I think one and a half year three or four semesters I really get used to listening German every day on campus and because in my study I have to listen to German and yeah it's quite difficult even if like I pass C1 level but my teacher who is also a foreigner like she's really good German so when she sits like see one level is not enough and it's fast forward just last year here I discover I have a heart effect and then suddenly everything stop again I couldn't come to the campus that much I just received my chief treatment in the end of last month so it's a bit better now and there good day bad day luckily today not so bad day that's why I'm here in the interview with you [Music] [Music] for the first thing I have to say about the landwick barrier um I work in the the group team of my professor or more them come from German German German they just e German Le the the main language to Discord and present anything for the first time I didn't understand anything in this uh seminar or Workshop so I'm I'm still very alone and I don't know how to um adapt with this uh culture um academic culture so after three or six month I change my mind instead of focus on what they say and uh I just focus on my research and try to uh make everything better for me and right now I'm I'm feel better and but um I think this time helped me a lot because uh when I I try I I have the the hard time to to push myself to find the solution to deal with and after that I I I I I realize that how must I grow a lot when I want to interact with someone for example when when I'm in and interacting with someone that German people are uh the contr of what I believed are really welcoming uh they talk with you when you you talk to them and uh they're really responding they're really interested in in you um it's my experience um yeah I believe interacting with people is not really the problem the problem is uh people are also in studying and you were studying so everyone is occupied so there is no really not really time to you know create bonds and and stuff like that uh personally my my life as as a student outside of my academic focus is also fast-paced because you know uh sometimes you you don't even have time to to cook something you go at the supermarket you take something you go you have to cook so it's really fast because you have to do something to do after um yeah and for me ALS Al I I go for example at the at the swimming pool one time a week because I I believe it's good for for my elf um yeah it's also F because I need to plan that also and sometimes I don't even go because hey there's this thing I need to do you you if you get what I mean I focus a lot on my studies so that means I have to um I give a little time to my social life sometimes since since my priority is to study and learn I'll spend most of my time doing that so going out and enjoying life in general can take a back seat but yeah I think right now I'm just really trying hard to adapt to how to learning I mean to how it is here so yeah I think it takes my kids IC life takes a majority of my time and energy in general maybe because I'm come from the developing country so I do think the pace in in University not that fast and like our schedule not that pack as it was in Vietnam and Japan because I also study for while in Japan but how they expect you to certain knows things and like just get used to all their German academic rules and thing is quite I would say it's quite fast yes and it may be just a difficult for and a challenge a big challenge for someone who not coming from the Western acemic background um well just I just give an example in my one class that there was uh powerpo presentation the two Chinese student they would copy everything from Wikipedia and that teacher was really really upset but they don't know because Wikipedia was Block in China KY and they was like oh it's amazing they have all the information we need the same thing with this like I didn't know there was certain research links and like resources that I couldn't use because they're not considered Like official or not considered like to to have Peay review or something like that I'm still learning because I was never a researcher this is my second Bachelor but I have to be honest in my first Bachelor I do not do researching that much it's like really just learn by heart and you pass all the test and here I do think it's the first time ever I really have to use my brain maybe also it sound like excuse maybe also because my for my PS work I was professional interpreter I never have to use my brain I never have to think to say my old ideas my own opinion about something and will translate the other one ideas into words and I suddenly they asked me what do you think about it I was like what should I think about it anyone can give me an inter session it take me a while I'm still have very ancient mindset definitely definitely there pressure I mean coming here has its own financial responsibilities and so there's there's that there's already that that thought of I need to make the best out of this investment and then also just for yourself you you can't be a failure you have to you know you have to make the best out of it so there is pressure and for somebody that always wants my things to be done well and done very well I think I have a personal pressure on myself as well which makes it extra so I do have a lot of pressure on my head right now and honestly as a Christian I think I just speak to God a lot and I also try to take it a day at a time although I make sure I achieve a lot in the day I also try to be kind to myself and do things that make me happy or make me feel a bit more relaxed while handling while still being practical you know actually because I'm still come from Vietnam with affect by uh exam exam oriented culture so I'm still feel feel stressful for for study but um I try to change uh something to make my better for example is f hobby to help me relax after the the stressful research and I I love byid so much because they around by natures and I go for work every day to find the fresh air and find the new idea for my research and I think uh that helped me to balance between working life and life I believe so because it was my choice to come my choice to come here uh my dad for example told me I could go to to France as FR French is my first language but I decided to come here because I wanted a challenge I decided to to come here because I believe the German universities are are the the greatest in the world which I still believe um I feel pressured because it was my choice and my family warned me that if I I come here it will be hard um now I need to succeed um I don't feel the pressure like um I don't want to do it but I am obliged to do it no biochemistry is a passion to me I want to study science I want to understand the the Mechanicals um processes in in the human human body uh I want to to understand chemistry uh physics which is also interesting um I think that I study something that is interesting I think that I study something that I like so I on this side I don't feel pressured but I feel pressured because if I do not succeed like I don't want to be among my my family members and not succeed it won't do anything won't judge me or something but like it's just a feeling you feel me for me definitely I have a lot of pressure to be success personally um because when I drop up my job this was really good job good play well playing job compared to every salary in Vietnam all my parents said I'm crazy all my friends tell me I'm crazy my cowork also think I'm crazy and but I couldn't see my future in my former company I mean it's really good I I love my coworker I also love being a interpreter in a game company I like gaming like drawing like beautiful thing in general so it was very interesting but I just heard from my boss that they have no intention to further educate and like train female into preacher I'll just say for my university in Ghana even writing the structure of writing papers was is very different from this place they take plagiarism very serious here not to say we don't take it serious in Ghana but you have your way around it right and this place is very serious like um how lectures treat you how the access you have to lectures it's it's a it's a very different thing that you have to like um I'm not sure how to put it but like you have to be able to integrate yourself into the academic system to understand it and to be able to excel in it because they don't just Dash marks they actually make sure that you you you deserve them and then also the language is a huge is a huge barrier on its own even on on campus because sometimes when you go to the Central Library although they know the international students they are more prone to speak German which sometimes is like frustrating but yeah there are those those kind of headlocks one of the biggest challenge I have to face during to study in Germany I think is langwick barrier uh because um in by Roy University I r on most activity they use German instead of English so uh for me international student I have never studied German before so for the first time I came here I feel very chle uh for go to the supermarket everything with the label by German I did I didn't understand or when I join the group they talk together by German I didn't understand so I find very difficult for me to have new friends but um after uh three German C I have in B University I start to I start understanding some basic words in German and I start have to solution to make friends make new friends with that and right now I feel better because I can use the basic German to go to shopping or doing something and another challenge I have to face uh related to the academics life um unlik unlike in Vietnam uh where I can I could easily to reach out my professor anytime in Germany I have to schedule appointment with my professor and this make me a little a bit um confused for the first time for example for the the first years I have the new idea and I really want to uh discuss with my professor and I asked her for a Miss thing and she told me she need to check her calendar and he just uh she her just have free time uh dur I have to wait for 3 weeks to have missing with her and is very Chate with me at that time but right now I know I have to checking her calendar and if she have free time I have to set a missing with her when I arrived it was two weeks before the the start of my studies so I went in a new city I knew no one I knew nothing about the life year and my language skills were not uh so so good at at time so it was pretty difficult and then I started with the the studies and as you said it was fast-paced and um I didn't have time to to Really adapt to it I am adapting to what is necessary I would say I am adapting to to studying uh art 100% all the time to to um use my my time wisely I've previously also lived in France before for so to me Europe in general is something I've kind of I've visited a lot I've been here for a while and it's not that much different but I think for me what's the hardest to get used to is maybe the climate is very cold it's very different from where I come from it's very it's a tropical climate very hot for everything um yeah I the people here are also nice the only problem is maybe the language barrier I've been learning German for one year only so it can be a bit hard to communicate with them and if you can't communicate with them like forming a connection a lasting relationship with them can be a bit hard I do think even like in Japan I would have better adaptation because not only is language I understand better but also because it's just like East Asian lifestyle we all both you Chopstick here I didn't know even how to use Cutler properly as n and forking all the thing if I coming to Germany I really have to learn by myself to YouTube so don't embarrass my boyfriend we he take me to fancy restaurant I just have the the idea to to come to barro University for studying and after study I can come back to Vietnam uh for for my life but I just spend four years here to experience as much as possible but if I think if I want to settle down I think it's not easy not easy to adapt with culture here because very different between the Western culture and asan cultures no I don't I don't think I don't think I have the the heart to stay in this country for long yeah it takes a lot of patience to live here and I don't think I I have more bandwidth for that it's emotionally draining you know I I haven't well for someone who has grown up and lived in a society where I feel like I'm home being here I feel like I'm not I feel very different and out of place and it's taking me so longer and I still still don't feel integrated in it so it's like so when does that happen um so it takes a lot for you to emotionally allow yourself to stay in a space where you are always striving to be seen and I I don't think I I can't keep doing that anymore I've I've done well it's time to move on to the next I was I also had like you know some years in foreign country before so you can do comparison um I will not compare like to my motherland because of course people always bias and think they motherland is the best um but I can just say comparing to Japan they was like it would think this in German is better and that was side that we was I think the thing is a bit better is that German people are very straightforward so I don't have to like think a lot about oh they are praising me or they are doing py aggressive to me um and the others well and the other side is like because they're straightforward they're not afraid to harm you bully when they racist they in Japan they do not do it that much they didn't even talk behind a back mall but in Germany I wouldn't I can tell you some really annoying experience like when was a train or a bus because I visit my boyfriend oftenly the German children they do like this and they call me b chilling uh they call me Corona like the first I always remember the first thing when I I told you I come here to Indiana 2021 and then only one man in Camp on campus and then they was locked out again right and the Christmas Market here was cancell and I was waiting for the bus in the P station then there was three German teenager they pull my backpack and they keep yelling at me Corona I come back to their country something like that it always stopped and I threat and I would call police and they try to cover their face I pull out my phone and I try to record them and they of course they pull the their head and they try to cover their face and ran away well if you are foreign student you know a little bit of German you already know what going to happen to the next like like to the next vote like election right um I have they winning a lot of so I have a bit worried about my future in Germany maybe I should do as that they say come back to my country yeah but the thing of future and to be honest without a German passport I have no right to talk about right as some people may say so I just hope that I can just successfully finish my study here and then maybe in the future and go to other country who is a little bit more open to Foreigner [Music] m for