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I am answering this for the benefit of all the students who will be joining TUB Campus El Gouna in the upcoming future years. I hope to cover most of the queries related to Campus, Energy Engg. Program, Arrival, Accommodation, etc.This is my personal opinion, so not necessarily that others will/might/may agree or disagree.PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE MESSAGES EITHER ON QUORA OR ON FACEBOOK OR ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA. THERE ARE OTHER STUDENTS WHO JOINED AFTER ME TO WHOM YOU CAN CONTACT AS SOME THINGS HAVE CHANGED, IF NOT ALL.I for one am one of the students who will be completing the program on Energy Engineering soon. In this program, you will get to experience to live in Egypt for 2 semesters most important of all is, you get to stay in Egypt during Winter and the summer in Berlin. (Pretty awesome bargain)My student profile you can check it out here: Student ProfilesSource: TUB Campus El Gouna: HomeUniversity: Technische Universität Berlin Campus El GounaLocations: El Gouna, Egypt/ Berlin, GermanyCore Offered Programs: M.Sc. Energy Engineering (EE), M.Sc. Water Engineering (WE) and M.Sc. Urban Development (UD)New Programs (2015): M.Sc. IT for Energy and M.Sc. Business Engineering Energy(These additional programs overlap with some courses provided in EE and then later on move on with some core specific courses related to respective programs)Study Duration: 2 Years1st and 3rd Semester in El Gouna, 2nd Semester in Berlin and 4th semester place of your choice, wherever you would like to do your Master Thesis.Tuition Fees: 20,000 EurosCurriculum: Please visit the University website: Studying at Campus El GounaFor admission process please follow this link, if interested. Admission Process1. On foremost priority, as any and every person would think about this question. “How safe is it here (Egypt)?”The location El Gouna is a tourist place. One would see a lot of tourists mostly Europeans and Russians. One might have seen or heard on the internet the problems that exists in Egypt, but El Gouna is far away from all these troubles. It is very ‘SAFE’. One need not worry about any safety aspect in Gouna. Also if you are travelling to any other parts of Egypt like Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria etc. it is possible and will be without any problem. As long as you carry your passport/ Letter from University (stating that you are a student at TUB). First of all, nobody will even bother you asking for your ID and secondly you can show the letter from University. (Make sure that the letter is in Arabic, otherwise it is of no use). To travel to Hurghada you will not require to carry any of these things.2. How is life in El Gouna? Is it very difficult to get adjusted here?Life in El Gouna is fun. Since it is a tourist place there are a lot of beaches, pubs, restaurants, etc. all very near to the campus. Lots of parties take place every week and weekends. There is an international school which has a mini football field. Students from TUB can access it every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7 p.m. till late midnight. There is a tennis table at the university which can be accessed anytime of the day. The people in Gouna are really very friendly. But not everyone speaks fluent English, so you might have to put a bit more effort in making them understand what you need.There is a hospital nearby the dorms, so in case of emergency or any illness you can visit the hospital with the insurance papers.The local bus is called ‘Go Bus’, which is every 20 min or so, to Hurghada. Other than these there are other busses as well, but they charge more.3. The Campus?Compared to campus in Berlin this might be small, but it covers all the facilities that is required for the students and much more.I know, your first question would be about Internet? Yes, there is Wi-Fi. Sit till late night or come early in the morning, nobody will question you.For your study purpose there are specially allocated study rooms in which max 4-5 students can study together or can chit-chat. You can also have food if you like. If you want to sit alone then you may find other vacant rooms to have a private chat with your family and friends on Skype.The Campus has its own cafeteria which was a bit expensive, but has got reduced since last year and the food is great. Since 2014 they have included many vegetarian dishes as well. The price for a non-vegetarian meal is around 30 EGP while the same for vegetarian is about 20 EGP.Each department has its own library. It might not be like the one in your university in your respective country or even the one Volkswagen library in Berlin, but they have sufficient books for everyone.There is the PC pool. One can sit and use the PC’s by providing their ID at the security counter.I would not like to go more into details, come and explore for yourself. Not only the campus or El Gouna but Egypt as a whole.4. Accommodation – El Gouna?Source: TUB Campus El Gouna: AccommodationHere are multiple options that are available for any student. For most of the students’ expense is a big issue and one can choose depending on how much comfort and money and time saving you would like to have.Firstly, before coming to Gouna, you might have already signed a contract with the Orascom housing in the Student dorms, for a double studio of 300 Euros (150/ person) or a single studio (200 Euros). This is the most expensive accommodation that you can choose in Gouna. We found a way about for this, we had requested Orascom to share the single studio among 2 students (100 Euros /person) and one can reduce his/her rent. (Room details are provided in your contract; you can go through that).Secondly, you may choose to live within Gouna but not in the student dorms. You may choose to live in a group of 4-5 people in a Villa.Thirdly, you may choose to live at Hurghada, which is the next big city close to El Gouna, 30 minutes away by bus. You can rent an apartment for 3-4 people. (I would say this is the cheapest option among the 3, considering having a lot of good food options)You can choose to live in any of the above options, but many actually prefer living close to Campus to save time, enjoy playing football, party together at pubs, can meet-up with anyone at university to work on projects or study etc. It is all left to you depending on how much you can afford and spend.5. Food – Now how can we forget this?(Koshari)The food is not like in India (For Indian students). You might like to eat more spices but here the spice used are less, but they have their own ingredients to make the taste of the food very delicious. There are no ‘Only Vegan’ restaurants. But you get good vegetarian and Non-vegetarian food. Unlike India, Beef is very common food in all the restaurants here. So people who eat chicken, ‘Meat’ in Egypt by definition is Beef. So make sure to clearly ask them for Chicken. For vegetarian‘s lot of food options are available as well and very delicious. Still I know many would have brought a lot of spices of your own. You would really start and learn to cook if not already started. There are some expensive restaurants, some average and some very low price, which you will come to know once you get here.6. Drinks – This needs to be clarified as well.Water first, alcohol comes later. There are no water purifiers in rooms, so one has to buy water from supermarket. YES, every drop of water that you drink has to be bought. (The value of which I learnt after coming to Egypt).Egyptians in general don’t drink alcohol, but still since Gouna is a tourist attraction, you will find a lot of alcohol in alcohol shops, restaurants and obviously in pubs. The price increases in the order I mentioned earlier. So most of the time we get it from shops and sometimes you can’t avoid drinking at pubs.7. Electricity and Water Rent:Believe me the electricity and water (bathroom and kitchen sink) do not come cheap. So use wisely. Avoid unnecessary usage of AC. If you are living in dorms then there is solar heater, so you will get hot water. Cooking is by electric induction coil, so again use wisely. The Orascom charges for both are quite high.8. Living Expenses - Gouna?The expense to live in Gouna will incur a total with these 3 possibilities at least according to me.Max. /month: (Room Rent) 150 + (Electricity + water) 25 + (food + water) 140 + (Party + drinks) 30 = (Total) 350 EurosAverage /Month: (Room Rent) 100 + (Electricity + water) 20 + (food + water) 100 + (Party + drinks) 20 = (Total) 240 EurosMin. /Month: (Room Rent) 50 + (Electricity + water) 10 + (food + water) 85 + (Transport) 25 + (Party + drinks) 10 = (Total) 180 Euros (this value can still be reduced)In the above scenarios, it all depends on where you stay, how efficiently you use the utilities, how much you cook or have food outside, how much you drink or party. The expense given above can vary depending on the person.9. Egypt VISA ProcedureFor details related to the Egyptian Visa procedure to be applied in India, please go through Annexure-1 and for the application to be applied in Germany, Annexure-2.10. Touchdown at Cairo? Hurghada? How to reach Gouna?Once you reach Hurghada, you can first convert your Euros into Egyptian pounds. (say at least 100 Euros) Same goes for those who get down at Cairo.At the exit of Hurghada airport you can buy a sim card. You have the option of buying Vodafone or Etisalat. But other than this there is Mobinil as well. But there is no counter at airport. But I would suggest to go with Vodafone its better, even though I had Etisalat.From the airport if you are travelling together (it’s better and cheaper) to take a big cab which can hold 4 people and their luggage’s. A charge of 150-200 EGP you will have to pay for the ride from the airport. It would take about 20-30 min to reach Gouna. Once you reach, you can contact your seniors if they are there or the administration. You need to get down at Orascom housing office, which is in Downtown.If you are travelling from Cairo to El Gouna, you might have to book a ticket from “GO BUS”, which is the major bus transportation in Egypt. This might cost you around 150 EGP. Depending on what time you take the bus it might vary up to 220 EGP. The travel time takes about 5-7 hours.11. Health Insurance??Most of the people who have come from India have taken Bajaj Alliance of Rs. 11,000/- for 1 year, some have taken Rs. 22,000/- for 2 years. These insurances are applicable both in Egypt and in Germany. So no additional insurance is required. But you need to make sure to cover your insurance for the entire period of stay (you can initially cover for 1 year and then repeat the same at the end of the first year). Some of my seniors had made Insurance only for 6 months for the period living in Egypt and before they arrived in Berlin, they took a German private insurance (Mawista, Care concept, etc.) which costs around 33 Euros/ month. You can also apply for AOK/TK insurance if you want to cover everything, which costs 82 Euros / month, but is unnecessary. And again when they arrive back to Gouna they apply for an Indian Insurance for 6 months and so on.12. Accommodation – Berlin?Source: studierendenWERK BERLINThe expense to live in Berlin is comparatively cheaper, when compared to other parts of Germany. In Germany if your travel time is 30-45 min that is considered as “nearby”. The rent usually includes your monthly electricity and water rent as well. It’s a complete package, everywhere in Germany in general.The best accommodation option that u can get is in the studentenwohnheim (student dorms). Lots of options are available to choose, with varying rents (EUR 180 – 350) and varying distances.The closer you are to the university (Ernst-Reuter-Platz) (which is at the center of Berlin), the more expensive the rent. The university also has a new Campus which is close to Nordbahnhof at Ackerstraße 76. Living close to either of both locations is still of benefit.If you want, you can share an apartment, with 2 bedrooms for around EUR 800-1000. (sharing with 3-4 people)13. Living Expenses - Berlin?Max./Month: (Room Rent) 350 + (food) 250 + (Party + drinks) 100 = (Total) 700 EurosAvg./Month: (Room Rent) 250 + (food) 200 + (Party + drinks) 50 = (Total) 500 EurosMin./Month: (Room Rent) 180 + (food) 200 + (Party + drinks) 20 = (Total) 400 EurosA bit more details: Vishvesh Shenoy's answer to How much will be the monthly cost of living for an Indian student in Berlin?The above expense does not include your travel expenses within Germany and Europe.Local transport in Berlin is free since you are a student at TUB. One just has to show his ID stamped with a semester ticket (which you will get once your semester begins from 1st of April.) and carry a certificate of matriculation, they rarely ask for it but if they do it costs you 7 Euros if you do not have it and you will spend time going to an office to show it to avoid any further charges. Across Bus, Trams, S-Bahn, U-Bahn, RE-Bahn (Regional Bahn), you don’t need to buy any ticket whatsoever.The network connectivity is unbelievably great, across bus, trams, S-, U-, RE- Bahn. But still to have a childhood experience again, you can buy a bicycle (EUR 30 and above - second hand). It’s really worth it to have one, at least if you are living in Potsdam. And unlike in India, grown-ups on bicycles, is a very cool thing here in Germany.Food, is rather a bit more expensive than Gouna, but cheaper than other parts of Germany. There are Mensa (Mess) which has a lot of options for food and concession for students. (again just show your ID) You get reduced student prices with a Mensa Card. A meal around campus is about 3.50-5.50 Euros.For even more clarity please check Vishvesh Shenoy's answer to How much will be the monthly cost of living for an Indian student in Berlin?14. Scholarships??There are 2 kinds of scholarship that can be received for the duration of your studies.German Language Scholarship*Here you need to complete a course or provide a certificate of participation of 4 weeks of intensive German classes in the month of March (in Berlin of course) and you will receive EUR 165 /week i.e. EUR 660. The registration and payment for this course is taken care by the University, so the money you receive is for your own expense. Along with this you will receive a fixed flight price for your travel to and from Egypt-Germany, of EUR 250 each. But you need to book your flight with your own money while travelling. In total, you will receive an amount of EUR 1160. This amount will be paid to you in the month of May/June. So you can party hard in the summer months [:D]. This repeats again when you travel to Germany in the 4th semester.DAAD Scholarship (covering living expenses for 6 months) *This scholarship is very unique and specific only to TUB El Gouna students. The amount that you receive in this is EUR 400/ month (pretty cool! Right) for 6 months. This is similar to the application that you apply for DAAD scholarship in general, like they will access your social, economic, academic and other aspects to select you for the scholarship. It is only provided for the 2nd and 4th semester (no matter where you will stay for your thesis). If a student has received a scholarship for the 2nd semester, he/she will not be eligible for the 4th sem. (which is a good thing). The number of scholarships are limited; it always depends on how many rewards can the DAAD provide to the University. So sometimes you have only 6-8 or sometimes it can go up to 14. For the 2nd semester, the selection depends mainly on your motivation letter and commitment to the program. But the 4th semester it is mainly dependent on performance during your previous 3 semesters.So in general, there is good incentive for performing well in your studies.*Both Scholarships are applied for by TU Berlin Campus El Gouna and you will be informed about the application period and procedure when the funds are approved.Other than this, you can apply for many more scholarships online, the one I can name is Deutschland Stipendium. This is available for all the TU Berlin students (not only for Gounies). But there are certain number of scholarships that are provided by the University. The scholarship amount is EUR 300 per month for one year. The deadlines are in the mid of July.For more info:DeutschlandstipendiumAdditional Scholarship options:OFID Scholarship Award for International StudentsGlobal Sustainable Electricity PartnershipSBB Stiftung Begabtenförderung berufliche Bildung15. Additional general information:Carry around say about 1,000 Euros or more when coming from India. Because you will spend some money in the transaction and conversion charges unnecessarily. So it would be better if you bring enough money in Euros for the time you spend in Egypt (5 months).Carry all your documents with you in hard copy.Having an ISIC (International Student Id Card) is a better option for Egypt, as when you travel to Luxor, Cairo, Alexandria etc., they accept ISIC card and provide you with student concessions for tickets at any of the historical places including but not limited to the Pyramids.You don’t need to open an account in Egypt. But once you arrive in Berlin you will be required to open an account in any of the German Banks and you DON’T have to transfer 8,500 Euros into any kind of blocked account.ENERGY ENGINEERING COURSE IN A NUT SHELLSource: Department OverviewMy personal opinion and take on Energy Engineering program:The courses are taught by the professors from TU Berlin, which means during odd semesters they fly to Egypt stay for a week to 10 days and then go back. During this time, you will have block courses with 1-2 subjects a week from morning till evening (give or take 6 hrs). Only REF and EE are taught in parallel, one in the morning and other in the afternoon. So it will be hectic to pursue but that’s how it goes.The travelling by professors is done twice during a semester, so that the work load and study is distributed somewhat equally. So for every course being taught in Egypt this is how it goes.I can understand your concern about the availability of the professors in El Gouna. Not to worry. The program coordinators/ research assistants will be more than helpful with any query or issue that you may have. They are always available at all times in El Gouna. And in the time the professors are in El Gouna they are only there for the students and thus much easier to reach than in Berlin main campus.The program provides diverse courses related to the energy field, whether it is conventional power, renewable (will give more details later on), Refrigeration systems, Energy for Buildings, Energy storage (Battery, thermal storage tanks, etc.), project management, Energy economics, components of energy systems etc.The courses for EE are pretty much rigid and fixed, i.e. you do not have much option to choose your courses, so no flexibility. Having said that the courses that are included are pretty much well defined and articulated to teach a student all the possible topics related to energy field.So about renewable energy, the only course that is thoroughly taught is about Photovoltaics (PV technology). There are courses such as Conversion Technologies and Integration of Renewable energy, that give you an overview about many different renewable options such as Concentrated solar, Wind, Hydro, Biomass, etc.; but at least for me I felt it was a bit more than an overview. The courses are good but is not taught in very much detail as PV technology.The exams that are conducted are as per the German standards. In totality all the courses are pretty much the same level as it is taught in Germany.The topics that you learn in EE-1 and EE-2 are theoretical in nature, but these courses will be applied in a project of your own during the 3rd semester in Project Energy Systems(PES). So you will learn to apply the knowledge practically, which for me for the best part of this entire program. It would be a good idea for the new students to prepare well in advance in topics related to “Thermodynamics”.There is a mandatory internship that each student has to complete during the summer break (between 2nd and 3rd semester) i.e. August and September, which I believe is not sufficient time to get into a company, but you may complete this at the university itself. (Alternate option - Go home or travel through Europe in those 2 months. You can complete your internship after the 3rd semester and then continue with the thesis, so one could apply for a company stating that you will work for them for nearly 9–12 months [Internship + Thesis]I understand you would be very much interested to know about the job opportunities these programs offer. Well I can only provide you with the following criteria:Having 2-3 years of job experienceWell versed in some programming languagesGood command over German Language (this alone will increase your opportunities a lot more than you think)Academic performanceQuick in learning modeling and simulation software's.Well this information should be sufficient here. I think I have covered maximum possible doubts of every question that any student might have (esp. for students coming from India). If any additional information is missing/ required, please discuss it in your own group and still if you are unable to get a satisfied answer you can post your query in the Facebook group.If interested in the program do apply and all the best for your future endeavors.Disclaimer:This document is for all students (and some specifically for Indian students) and their requirements to come to El Gouna/Berlin and this document does not implicate the University or any of its related subsidiaries for any content that has been mentioned, whatsoever. One should not consider this as a direct implication to any of the above mentioned sources/ information, as the data provided above is purely a personal opinion and cannot be used for any legal purposes. If this data is used for any purpose other than the intended purpose of this document, the provider of the content nor the content itself are liable to any extent by law.