After Quan Nguyen had completed an internship and his Bachelor's thesis in Bochum, the Vietnamese student returned to Ruhr University for his Master's degree.
International study program
Studying in Ho Chi Minh City and Bochum
Quan Nguyen talks about his experiences with the Double Degree Program.
Since the summer semester of 2025, Quan Nguyen has been taking part in the English-language Master course “Sustainable Energy System and Circular Process Engineering” at the faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Nguyen is from Vietnam and this is not his first stay in Bochum. The Vietnamese had first gotten to know Ruhr University in 2024, when he completed a double Bachelor's degree at the Vietnamese German University (VGU) in cooperation with the RUB-Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. At that time he came to Bochum for a stay abroad and an internship. In this interview, he shares his experiences with us.
Mr. Nguyen, you studied the double bachelor's program at VGU and Ruhr University. How exactly did that work?
At the VGU, many courses are taught by Vietnamese lecturers, some of whom also did an exchange with Bochum. Other modules are taught directly by German lecturers, flying in from Bochum.
I thus had already gotten the chance to experience the lecturers from Germany. And I think that these experiences are important for those, who are not able to come to Bochum during their Bachelor studies.
Having this cooperation between the two universities is worthwhile. It gives us Vietnamese students more chances to discover the world around us and especially Germany. I took the chance to write my Bachelor's thesis in Bochum. I have also seen many German students attending classes by the flying faculty of RUB at VGU and we had a great time together, both in class and during the free time.
I think that Ruhr University provides me with the most suitable program.
Your experience was so good that you decided to do a Master's degree in Bochum. Why did you choose Ruhr University for that?
Ruhr University provides me with the most suitable program, which is linked to my previous studies. That's why I chose Bochum.
What was your Bachelor thesis about?
I wrote my Bachelor thesis at a company in Essen, where I worked as an intern. The company has a simulation software which was able to determine the calorific value for selective invoicing of customers during a distribution of gas in a network. My task for my Bachelor's thesis was to simplify the grids in the simulation program.
Double Bachelor Program
Which topics are of particular interest to you?
In my Master's program, you can either choose the direction sustainable energy or circular process engineering. I chose circular process engineering. It's actually a core part of the current and future manufacturing. And often only linear production is known. So we just produce, use and then throw away our used products. The course at Ruhr University provides me with a more in-depth look at the products that we already use. How can we change it or make it better, so that we can reuse the products or material?
What are your career goals after graduation? What would you like to do with the knowledge you have gained during your studies?
I do not know yet. For the moment, I am focused on my studies and learning. Maybe I will work in business or pursue a PhD afterwards. I hope to have a lot of opportunities after my graduation. I will try to figure it out.
