Hosted in the capital of Germany, this location is surrounded by history.
While in Berlin, N.U.in students have the opportunity to visit famous landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate, the remnants of the Berlin Wall, or one of the city’s numerous art and history museums. The city is also a four hour train ride to Munich, meaning students can easily take a weekend trip to experience the famous Oktoberfest.
N.U.in Berlin students study on the Council on International Educational Exchange, or CIEE, Berlin campus. CIEE hosts students in the district of Kreuzberg, a 30-minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie.
Rishika Goteti, a first-year business administration major, spent her first semester at Northeastern in Berlin through the N.U.in Program.
“I was offered N.U.in Berlin, Prague, Paris and I chose N.U.in Berlin just because I always wanted to go to Germany, and it was a prime hotspot for startups,” Goteti said.
According to the Business Location Center, Berlin has around 40,000 business registrations per year and more than 500 startup companies per year, making Berlin a key location for business enthusiasts.
Goteti landed in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 6, 2024. As the van bringing students to their new home bumped along the cobblestone streets of Berlin, the culture shock of unknown words and people began to set in.
“When you go to Berlin, [CIEE is] not a huge campus, because we are not affiliated with another university,” said Goteti. “CIEE has one building in the city of Berlin.”
Goteti said that when she first arrived, the area surrounding CIEE was daunting. She took in the broken glass, litter, and spray-painted convenience stores that lined the streets. However, she learned not to judge the city by her first impression, and is very adamant that, as a woman, she felt safe during her time in the city.
”I want to emphasize the safe part, because a lot of people get concerned, but Berlin is extremely, extremely safe,” Goeti said.
Goteti enjoyed the convenience that CIEE’s single building brought.
“You have the classes, and your dorm is in one building,” she said. “So you just roll out of bed and walk downstairs.”
At each N.U.in location, Northeastern hires coordinators t0 help students adjust to life abroad. The coordinators become like family, and each manages their small group of students, even taking them out to dinner once a month.
“[The coordinators] took us on a walking tour around the entire town of Kreuzberg where we stayed,” Goteti said.
Goteti spent the first couple of days adjusting to Berlin and international life. Soon enough, she found her favorite coffee shop and her favorite stores, and created a life in Berlin.
Though microwaves were provided to students, there were no dining halls. Students had to rely on supplying their own food as well as cooking it. According to Goteti, students made their dinner in the community kitchens provided on each floor of CIEE.
After a week of orientation and cultural adjustment, classes began. Courses in Berlin were mostly tailored to business students.
“It’s not a really, really wide range of courses that they offer you, so it is quite limited, but the courses had good content,” she said.
Living in Berlin for Goteti was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She frequently took walks and explored the vast history Berlin has to offer.
“Berlin is a very English-friendly, American-friendly city, and most of the people I talked to were really nice.”
During the couple of months that Goteti lived in Berlin, she traveled to over three different countries, including Switzerland, Hungary and Sweden, all within a two-hour flight from Berlin.
