The idea: prospective engineers study at TUBAF for a semester and complete internships at companies in the industry in the following semester. A total of four students from Latin America are currently enrolled for two semesters in the fields of process engineering and mechanical engineering and will gain practical experience in industrial companies in Germany from spring 2026.
They gain insights into modern work processes and everyday working life in Germany. The participants also benefit culturally from their stay in Freiberg: The support provided by the TUBAF International Office facilitates the start of their studies and everyday life in Germany with language courses as well as specialist and socio-cultural programmes. The selection of Latin American scholarship recipients is initially carried out centrally by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which forwards the application documents to TUBAF. The relevant departments review the applications and then decide on admission to the exchange program. The International Office is responsible for project coordination on site.
"The KOSPIE programme is an opportunity to attract more well-educated students from Central and South America in the long term and to further expand cooperation with partner universities in Latin America," emphasises Marcus Dietrich from the International Office.
The KOSPIE programme
KOSPIE is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. It enables students of engineering and natural sciences from Argentina, Colombia and Mexico to spend around ten months in Germany, consisting of a study and practical phase. The aim is for the alumni to later contribute to the economic and technological development of their home countries. The current funding programme at TU Bergakademie Freiberg runs until mid-2026.
