WHAT

Two-weeks academic courses where 20-30 students from all over Europe gather together to learn about interesting and relevant topics in STEM fields or Career Related skills

terme
38344274296_b9144b7daa_o
39713406634_930dc3e86f_o

WHERE

The courses take place in one of the 34 countries where BEST has a Local Group. 


“After more than one year, I still treasure all the fantastic memories and friendships I made on my very first BEST Course in Budapest”


Anna

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Everyone who studies a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics related degree in a technical university with a BEST Local Group can apply.

In the case of our Local Group in Zurich, all ETH students can apply.

Given that all courses (regardless of the university) are taught in English, we are required to let the organizing group about your English level to ensure a high education quality. However, we do not require any examination certificate.

Medical expenses are your responsibility under no exception. Make sure that you have a valid health insure for the country you are traveling to.

Within EU/EFTA countries you may use your European Health Insurance Card (Europäische Krankenversicherungskarte) free of cost. Read more on ehic.eu.org.

BEST Courses are divided into four seasons – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

The application period starts about two months before the season. The exact dates change however from season to season and year to year, so please refer to BEST Intl. or to our social media.

During a season you can apply to up three three courses. If you apply to more than one event, arrange the list so that your favorite course is the first on the list.

During your academic life you can confirm your attendance to a maximum of three courses.

Not at all.

The organizing group cannot see any application until the application period has closed, and on top of that, they will also not see when you applied as it remains hidden to everyone but you.

The organizing Local Group receives all the applications together right after the application period is over and it is up to them to choose the participants.

They base their choice on criteria such as home Local Group (they aim for diversity) a gender balance. Nevertheless, it depends ultimately on your Motivation Letter and the three questions you had to answer.

If you don’t know how to start your motivation letter, read our recommendations on “How to write a Motivation Letter”.

Some professors want to have an accurate estimation of the level of the students on the field. For this reason some courses might ask about the subjects you took at ETH – however, this is rarely a selection criterion.

For us to be able to validate your account we need to confirm that you are currently enrolled at ETH. It is for this reason that we suggest you add your Legi number (xx-xxx-xxx) on the Student ID field, your ETH mail as your mail and the field of studies to your BEST account – this way we can check the data the fastest.

Alternatively, you can also use the validation form 

The price for a course is set by the organizing group in compliance of BEST Intl. regulations an can range up to EUR 50. This fee includes accommodation, three meals a day (of which at least one warm), transportation, visits, etc. Note that the flights/train tickets/bus tickets from your home city to the course city are not included in the fee.

As you might have read on the application portal, there do exist country categories which depend on the wealth of the country. With a Gross Domestic Product at Purchasing Power Parity per Capita of USD 65.274, Switzerland falls into Category 1 and thus ETH students pay 100% of the fee shown in the course description.

The fee is the amount of money you pay directly to the organizing group and ranges between EUR 0 and EUR 50.

The deposit adds up to EUR 60 (or CHF 75) regardless of the course price. This amount of money you pay to us so that we can confirm your participation and you will get it back after the course. 

Things you should bring with you to a course:

  • Passport or ID card

  • Student ID

  • Traditional food and drinks from your country

  • Health Insurance Card

Note that some courses might require something specific as a sleeping bag or bed linens. Please refer to the survival guide of the event you applied to for detailed info.