Franz Just speaks High German so well - it's hard to believe that he originally comes from Hainewalde and thus from our beautiful Upper Lusatia. He could just as easily come from Hamburg and have decided to study in the border triangle. Franz Just, however, is a "local", 24, blond, tall and athletically built. Somehow you can see that he wants more. Just 110 percent. He is currently in the last semester of his computer science master's degree in Görlitz. He is about to defend his thesis when we meet for our interview. At eighteen, he is a little "disoriented", as he says. He studied economics and computer science in Görlitz and found both fields interesting. However, he quickly shifted his focus to computer science and knew that he also wanted to study for a Master's degree in this field at the HSZG. Since then, his main focus has been on artificial intelligence.

"I realized that there are different approaches to studying," says Franz Just. "For the first two or three semesters of my Bachelor's degree, I was the type to say: let's see what happens, I'll sit in on the lecture, the framework is there. But then it somehow became too cramped for me in Görlitz and I wanted to gain experience abroad - a rather atypical path in computer science." Franz Just went to China, France, Lithuania and Spain during his studies, including an internship and bachelor's thesis. "I wanted to get to know the linguistic and cultural challenges and other study concepts and: I love culture shocks."

Perhaps it would also be a culture shock for anyone else to study at the Görlitz campus, to receive mainly practical lessons in small groups, closely accompanied by professors who know you personally and for whom you are not just another number. For Franz Just, these points would always be a reason to choose Görlitz, even though, or perhaps precisely because, he was able to get to know many other universities and concepts abroad. He also cites the "low cost of living, such as affordable housing and food" as a reason to feel at home in Görlitz. And the "extremely great support" he received at the HSZG, thanks to the opportunities it gave him for his studies. In the end, everyone makes their own luck. And perhaps that is what Franz Just emphasizes: his high intrinsic motivation. But with this, he has always found an open door at the HSZG.

For example, he simply sat in on the information event organized by the International Office and found out what opportunities he had to actively shape his studies abroad. He knows about the HSZG's funding opportunities, but also about the extensive preparation he needed to do his internship in Paris, for example. "I planned my stay over a year in advance," says Franz Just. He is currently financing his studies through a foundation.

Today he knows exactly what he wants: "I want to do research and work on research papers." And he will have the opportunity to do so, as he will initially continue to work on projects at the HSZG. " I think it's extremely nice," says Franz Just, "to work in front of the computer. It's a great concept: one man, one desk, one chair and one computer. That's all it takes for a small person to get a lot done."

Text: Sophie Herwig