{"692919":{"#nid":"692919","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Computing Student Spends Year Studying, Working, and Learning in Germany\u00a0","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor students seeking international experience, studying abroad can offer opportunities that extend well beyond the classroom. Computer Science (CS) Student \u003Cstrong\u003ENicholas Byrd\u2019s\u003C\/strong\u003E year-long experience in Germany gave him the chance to study CS at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and to intern at TNG Technology Consulting.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the 2025\u201326 academic year, Byrd spent one semester studying at TUM through Georgia Tech\u2019s exchange program and the following months completing a full-time internship. Along the way, he took courses in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning, worked on large language model (LLM) benchmarking, traveled throughout Europe, and made friends from around the world.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat drew you to the TUM exchange program and spending a year in Germany?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI was drawn to the TUM exchange program for a couple of reasons. TUM is a great computer science university, often regarded as a top 20 CS university in the world. TUM is also a very international university, with about 45% of its student body being international students. This meant I could take high-quality CS courses in English and meet students from all over the world.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI wanted a new perspective on life and to create more unique experiences, and I felt that studying abroad, traveling, and meeting people from all over the world was a great way to do so.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat classes did you take at TUM, and did any courses or projects stand out?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt TUM, I took an Intro to Deep Learning course, an Intro to AI Course, and a Visual Data Analytics course. Of these, the \u003Cem\u003EIntro to Deep Learning\u003C\/em\u003E course stood out as a great one, despite being difficult, with a very organized structure and impressive faculty.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne thing that stood out overall was the difference in course format between the courses I took at TUM and those in the US. At TUM, each course had only one exam, which counted as the entire course grade.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you do as an intern?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs an intern, I worked on their Innovation Hacking team focusing on LLM benchmarking. The company provides its own internal models, for which benchmarking is essential to assess how well the internally hosted models compare with expensive external models. One main thing I worked on was using agents to automate the benchmarking system, making it more efficient to run large-scale LLM benchmarks frequently.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHave you used anything you\u2019ve learned in classes at your internship?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI mainly programmed in Python for this internship and used the skills I learned in \u003Cem\u003ECS1301:\u0026nbsp;Intro to Programming\u003C\/em\u003E at Georgia Tech. I also benefited from the knowledge I gained in \u003Cem\u003ECS1332: Data Structures and Algorithms\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has surprised you most about studying, working, and living in Germany?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWorking in Germany, I was surprised by the emphasis on separating work and life. German colleagues emphasized the importance of enjoying your vacation days and said that time away from work should be truly disconnected from work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has been your favorite experience or memory from your time abroad?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy favorite overall experience from my time abroad was making friends from all over the world and spending a lot of time in the beautiful nature and mountains around Germany and Munich.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI also traveled a lot while I was abroad, and my trips to Spain and Finland were some of my favorites.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to students considering studying or interning abroad?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudying abroad can feel like a big decision, but it can create lifelong memories and expose you to experiences you might never have otherwise.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany processes, such as gathering documents and information about the country or program, can be confusing and stressful, so it is essential to be proactive in sending emails and figuring things out.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents interested in exploring similar opportunities can learn more through Georgia Tech\u2019s Office of International Education. Information on the TUM exchange program is available \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/atlas.gatech.edu\/_portal\/tds-program-brochure?programid=10258\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehere,\u003C\/a\u003E and information on other international opportunities is available\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/international-studies\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor students seeking international experience, studying abroad can offer opportunities that extend well beyond the classroom. Computer Science (CS) Student \u003Cstrong\u003ENicholas Byrd\u2019s\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;year-long experience in Germany gave him the chance to study CS at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and to intern at TNG Technology Consulting.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For students seeking international experience, studying abroad can offer opportunities that extend well beyond the classroom. "}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-09-29 17:33:52","changed_gmt":"2026-09-29 17:41:15","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681289":{"id":"681289","type":"image","title":"nicholas2.jpg","body":null,"created":"1790703245","gmt_created":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","changed":"1790703245","gmt_changed":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","alt":"Nicholas Byrd","file":{"fid":"265660","name":"nicholas2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":51429,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas2.jpg?itok=oPoagOvF"}},"681290":{"id":"681290","type":"image","title":"nicholas3.jpg","body":null,"created":"1790703245","gmt_created":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","changed":"1790703245","gmt_changed":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","alt":"Nicholas Byrd","file":{"fid":"265661","name":"nicholas3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":638274,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas3.jpg?itok=WTFn3tKO"}},"681291":{"id":"681291","type":"image","title":"nicholas4.jpg","body":null,"created":"1790703245","gmt_created":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","changed":"1790703245","gmt_changed":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","alt":"Nicholas Byrd","file":{"fid":"265662","name":"nicholas4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas4.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas4.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":138248,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas4.jpg?itok=Pvlm8mUQ"}},"681292":{"id":"681292","type":"image","title":"nicholas1.jpg","body":null,"created":"1790703245","gmt_created":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","changed":"1790703245","gmt_changed":"2026-09-29 17:34:05","alt":"Nicholas Byrd","file":{"fid":"265663","name":"nicholas1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":76957,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/29\/nicholas1.jpg?itok=h9zqV2GH"}}},"media_ids":["681289","681290","681291","681292"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"194248","name":"International Education"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}