Choose Epitech Berlin
Choose Epitech Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and a real dynamic metropolis with a population of 3.7 million people. With its unique vibe, its thriving cultural scene and nightlife, its rich and divided history, including its diverse architecture, Berlin is one of the most renowned cities in Europe.
Berlin is the city of artists and creatives. You can feel the creative vibe of Berlin every day in its streets, its artists and its start-ups. Berlin is also known worldwide for its club scene and sense of freedom. People come from all over the world to experience the Berlin vibe. The city has indeed a strong international community and attracts a large number of international students.
Berlin itself is a diverse city with many faces, each district having a distinctive personality. This is one of the things which makes Berlin such a great destination for students, as there will always be a part of the city to suit you and so much to discover.
Not only that, but Berlin is one of the most affordable Capital cities in Europe. Not surprisingly, Germany is ranked among the world’s top destinations for international students. According to the latest official statistics, there are over 357,000 foreign students seeking a university degree in Germany and the number is steadily increasing.
Beyond education, Berlin has excellent opportunities for tech professionals to begin their careers with a growing tech sector and innumerable exciting opportunities from start-ups to major companies. Epitech Berlin, at the heart of this booming city and its tech sector, offers high-quality courses from renowned teachers with real-world entrepreneurial experience and put you in the best position for your future!
Affordable Costs of Living
The cost of living in Berlin is generally extremely affordable and cheaper than most capitals in Europe and makes it a very attractive city for students. Rent is the major financial concern you might have to tackle when studying in Berlin. However, there are many options available to you such as Flatsharing, which is very widespread and a common solution for students to cut down their rent and get to know people.
Housing options
- Housing: between 500 and 700 € /month
- Private room in a student residence: 600 – 1.000 €/month
- Private room in a shared flat: 350€ – 650 €/month
- Whole flat (1 to 3 people): 450€ – 700 €/month
Cost of living
- Public transport: Travelcard 80 € /month
- Fill in your fridge: 200 to 250 €/month
- Internet at home: 30 €/month
- Cocktail: 4 €
- Beer (0,5L): 3 € (1€ at the so-called “späti”)
- Kebab: 3,50 €
- Eat tapas: 11 €
- Cinema ticket: 7 €
- Museum ticket: 5 €
- Nightclub: 5 €
- Roundtrip flight (in Europe): from 75 € to 200 €
Work Opportunities for International Students
One of the strongest points of Berlin is the high work opportunities it offers. Berlin and generally speaking, Germany offers plenty of opportunities for developers. In fact, you will find that 1 out of 10 jobs in Germany are for software developers/engineers.
The average salary for developers in Germany is very competitive and continues to rise. Currently, this is around €47,000 per annum, making Germany the 7th best paying country in world rankings for the tech sector.
This can be explained perfectly with the city’s notorious and intense startup scene. Young and innovative enterprises particularly like to work with programmers and therefore, it is no surprise that there are a lot of open positions in that field.
Another plus: Berlin is so cosmopolitan that a lot of job offers will be in English.
- Our Tek4 students have the possibility to work part-time for 20 credits: Thursdays and Fridays will always be free of activities to help you with that. If you already found a part-time job or if you are working as a freelancer, please contact the Berlin pedagogical team for its approval (number of hours, proof of working time for freelancers, etc.).
The average salary for developers in Germany is very competitive and continues to rise. Currently, this is around €47,000 per annum, making Germany the 7th best paying country in world rankings for the tech sector.
Re:publica Berlin – one of the biggest conference for the digital world
Samsung exhibition
German law states that students are allowed to work part-time for up to 20 hours a week or 120 full days of a year. It is estimated that more than 60% of current international students work part-time while studying in Germany.
Doing a part-time in a company here allows you to get a precious experience in an international work environment and open your job opportunities to the international market! Every year, our interns participate in writing the history of Epitech in Germany for all generations of teks.
The job market is very broad, start-ups and international companies always look for new developers. You’ll find a list of some of the companies that have trusted our students the previous years in the last section (Professional experience).
Learn a New Language
Learning German is not mandatory (most of the people in Berlin speak English) but could be very helpful in building up your new life in Berlin, helping you out with breaking the ice with newfound friends and co-workers and it’s definitely a plus on the job market, whether in France or in Europe!
Tipps:
If you need any info or tips, we would be happy to help you, and here some links to find the answers you need before moving to Berlin:
- Guide in French
- Guide in English
- Online English tips to set in Berlin
Tek4 program
Boost your career
The fourth year abroad is a chance to hone the focus of your future career aspirations by specializing in a specific domain. Additionally, an IT expert must now be a professional capable of analysing the missions of his company. An IT expert is now at the heart of strategic development projects in their company and must be able to connect with and understand the professions that surround them.
In light of this, the programs at Epitech’s European campuses plunge you into the techniques you need to learn for a specific domain so that you can develop the skills necessary to transition seamlessly into the sector of your preference. Because IT is now interlaced with every aspect of society, Epitech chooses to form you as dual experts – IT of course, but also business, communication, and strategy. The Capstone Project, the “pièce de la resistance” of the Campus Euro program, incorporates all the technical skills you learn with your projects over the course of the year with these “soft” skills to lend a completely new dimension to your year. The Capstone Project is the determining element in receiving your certificate.
Throughout the year, via a series of hands-on projects, you will develop just as many technical competencies related to your specialization as you will skills that intersect with the fields surrounding IT.
The program is therefore centred on developing two strengths at once – technical and entrepreneurial, leading to the deliverance of a specialized certificate which will incontestably attest to your expertise.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the video game domain
The Tek4 year in Berlin combines global innovation and management subjects with the technical knowledge of different technologies, including Big Data, IoT, AI, Cloud or VR. Students work as well on a Capstone project, in which they develop a business project based on what they have learned during the course. The Berlin tek 4 program mainly focuses on Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the video game domain (capstone). The main goal of this course is to provide students with everything that they need to be able to become video game developers.
Either in a big company or by making their own company, that is why both very technical subjects AND entrepreneurship topics are going to be covered during this year. Thus we took the decision to do the whole year on a specific engine that will be the same for everyone. Because we believe that this is the best strategy if you want to find an internship for your fifth year in the video game industry.
The year is going to be structured around “sprints” on specific topics.
Steps of a “sprint”:
| (= 6 weeks) | 2 weeks | Technical masterclass with an external teacher. |
| 2 weeks | Technical masterclass with an external teacher. | |
| 2 weeks | Autonomous work and follow ups. | |
| 2 weeks | Non-technical masterclass with an external speaker. | |
| Review of the work you produced in the last 6 weeks. | ||
For each “sprint” you will be given assignments. Organising the semester in this way will allow you to discover different topics in depth that are essential for your future career:
Technical subject
- Introduction to the engine while making 2D games.
- 3d games and the specifics around 3D for a game.
- AI in video games, or how have bots that don’t get stuck.
- Physics in video games or how things fall.
- Multiplayer or how to play together.
- UI in video games.
Transversal and Interdisciplinary courses (non-technical subjects)
- Game design.
- Storytelling or how to tell a story.
- Finance for video games.
- Marketing for video games.
- Communication and how to build a community.
Overview of a “sprint”:
You get a technical project to do, for example: Do a platform game in 2D.
- 2 weeks of masterclass on the technical skills
- 2 weeks to work on the given projects with follow up
- 2 weeks of masterclass with an external speaker, for example: Game design. During these final 2 weeks you still have to work on the technical project + a review of your project.
Then we start again on a different topic.
As you can see, this structure allows you to create a game every 6 weeks, each time on a challenging technical topic while covering the big ideas that revolve around making video games (game design, storytelling…).
A decent start for your portfolio
After all sprints are completed, you will have the technical know-how to work on an end of year game assignment/project combining various technical aspects covered in the previous months.
By the end of the year, you will have made 5 small games on very specific technical challenge and 1 bigger game on whatever you want gathering all the non-technical aspects.
The projects will be made in groups. The names of the different subjects are likely to change but the general structure of the year won’t change. At the end of the year, you will receive a certificate.
The engine that we are referring to is NOT a home-made engine that no one uses, the engine will we be most likely be using is Epic Games’s Unreal Engine.
| Capstone project (on Video Games & Entrepreneurship) | ≤ 40 credits |
| Part-Time | ≤ 20 credits |
| HUB | ≤ 8 credits |
| German | ≤ 4 credits |
| PCP | ≤ 2 credits |
- Our Tek4 students have the possibility to work part-time to get until 20 credits: Thursdays and Fridays will always be free of activities to help you with that. If you found a part-time job or if you are working as a freelancer, please contact the Berlin pedagogical team for its approval (number of hours, how you can prove the number of hours worked if you’re a freelancer, etc.).
Life on Campus
Epitech Campus Berlin – in the heart of the city
Epitech Berlin is located in the vibrant heart of the city, a few meters from “Zoologischer Garten” (Zoo), one of the biggest transportation hub in Berlin. Next door to the Ubisoft offices, closed to a strong community of start-up, hubs and incubators, you can find our nice, colorful and luminous campus. In our modern Campus we make sure that you can focus on what’s important to you: your projects.
Charlottenburg is a versatile district in Berlin where authentic Berlin lifestyle meets the bustling spirit of the up and coming “City West”. A wide range of restaurants, shops and bars is in walking distance. “Kurfürstendamm”, the heart of West Berlin is just around the corner. Also nearby is the distinctive area of Schöneberg, full of little cafés, bars and Kneipe (german pub). The “Tiergarten” Berlins biggest and most central park provides ample opportunities for outdoor activities.
Activities on our Berlin Campus
Team-building activities are a great tool to help students learn to work together, listen carefully, communicate clearly and think creatively. They also give our students the chance to get to know each other, build trust as a community and, best of all, have fun! In order to do so and engage with the local ecosystem, at Epitech Berlin we organize plenty of fun events throughout the year (Halloween, St. Patricks Day, Oktoberfest, Christmas and many others)
Of course, we have some fun corners at the Berlin Campus.
Follow our social media accounts to see the latest news about the campus!