James Miller quit his job in Canada after 20 years of work experience. 'I couldn’t see any future in what I was doing.' Together with his wife and two young kids, he decided to start over again, coming all the way to Hamburg. 'It’s much cheaper and interesting to study here.' In Canada universities are very expensive compared to the nearly free education in Europe. Nevertheless, his family is grateful for the extra money from the Deutschlandstipendium. 'The scholarship supports a balanced life.' Being a father of two and a full-time student makes it hard to work and study.
Miller is in his last year of the Information Engineering degree course and is surprised by his own success: 'After 20 years out of school, I didn’t expect to do so well at university again.' When he and his family first came to Hamburg, the plan was to get a Bachelor’s degree so he could find work in his new field. Now his family is enjoying life in Hamburg so much that they are considering staying. The 42-year-old student is interested in micro-engineering and seriously thinking about attending a Master's programme: 'The university and the scholarship gave me new self-confidence.'
